“How do you plan to sell this candy?”
Li Niang tasted a piece. The candied winter melon Bai Qianqian had brought was indeed delicious. Since no one in the county had sold this kind of candy before, it was a novel product. She decided to take it.
“Twenty-five wen per jin,” Bai Qianqian said, stating her price when she saw the shopkeeper’s satisfaction.
“Too expensive,” Li Niang countered immediately. “I’ll take it for twenty wen per jin. I need to make a profit.”
Bai Qianqian thought for a moment. “This candied winter melon is made with white sugar, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive. If you agree to buy all my candy from now on, how about twenty-two wen per jin?”
“It hasn’t even gone on sale yet, so I can’t commit to a large quantity,” Li Niang replied. “If this batch sells well, I’ll consider buying more. I’ll let you know the results in five days. But I have one condition.”
“What condition?”
“You must also sell your brown sugar jujube cake in my shop.”
Li Niang was well aware of Bai Qianqian’s reputation. She had tasted the cakes herself—they were delicious and popular. Selling them in her shop would surely attract more customers.
“Deal,” Bai Qianqian agreed, figuring a second source of income was always a good thing. “But I can only supply these until the day before the New Year. If the snow gets too heavy, I won’t be able to deliver them. How about we do deliveries every three days?”
“You don’t need to deliver them,” Li Niang said, her business acumen showing. “I have a carriage. I’ll send it every three days to collect the candy and cakes. Just give me your address. Let’s try this for a month; if they sell well, we can keep working together.”
Without her sharp mind for business, the pastry shop would have closed long ago. Her family—a widow, her children, and her sickly mother-in-law—would have had no way to make ends meet.
Li Niang settled the payment for the candied winter melon on the spot, then stopped Bai Qianqian as she was leaving. “I’ll have someone drive you back now. They can learn the route while they’re at it.”
Bai Qianqian hadn’t expected a free ride back to the village; it was a welcome surprise.
Li Niang didn’t keep her waiting long. After agreeing on the quantity and price of the cakes for the first pickup in three days, she arranged for the carriage to take Bai Qianqian home.
*
“What’s with the carriage coming into our village?”
Villagers gathered, their curiosity piqued by the commotion.
“It’s heading toward the Zhao family’s place. Could it be that Zhao Laosan is back?”
“No way. Hasn’t Zhao Laosan always lived in town since he got married, only returning for the New Year? Has he suddenly changed his mind?”
The nearby villagers weren’t the only ones speculating that Zhao Laosan, Zhao Chengwen, had returned. Even the Zhao family was buzzing with the same guess.
“Mother, there’s a carriage! Third Brother is back!” Zhao Chengshuang spotted the carriage and excitedly shouted to Old Madam Zhao inside the house.
“Laosan is back? I thought he said he was only returning for the New Year!” Hearing this, Old Madam Zhao forgot all about criticizing her eldest daughter-in-law and rushed outside to see.
“A carriage! Oh my! It has to be your third son,” Old Madam Zhao exclaimed as the carriage drew nearer. “No one else in the village owns one!”
She remembered how her third son had borrowed his wife’s family’s carriage to return two years ago—it had been so grand. This had to be him!
“Old man!” she called out to her husband, her voice raised so the neighbors could hear. “Laosan is back! That boy, he told us he’d only return for the New Year, but he’s come home early!”
This time, no one contradicted her. Old Madam Zhao puffed out her chest like a triumphant rooster, a smug smile on her face as she waited for the carriage to pull up in front of the Zhao family home.
Inside the carriage, Bai Qianqian was completely oblivious to the misunderstanding she had caused.
She simply pointed the driver in the direction of her own house.
The carriage pulled slowly to a stop in front of the Zhao family home. Old Madam Zhao rushed forward, her face alight.
“Chengwen! Why are you back so soon? You can’t be delaying your—”
“Oh! Everyone’s out here to greet me?”
Bai Qianqian lifted the curtain and saw Old Madam Zhao muttering to herself by the carriage. She wondered if the old woman was having another one of her fits.
“You?!” Old Madam Zhao choked back the rest of her sentence, her face contorting with rage. “How on earth did you get back in a carriage?”
“Why couldn’t it be me?” Bai Qianqian replied, completely unfazed by the crowd. Seeing the old woman’s constipation-like expression gave her a surge of satisfaction. “I hired this carriage myself. What’s wrong with that?”
“You spendthrift woman!” Old Madam Zhao shrieked. “Hiring a carriage just to go to town? Why don’t you just fly in the sky?”
Just a moment ago, she had been boasting to the neighbors that her third son was returning, eager to save face. Now that Bai Qianqian had stepped out, she was mortified and desperate for a way to gloss over the embarrassment.
She seized on Bai Qianqian’s perceived extravagance, turning it into an attack.
“Is it any of your business? Move!” Bai Qianqian brushed past her without another word, nodding to the driver before heading straight for her own quarters.
“This is outrageous! What a disgrace to our family!” Old Madam Zhao shrieked, her earlier pride about her third son completely forgotten.
“What nerve!” a neighbor sneered. “She was just bragging about her son, and now look at her—humiliated in front of everyone!”
“What a joke. Everyone knows her son only visits twice a year—once for Mid-Autumn Festival and once for New Year’s. With his wife’s family being so wealthy, who would even care about his country parents anyway?”
“Shh! Don’t say that where she can hear you, or she’ll start another scene!”
Old Madam Zhao’s face flushed a mottled purple and white as she listened to the whispers. Finally, unable to bear the public shame any longer, she stormed back inside and unleashed her fury on Zhao Chengshuang.
“You foolish girl! You shouldn’t have shouted before seeing who it was! You made me think it was your Third Brother, and I lost face in front of the whole village!” Old Madam Zhao didn’t bring herself to pinch her daughter, but she berated her until the girl dared not even lift her head.
“How was I to know Madam Bai would go mad and hire a carriage? I didn’t mean for all this to happen, Mother!” Zhao Chengshuang complained, her voice trembling. She had been hoping her brother would bring gifts she could share, only to be met with this crushing disappointment.
Nearby, Madam Lin watched the mother and daughter’s meltdown with gleeful satisfaction. After all, none of this was her problem.
*
When Bai Qianqian stepped into her home, she found Zhao Anyao already practicing his numbers.
“How’s it going? Have you memorized them?” Bai Qianqian asked, setting down her basket.
“I’ve got them!” Zhao Anyao exclaimed, his face beaming with excitement.
“Let me test you, then…” Bai Qianqian pointed to the numbers written beside the brazier, asking him to read them aloud. He got every single one right.
Before she could teach him any more, a loud knock sounded at the door.
“Auntie Liu? Come on in!” Bai Qianqian greeted her, seeing the woman and her husband each carrying a heavy load of winter melons. She quickly ushered them inside.
“Your house is…” Auntie Liu trailed off as she entered. Cured meats and sausages hung from the ceiling, filling nearly half the room. Her eyes widened, struggling to take it all in.
“Did you get enough copper coins for the melons?” Bai Qianqian asked, glancing at the baskets.
“Yes, and we have twenty coins left over. I bought them at two coins each. There’s one more basket at my house, but that’s all the winter melons in the village.”
Winter melons were scarce this time of year; Auntie Liu had done her best to gather as many as she could.
“Keep the twenty coins as payment for your help,” Bai Qianqian said, pressing the money into Auntie Liu’s hand. “You don’t need to pay me back.”
Auntie Liu and her husband exchanged a stunned glance.
“We can’t take this,” Auntie Liu protested, trying to push the coins back. “We already took eight of your white steamed buns. We’re happy to help—you don’t need to pay us extra.”