Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Jujube Stew, Celery and White Soup. ...
The two sides parted ways at the fork in the road. Ji Xu entered Shengchangli accompanied by Old Man Chen. Zhuang calmed down and continued on her way to the town.
At first, she couldn't open her mouth to shout. She was the type of person who couldn't even speak loudly.
There were people coming and going in this rural town, and Zhuang's heart started beating fast when she thought about everyone looking at her when she started drinking.
But she was a woman with an unfamiliar face, and the bamboo basket she carried was covered with cloth. No one would come to ask her anything unless she called out.
Zhuang stood by the roadside, mumbling for a long time, thinking of the thirty steamed buns in the basket that she hadn't sold. That was thirty cents worth of money.
Although Ji Xu said that the unsold items would be hers, she didn't put her heart and soul into it at all. Wouldn't that be a waste of her?
So, I gritted my teeth and followed what Ji Xu had taught me when he came, shouting with a clumsy voice.
"Steamed cake! Pah pah... White jade steamed cake - soft and sweet -"
He just kept shouting, not caring about the heart that was about to jump out of his throat.
"White Jade Steamed Cake? They look unfamiliar. Wasn't it originally sold by a girl named Ji?"
Zhuang's face was already burning with anger. She nodded quickly and said, "It's her! She did it! I'm her aunt from the same village! She asked me to sell it!"
"Let me see it."
"Look, look." Zhuang hurriedly lifted the cloth as instructed.
Seeing that they looked like they had been bought before, the other party paid for two.
Zhuang's hands trembled as she collected the two five-zhu coins. She had sold them! Sold them! More than half of them could be hers.
All things are difficult at the beginning, but Zhuang gradually put on a good face. The white jade steamed cakes were originally sold in the rural market. The product has not changed, so people who need it will naturally come to buy it as usual.
As Ji Xu instructed, he identified whether the Wuzhu coin was fake before putting it away.
Ma, who was selling rice dumplings nearby, had red eyes. After the tax was levied, few people could afford her rice dumplings which cost only two cents each.
He laughed sourly and said, "What a good steamed bun business!"
On the other hand, ever since Ji Xu entered Shengchangli, the vendors in the market spread the news and gathered together like a boiling pot.
The leader was a woman with triangular eyes, a narrow face, a half-worn cloth dress stained with oil, and a shaved bun on her head.
She was the one whom Ji Xu had seen that day when he went to the market to buy duck eggs. Her surname was Cai, and because she had been selling ointments all year round, everyone called her Cai Gaohuan.
Cai Gaohuan angrily said, "We in the inner city will never allow outsiders to come in and seize our territory. We should unite as one! As soon as that Ji Zhengbing comes into the city, we will kick her out!"
"Yes! Blast it out!"
The one being catered to was a man wearing a small hat, setting up an oven and selling Hu pancakes. His surname was Sun, but everyone called him Sun Linlang.
Because the mutton flatbreads he sold were made with only the cheap and inferior parts of the mutton, which he chopped up for filling, and he only put in as much as a fingernail. When people spent five cents to buy it and thought the meat was not enough after eating it, he would start arguing with them, complaining about how expensive the mutton was and that the price had gone up.
"Blast them out! Blast them out!"
There were also a group of vendors selling melons, vegetables, chickens and ducks who joined in the chant, but Ji Xu, who was selling noodles, did not affect them.
But at this time, everyone is united against the same enemy. If outsiders from their level want to come in in the future, they will be able to respond to the call and ask for help.
After this discussion, all the vendors stared at the entrance of the market, ready to attack as soon as someone arrived.
However, they waited for a long time and calculated that they should have reached their destination by now, but no one came.
A small vegetable vendor came in panting to get the news.
"That Ji Zhengbing is such a thief! She just goes from house to house selling it!"
Yes, Ji Xu had no intention of entering the inner city.
Her steamed buns are different from the Hu buns that need to be baked in the oven and the ointment rings that need to be fried in a pot over a fire. The advantage is that they are light and can be sold by just carrying a basket.
Although the flow of people in the market is concentrated, each household has people. She specifically asked Bao Yu which households live on which street in Shengchangli.
Yesterday, while Bao Yu was talking, he drew a route map for her on the ground with a straw. She wrote it down and now goes door to door to sell her goods, without even going into the market to challenge them.
"The market is over there." Seeing that she was taking the wrong road, Mr. Chen pointed it out to her.
He sighed inwardly and thought, "You can't even tell the way, and you still want to do business in Shengchangli?"
She would have been torn to pieces by those peddlers. Fortunately, he listened to his wife and came with her. He knew a little bit of fighting and would never let the girl be bullied.
"Uncle Chen, we won't go to the market. We'll just sell from door to door."
As he was talking, he started hawking outside the courtyard he was passing by.
"Here are the meat-filled steamed buns—steamed buns with lots of fillings!"
“It’s so fragrant and soft—both the elderly and children love it—”
Old Mr. Chen, thinking that there were many people in the city, had not yet figured out the reason why she did this. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "What a clear voice!"
Just then a child came out from the yard and said:
"I want steamed buns!"
Because Ji Xu had sold it once in the threshing ground on the day of paying taxes, many people had tasted this delicious food, but unfortunately they had never met her again.
Others had only heard their companions talk about how delicious the steamed buns with meat filling were, so they asked the chubby little girl,
"Hey! Si'er, can the steamed buns with meat filling really be delicious?"
The chubby little girl had already picked it up and started to eat it. It was greasy and hot air was coming out of her mouth.
"It's so delicious! Lots of meat!"
Ji Xu then shouted, "Every eighth day of every month, great deals! Buy five, get one free! Come and buy now!"
"Every eighth day? Isn't today the 28th of September?"
"That's right, buy five today and get one free." Ji Xu replied.
Many people came to buy steamed buns at once. Some children, seeing people eating them, would drag their parents to buy some. The news spread among the neighbors.
"The seasonal steamed buns from that day are here."
"Today, buy five and get one free."
Those who heard the news came looking for him, and a group of people gathered around Ji Xu, waiting with money in their hands.
Old Man Chen was astonished. No wonder Shengchang was so rich! Even a steamed bun with meat filling costing two cents was willing to be bought by so many people.
This one was selling like hot cakes, and the vendors in the inner market were feeling jealous. They gathered together again, but this time there were obviously fewer people gathering in the cages.
Cai Gaohuan reassured everyone: "Let's go out together and drive this steamed bun out of Shengchangli. Tell her not to come back in!"
Sun Linlang agreed and responded.
The others were unwilling to do so,
"Who's going to watch over my stall then? I still have to sell chicken eggs, and who knows where those steamed buns are now?"
"Little man, do you want to buy yam? Here it is! Hey, here I come!" There was also a vegetable farmer who raised his hand and slipped away.
They don't sell noodles, so they are all rewarded for helping to drive people out of the city.
Now I have to put down my stall and waste time looking for it, so I can't help but advise:
"Cai Gaohuan, I think it's better to forget about it. She didn't come in, so she can't take away your business in the city."
"Yes, if she dares to enter the city, we will help you drive her away."
As a result, they all dispersed, leaving only Sun Linlang. His Hu Bing business has been getting worse these days, which must be due to the steamed cakes that season.
He couldn't help but spit out, "You rats, don't even think about asking me to help you drive out outsiders from now on!"
"Okay, I'll have five steamed buns with meat filling delivered to your doorstep tomorrow morning."
Ji Xu not only sold out all the steamed buns, but also promised to deliver the buns to his home the next day.
So, someone ordered steamed buns for breakfast tomorrow.
Speaking of which, Ji Xu's steamed cakes sold quickly, and Shengchangli was closer, so he returned home earlier than Zhuang.
When Old Man Chen returned to the courtyard, Old Lady Lu came over to ask, "How's it going? Has the one in Shengchang been sold? Or was it driven out?"
Old Man Chen had a stern face by nature, and it was hard to tell what he was really like, which made Aunt Lu very anxious.
It would be a lie to say that I didn't hope to sell well in Shengchang. After all, Ji Xu was good, and I could pick him up and sell him in the country market.
Mr. Chen recalled the bustling business and said, "Not only were all the items sold out, but also..."
Old Man Chen was tongue-tied and didn't know how to describe Ji Xu's cleverness in coaxing people into deciding to have the matter delivered to their door tomorrow. Aunt Lu became even more anxious after hearing this and wished she could see it with her own eyes.
I only heard Mr. Chen say sincerely: "Ms. Xu is a man of great foresight. She knows Shengchangli better than I do. She has made preparations long ago.
She knows how many people are in this household, which road is easier to travel...”
"That's great!" Lu Ai had been worried for a long time at home, and finally a big stone fell from her chest.
As he spoke, Zhuang returned with a happy look on her face.
When Aunt Lu saw that the bamboo basket was empty, she was delighted. She pulled Zhuang into the west room and listened to her talk about what had happened in the village and the market.
Although Zhuang stuttered in front of outsiders, she was fluent in front of her family. Aunt Lu was so impressed by what she said that she kept saying, "I told you you can do it."
At last, Zhuang took out the purse from her coat and turned it over. There were exactly nine coins inside.
"I sold thirty of them. As soon as I got back, I went to her house and gave them to her.
This is 30% of our family's income, mother, you keep it."
"I just heard from your father-in-law that Xu Nu is doing very well in Shengchangli. So, thanks to Xu Nu, our family can also add some income?"
Lu Xixi's face was covered with wrinkles. It cost nine cents and it only took half a day.
Thinking of her grandson Chen Che'er, who worked in the kiln in Shengchangli, doing the hard work of carrying bricks, sweating like a river in the hottest days of summer, and only earning seven cents a day.
Now that my daughter-in-law earns nine cents without any effort, how can she not be happy?
Zhuang said, "I want to try it tomorrow and sell forty of them."
"Okay, forty, mother believes you!" said Aunt Lu.
"I'll go find Miss Xu after lunch to finalize the amount. When I went there just now, her family was busy eating." Zhuang said. She also knew that people had to eat an extra meal at lunch, otherwise they wouldn't have gone to give money so rashly.
Today's meal was prepared by Ji Feng. Although she is young, she is already quite good at cooking. It was Tian who taught her when she was still alive.
"Sister, come quickly and see what I have done."
On this side, Ji Xu had just sent Zhuang away when she pulled him towards the kitchen.
On the ceramic stove were two bowls of jujube paste and a bowl of meat and celery soup, both of which were very popular dishes nowadays.
"Thank goodness my sister got so many good things from making the longevity peaches. They are just perfect for cooking." Ji Feng said.
The dates and celery Bao Yurang had left for them yesterday, so she washed them and, while the rice was simmering in the pot, she spread a layer of pitted dates on top. Once the water had dried up and the rice had become dry, it became date paste.
Meat and celery soup is made by cutting the leftover meat from steamed buns into shreds, adding chopped celery and rice, and cooking it into a soup with oil and salt.
"The jujube paste is for Xiaozhu and me. Remember my sister said she doesn't like sweet food. This celery and white soup is for my sister." Ji Feng placed the bowls in front of each of them and looked at Ji Xu with shining eyes, eager for her to taste it.
What could be more comforting than eating ready-made food after a busy day? Even she took into consideration that it might not be sweet.
Ji Xu knew that Ji Feng was being considerate of her, so he picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. His whole body felt warmed, and he nodded.
"It's delicious. Sister Feng's cooking skills are really good. It seems that it will be my turn to make the fire from now on."
Ji Feng was delighted to be praised, but Ji Zhu objected and said, "It was Xiao Zhu who washed the vegetables!"
"Really? Xiaozhu, you've worked hard. I was wondering if the dishes were this clean." Ji Xu pinched her cheek.
After all, they were two little kids, and they chattered non-stop when they were praised.
After a while, they picked up the bowl and started eating the date rice. Sweet food was rare at that time, and they loved the sweet rice mixed with dates so much that they ate it all up.
The same thing happened with Ji Xu's bowl of soup. Going from farm to farm in Shengchang required more walking than in the city, so how could he not be hungry? With a bowl of hot soup like this, he ate it all.
She will continue to make money tomorrow. She will definitely step into Shengchang and gain a firm foothold.
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