Yang Chunxiao did not go with him to the town this time. Yang Donghu wanted her to go with him to pick out some new hair accessories, but she refused.
Unable to force her, Yang Donghu had no choice but to agree to her wish and take Zhao Fangchu and the other two with him.
The main road leading to the town is about two or three miles away. On the roadside, there are people selling bamboo hairpins and cloth with bamboo baskets on their shoulders, shouting.
There was a little girl who looked young, with a round and cute face. In her bamboo basket were some delicate peach wood hairpins, which looked like they were made by her family and she was selling them to earn some pocket money.
She spoke loudly and fearlessly, competing with the elderly woman next to her for attention. When she saw Yang Donghu looking at her, she immediately stepped forward with her basket and called out in a clear voice, "Brother, take a look! My hairpins are all newly made, all of peach wood. They can ward off evil spirits and protect yourself. It's up to you whether you want to buy them or not. I'll put a bun on your hair for you to see."
Yang Donghu stopped and took a look into her basket. The style was similar to the ones he had seen others wear before, but it felt very smooth and the surface was coated with tung oil, which could protect the hairpin from being bitten by insects and ants.
"How much is this?" Yang Donghu picked one that he liked and held it over Zhao Fangchu's head, gesturing twice.
The girl had only sold two today, and now that she saw business was coming, her attitude became even more enthusiastic: "The one you have in your hand has deer antlers carved on it. It's simple and cheap, only ten cents each. Here, the lotus and peach blossom carvings are more complicated, and they're ten cents more expensive than the deer antlers. The cherry blossom hairpins are the most expensive, costing thirty cents. If you think that's expensive, the cloud pattern ones are a good price, fifteen cents will do."
This price is indeed not expensive compared to the price in town. Zhao Luochuan bought a hairpin for Yang Donghu, but he was reluctant to wear it unless it was a major festival, for fear that it would be broken by accident and he would be sad.
She usually wears a wooden hairpin in the shape of a chopstick. Yang Donghu doesn't like to dress up and doesn't think there is anything wrong with the hairpin on her head.
Zhao Fangchu has two or three wooden hairpins. One of them was made for him by Zhao Fangyu when he was fourteen years old using a picked-up branch. The other two were bought with his own money.
People who love dressing up never complain about having too many hairpins in their dressing box. The hairpins in the bamboo basket in front of him were indeed exquisite, and Yang Donghu couldn't help but feel a little moved.
"Take one each of the cloud pattern and peach blossom, and this deer antler. Can you take them all together and get a discount?"
The girl calculated the price quickly and blurted out without thinking: "A total of 45 coins. You took more. How about this, a total of 40 coins, is that okay with you?"
The little girl smiled with her white teeth and looked very sincere, so Yang Donghu paid the money without much hesitation.
He handed the peach blossom to Zhao Fangchu and said with a smile, "Here, hurry up and pray for good luck on your journey to Qiqiao. When you get to town and see something nice, buy it. Tomorrow night, you can dress up nicely and go to the fair at Mingyue Bridge."
Both of them were cooked, so Zhao Fangchu didn't hesitate and took them happily after thanking them.
Buying hairpins could not stop them from delivering snacks. Today was a double day, which was a market day, not to mention it was the Qiqiao Festival. The streets were crowded with people, and it was not very convenient to push a cart. The two of them finally squeezed through the crowd and stumbled to the door of the restaurant.
There were many diners today. Yang Donghu looked around outside and did not see the shopkeeper in the house. There was only the waiter and a maid dressed as busy greeting the guests in the restaurant. They seemed quite busy. Yang Donghu was not in a hurry. He came in and found an empty seat to sit down and rest. He would only leave the diners when the waiter was free.
"Oh my, oh my, I'm in a rush to meet so many people for dinner. I've been busy these past two days. Hey? How come you have time to come and see me off today? Brother Dachuan isn't here? Why didn't Miss Chunxiao come?"
The waiter smiled and poured them a bowl of summer-cooling tea: "You must be tired after traveling all the way. Drink some water to relax."
"Thank you very much," Yang Donghu replied, "My husband hasn't returned from the mountains yet. Chunxiao is my eldest sister, and she's resting at home today and hasn't come. Last time, my second brother asked me to make some new snacks and send them over. I had them in mind, but something else kept me busy. I've only just finished and am sending them over now. I'd be grateful if your shopkeeper could come and take a look."
"Okay, please sit down for a moment. The shopkeeper is entertaining guests upstairs. I'll go and get him down."
The rooms on the second floor were much quieter than those downstairs. The waiter had only been upstairs for a moment when the shopkeeper hurried down following him.
There were only two young men present. The shopkeeper did not sit at the same table with them, but waved for the maid to come over.
There were many diners in the hall, so it was not a good place to talk. The maid carried the basket into the backyard, and the shopkeeper came with her. After a cup of tea, the shopkeeper came out from the backyard with a smile on his face.
"The young lady from the Zhang family upstairs just asked if there were any new tea cakes recently. I was just worrying about what to give Miss Zhang when you happened to send me this cake. I think the appearance and color are even more unique than the peach blossom cakes, and it really complements the Qiqiao Festival."
Yang Donghu smiled and replied, "What a coincidence! I came up with this idea just because Qiqiao Festival is approaching. Let's do as we said before and try selling it first. If it sells well, we can offer it in the same way as peach blossom cakes."
The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, that's settled. Waiter, go and pay today's money to the young man."
Having done business with the shopkeeper for such a long time, he has always been generous and has never asked for a penny in default. He should not have been paid for the peach cake today, but the shopkeeper still paid for it.
Yang Donghu took down another small pot of mulberry honey from the cart, mixed it with some chopped dried sour plums and dried lotus leaves. The sour and sweet taste was not too sweet and had a unique fragrance.
"Boss, this is honey tea brewed at home. It goes best with peach cakes. Please try it."
The shopkeeper opened the pot and smelled it for a moment. A sweet fragrance filled his heart. The shopkeeper would not refuse such a good offer and accepted it after thanking the owner.
Before leaving, the shopkeeper seemed to suddenly remember something and turned back to Yang Donghu and said, "Oh, by the way, last time Miss Chunxiao asked me to find her a job in town. I haven't found many suitable ones. If she insists on looking for one, tell her to come to me and be a tea girl. It won't be too tiring. It's not a hassle to go back and forth to town. There's a small room in the backyard of the restaurant that I'll have someone clean up for her to live in, so she doesn't have to run back and forth every day."
Yang Chunxiao never mentioned his desire for a job to Yang Donghu, but he could understand it after thinking about it. It would always be uncomfortable to live in someone else's house.
"Well, I'll thank the shopkeeper on her behalf. I'll tell her when I get back."
The Zhang family was one of the most wealthy families in town, so the shopkeeper couldn't afford to neglect them. He hurriedly checked the snacks sent by Yang Donghu, brought up the mulberry sweet tea, and brought a plate of snacks upstairs to reply to Zhang Baoyu.
It was inconvenient to push the cart due to the busy streets, so the two of them parked the cart to the right of the restaurant entrance. The waiter said he would help him look after it, and only then did Yang Donghu feel at ease to linger around the stalls in the town.
Unlike the usual food stalls, most of the space is occupied by stalls selling cloth and silk threads, and there are only a few stalls selling hairpins.
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