Chapter 25 Chapter 25 (Catching Bugs) Finding a stall and making arrangements...
My uncle worked in the Guanglu Temple, an office that dealt with bribes. He had a chief officer above him and people lining up to curry his favor. He wasn't the kind of corrupt official who took bribes, so naturally, he didn't make much money.
However, since he was in the Guanglu Temple, he had no shortage of food and drink, and he could also get a considerable sum of money at the end of the year.
The fruits sent to the Zhen family were all sent by big merchants. There were many banquets in the palace at the end of the year, and fruits and vegetables were lined up to be brought into the palace. Although the official position was not high, he was still an official no matter how small.
These businessmen think comprehensively and always want to take care of everything. Uncle Dong naturally won't refuse the benefits that benefit everyone.
Aunt Zhen asked Dong Hengzhi to send two baskets of fruits, one basket of cherries and the other basket of oranges, which looked particularly fresh and juicy.
"My mother asked them to be sent here. These fruits don't keep well, so please don't hoard them, aunt. We'd better eat some fresh fruits now." As he said this, he and the servant carried two baskets of fruits into the house.
Xu was chopping wood. She brushed off the wood chips and called to Baozhu from the kitchen, "Is the pear soup hanging on the stove boiling? Bring out a cup for your cousin Hengzhi."
Ever since Baorong's story last time, Baozhu had always felt awkward meeting her cousin. She brought out some hot tea and said, "We just bought some fruit. This is the pear soup from the pear syrup I bought last time. Cousin, try it."
Dong Hengzhi stared at Baozhu in a daze for a moment. When he came to his senses, he realized that it was not polite. His face turned red all the way to his neck. He took the teacup, drank it in three or two sips, and finally took a deep breath, saying it was too hot.
Baozhu suppressed her laughter. Xu came over and waved Baozhu away. "I forgot to tell you to let it cool down before drinking. Come on home and sit for a while."
"No, no—" Dong Hengzhi waved his hands repeatedly.
Zhen Dalang and Baorong had just returned from the street, with a cart full of cured meat and sausages on it. They had hired someone to stuff them. It would be troublesome and time-consuming to stuff them themselves, so they went to the pork shop, bought some meat, paid a few dollars, and asked an experienced clerk to stuff them for them as well, which saved them trouble.
Baorong followed behind his elder brother, avoiding Xu's gaze, holding a pile of miscellaneous books in his hands. The miscellaneous books were piled at the bottom, and on top was a serious album of miscellaneous notes and pictures.
When the brother and sister saw Dong's son at home, they nodded and greeted him.
Dong Hengzhi returned the gift, his mind still fuzzy. "Bianjing is not like Suzhou. The winter is long and cold. My cousins should wear some extra clothes when they go out to set up stalls—"
The eldest son of the Zhen family scratched his head in confusion, responded and pushed the pork to the kitchen. Bao Rong, on the other hand, smiled and said to Dong Hengzhi, "I'll tell my sister about this."
The blush on Dong Hengzhi's face, which had just faded, burned up again. He said goodbye and ran away with the servant, leaving Xu and Baorong looking at each other in bewilderment in the yard.
Xu thought of what Aunt Zhen had said to her last time, and she understood a little bit. She naturally knew that the Dong family was a good match, but she couldn't be sure about what would happen in the future. Baozhu was still not aware of it, so if she made a decision too early, she was afraid that there would be changes in the future.
If you are determined, it doesn't matter if you do it early or late.
The Dong family is a family of officials after all, so if something unexpected happens after the marriage is arranged, it won't be a big deal. However, the Zhen family is a family of poor people, so if something happens, Baozhu will have a hard time in the future.
No matter how close the relationship is, they are still two families. Aunt Zhen really likes Baozhu and has mentioned it twice in secret, but Xu didn't even respond and changed the subject.
Xu thought about it, stopped what she was doing and went into the kitchen. She looked around for a long time and didn't know how to tell Baozhu.
If one wants to find a marriage for Baozhu, one must naturally listen to Baozhu's own ideas. However, Xu always feels that this girl is still young, as if she was only held in her arms and fed with milk two years ago, but now she has reached the age for marriage.
He hesitated for a while, fearing that if he pointed it out, the silly girl would open her mind. Men and women of this age are always sentimental, and something bad might happen later.
Baozhu had never seen the twists and turns in her mother's heart. She sat under the stove with her head tucked in, making a fire, and she wanted to put her hands into the stove hole to warm them. She was most afraid of the cold, and in winter she always competed with Baorong for the job of making a fire under the stove. It was warm and seemed like she had something to do, and she didn't have to be in the way outside.
Noticing A Niang, she poked her head out from under the stove and said, "Auntie sent us some oranges. Should we save some to make some orange candy?"
Xu sighed and said, "Well, needless to say, this guy only has food in his mind."
Seeing that A Niang was silent, Baozhu held her chin and said, "Let's save some cherries to make cherry pancakes. Baorong bought a bag of them from the Nanbei shop last time, and I liked them. Cherry pancakes are not difficult to make and they keep well. Let's make more and save them for the New Year."
Xu didn't answer and turned back to the yard to chop firewood. Baozhu didn't know that her mother was thinking the same thing as her. It was too early to say anything now. The most important thing was to save money first.
Dong Hengzhi had just returned home after delivering a gift. Just as he was about to reply, he heard his parents discussing the marriage with the Zhen family in the house while standing at the door. Eavesdropping was considered a mean act, so Dong Hengzhi knocked on the door and the voices inside stopped instantly.
"The fruits have all been sent to my aunt's house."
Uncle Dong nodded and coughed twice. "In that case, go back to your room and review your lessons. I'll check your grades later."
Young people may only care a little about their own thoughts at first, but once they are pointed out, they will care more about them.
I originally wanted to pretend I didn't hear it, but when I retreated to the door, I knelt down again, "Mom, the marriage with my cousin from the Zhen family..."
His face flushed again. "If that day ever comes, you and aunt can rest assured that I will treat my cousin from the Zhen family well."
Aunt Zhen laughed and said, "You haven't even achieved academic success yet, yet you're boasting like this. Although your aunt is interested, she's unwilling to agree just yet. Baozhu is still young. If you make the list next year, I'll be able to talk to you about it then."
Usually neighbors help each other, and they can't finish two baskets. They keep some for themselves and make fried orange candy and cherries, and share the rest with their neighbors.
Those who could build a family business in Bian Jing were not ordinary people. Where there are people, there are sophistications. Oranges and cherries were rare fruits at this time of year. Giving them to neighbors made the relationship closer, and they even found out some clues about renting a permanent stall in the inner city.
The first snow fell in Bianjing in November. I heard that the snow fell late this year. Baozhu had never seen such a scene. At first, the sky was a little dark, and at noon, snowflakes suddenly began to fall.
Baobao and Zhurong came out to see what a heavy snow it was. In less than half an hour, the roofs and eaves were already covered in white. The courtyard was fragrant, but no one knew when the red plum blossoms had already begun to bud.
Heavy snow is rare in the south of the Yangtze River. Every year, at most a thin layer of snow falls. It is unlikely to be thicker. Baozhu moved the stove under the eaves to boil tea, and put cushions on the bamboo chair. It was quite leisurely to drink tea and enjoy the snow.
After the boats stopped at the dock, the weather became colder day by day. The Zhen family food stall was only set up every other day. Even the most greedy gluttons didn't like to go out. Baozhu was afraid of the cold, so getting up early and pushing the cart to set up the stall felt like torture.
Baozhu has always been thinking about setting up another stall in another place during the winter. She will go to the pier after the ice melts in the spring. Now that there are enough people, it is feasible to set up the stall in two places.
Last time, I inquired about the stalls and got some confirmation. There was a family surnamed Zhang in the alley, who had always been on good terms with the Zhen family. Aunt Zhang's nephew worked in the Street Office and found out that several stalls on Zhouqiao Street would be vacant after the New Year.
Baozhu poured tea with orange sugar for Aunt Zhang.
"I've already told you that this is almost certain. Ask your eldest brother to go and ask, and just say that I sent him there and that my nephew knows about it."
Needless to say, Baozhu expressed her gratitude and prepared a generous gift to the Zhang family. She also asked her eldest brother to bring a gift privately to Zhang's nephew.
Zhang's nephew took the brother and sister to see the chief of the street department. The two of them went back and forth several times, said a lot of nice things, and made arrangements with everyone. It was not until the twelfth lunar month that the stall issue was finally settled. They just had to wait until after the New Year to set up the stall.
The original stall owner said that he would keep the stall open until the end of the year. There were still people there these days. Baozhu went to take a look and found that this stall owner also sold food.
The competition in the market was fierce, and the stall fees were high. If they couldn't keep going, they would lose money. The vendors used all their special skills to attract customers, and hung all kinds of colorful flags on their stalls. Baozhu took a look around and saw that this area sold all kinds of fresh food, with the majority selling snacks and drinks. During the New Year, a few stalls switched to selling roasted nuts, and there were also some selling children's toys and rare fruits.
The vendors in Zhouqiao Street Market all have their own dedicated locations, and they are all neatly arranged, soliciting customers at their own locations.
Ever since the curfew was lifted, the market town was abolished and the market wall was demolished, small businesses can be done anywhere along the street. In the past, during festivals, Baozhu would just squeeze in a temporary stall. Even though the location was not very good, she could still make some money during festivals.
Anyone can set up a stall to do business, so fixed stalls are particularly popular. Although the location Baozhu saw wasn't very good, it was at least a fixed stall, which was already very good. If you didn't have some connections, you would have to get up early and go to the dark to grab a spot.
The stall fee alone was five strings of cash per month, and miscellaneous expenses totaled another ten strings of cash, more than the rent of a small shop in the outer city. The good thing was that there was no need to worry about others trying to take over the space, and if there was a dispute, they could just go to the street officials and settle it.
Baozhu rarely had such a leisurely opportunity to go shopping. She and Baorong came out of the market and went to Zhouqiao. There was a fortune-telling stall by the bridge with big fortune-telling words hung on it. Perhaps there were many happy events in the year, so many people lined up with their horoscopes, waiting for the fortune-teller to tell their fortunes.
The two sisters came today not only to look at the stalls, but also to go to the theater to watch the puppet show. Baozhu had wanted to watch it for a long time, but was too busy to spare the time. Today, when she had some free time, she naturally went to see it for fun.
Baorong knew the route well, and taking Baozhu across the Zhou Bridge, they headed for the largest of the Sang family's theaters. The theater was enormous, boasting not only numerous stages for performances but also numerous tents filled with rare and exotic animals.
There were so many people watching the puppet show that Baozhu didn't dare to squeeze in. She spent some money to sit on the second floor, ordered two cups of tea and two plates of snacks, and had a clear view of the show below.
Puppets are pulled by fine strings, and the play is about Bao Gong judging cases. Nowadays, most of the plays performed in the tile houses are folk gossips or famous cases in the government office, which are slightly adapted. Those adapted from real cases will make the people fascinated.
The Daxiangguo Temple was going to open for business again this year, so the two sisters discussed and decided to go and have a look together when the time came.
I had a quick bite to eat in the theater at noon, and it took me a whole day to give it a general tour. After I came out, I didn't forget that I came here with work.
The family had a cart and a flatbed cart. Since they were going to Zhouqiao City to set up a stall, the flatbed cart was not enough, so they had to go to the shop to get a good cart, and the stove also had to be built a new one.
After a few trips back and forth, the shopkeeper had become an acquaintance. He jokingly gave Baozhu a small change. She was in a hurry, so after paying the deposit, the shopkeeper patted his chest and said that it would be completed before the New Year. He told her to just go back and wait for the shop assistant to deliver it to her door.
It was almost dark when he got home. There was no work in the fields in the cold winter, so A Zhong had some free time and brought back a lot of fish.
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The author has something to say: The update on the 8th will be at 23:10 in the evening, because I have to put it on the clip (a very important list)
I just realized that the nutrient solution doesn't seem to be displayed after the Jinjiang update. I'd like to thank the little angels for irrigating the nutrient solution with one click! Thank you all for your comments, check-ins, and support!
Thanksgiving~[cat head][cat head][cat head]
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