Luoyang Village, where Lin Yan lived, was part of Qingzhou Town, Qingzhou County. Most of the hundreds of households in the village made their livings from farming. Few people did business in town. However, farmers who saved eggs or grew more vegetables would consider selling them in town to earn money and improve their food.
The Lin family originally owned five acres of fertile farmland. When Lin Yan's father fell ill, they sold three acres to pay for his medical treatment, but he ultimately died. Now they have two acres left, which the two of them can manage. After paying taxes on the rice they harvest, it's just enough for them to eat for a year. Before his father passed away, he had cleared a few acres of land near the house to grow vegetables, and now the Lin family relies on these few acres for their livelihood. Therefore, they cultivate their vegetables with extreme care.
Early this morning, Lin Yan and his mother went to the fields and picked a basket of cabbage, a basket of radishes, and a few handfuls of beans. They were preparing for winter, and the fields were mostly filled with cabbage and radishes. The pumpkins were ripe, too, so they picked six medium-sized pumpkins and took them with them. The townspeople wouldn't want any that were too big.
Because they needed to go to town frequently, they had a carpenter build a cart a few years ago. They loaded the baskets of vegetables and the bath beads they'd packed yesterday onto the cart. They took a basket of bath beads and sold the rest at the next market. After stacking the pumpkins, they pushed the cart toward town. Luoyang Village was about half an hour away, and there was a market every three days, so Lin Yan and Lin Amo went there every three days to sell their vegetables.
Arriving at the city gate and paying the entrance tax, they entered the city. There was no need to pay the entrance tax when entering the city to buy things, only small vendors who came to the city to do business had to pay two cents. The market was on the West Street, surrounded by vendors setting up stalls. On the East Street, there were all kinds of shops, restaurants, cloth shops, grain shops, and silver shops. Because she sold vegetables all year round, Zhou Chunlan rented a stall for thirty cents a month, which was one cent a day. If it was rented individually, it would be two cents a day. Lin Yan and Amo came to the stall they rented. When Mr. Zhang, who was selling baskets and backpacks next door, saw them, he greeted them warmly: "Aunt Lin and Brother Yan are here."
Zhou Chunlan responded with a smile as she and Lin Yan arranged the vegetables neatly. This year, there were too many radishes and cabbages to sell for much, roughly two cents per pound. Fortunately, today's vegetables were fresh and juicy, quickly attracting many customers.
Lin Yan sells bath beads for three for one penny. The ones he picked this time are big. If they are small, he can sell them for four for one penny. The small ones are fine for home use, and the big ones are easier to sell.
A few women had picked their radishes and paid when they spotted some bath beads nearby. They reached out to rummage through them while asking for their price. Lin Yan told them the price, and one woman sniffed one, nodded, and didn't bargain. "Then I'll take ten cents." Bath beads were generally priced around that price, and they were useful for washing hands, hair, and bathing, so it was always a good idea to have more. Ordinary people loved buying bath beads, while wealthy families often used soap nuts.
Lin Yan counted thirty bath beads, five by five, and put them into the woman's basket after counting five, so that people could see clearly that they were all big ones. The woman smiled, thanked him, paid the money and left.
At this time, a rich young man in silk clothes passed by and saw the bath beads on the stall, which had a faint fragrance. The young man asked curiously, "What are these?" Most people in the town use soap nuts for bathing. Bath beads are not as clean as soap nuts, and the fragrance is not as good as soap nuts, but they are cheaper, so it is normal that some wealthy families have never seen them. Lin Yan hurriedly explained. The rich young man was very interested when he heard it. He was the young master of Piaoxiang Tower in the town. Usually, the cooks in the tower used soap nuts to wash their hands when their hands were greasy. After a month, the cost was quite high. Now with these cheaper bath beads, half of the money can be saved. The young man directly bought half of the bath beads and left a message, saying that if they were useful, he would come again in the future. Lin Yan nodded happily.
Most of the dishes were gone at once, and Lin Yan and Ah Mo were very happy, because it would take a long time to sell them in the past. Today they didn’t bring many dishes, and they were almost sold out by noon. There were still about twenty bath beads left, which were all left over, and there were also two pumpkins left. The mother and son didn’t plan to wait any longer, as there was still a lot of work to do at home. Someone else came to pick bath beads, and Lin Yan lowered the price to one penny for four. The man was very happy and bought them all. After packing up the things and calculating today’s income, Lin Yan suggested: "Ah Mo, let’s go shopping and buy some things. We are running out of some seasonings at home."
Zhou Chunlan hesitated for a moment and said, "You go ahead. I'll stay here. Maybe these two pumpkins can be sold."
"Okay then."
Lin Yan carried an empty backpack and walked towards East Street, where there was a grocery store with a full range of goods.
After buying the seasonings needed for the family, Lin Yan went to the butcher shop and bought a pound of lard. The lard at home was almost gone, so he bought some to refine the oil. He originally wanted to buy some lean meat, but then he remembered that he still had river shrimps at home, so he gave up.
After buying things, Lin Yan thought about it and decided to go to the cloth shop to buy some cloth. He wanted to make a winter coat for Amo. Amo's winter coat was several years old and had many patches on it. She had always been reluctant to make a new one. Today, she made money by selling bath beads. Lin Yan was happy and wanted to show his filial piety.
The cloth shop was bustling with people, probably preparing for winter, as everyone was thinking about buying winter clothes. Lin Yan walked into the cloth shop, and was dazzled by the dazzling array of fabrics. He touched this and looked at that, his eyes dazzled. The clerk came over and greeted him enthusiastically: "Young man, are you looking for fabric to make clothes? We just got a batch of thick cotton cloth, which is perfect for making winter clothes." Lin Yan nodded and followed the clerk to the cotton cloth shelf. He reached out and touched it, and found that the texture was indeed good.
However, after asking the price, Lin Yan hesitated. The cotton cloth cost twenty wen per foot, which was beyond his budget. Ordinary cotton cloth cost twelve wen per foot, and linen was even cheaper, only eight wen per foot. The clerk saw what he was thinking and said with a smile, "Hey, young man, although this cotton cloth is more expensive, it's very durable. You can feel the cotton cloth next to it; it's definitely not as good as this one. And we're having a special offer right now; you can get free silk thread with a purchase of a certain amount." Lin Yan touched it and found that the cotton cloth next to it was indeed rougher and not as delicate as this one.
"Then please help me get this indigo color, fifteen feet."
After paying for the cloth and receiving it, Lin Yan put it in his backpack and was about to leave. When he passed by the shelves at the door, he saw that they were all red cloth and asked the clerk, "How much is this red cloth?" The clerk replied, "There are several kinds of red cloth. The ordinary ones are fifteen cents, the better ones are twenty-two cents, and the embroidered ones are a little more expensive, thirty-five cents a foot. Are you going to make a wedding dress?"
Lin Yan's ears turned red: "I haven't met the man yet, I just want to ask." After saying that, he quickened his pace and walked out of the cloth shop without waiting for the clerk to answer.
Having bought the cloth he wanted, Lin Yan walked back home with great joy. On the way, he saw a vendor selling candied haws on the street. Remembering that Ah-mo also craves sweet things sometimes, he bought another candied haws with two cents.
Back at the stall, Ah-mo had already placed the empty baskets on the cart, and the remaining two pumpkins had been sold. Lin Yan quietly walked up behind her, took out a candied haws, and held it in front of Zhou Chunlan. Zhou Chunlan was startled, but when she saw it was Lin Yan, she feigned anger and slapped him on the back, but her face was full of smiles. Lin Yan then took out a piece of cloth. Ah-mo scolded him for spending money recklessly, but her eyes were filled with relief and touching.
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