Chapter 49 Braised Three Delicacies and Miao Wuni's New Business
Yao Xiaoyu was quite happy when she first returned to work after the Lunar New Year. This was mainly because the hospital provided excellent meals in the first few days after reopening to boost everyone's enthusiasm. However, as everyone's work attitude gradually returned to normal, the meals returned to the pre-Lunar New Year level. While still more substantial than what you could find outside, they no longer satisfied Yao Xiaoyu's appetite.
It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.
Normally, it wouldn't have been so bad to just endure it, but one day when Yao Xiaoyu was queuing up at the cafeteria as usual, she saw that the meat dish was braised pork meatballs with radish. She immediately turned around and ran away on instinct. By the time Yao Xiaoyu came to her senses, she was already sitting in the restaurant, with a waiter waiting for her to order.
"One serving of braised diced vegetables, plus a bowl of rice. Do you have any fresh side dishes?"
Yao Xiaoyu asked with little interest. After eating cellar vegetables all winter, she finally understood why cave-grown goods could fetch such high prices. Scarcity was one reason, but another was that people really wanted to eat fresh vegetables in winter. [1]
She was also spoiled by the modern "vegetable basket" project.
"Yes, these mushrooms just arrived today, and they're very tender."
Yao Xiaoyu had only asked casually, but she didn't expect such a pleasant surprise. She ordered a plate of mushrooms before asking the price—expensive! Expensive enough to make her heart clench! This restaurant was taking advantage of the rarity of mushrooms at this time of year to blatantly rip off its customers!
"...One more clear soup, that's enough."
Watching the shop assistant leave cheerfully, Yao Xiaoyu sighed. In the past, when she wrote novels, the protagonists were always the ones who made a fortune from off-season vegetables. She never expected that one day she would become the fat sheep being slaughtered, and even the kind of person who would eagerly let others slaughter her.
"What on earth is going on?!"
Yao Xiaoyu covered her mouth, only to realize that someone else had said those words.
"If flower sellers have to pay taxes, then shoe shiners and newspaper vendors will have to pay taxes too, right? Oh, and what about beggars on the street? Will they have to pay a begging tax too?"
Don't talk about national affairs, but the law doesn't punish the masses.
The big man's words drew laughter, and some people echoed his sentiments:
"You're absolutely right. In this world, beggars have to pay money for begging. I heard that clearly before the New Year—"
The man who echoed the sentiment was clearly a show-off. Seeing everyone's gaze upon him, he lowered his voice and deliberately adopted the fierce expression he had seen earlier:
"You're kneeling on Shanghai's land, kowtowing on Shanghai's roads, and asking for Shanghai's money. So naturally, Shanghai has the right to manage you. Roads aren't easy to repair. If you damage them by kneeling, where will you find them? Pay some of the road repair costs. Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"
The man spoke these words as if reciting a tongue twister, and the crowd cheered and applauded in response, though their faces showed a lot of bitterness.
This damn world.
Seeing the atmosphere become somber, the innkeeper tried to smooth things over with his silver tongue. Not wanting to spoil the meal, everyone cooperated and changed the subject. Yao Xiaoyu remained silent in the corner, listening quietly to all the conversations. Most of them would be placed in the corner of her memory, but some might become writing material someday.
Everyday life and local customs are stories; laughter, anger, and curses can all become literature.
"Your braised diced vegetables, mushroom and beef, egg drop soup, and rice are all served."
Yao Xiaoyu didn't want to attract attention, so the waiter who served the dishes also lowered his voice. Yao Xiaoyu picked up a piece of ham from the braised diced vegetables and put it in her mouth. She was immediately jolted awake by its freshness.
Modern versions of the braised three ingredients use relatively common potatoes and carrots, but this era used sea cucumber and diced chicken. Compared to the modern version, only ham is still on the menu. However, you get what you pay for, and the ingredients taste almost completely different.
The sea cucumber is the black sea cucumber handpicked by the national football team, the chicken pieces are freshly killed leg meat with skin on, the ham is selected from the top grade, and even the thickening powder is lotus root powder with poria powder. Every piece looks like the original color of the ingredients, and the taste on your tongue can last for days after you take a bite.
It's just a little too fresh.
Yao Xiaoyu took a sip of soup to dilute the taste in her mouth, and felt that after eating this meal, she would not order this dish again for at least a month. She admitted that the braised three-ingredient dish was delicious, but it was like a dish of pickled bamboo shoots and pork belly with old hen and ham instead of pork belly and fresh meat, which was a bit too much of a shock to her eating habits.
It's not that you can't eat it, it's just that you can't enjoy it too often.
"Why are there so many people carrying baskets everywhere these days?"
As the conversation swirled around in circles, Yao Xiaoyu sipped her soup, keeping half an ear open to listen to the gossip. This "Hibiscus Jade Soup" sounded luxurious, but it was actually just egg and tofu soup. It was just that the chef's skill was so good that the cloud-like hibiscus egg flowers, paired with the carved tofu, made Yao Xiaoyu willingly pay more.
"It's all because of that Miao Wuni,"
Yao Xiaoyu caught the key words, slowed down her soup-drinking pace, and listened to the straight man's words:
"What does this have to do with getting rich?"
The speaker was a young man dressed in gold and silver, with pearls on his boots the size of longans. He used to invite friends to his private rooms, but for some reason, he was sitting in the main hall today.
He quite liked Miao Wuni's story; her poverty was novel. However, the tiny bits of money she earned each time made him anxious, and he always wanted to throw a gold brick into the story so that the little girl could live a better life sooner.
"Didn't the newspaper say that Miao Wuni started a wholesale business? Mr. Xiaoyu explained everything from buying to selling, so of course some people want to learn how to make money from it?"
The 10,000-word plan for the whole family was a special treat from Yao Xiaoyu during the Lunar New Year. Now that the Lantern Festival is over, Miao Wuni naturally has to get back to work.
As a very proactive girl, Miao Wuni considered new businesses besides selling flowers, newspapers, and shining shoes after confirming that her family had initially achieved a balance between income and expenditure. After inquiring and researching from various sources, Miao Wuni decided to become a small-time peddler.
The term "huoniang" is the opposite of "huolang," but compared to the mobile shops that strong men can carry to the countryside, Miao Wuni only plans to sell needles and thread in the alleys of Shanghai by carrying a bamboo basket. Don't underestimate this business; it's actually low-cost, high-profit, and quick-turnover. If done well, it can lead to a quiet fortune.
Moreover, Miao Wuni was cunning. The bamboo basket looked like a single piece, but it was actually divided into three layers. The top layer contained wild vegetables, which she would claim to be carrying when visiting relatives when the tax collectors came. The middle layer contained cheaper needles and thread, so even if she was robbed, the cost would be minimal. The bottom layer contained the valuable beads and thimbles. She also hid her money separately, employing the strategy of having multiple burrows.
Moreover, Miao Wuni's timing was also opportune. Around the time of Qingming Festival in April, every household would prepare some offerings for the deceased. Many frugal families would fold paper ingots. Miao Wuni couldn't get involved in this kind of business, but she could sell the thread used to string the paper ingots.
Just like selling wildflowers, Miao Wuni, having accurately grasped the pain points of consumers, once again took the first bite of the crab, making a fortune in copper coins with her needlework, accelerating her family's move to Shanghai, and directly opening the door to a new world for many people again—
It's not easy for men who sell goods to evade taxes, but women are simpler. They have baskets at home, and needles and thread are not worth much. Even if they can't sell their goods, they can always use them up themselves.
“Look at those young wives and old ladies, their baskets are full of wild vegetables and straw ropes, but the valuable things are actually underneath.”
The young master nodded in sudden understanding, then a new question arose:
What's the point of earning so little money?
This was somewhat like the idea of "Why don't they eat meat porridge?" Everyone tacitly avoided the topic and continued chatting about all sorts of things. Yao Xiaoyu picked up a slice of mushroom and stuffed it into her mouth. Although it was the most common oyster mushroom in summer, eating a bite of this in winter... well, let them rob her of her money. She only has one mouth, so they can't let her suffer!
"Have you read the Daping Daily? It published an article today. I've read it, and it's very well written."
A middle-aged man with a beard said that when Yao Xiaoyu heard the familiar name of the newspaper, her attention, which she had just regained, was diverted again. She remembered that she had submitted an article there, but she hadn't seen the Ta Kung Pao yet and it was lunchtime...
"Is it Miss Qiu's piece?"
Someone who had read the Daping Daily this morning commented that while the newspaper has many classic articles, only that one today could be considered truly excellent.
"right."
The man was only going to share a good article, but he didn't expect that someone would actually read it. He was even happier. When Yao Xiaoyu heard a familiar name being confirmed, she knew that it was her article.
Instead of wasting her vacation time, she used her pent-up anger towards teacher Yao Xiaoli to write an article. After much deliberation between "Miss Qiu" and "Dongfeng," she chose "Miss Qiu" as her new pen name, intending to give the literary world a small shock.
As for why I chose to submit my article to the Daping Daily... it's because the newspaper has a female editor-in-chief.
"I spent a long time reading that article, and after I finished reading it, I went to change my clothes."
The person who struck up the conversation sighed. He had only bought a newspaper because his usual newspapers were sold out, but Ms. Qiu's article was really... He wanted to show it to his child, but he was afraid that his child would refuse to go to school after reading it.
The people around them listened to the conversation and became increasingly curious about the story. After listening to a few sentences, the young master clamored for the shopkeeper to find someone who could read to read Miss Qiu's article. The people around him also joined in the commotion. Under the influence of money, the shopkeeper agreed without even blinking. Yao Xiaoyu, who knew what she had written, silently sped up her eating.
Everything cost money; even the rice was made from the new rice of the year, which was steamed until it was crystal clear and tasted soft, sticky, and sweet!
Before the person reading the newspaper came in, Yao Xiaoyu gulped down the last mouthful of soup and silently wrapped her clothes tighter around herself.
The person reading the newspaper is a storyteller trying to earn extra money. His tone is full of emotion, making the listener feel quite involved... but sometimes it's really unnecessary to get so invested.
Yao Xiaoyu looked at the young man who had buttoned up his clothes, at the shopkeeper who had put on a hat at some point, and at the storyteller's forehead covered in beads of sweat. She then wrapped her clothes tighter around herself.
"My sister? My sister jumped into the river."
"My brother... I think he died a couple of days ago too?"
"Why ask so many questions? These siblings aren't good people. Let's drink, let's drink..."
After the storyteller finished reading the last few lines, he felt a cold sweat soaking his undergarment. The hall maintained an eerie atmosphere so quiet you could hear a pin drop, until the young master broke the silence with a few hiccups—
"That... hiccup... that's it... hiccup...?"
The storyteller wanted to shake his head, but he just nodded firmly. The moment his head started to shake up and down, a huge wave of noise erupted in the hall. There were wailing and screaming, stomping feet and cursing, accompanied by auxiliary actions such as slamming the table and a lot of swear words that would be censored. Yao Xiaoyu watched in horror and realized that the word "tantrum" was never gender-specific.
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The author has something to say: [1] Cave goods: refers to flowers, grasses or vegetables grown in greenhouses during winter.
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There were women editors during the Republic of China era, such as Lü Bicheng and Hu Binxia.
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