As the matriarch of the household, all expenses for food and daily necessities were under her control, and she naturally had some knowledge of essential goods like cloth.
The Zhu family possessed a bolt of fine silk, given as a gift several years ago when one of Old Master Zhu's former classmates came to visit. It was said to be produced in the Shu region, called Exi silk, and was meant for painting.
Yang Tieniang couldn't understand how such fine material could serve the same purpose as paper. At the time, Old Master Zhu had enthusiastically explained it to her in detail, saying that Exi silk was crisp and resistant to ink bleeding, easy to take color, soft yet tough in texture, smooth and tightly woven—highly favored by the imperial painting academy. Most of the finest quality pieces were tributes presented to the court; the few "second-rate" goods that circulated among the common folk were still not cheap, costing at least two strings of cash per bolt.
Two strings of cash—if used to buy rice, could purchase four dan, enough to feed their family for two months. Even if used to buy cloth, it could get them five or six bolts of the fine hemp they usually wore, or even two bolts of the cotton cloth that had become fashionable in recent years from the south, albeit of slightly inferior quality.
She set up her stall every afternoon, selling wontons and dumplings at the night market. After deducting the cost of ingredients and counting only the profit, she'd need a full month of vending to earn that much. And that was only when business was good.
Something so precious, used to make a sweat cloth, and embroidered with silver thread at that? The more Yang Tieniang thought about it, the more she felt it was a waste—like a chicken rib, good for nothing but showing off.
"For kitchen use, fine hemp or mature kudzu cloth would be best—fine yet tough, absorbent of sweat, and able to withstand repeated rubbing and washing. But the kind commonly sold in the markets is too ordinary…"
Compared to the exquisite sweat cloth made of fine silk and silver thread, it was far too ordinary.
"Let's take a look around first."
Though she said this aloud, Yang Tieniang was already mentally calculating how to find a different gift. There were many vendors at the market, and occasionally one could even encounter merchant ships from other regions—perhaps she might find something else good there.
With little money in hand, Fusheng naturally followed Yang Tieniang's lead. At only seven years old, preparing gifts was hardly her responsibility, let alone the fact that her purpose in coming to the market with her grandmother today was, from start to finish, "buying bamboo shoots to make steamed buns."
Today's market was exceptionally lively. Before they even arrived, Fusheng spotted a row of merchant ships docked along the river, their tall flags bearing a large embroidered character "Rong."Not recognizing the origin of the "Rong" merchant ships, she tugged at the sleeve of the contemplative Yang Tieniang and pointed them out to her.
Upon seeing the ships, a glint of excitement appeared in Yang Tieniang's eyes, and her smile widened by two degrees.
"These are ships of the Rong family trading house from Bianjing. Of all the merchant ships traveling north and south, theirs are the ones that most favor docking at our wharf, selling practical and fine goods from other regions. The hair flowers your father bought for you sisters last time came from them."
Delicate hair flowers made of piled gauze, looking just like real blossoms, with pistils crafted from tiny fragments of inferior gemstones. Zhu Hewen had bought one for each of the four girls in the family—Meisheng received a plum blossom design, Lansheng an orchid, Jusheng a chrysanthemum, and Fusheng a hibiscus. However, Zhu Hewen hadn't considered the girls' hair when making his purchase; the flowers were too large even for Meisheng and Lansheng's heads, let alone for her and Jusheng.
The Rong family merchant ship had just docked, and the people on board hadn't even come ashore yet—even if they were selling goods, it wasn't the time for that.
Yang Tieniang had no intention of going over just yet either. She spotted a vegetable stall with fresh bamboo shoots and promptly dragged Fusheng over.
The shoots the vendor sold were moso bamboo shoots, still caked with fresh mud—clearly just dug up not long ago. These shoots had plump flesh and rich umami, perfect whether stewed in soup, braised, stir-fried with meat, or used as filling for steamed buns.
It was already the tail end of spring shoot season, so the stall didn't have many shoots left. Yang Tieniang let Fusheng pick them out herself, and only after Fusheng had chosen did she start haggling.
For ordinary households, every coin was split in two, and haggling was the most commonplace thing in the world—Yang Tieniang was long a master at it. By the time she finished, not only had she not offended the vendor, but he'd thrown in a handful of tender wild vetch and agreed to bring her a full basket of fresh shepherd's purse at the market fair three days from now.
Yang Tieniang used plenty of rustic dialect when haggling, and Fusheng didn't understand many of the phrases, but she caught the signal of a successful bargain right away. She knew how to haggle herself, but reaching Yang Tieniang's level was still somewhat difficult for her.
Clutching the little bunch of wild vetch as she followed Yang Tieniang into the market fair, Fusheng finally let out an admiring sigh: "Grandmother is amazing."
"Then study hard with your grandmother!" A bright, proud smile bloomed on Yang Tieniang's usually intimidating face, and her voice grew light: "Though I come from a butcher's family, there are some skills I have that even your grandfather can't match!"
This was the truth. Yang Tieniang had single-handedly supported the entire family, and even in lean years, not a single member had gone without. In the Zhu household, even Old Master Zhu—who held a higher social standing and carried the "pretensions" of a scholar—deeply respected and honored his wife, whom outsiders called the "Tiger Rakshasa."
In Fusheng's previous life, her parents had died young in an accident, and she'd been raised by her maternal grandfather, with no female elders around. She'd never truly experienced the presence and flair of older women. Now she had them in full, and each one had her own striking brilliance—even her prickly eldest aunt-in-law, Lin Cui, possessed remarkably exquisite embroidery skills.
Yang Tieniang was tall, a full five foot six, and Fusheng had to crane her neck to look at her. Seeing the smile on her face, Fusheng nodded with utmost sincerity.
"Now that the Rong family ship has docked, the other stalls in the market are nothing special. Let's pick up our goods from the acquaintance over there, then wander over to the ferry landing and take a look." The more Yang Tieniang looked at her granddaughter Fusheng, the more satisfied she became. Her palm, broader than most women's, landed on Fusheng's head as she stroked it and chatted idly: "You said today we'd make bamboo shoot and pork buns with fresh filling—what kind of fresh are we talking?"
This was a topic Fusheng was happy to discuss, though she had to play the part of a child.
"My master said bamboo shoots are fresh and delicious, and pork is rich and adds flavor—shoots and meat together are naturally fragrant…"
Counting off on her fingers as she spoke, grandmother and granddaughter soon walked a good distance away.
"That surnamed He really does play favorites! Teaching the Tiger Rakshasa's granddaughter how to make bamboo shoot and pork buns!"
Granny Zhang, who should have been ahead of Fusheng and the others, had somehow grabbed Yuniang and fallen behind them. With her hunched back and craning neck, she looked like a thief. She pursed her lips and squinted her eyes—if there hadn't been people passing by on all sides, with no place for her to spit, the thick phlegm in her throat would have long since been hacked out.
Yuniang's eyes were redder than before—one look told you she had been crying hard.
Her wrist was cruelly gripped in Granny Zhang's hand, terribly uncomfortable, but she dared not resist—even though she was a hundred times unwilling inside.
Just as she harbored resentment toward Granny Zhang in her heart, but because she dared not express it, she blamed all her misfortunes on her master Lady He and her fellow cooking apprentice Fusheng.
Yuniang was now firmly convinced that if not for Lady He's favoritism, and if not for Fusheng showing off, she would never have been tormented by her mother-in-law.
"You're a useless piece of trash!"
Having heard no response from Yuniang for a long while, Granny Zhang looked down to see Yuniang with her head lowered and mouth shut, and jabbed a finger at her forehead. Seeing the red fingerprint left on Yuniang's forehead, Granny Zhang felt somewhat better.
"I vaguely heard that Tiger Rakshasa was going to send a gift—let me see what trick she's up to!"
Grinding these words out viciously from between her teeth, Granny Zhang followed with a fierce yet stealthy step, gripping Yuniang's wrist even harder.
The crew of the Rong family merchant ship had announced half an hour for selling goods ashore. Yang Tieniang quickened her pace toward that direction with Fusheng, and in no time they disappeared into the crowd. Granny Zhang, unable to see their backs, hurried forward frantically, nearly dragging Yuniang off her feet.
"Fine fruits from Lingnan, embroidered handkerchiefs from Shu, sea goods from Qiongzhou… three parts cheaper than the market! Passersby, don't miss out!"
When Fusheng followed Yang Tieniang and squeezed to the spot, a crewman with a bright red peony pinned in his hair was shouting at the top of his lungs, one hand on his hip, the other waving an embroidered handkerchief—extremely conspicuous.
Before him was a row of long tables separating the Rong merchant ship's people from the market-goers. Samples of goods were laid out on the tables, while the actual merchandise was still in the hold behind.
Fusheng was young and small, which gave her an advantage at times like this—with a slight push from Yang Tieniang, she squeezed to the very front. As for Yang Tieniang, she was big and sturdy, and carried a huge basket on her back, which gave her a different kind of advantage—in this crowd, anyone who tried to squeeze past her simply couldn't.
The samples on the long table were varied and dazzling, but Yang Tieniang's gaze had long since been drawn to one particular item.
She gave Fusheng a push, right in front of the thing she had her eye on.
"Oho! Young miss… ah, this madam here, what goods of ours have you taken a liking to?"
The crewman behind the table was quick-witted, his smiling face brighter than a flower, and when he opened his mouth, his words were sweeter than honey.
Only when Fusheng stopped at the table did she see clearly what was on it. Plain, unpatterned sweat cloths with small silver buttons sewn at the corners—they looked thicker than ordinary sweat cloths, and the material seemed to be silk. Four colors in all—cream white, goose yellow, light green, and water blue—neatly arranged on the table, quite pretty to look at.
"Are these sweat cloths? How much are they?"
Yang Tieniang didn't reach out to touch them casually, only asked. The young crewman, upon hearing the question, enthusiastically picked up a water-blue one and offered it for Yang Tieniang to feel.
"You have a good eye, madam. This is the most popular style of sash in Bianjing right now—every renowned woman chef in the city has one! Linen-core Silk-face, with fine linen inside to absorb sweat and a thin silk outer layer that resists oil and looks respectable. And look at these silver clasps—heart-shaped, stamped with the characters for fortune, longevity, and happiness. Only two hundred and thirty wen for one—a real bargain!"