Chapter 29
Sang Luo did not rush to the alleys to sell things, but walked along the main street, looking around, familiarizing herself with the layout of the county and what shops there were.
Small stalls and vendors in Qiyang County are concentrated in the East and West Markets. The shops on the main street are obviously much more upscale, selling rouge and spices, ready-made clothing and cloth stores, gold, silver and jade, wine shops, food shops, and wooden and bamboo products.
Sang Luo would go in and ask the price if she was interested. Of course, she couldn't buy anything with the money she had.
When she arrived at a pharmacy, her eyes lit up and she walked straight in with her basket.
It was still early in the morning and there were not many people in the drugstore, but it was not deserted either. At least the doctor on duty was busy and was examining patients, and there were one or two others waiting to be seen.
Sang Luo put the basket down against the wall and walked to the medicine cabinet. When the medicine boy saw someone coming, he asked, "Young lady, are you here to see a doctor or get medicine?"
"Get some medicine." Sang Luo asked, "Do you have any plaster?"
The medicine boy nodded: "Yes, did you bring the prescription?"
Sang Luo shook her head: "There is no prescription. The doctor in our village just said to buy gypsum."
Many people would come to buy one or two herbs without seeing a doctor because the village doctor had given them medicine, either based on hearsay or some secret recipe from home. The pharmacist was not surprised and did not ask any more questions. He just asked, "How much do you want?"
"Half a pound, please."
The medicine boy looked at Sang Luo in surprise, but said that gypsum was cheap, and if the medicine was to be used for several days in a row, it would not be wrong to use more. He nodded, took two pieces of oil paper, turned around, took the small medicine scale, skillfully found the medicine cabinet, opened the cabinet, weighed half a pound of gypsum and divided it into two bags.
"Five cents."
The price was about what Sang Luo had expected. She took out five copper coins from her sleeve and handed them over. She then picked up the two bags of plaster that the medicine boy had packed and put them in the basket. Then she turned around and left with the basket.
Half a pound is enough for a long time.
After leaving the pharmacy, I asked passers-by where I could buy a stone mill. I heard that it was in the stone tool shop near the West Market. I looked all the way there and found that a medium-sized household stone mill cost 265 coins.
Sang Luo did some calculations in her mind and thought, well, she’ll have to save up for a few more days.
Now that she knew everything she wanted to know and had walked around the main street of the county, Sang Luo did not delay any longer. She chose an alley to turn into and got down to business.
She is now very experienced in selling the magical tofu. As long as someone gives her a curious look or a word, she will usually be able to make them feel at ease and try it.
The residents in the county were much wealthier than those in the countryside, so they didn't feel bad about spending two cents on a piece of food, not to mention that the food was new and they had never eaten it before. Sang Luo had no belongings, so she only carried two clay basins in her basket, which were filled to the brim with only twenty-four pieces of rice. After going around six or seven alleys, the food was sold out.
The ten or so bunches of purslane and dried fish that they brought were also sold.
Fifty-nine copper coins, plus the twenty-two coins she brought with her, minus the seven coins she spent on plaster, the city entrance fee, and the city tax, Sang Luo now had a total of seventy-four coins.
She carried her empty load on her shoulder, and the first thing she did was to go back to the main street to buy some scraps of cloth from the clothing store. It was time to get her purse ready.
The scraps of cloth from clothing shops are a hot business, and women who know how to manage their lives love them no matter in the city or the country.
Of course, the rags are real. As long as they are big enough to make a purse, they will not be thrown into the rag pile and sold, so this depends on each person's aesthetic taste and hand dexterity.
The female shopkeeper divided the scraps of cloth in the store into different grades according to the quality of the fabric and the size of the material. The lowest grade was all kinds of fine and coarse cloth, which could not be used for other things and could only be used to make soles and patches for shoes. One penny could buy two kilograms of them.
The second grade is solid-colored or navy blue coarse cloth. The pieces are a little bigger, just a little bit, and the largest is about the size of a palm. If you are skillful, you can cut it. From one pound of it, you can pick out material for making two coarse cloth patchwork purses, or use it to make shoe soles. It is slightly better than the pieces of cloth that are too fragmentary. This one pound costs one penny.
Although the third-grade cloth was still coarse, its color and smoothness were much better, and more cloth could be turned out from a palm-sized piece. This was what Sang Luo liked, and she weighed one pound for two cents.
As for those scraps of silk and satin cloth, even if they were scraps of cloth, they would cost 100 copper coins per pound. Sang Luo didn't even bother to look at them now because she couldn't afford them. She had to spend her money wisely.
There was a cloth shop not far from the clothing shop. Sang Luo was thinking about making tofu, so she should buy some filter cloth. However, after counting the money she had, she had to give up the idea for the time being.
After all, it would take a few days to get the utensils to make tofu. The most important thing now was to buy two wooden barrels to upgrade my weapons so that I could bring more tofu to sell in the county every day.
Thinking of this, he stopped wandering around and went straight to the East Market with his empty load on his shoulder.
Since she didn't bring any goods into the East Market, she was just a buyer and naturally didn't need to pay market taxes. It took Sang Luo some time to find Qin Fangniang in the bustling crowd.
Because they arrived late, the location of the stall was not very good, but there were two women in front of the stall, and Qin Fangniang was handing something to the two women to taste.
Sang Luo watched with a smile, but did not go any closer. She waited until the two women asked the price, bought the eggs, and left with the baskets. Then she saw Qin Fangniang standing there, waiting obediently for the next buyer. Inexplicably, she thought of Chen Youtian, who was squatting behind a basket of eggs and did not know how to attract customers on the first day of the market.
This couple really looks alike.
Sang Luo burst into laughter, walked over a few steps, and called out with a smile, "Auntie."
Qin Fangniang was very happy to see Sang Luo: "You're back?"
He looked at Sang Luo's basket and said with both joy and surprise: "Are they all sold out?"
Sang Luo smiled: "It's all sold out. I don't have much stuff with me, only about twenty yuan."
"That's impressive, I only sell for about 20 yuan." Qin Fangniang looked at other stalls and realized where her problem was. "I'm embarrassed to shout."
Sang Luo laughed and said, "I see, you look a lot like Uncle Youtian. When he was selling eggs that time, Uncle Youtian didn't say a word. It's not hard to shout, but it's hard to open your mouth for the first time. Once you open your mouth, it will be very natural."
As he spoke, he stood in front of the stall and helped to shout: "Goddess tofu, delicious Goddess tofu, a fresh food that clears away heat and relieves summer heat, only two cents a piece."
If someone looked at her, even if they just slowed down their pace, Sang Luo would ask with a smile, "Have you ever tried the fairy tofu? It's a must-try delicacy when the weather is hot. It's good to eat hot or cold, sweet or salty. It's only two cents a piece. Would you like to try it?"
He had a clear and beautiful voice and his lyrics were pleasant to the ears. Soon, several women carrying baskets came over.
Qin Fangniang, who had been stunned, finally came to her senses: "There are small pieces mixed with sugar water for tasting. You can try them for free."
Perhaps influenced by Sang Luo, she tried to open her voice a little when she said this. She was not quite used to it at first, but after saying a few more words her voice became louder. It was no longer as low and soft as usual, but gradually became louder.
This is what shouting sounds like.
Then Qin Fangniang found that after starting this, it didn’t seem like a big deal and it felt pretty good.
Moreover, more and more people came over to look at the food, and there were several women willing to try it.
As if her Ren and Du meridians were opened, she handed out the samples to people and started to shout out, imitating Sang Luo's words. At first, it was not so smooth, and she only remembered that it was "magic tofu, two cents a piece." After shouting it a few more times, she also understood it.
It can clear away heat and relieve summer heat, and can be tasted both salty and sweet, and can be mixed cold or hot.
Their family has eaten this dish many times, and Qin Fangniang knows a lot about it.
To praise, is to praise!
Tell the ladies who come to buy it how to make this magical tofu delicious.
Qin Fangniang was so talkative that she couldn't stop talking. She didn't even know she was so good at talking. The key point was that she could sell goods and make money with her good talking. She was so beautiful that she felt light and graceful.
Seeing that she had gradually gained control of the situation from being unfamiliar, Sang Luo quietly stepped aside, giving the main court back to her and becoming just a spectator.
Facts have proved that if you dare to bring out a new food that no one has ever eaten before, and let people know about it and understand it, it will be hard to do bad business, especially since the purchasing power of the county market is obviously stronger than that of the big market in the countryside.
Sang Luo sold out the remaining eighteen pieces of magical tofu in less than two quarters of an hour.
Qin Fangniang looked at the empty bucket and then pinched the money in her purse, feeling a little dumbfounded.
This is too fast.
There were also those who came over later because they saw what was happening and missed out on making it. When they saw that there was still some food left for sampling, they all expressed their desire to try it.
What was there to say? Qin Fangniang quickly gathered her thoughts, and shouted to attract more people. She distributed the food for tasting and started warming up for tomorrow's event without any instruction.
After all the tasting samples were distributed, I looked at the sundial in the center of the East Market and it was not yet Si time.
Qin Fangniang looked at the still bustling East Market with a look of regret on her face: "Alie's wife, can you make more in a day? I'll make a few more pottery basins tomorrow and bring the cart at home. There are a lot of people in the county town. I think we can sell more and save you the trouble of carrying them on the road."
She saw quite a few people pulling carts into the market.
Sang Luo smiled and said, "Okay, but we have to go buy another pair of wooden barrels first."
The cart that Qin Fangniang mentioned is quite similar to the cart in later generations, but this cart alone is not enough, and the ceramic basins can only hold a few.
"Yes, yes, yes." Qin Fangniang came back to her senses and remembered that she had not given the money to Sang Luo yet, so she quickly handed over the purse: "Here is the money from the sales, please count it."
She only brought money for entering the city today, and she didn't have a penny extra. This empty purse was given to her by her mother-in-law last night specifically for collecting money today.
Sang Luo was not polite. She took the purse, stood aside and started counting the money.
Eighty copper coins, not a penny more, not a penny less.
Sang Luo took out twenty coins and handed them to Qin Fangniang along with the purse, saying with a smile, "Aunt, this is yours. Forty pieces of fairy tofu and twenty coins. Count them too."
Qin Fangniang was not usually in charge of the household, and this was the first time she had touched so much money. Her mouth was grinning so much that all eight of her teeth showed.
After counting the twenty coins, she took out a penny and stuffed it back into Sang Luo's pocket: "Alie's wife, I will pay for the city tax myself. I didn't intend to take it before, and before I knew it, you left. If I spend this money, my mother will scold me when I get home."
After deducting the city entrance fee and municipal tax, she made eighteen dollars. Her husband didn't make much more than this in a day of odd jobs in the county in winter.
Qin Fangniang was so happy and satisfied that she stuffed the city tax money back to Sang Luo, put the remaining 19 coins into her purse and put it in her arms, only then did she feel relieved.
Sang Luo thought about Old Lady Chen's stubborn personality, smiled, and did not refuse. She put the sixty-one coins into another sleeve. Sang Luo now had one hundred and thirty-three coins on her.
She carried her load and called Qin Fangniang to go with her to buy a wooden barrel.
At this moment, the clerk from the East Market arrived, looked at Qin Fangniang, and said, "Have you sold all your things? Hand over the tax card."
This was one of the jobs of the clerks. They had to keep an eye on the stall owners all the time. When the goods were almost sold out, they had to collect the tax tags. Otherwise, they would mix with the buyers who came to visit the East Market and take the tax tags away, and use them to deceive people next time.
This was also the first time Qin Fangniang came here, and she didn't know what was going on here, but at that time, 99% of the ordinary people had one thing in common, that is, whatever the officials said was the truth, and they just had to do it.
Without saying a word, he took out the tax card from his sleeve and handed it to the clerk.
…
Wooden barrels are sold in Dongshi.
It was made by an old craftsman himself, tested with water on site, and proven to be leak-proof. One wooden barrel costs fifty cents, and a shoulder pole is given for free when you buy a pair. Overall, it is a few cents cheaper than buying it in a wood shop outside, and you can get an extra shoulder pole, and the quality is not much different.
Sang Luo decisively ordered a pair, and in an instant, only thirty-three coins were left out of the one hundred and thirty-three coins in her hand.
Carrying a pair of newly acquired wooden barrels, she stacked the carrying basket on top of the barrels and stuffed the extra flat bar into the barrels. Then Sang Luo went to an old man who was pushing a wheelbarrow to sell millet and bought three liters of millet for twenty-one cents. Of course, since she was buying things from a small stall, the old man gave her a small handful as a tip.
Qin Fangniang gasped in shock at what she saw. If she wanted to buy some household property, she had no land or fields, and even food had to be bought on the spot. It was really a waste of money. In just a short while, one hundred and twenty-one coins were already spent.
Qin Fangniang didn't know how much money Sang Luo had on her, but she had an idea of how much things the two of them brought to sell today.
Is this all spent?
Have you spent all your money?
I guess there won’t be much left if I don’t spend it all.
Qin Fangniang touched her purse. She was already so happy that she was about to fly because she earned nineteen cents a day. Now her happiness increased even more. It was great that she didn't have to spend a penny.
The money that can be saved is the real money.
If Sang Luo knew what Qin Fangniang was thinking, she would reply that although it had not been spent yet, it would not be far away.
She now had twelve coppers left in her hand.
Sang Luo didn't feel bad, as she bought only necessities. With the two new buckets, if Qin Fangniang came with a cart tomorrow, she could sell eighty more cents a day than today's two buckets of magic tofu, and she would soon be able to earn back the money from the two buckets.
The money was almost spent, so Qin Fangniang asked, "Shall we go back now?"
Sang Luo shook her head and said, "Aunt, this is our first time here, let's take a look at what's on sale in the East Market. I'm a little hungry, let's take some food back for Xiao An and An Ning."
The two children couldn't go out today. I wonder how much they miss the county town. Since they can't come to the county town for the time being, it's always a good idea to bring some food back from the county town.
When Qin Fangniang heard that she was going to buy food in the county, she thought it was too extravagant. Then she remembered that Sang Luo had the skill to make magical tofu, and she stopped talking.
She had never been to the county town, let alone the outside. She hadn't even been to the East Market, and she had paid an entrance fee to get in.
Once the mentality changes, it will be different. Qin Fangniang feels that if she doesn't take a walk, she will look a little silly: "Okay, let's take a walk too."
The two men each carried a load on their shoulders and wandered around the East Market.
There are many stalls in the East Market, so food is naturally indispensable. In fact, the most common ones are cakes, steamed cakes, pancakes, ring cakes, Hu cakes... all kinds of pastries made into various shapes.
Sang Luo stopped in front of the Hu pancake stall.
It was the rich aroma that made her feel hungry.
"Uncle, how much do you sell this Hu pancake for?"
Just as she was about to say this, Qin Fangniang carefully tugged at her sleeve and whispered to Sang Luo, "This Hu pancake has mutton in it, it's expensive!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man who was making the cakes said with a smile, "Three cents each."
Three cents is indeed expensive. If she adds half a cent, she can buy half a liter of millet, which is enough for her and her two children to have a meal.
However, the old man's Hu Bing was freshly made. Sang Luo watched him put the chopped mutton on it, added a sauce that looked very appetizing, then added ghee, and finally put it in the oven to bake.
The Hu pancake that was put into the oven earlier and was being baked was about 50% done. The aroma of mutton, wheat and sauce were all brought out. Well, three cents is fine. Sang Luo had never eaten this before and was very greedy.
The two children must have never eaten it.
If you think about it another way, it's worth it to spend half a piece of magical tofu to try something new.
Money should be spent wisely, but one's stomach should not be badly treated, especially since the original body was in poor health. Moreover, today, he had to carry such a heavy thing and walked ten miles at dusk. He was also busy for a long time. The little bit of tofu he had at home before coming out was no longer enough to satisfy his hunger.
She took out three copper coins and handed them over: "Please give me one."
The old man took the money with a smile and deftly wrapped a freshly baked cake for her in oil paper. When Sang Luo took it, the heat passed through the oil paper into her hands. She tore off a piece and handed it to Qin Fangniang.
Qin Fangniang took it in a daze and said incoherently: "Why are you giving it back to me?"
Sang Luo tore off a piece for herself, wrapped the remaining two-thirds in oil paper and put it in the bucket, then said: "You are not hungry, you have been busy all morning, let's eat something with oil and meat to fill our stomachs."
As she said this, she took a bite of the small piece of Hu pancake that she had torn off. The taste made Sang Luo give a thumbs up to the old man selling pancakes: "Old man, your pancakes are delicious! I will buy more next time when I have money."
Just two bites are enough to satisfy your craving. You have to eat at least one or two to satisfy your craving.
The old man selling cakes smiled and said, "Young lady, come back next time."
"Come, definitely come!"
Qin Fangniang held the small piece of cake in her hand and was reluctant to put it into her mouth. Seeing Sang Luo eating it with relish, she couldn't help swallowing her saliva.
After hesitating for a moment, he tore off a tiny bit not much bigger than a fingernail and put it into his mouth.
It smells so good!
After tasting a little of such good food, she couldn't bear to eat any more. She looked at Sang Luo and said, "This cake is really delicious, Alie's wife, can I take some back for my mother and two children to taste?"
Actually, she felt a little embarrassed because Sang Luo gave it to her to fill her stomach.
But this thing was too good, with oil, noodles and mutton, her family had never eaten such good food. She was reluctant to spend three cents to buy one, and she only earned twenty cents after walking twenty miles back and forth, paying the city entrance fee and the city tax. After deducting the city entrance fee and the city tax, she only made eighteen cents.
There are too many places to spend money at home.
Sang Luo didn't mind at all. She gave some away out of courtesy. Qin Fangniang wanted to leave some for the elderly and children because of her filial piety and kindness. She smiled and said, "Aunt, please do as you like."
When Qin Fangniang heard Sang Luo's words, a smile appeared on her face. She bent down and took out a clean lotus leaf from the bucket, carefully wrapped the small piece of Hu cake, and put it into the bucket.
Thinking about the expressions of her parents-in-law and two children after they tasted the Hu pancake when she got home, Qin Fangniang couldn't help but smile.
Sang Luo and her husband finished the small piece of Hu pancake in one bite. They didn't buy anything else. They put the remaining nine cents in their sleeves and started their return journey with Qin Fangniang, feeling satisfied.
What Sang Luo didn't know was.
In Shili Village, outside their thatched cottage, five little kids were in a stalemate over a bite of food.
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