When the neighboring shop owners learned that Lin Xiaoman and Lin Erhu were the children of the couple who had bought the shop last year, and that their parents had passed away, one of them remarked sympathetically, “Your parents had good intentions buying this shop, but their choice of location wasn’t the best. This is the most out-of-the-way spot among all the nearby shops—it’s hard to run any kind of business here.”
“Exactly. In just five years, this place has changed hands three times. If you two are short on silver, you’d be better off selling it sooner rather than later. I heard that when your parents bought it last year, they didn’t have enough silver, so your mother had to pawn quite a bit of her dowry.”
Hearing that their mother had pawned part of her dowry to buy the shop—meaning not all of it had been taken by their grandparents—lifted the siblings’ spirits.
It didn’t matter whether the location was good or if the shop made money. What mattered was that not everything from their mother’s dowry had gone to others. That was wonderful!
Lin Xiaoman thanked the shopkeepers and found a stone to smash the rusty lock on the door.
The previous tenants hadn’t been gone long, so aside from a few odds and ends left behind, the place wasn’t too dirty. However, the paper window coverings were badly damaged.
Behind the shop was a small courtyard. Two stoves were built against the wall, which could be used during busy times.
Lin Xiaoman and Lin Erhu bought a bucket, a basin, and a broom.
They drew water from a nearby well and found a usable piece of cloth among the junk to start wiping down the dust.
After a busy morning, they finally got the shop cleaned up. The siblings had a bowl of wontons at a shop next door. They planned to come back the next day with more supplies to whitewash the walls and replace the window paper.
On the way back, they stopped by a blacksmith’s shop to order three pots: two standard large iron pots and one large nine-grid hotpot pot. Lin Xiaoman even sketched a simple diagram with charcoal to specify the dimensions. The blacksmith said they could pick them up in five days.
When asked for the price, it came to three thousand wen. Lin Xiaoman could only pay a deposit of one hundred wen.
Making money was now their top priority—otherwise, they wouldn’t even have enough to pay for the pots.
Leaving the blacksmith’s, they stopped by a general store next door to ask about bowl prices. A small clay bowl cost three wen each.
Lin Erhu pulled Lin Xiaoman aside. “Sis, I saw that the bowls at the two-yuan shop on the other side are quite nice. Why don’t we buy them there?”
Lin Xiaoman remembered Grandma Liu mentioning online shopping. Although they didn’t have a delivery address on the other side, she had noticed that many people picked up their online orders from a place called a “pickup station.” Perhaps they could buy some things that way.
…
When they got home, it was already afternoon. Both siblings were thinking about how to earn enough money to pay for the iron pots. On the other side, they already had a savings worth tens of thousands, but on this side, they only had a few dozen wen left.
Since it was still early, and they had recently learned how to get to the wholesale market on the other side, they changed into their other clothes and headed over.
To save time, Lin Xiaoman hailed a taxi by the roadside, told the driver where they wanted to go, and arrived in less than ten minutes.
After paying the eight-yuan fare, Lin Erhu marveled as they got out, “Sis, these cars are so much more comfortable than horse-drawn carts. We should buy a big one someday.” Lin Xiaoman agreed wholeheartedly, though she lamented that they couldn’t take it back to their own world.
Inside the wholesale market, the siblings first took a look around and asked about prices. To their surprise, everything was much cheaper than at the supermarket. Thinking about all the things they had bought before, Lin Xiaoman felt a pang of regret for splurging impulsively after making some money.
Fortunately, they hadn’t bought too much. From now on, they would have to budget carefully.
Each of them bought a large backpack. They purchased two hundred jars of Clam Oil for less than fifty yuan.
Previously, after using the Vaseline from the supermarket, Lin Xiaoman’s hands had become much softer. But that kind of product came in packaging that wasn’t easy to sell back home. Clam Oil, on the other hand, had no such issue—they could just peel off the labels, and no one would suspect it came from another world. Selling it for five wen a jar, many people in town would be willing to buy it.
Standing in front of a stall selling bowls and plates, Lin Xiaoman found every piece delicate and beautiful, but no matter how attractive they were, she couldn’t buy them to take back.
Even the most unremarkable-looking bowl here was more exquisite and beautiful than the ones used by wealthy families in their world. If they took such things out to use, they’d probably be stolen within a few days.
In the end, Lin Xiaoman picked up a clay bowl that closely resembled the ones used in their own home. “Boss, how much is this bowl?”
The vendor glanced at it and said, “That’s a small bowl—two yuan and twenty cents each. For orders of ten or more, wholesale price is one yuan and eighty cents each. We also have larger ones—want to take a look?”
Lin Xiaoman nodded eagerly. “Yes, please!”
The vendor went to the storage area at the back and soon returned with a stack of bowls in various sizes, styles, and patterns—more than a dozen in total.
After carefully examining each one, Lin Xiaoman and Lin Erhu settled on four different sizes of bowls. They also chose a clay pot that could be placed directly over a charcoal stove, just the right size for the two of them.
They ordered a hundred of each bowl size, twenty of the clay pots, and ten clay stoves.
The vendor cheerfully carried the items out from the back, while the siblings carefully inspected each piece, setting aside any with chips or uneven glaze. In the end, the total came to over a thousand yuan.
The vendor stacked the pots, bowls, and stoves, securing them with packing twine. Meanwhile, Lin Xiaoman found herself staring at the glass cups on his stall, unable to tear her eyes away.
Having been to this world several times now, she had used glassware before.
Here, glass cups were cheap, but in their world, they were known as “colored glaze”—even more precious than gold.
Even if she didn’t sell them, keeping them for her own private use would be a delight.
Lin Xiaoman picked up a set of pink fishtail cups, packaged in a simple cardboard box. “Boss, how much for these?”
The vendor, still in high spirits from the large sale, glanced at the cups in her hand. “How many sets do you want?”
Lin Xiaoman pointed at the cardboard box. “There are six in this box. I’ll take it.”
The vendor waved his hand generously. “This box is ten yuan. You’ve bought a lot today, so consider it a gift! Free of charge! Be sure to recommend my stall to others, alright?”
“Of course! Thank you so much, boss!” Lin Xiaoman beamed, happily stuffing the box of fishtail cups into her backpack.
Ah, so offering freebies with big purchases helped win over customers—she’d learned another new trick.
Realizing they couldn’t carry all these items by themselves and would need to hire a cart for delivery, the siblings left their purchases at the stall for now and continued browsing to see what else they could buy.
They bought several large packs of bamboo skewers and a variety of hotpot soup bases.
They found a tricycle at the wholesale market, loaded their bowls, pots, and stoves onto it, and soon arrived outside the park.
Motorized vehicles were not allowed inside the park, so Lin Xiaoman had Lin Erhu watch their things while she made trip after trip carrying everything back, her energy seemingly inexhaustible.
…
After resting at home for the night, the siblings set out the next day with large baskets on their backs, filled with the Clam Oil they had bought wholesale.
Lin Erhu set up a small table in front of the shop and arranged some jars of Clam Oil for sale. Lin Xiaoman, meanwhile, went off to find a craftsman.
Besides repairing the awning at the front of the shop, she also wanted to whitewash the interior walls to make the place look brighter.