Although the horse-drawn cart was fast, it was also extremely bumpy. They needed to transport clay bowls, clay pots, and clay stoves—half of them would break if they took the cart all the way.
Moreover, the cart could barely carry passengers, let alone such a heavy load. Lin Xiaoman sent Lin Erhu to borrow a flatbed cart from Lin Daqiang’s family.
They removed the outer packaging from the hotpot soup bases, cut them into pieces, and packed them into jars for easy use later.
They also brought along their own iron pot and oil jar, which would come in handy when frying ingredients.
As for ingredients, aside from the mushrooms they had brought from home—they had two large jars at home and decided to take one with them—they planned to buy the rest once they reached the county town.
Lin Xiaoman pushed the loaded flatbed cart with Lin Erhu riding on it as they set off toward the county town.
As they were leaving the village, they spotted Old Lady Lin sitting on the cart heading to town. The siblings simply turned their heads away and pushed their cart right past her.
Old Lady Lin was furious and wanted to curse at them, but she was so stunned by the sheer amount of things on their cart that she forgot. “What are you buying all those pots and jars for?”
Lin Xiaoman carefully picked the smoothest path, while Lin Erhu sat on the cart, keeping everything steady. The ride was far smoother than the horse-drawn cart—the occasional bump did little harm.
Before long, the cart Old Lady Lin was riding on pulled up beside them. She scolded, “Ungrateful wretches! Don’t you know to greet your own grandmother?”
Before Lin Xiaoman and Lin Erhu could respond, the cart driver gave a sharp whistle, and the old horse bolted forward.
Old Lady Lin, sitting on the outermost edge, was jolted so hard she nearly fell off. She scrambled to grab hold of the wooden bench.
By the time she managed to yell again, the cart was already far ahead, and the siblings were nothing more than tiny figures in the distance.
Lin Xiaoman and Lin Erhu exchanged smiles. Uncle Driver was such a good person.
…
When they arrived in town, it was nearly nine in the morning. On the way, they bought several chickens, which were slaughtered and chopped up for them.
They also bought a few large cabbages, a basket of bok choy, and a basket of radishes. Seeing tofu for sale, they bought two blocks and asked the vendor to deliver them to their shop. They promised to return the bamboo trays that evening.
There weren’t many other ingredients available—unlike the other side, where almost any vegetable imaginable could be found. Most of them, Lin Xiaoman had never even heard of.
They also bought two wooden buckets for washing vegetables, a large basket for draining water, and, passing by a carpenter’s shop, purchased some leftover wood scraps from furniture-making along with a large bundle of wooden chopsticks.
By the time they reached the shop, someone was already waiting outside. The man hurried over as soon as he saw them. “Little shopkeepers, you’ve finally arrived.”
He appeared to be in his thirties. Though his clothes weren’t the fine silk of the wealthy, they were neat and clean. The eager joy on his face made Lin Xiaoman guess that he had come to inquire about the clam oil business.
“Uncle, what can we do for you?”
The man smiled. “I am the shopkeeper of Feng’s Rouge Shop up ahead. I heard yesterday that you were selling clam oil here. I tried it myself and found it quite intriguing. I was wondering if you two young shopkeepers would be interested in a partnership?”
Lin Xiaoman continued moving items from the cart into the shop as she asked, “What kind of partnership did you have in mind, Shopkeeper Feng?”
Seeing that she didn’t act like the typical villager who hoarded every profitable venture to themselves—and even seemed open to collaboration—Feng smiled and said, “First, I need to ask you this: how much clam oil do you still have? If we can establish a long-term partnership, there’s a proper way to go about it. If not, there are other arrangements.”
“Alright, let’s hear it.”
Feng could tell she was testing his sincerity. If he showed enough goodwill, the clam oil business could become a long-term venture.
“I propose three types of partnership. Listen carefully. First, I purchase your formula outright, and you no longer engage in this business. Second, you only sell your clam oil to Feng’s Rouge Shop, and we distribute it. Third, we collaborate and split the profits at the end of each month…”
Before Shopkeeper Feng could finish, Lin Xiaoman asked, “For the second option, how much would you pay us per jar of clam oil?”
Shopkeeper Feng felt a hint of disappointment. In truth, he had hoped to buy their formula outright and produce it himself. Though it would cost a large sum upfront, he could see that the clam oil business would only grow. Beyond the county town, they could expand sales elsewhere. With the formula, Feng’s Rouge Shop could become renowned across the land.
But since they were unwilling to sell the formula, he didn’t want to push too hard and risk losing the deal. Securing all the clam oil they could produce would still be a good outcome.
“You sell your clam oil for five wen per jar. Since I need to make a profit on resale, how about I buy each jar from you for three wen? As long as you can produce it, Feng’s Rouge Shop will take as much as you can make. Compared to the sales volume of a small shop like yours, we can sell many times more.”
Lin Xiaoman shook her head. “Right now, we’re selling small jars of clam oil. Three wen per jar works for those, but we also have larger jars coming. They can’t be priced the same.”
“Larger jars? Did you bring any?”
“No, not yet. It’ll be a few days.” Lin Xiaoman shook her head. The goods hadn’t even been shipped yet.
“Then I’ll need to see the product before setting a price. But I can take whatever stock you have on hand for now.”
Lin Xiaoman called out to Lin Erhu, who was busy moving things. “Erhu, bring over the clam oil we have and show Shopkeeper Feng.”
Lin Erhu had been eavesdropping the whole time. At his sister’s call, he quickly brought over the basket. “Shopkeeper Feng, this is all we have. Do you want to take it all today?”
Shopkeeper Feng glanced at it—the same kind he had seen the day before. He picked up a jar, opened it, and caught a faint, pleasant scent. It was unlike any fragrance he had encountered before, but undeniably lovely.
“Yes, I’ll take today’s stock. Once your next shipment arrives and I’ve seen the larger jars, we can go to the government office and sign a formal contract. How does that sound?”
“Agreed. From now on, we’ll sell all our clam oil to you. As long as you’re willing to take it, we won’t sell to anyone else.”
Lin Xiaoman nodded. Their clam oil had sold well because it was new and novel, but the county town was only so big. The number of people willing to buy it was limited. Once the market was saturated, sales would inevitably slow down.
Rather than clinging to a small business, it was better to let it go. The cost was low, and the more they sold, the more they would earn.
…
After seeing off Shopkeeper Feng, the siblings counted their money. After buying so many ingredients that day, they were only a little over two hundred wen short of the three thousand needed for the pots.
Lin Xiaoman had Lin Erhu wash the vegetables while she boiled a pot of water and blanched the chickens.
Some neighbors from nearby shops came over to ask what she was doing. Lin Xiaoman smiled. “I’m making spicy hotpot—a family recipe passed down from my mother. I hope you uncles and aunties will come and try it.”
One person asked in confusion, “What is ‘spicy’?”
Chili peppers didn’t exist here yet. Lin Xiaoman patiently explained, “It’s a flavor made from chili peppers, which come from another country, stir-fried with Sichuan peppercorns. You’ll know once you try it.”
One of the neighbors ventured, “Are you talking about those ‘barbarian peppers’?”