Chapter 29
This rouge shop is not big, and you can see the end of it at a glance.
After the waiter had removed the door, he went back inside and sat down on a small stool. Seeing that they were unlikely to reach an agreement this morning, Ye Jia gave up for now. "Young man, please leave a message with the shopkeeper when you have time. Tell him I have a supply of scented soap and ask if he's planning on selling it. If so, ask him to wait a while this afternoon. I'll come back later."
After saying that, she walked down the stairs. The young man who was dozing against the wall felt a pang of anxiety when he heard that it was the source of scented soap. He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to ask further. But Ye Jia had already left with her bag.
Cheng Feng was still standing downstairs, alone. The few young men who had been following him had already gone back and were now standing downstairs waiting for Ye Jia.
Ye Jia felt a little embarrassed, nodded slightly to him, and walked past him to go out.
Cheng Feng was stunned for a moment, then took long steps to catch up.
In fact, Ye Jia had been thinking about the large caravan that was transporting goods to the northwest trade route. The Cheng family was the one, and in fact, looking for the Cheng family was the safest choice at the moment.
The Cheng family had long been rooted in Libei Town, generations past. They maintained a formidable escort team. Ever since hearing Old Lady Wang's son mention it, Ye Jia had secretly inquired about it. The Cheng family escort team numbered over a hundred men, each so valiant and skilled that even the bandits on the northwest trade routes had to avoid them. Furthermore, the Cheng family also operated their own trading company, shipping goods from across Great Yan to the five kingdoms of the Western Regions for decades. This information perfectly matched Ye Jia's assumptions.
The problem was Cheng Feng's relationship with the original owner. If the two had nothing to do, Ye Jia would have naturally tried to find out more. But with rumors already circulating, any further private contact would have been fraught with danger. Concerned about his reputation, Ye Jia remained patient and inaction.
"Jia'er, do you need some perfume? We've run out of rouge and powder." Cheng Feng, a martial arts practitioner since childhood, had sharp ears and eyes. He had heard everything Ye Jia had just said to the shopkeeper, but he misunderstood, thinking Ye Jia was asking because she wanted something.
Ye Jia turned her head and glanced at him, feeling truly sorry. She shook her head, "Not really. Has Young Master Cheng not been out escorting recently?"
Hearing her call him Master Cheng, such a strange attitude made Cheng Feng's eyes darken.
Cheng Feng was actually feeling quite upset. He hadn't been able to get to the Ye family to propose marriage in time, and then, in his hasty trip to Jiangnan to escort Ye Jia, he missed the time when Ye Jia was killed. After returning, his daughter was already married. This had happened so suddenly, beyond his expectations.
Master Cheng was so angry that he could do nothing but kill someone, the outcome was already a foregone conclusion.
In reality, Cheng Feng believed that even if Ye Jia married, her daughter would still be his. He never cared about chastity; whether his daughter was a virgin or not, Ye San was still Ye San. Second Master Cheng, a man of high temper, had no regard for Ye Jia's husband. He had always planned to wait for the right moment, kill Ye Jia's unfortunate husband, and snatch his daughter back.
But after meeting Zhou Jingchen in person last time, he was depressed for a long time.
After years of traveling, Cheng Feng had developed a pair of sharp eyes for judging people. He could tell at a glance that the Zhou family kid was a rare talent. He pretended to be humble and polite, but he could see at a glance that he was tough and domineering in his heart.
Although Cheng Feng didn't confront Zhou Jingchen directly that day, only exchanging a brief glance, he possessed such keen intuition. Furthermore, the boy's appearance was surprisingly good, which made people feel uncomfortable. The girl was a bit superficial, as if she could be seduced away by that guy with just a flick of the finger. Cheng Feng used to be able to brazenly send gifts to Ye Jia, but now he wasn't so confident.
There was silence for a long time. The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, and Cheng Feng's eyes were a little greedy when he stared at Ye Jia.
Considering their respective identities, he restrained his gaze and averted it. He simply asked Ye Jiake if they could go to the teahouse next door. "I've been to many places along the way to Jiangnan this time, and I've brought back a lot of fun little things. There are the most fashionable pearls and clothes in Beijing, and the rouge that Jiangnan women love so much. I'm sure you'll like it. I just asked Asang to go back and get it, and she'll bring it over shortly."
"Thank you for your kindness, but I can't accept anything that belongs to Mr. Cheng." Ye Jia wasn't the original owner, so it was impossible for him to take his things. Not knowing how the original owner got along with him, Ye Jia could only act indifferent.
Cheng Feng frowned, somewhat uneasy with Ye Jia's attitude. He wanted to say something, but swallowed it back because he was surrounded by people. He was a grown man and didn't care about gossip, but Ye Jia was a woman who had lived in the town for years. He had heard some of the town gossip recently, and remembering the last time Ye Jia was hit on the head and pushed into the water, he could understand her change of attitude.
After thinking about it, he took a few steps back tactfully.
Seeing him retreat, Ye Jia breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the hot-tempered Young Master Cheng wasn't acting so recklessly after all. Ye Jia said he had things to attend to at home, so he didn't say anything more and took his leave.
After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the town entrance.
Cheng Feng didn't stop her. He thought he'd have to escort another convoy in a few days, and he was afraid he wouldn't see her for a long time. He followed her closely, saying, "Jia'er, if you're having trouble making ends meet, just tell me. I have some spare money, you can use it."
"No need. I appreciate Master Cheng's kindness, but we are not related, so it's not appropriate for me to take your money." Ye Jia paused and turned to look at him: "Come on, I'm not short of money."
Cheng Feng froze, looking a little hurt.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Yu, worried about Ye Jia, appeared from nowhere and quickly stepped forward to hold Ye Jia's hand. She stepped between them, seemingly interrupting their conversation unintentionally: "Jia Niang, I was just looking for you at the rouge shop. You walked too fast, and I couldn't keep up."
She spoke naturally, and turned her head to look at Cheng Feng who was three steps away, with a sharp look in her eyes.
Cheng Feng swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth and stood there with his hands folded, looking at her.
Cheng Feng's youthful arrogance was fully displayed. He ignored Yu's warning look and said to Ye Jia, "...Wait for me at the town entrance. I brought those things for you early. Xiao Xia Sang will bring them over soon. They're not valuables, just little toys for girls. I don't have any sisters at home, so you can just throw them away if you don't want them."
After he said that, he nodded to Ye Jia and turned to leave.
Yu watched his back gradually disappear into the distance, then turned her head to glance at Ye Jia.
Ye Jia's eyes were frank and clear, with no intention of dodging.
Yu was startled, then smiled, pulling Ye Jia towards the tile market. She had just hurriedly caught up with him, telling Old Man Sun to wait there, so now she had to go back and follow the car. She felt a little uneasy about why Young Master Cheng was following Ye Jia, and what they had just said. However, thinking of Ye Jia's personality, she wisely didn't ask a single question.
"Let's go, the oxcart is still waiting." Yu's attitude was the same as usual, and it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or angry. "I'm afraid she's getting impatient, so hurry up."
Ye Jia raised his eyebrows when he saw her like this. This was the comfortable part about getting along with Yu. She rarely embarrassed others in public.
Nodding, Ye Jia didn't go to the town entrance at all, but only went back to the exit of Washi with Yu.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law got on the ox cart and swayed back to Zhou's house with a cart full of things.
Old Man Sun helped the two carry their belongings back into the house, while Mrs. Yu went next door to fetch Rui Jie'er. Ye Jia paid Old Man Sun for the month's taxi fare and then went back to soak the pig's head in water. Honestly, a knife like yours wouldn't cut something this big. After much deliberation, Ye Jia took out his machete.
Placing the wooden chopping board on the ground, she wondered where to start chopping.
Ruijie'er ran home and chased her goat around the yard. After two months, the goat had grown bigger than Ruijie'er. Ye Jia went to the kitchen to scoop up a ladle of goat milk and make some food for Diandian. When he returned, Yu had changed into tattered clothes and was cutting leeks in the backyard.
After feeding a little, Ye Jia went inside to change clothes. He and Yu Shi squatted by the well, one removing the pig's head while the other washed leeks.
The pig's head was quite large, weighing at least 25 kilograms. Ye Jia first removed the collar of pork meat from its neck, then split the head in half and removed the brain. He then removed the cartilage around the ears, eyes, and nasal lymph nodes. He then removed any debris from the nasal cavity and rinsed it repeatedly with clean water. He then scraped away any stray hair with a scraper, using tweezers to remove any that remained.
While the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were busy, Yu suddenly brought up Zhou Jingchen. Her words were a bit strange. She said Zhou Jingchen was both a scholar and a warrior. Despite his frail appearance, he was actually quite skilled in martial arts. "Yun'an hunted bears when he was thirteen or fourteen. Don't be fooled by his skinny appearance in clothes. Without them, his arms are thick, long, lean, and powerful. Even someone armed with a sword wouldn't be able to defeat him with his bare hands."
“…” Ye Jia slowly straightened up and looked at Yu.
Yu's eyes flickered, then she lowered her eyelids.
Ye Jia roughly understood what she meant. After thinking about it, she told Yu about what happened that morning.
Even if Yu didn't ask directly, she had to speak out. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing if she made a mess of things because of her vagueness.
In truth, Yu Shi was indeed somewhat upset. She had long heard rumors of Ye Jia's affair with Cheng Er, a town resident, and was worried that her son's daughter-in-law might be seduced away by someone else. However, having spent so much time with him and knowing Ye Jia's character well, she felt her daughter-in-law was unlikely to do such a thing. She had arrived late in town earlier and had seen the two of them talking from a distance, though she didn't hear what they said.
Yu Shi's ability to read people's expressions was quite good; after all, she came from a prominent family. Judging from the expressions on their faces when they were talking, it seemed as if the daughter-in-law had given up on him, while Cheng Er still had some hope. She had a suspicion in her mind, and hearing Ye Jia's words confirmed it, she felt relieved.
"So, the owner of this rouge shop doesn't seem like someone who knows how to do things." Although Yu was used to being a hands-off manager, she had always known how to manage her servants. As the saying goes, if the boss doesn't behave properly, the subordinates will follow suit. "I'm afraid we won't be able to close this deal this afternoon."
Ye Jia naturally knew this, but this was not absolute: "Let's go and take a look in the afternoon."
The ten-yuan soap she'd taken out that morning and brought back wasn't what Ye Jia had imagined. Ye Jia wasn't known for her fragile nature, but this incident had made her realize her flaws. Perhaps because things had been so easy and smooth since she'd traveled through time, she'd taken things for granted. This wasn't a good mindset; she needed to be more rigorous from now on.
Thinking of this, she asked, "Mom, is my dress ready?"
"I made it yesterday, but I forgot to bring it to you." Yu Shi naturally understood this principle better. Respect Luo Shan first, then others, no matter where you are. "Go try it on inside later to see if it fits. If there's anything that doesn't fit, I'll make some changes."
Ye Jia nodded and washed the pig's head for half an hour before it was completely clean.
Braised pig's head is actually quite simple. Blanch it in clean water for a quarter of an hour to remove any blood foam and fishy odor, then remove and rinse. Then, boil the cleaned pig's head in a pot of water, add scallions and ginger, and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, and cook until halfway done before removing. This is considered clean, and the partially cooked pig's head can be added to the larger pot.
Ye Jialu's method of braising is different from many other braising methods. It is a bit like cold cutting. After the pig's head is cooked, it is cut into thin slices, and then smashed with garlic, ginger, celery, and vinegar and oil sauce, mixed together to make it more chewy.
The pig's head was cooked, and Yu had already prepared the leeks. She went inside and took out the clothes she had made for Ye Jia, telling her to go change. Ye Jia had chosen the Xiangfei color of the fabric, and Yu had made her a waist skirt, even adding a beautiful lace pattern to match. Ye Jia wasn't very good at dressing, and after a long struggle, she couldn't figure it out. Yu, seeing she hadn't been out for a while, came in and helped her change.
It must be said that Mrs. Yu had truly excellent taste. This not-so-good cloth skirt, after being cut and sewn by her, instantly became elegant and refined on Ye Jia. Ye Jia had seen the clothes worn by the women of the town's wealthy families before, but none of them were as good as hers.
After the belt around the waist was tied and hung down, Yu also made a bun for Ye Jia.
Even before she even put on makeup, her looks had already been elevated to several notches. As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and with Ye Jia dressed up like this, even a smile could make anyone dizzy. Looking at her, Yu Shi felt a pang of worry: "You're not going to town alone dressed like this. Wait for me to change my clothes, and then we can go together."
As she spoke, she sighed again: "It would be great if Yun An was at home."
Ye Jia immediately understood what she meant. It was too conspicuous. But there was nothing she could do about it. If she wanted to continue doing business, she had to dress respectably. Seeing that Ye Jia had already changed her clothes, Yu Shi didn't ask her to take them off.
After a simple lunch at noon, the two of them took the fragrant soap and went to the rouge shop in town.
This time, he was not stopped. The waiter of the rouge shop passed the message to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper of the rouge shop was a woman with a square face, high cheekbones, deep eye sockets, and a somewhat mean look.
I waited in the store early in the afternoon, and when I saw two women, one old and one young, come in, my eyes lit up immediately.
Ye Jia is good-looking, so Yu Shi is naturally not bad-looking either.
In reality, a child with Zhou Jingchen's looks must have had a mother of considerable stature. In her youth, Yu Shi was one of the two most beautiful women in Beijing. Compared to the other talented woman, she relied solely on her looks to secure her place as one of the two. Even in old age, her beauty was hard to conceal. Normally, she kept it hidden, but now, dressed up and presenting herself with style, she was a picture of beauty.
The shopkeeper was taken aback by the aristocratic lady Yu's demeanor. When Ye Jia took out the fragrant soap and started talking about business, he immediately became extremely cautious: "My last name is Yang, and others call me Yang Si Niang."
Yang Si Niang naturally recognized the fragrant soap, and as soon as the thing was taken out, she clearly expressed her intention to collect the fragrant soap.
Ye Jia felt relieved and didn't beat around the bush with her: "I wonder how much Manager Yang is willing to pay for this?"
Yang Si Niang's eyes moved between Ye Jia and Yu's faces. Instead of answering, she asked how many pieces of goods they had.
"Ten dollars. There aren't many things, so I'm saving a few for home." Ye Jia was also straightforward. Since he was sincere about doing business, he naturally made his point clear. "But if you can consign it for a long time, we can still provide more goods."
As soon as Ye Jia said this, the shopkeeper became interested.
Perhaps it was because Ye Jia looked young and tender, while Yu Shi seemed to be a lazy, soft-hearted woman. She assumed that since this person had come twice in one day, he must be desperate for a sale and in urgent need of money, so she put on a serious attitude. Relying on the fact that she was the only rouge shop in town, she rolled her eyes and said she was willing to pay a hundred coins each for them.
"You two don't know that the rules for this thing in Libei Town are different from those in the Central Plains. The people in the Central Plains are all well-off, so they can naturally afford to buy it. The local people in Libei Town are poor and can't afford expensive things. No matter how good the item is, if you set a high price, it won't sell, and it will be a waste."
The shopkeeper spoke with conviction, "Besides, the scented soap you two brought out doesn't look very good. It's red and silky, and while it smells good, it's about the same as it would be in Libei Town. If I buy it, I can only sell it at a low price. You have to make money in business, and the one hundred coins I offer is already a very generous price."
It has to be said that Ye Jia was really shocked by the shopkeeper's shamelessness in saying such a perverse theory.
She had anticipated that the price of one tael of silver would be difficult to negotiate and might require some effort. However, she felt that this price could be negotiated. She hadn't expected that Shopkeeper Yang would treat her like a fool and directly ask for a hundred wen.
The shopkeeper saw that the two men looked unhappy and guessed that he had gone a little too far.
She had just sniffed it, and the scent of this soap was much better than the ones sold in Dongxiang Town, with a hint of osmanthus. Fearing she might scare people away, she put on a smile and said, "Well, I'm not a ruthless person. This is my first time doing business, so I'll be fair. These ten pieces of soap come in different sizes. I'll give you a little more for the big ones, one hundred and fifty coins each. Take all ten, and you'll have just one and a half taels of silver."
Yu's face turned ashen as she looked at Ye Jia.
Ye Jia didn't want to say a word. There was no point in discussing business with someone who treated them like fools. He wrapped the cloth in silence. Shopkeeper Yang, who had been smiling for a long time, waited for her to do this. Suddenly, his determined smile froze.
"What are you two doing? Are you dissatisfied with the price?"
Yang Si Niang raised her hand to hold the cloth bag, pulled the corner of her mouth and smiled again, "Wait a minute, don't rush to wrap it up. Aren't we still negotiating? Don't blame me for asking too low a price. It's unavoidable. There's no such thing as scented soap in this whole town. Most people in this town have never heard of it. This is my first time buying this and I don't know if it will sell well, so I have to be careful. Besides, this thing looks different in color from ordinary scented soap, and I'm not sure if it will have the same effect as washing your face and hands..."
Ye Jia looked up at her, but didn't show any anger. His smile faded a lot, "I'm selling this because it's naturally useful. Regular use of this sweet-scented osmanthus soap not only makes your skin smooth but also removes oil and fishy smells. It can even remove the fishy smell from eating crabs and killing fish."
Yang Si Niang frowned as if she was thinking.
Ye Jia then took out the small piece of fragrant soap he had cut and asked the shopkeeper to try it on the spot.
Yang Si Niang believed it in her heart, but to try to get a lower price, she still pretended to ask the waiter to bring a basin of water and a jujube. Jujube has a strong smell, and the smell is all over your hands. She pinched the jujube and rubbed it, then used the small piece of fragrant soap that Ye Jia had cut to wash her hands.
What’s more, after using it, not only are your fingers clean, but you can also smell a faint sweet scent of osmanthus.
You can't lie about something that's obvious. Yang Si Niang's eyes grew even more fiery as she looked at the fragrant soap. She knew that if this thing were put on the shelf, it would probably sell better than the one in Dongxiang Town. She was secretly delighted, but pretended to be thoughtful.
After a long moment, she spoke as if cutting flesh: "I can only add twenty coins to one dollar. The small one is one hundred and twenty coins, and the large one is one hundred and seventy coins. If you two agree, I'll take your ten dollars. If you still have any left, I'll keep the same price."
It would be better if she didn't add any more. Ye Jia was furious. She was really pissed. If someone wasn't sincere about doing business, it would be a waste of time to talk to them. She picked up the bag and said, "Forget it. I'm afraid we can't make a deal today."
After saying that, he pulled Yu and was about to walk out.
The shopkeeper was not willing to let them go like that, so she immediately stood up to stop them.
She was about to say something, but Ye Jia cut her off directly: "Shopkeeper, don't treat us two as fools who don't know the market. The scented soaps in Dongxiang Town, which have no fragrance, can be sold for one tael and two qian of silver each. My scented soaps with the sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance will definitely fetch one tael and a half qian each. We two are sincere in doing business with you, but you are trying to fool us like this. Let's just not talk anymore."
The female shopkeeper didn't expect that Ye Jia already knew about the sale of scented soap in Linzhen. Her face changed immediately and the atmosphere became awkward.
But having said that, it was impossible for her to admit that she had deliberately cheated them. She only laughed dryly and tried to persuade them to stay. She even said that she could raise the price if she gritted her teeth.
"Then how much is Manager Yang willing to pay?"
"The purchase price is 500 wen each, and the large ones are 600 wen. How about that?"
Ye Jia didn't want to talk to her about this, so he and Yu Shi walked around her and left the rouge shop.
She was now feeling annoyed. It was indeed as Yu had said: the people below her were dishonest, and the people above her were not easy to get along with. Considering that a box of powder in that rouge shop could sell for three taels, the price was ridiculous. She really couldn't expect them to be kind.
After coming out, both the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law looked unhappy.
"Forget it, let's not bother about it. Let's go to Dongxiang Town and ask about the soap." Ye Jia took a deep breath and exhaled the foul air.
Yu thought so too, and the two of them returned home together with gloomy faces.
When they got home, Rui Jie'er woke up from a nap. Hearing the noise outside, she rushed over from Old Lady Wang's house. Ye Jia took the things back home and changed her clothes before returning. The fire in the kitchen had already gone out. The braised pig's head in the pot was emitting a fragrant aroma. Ye Jia poked it with chopsticks, cut off a small piece, tasted it, and his eyes lit up.
I'll prepare the marinade and add vinegar later, and the taste will be almost there.
Ye Jia quickly prepared the marinade, picked out a pair of pig ears, and sliced them thinly. He quickly smashed a few cloves of garlic and minced them. He also cut the cilantro into small sections and chopped the celery. Cilantro is what we know today as coriander, and celery is what we know today as celery. Then he poured the prepared sauce into the dish and mixed it thoroughly.
Just as the mixture was finished here, Yu also came out after changing her clothes.
She looked unhappy. She went back to the house and thought about it, but she still couldn't swallow the anger. Ye Jia cooked a few more dishes and steamed some buns. As the weather got warmer, they didn't like eating in the house anymore. Ye Jia got a wooden table and they ate in the yard.
Yu's face was gloomy, but after she took a bite of the pig's ear, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Refreshing, right?" Ye Jia smiled. "When the weather gets hot, this snack should sell well."
After Yu ate a few bites, the depression in her heart disappeared.
"We still have some wine left at home." They bought it last time for guests, so there's still some left. Ye Jia doesn't usually drink, but today we have pig's head, which pairs perfectly with wine. "Why don't we have a drink today?"
Yu was a little greedy, so she asked Ye Jia to get some wine.
They only poured a small cup and drank a little before Yu Shi felt the alcohol was strong. The wines in the northwest are very strong, unlike the sweet fruit wines she used to drink. She took a few chopsticks of pork head to suppress the drunkenness, and suddenly said, "Jia Niang, make some of this and send it to Yun An tomorrow. I just remembered that Yun An's birthday is in a few days. He hasn't celebrated his birthday in many years. Please go and see him on his behalf."
"This dress looks good today," Yu said, feeling a little more relaxed after drinking. "Just wear this dress today."
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