The sky hadn’t yet brightened, leaving the world in a dull, pre-dawn gray. On a narrow country path, two figures—one tall, one small—appeared.
Zhao Anyao followed Bai Qianqian closely, a woven basket strapped to his back.
“Can you keep going?” Bai Qianqian asked, stopping to wait when she noticed him struggling to keep up.
Zhao Anyao wanted to nod, but his legs felt heavy. He had walked for a long time, and the jujube cake was already gone. His pant legs were soaked from the dew. He had never walked this far even when gathering pigweed, but his desire to reach the market town was overwhelming.
Seeing his strained expression, Bai Qianqian sighed and scooped him up.
Traveling with a child was a stop-and-start affair, and by the time they reached town, it was later than the previous day. However, the same old woman who had been selling vegetables yesterday was still there.
“Why did you bring the child today?” she asked, noticing the boy with them.
“He’s my son,” Bai Qianqian replied. “I couldn’t leave him home alone.”
She set down two small stools and settled Zhao Anyao beside her, handing him a piece of brown sugar jujube cake to eat.
Her plan was to sell here for a while. Once the crowd of early-morning shoppers thinned, she would move her stall elsewhere. She had already learned the best spots to set up the day before.
The Vegetable Seller Granny watched Zhao Anyao munching on the brown sugar jujube cake with such delight that the sweet aroma wafted right into her nose, making her swallow hard.
“You know,” the old woman said, trying to strike up a friendly rapport with Bai Qianqian, “I bought some of your cakes yesterday, and my grandson was so spoiled by them! He kept clamoring for more after just one piece. If I had any more money, I’d buy him another one right now.”
“My boy loves them too,” Bai Qianqian replied, managing to sell two more cakes while she spoke. “Kids are always craving sweets.”
Perhaps Zhao Anyao’s hearty eating had acted as a live advertisement, because a steady stream of customers began to stop by. By the time the vegetable sellers started to disperse, she had already sold half her stock.
“Wait! Please,” the vegetable seller granny called out as they prepared to move. “My grandson is truly desperate for another piece. Could you sell me one for a bit less? Just five coins! How about five coins a piece?”
“I’m afraid not,” Bai Qianqian declined. “This is a small business. If I lower the price for you and word gets out, everyone will want the same deal. I’ll be selling at a loss!”
“How could you lose money? I won’t tell anyone, just sell it to me for five coins!” The the old women grew anxious when Bai Qianqian refused, grabbing her hand to keep her from leaving.
“How about this? I have a smaller piece here. I’ll sell it to you for five coins.” Bai Qianqian had originally planned to cut this oddly shaped piece into smaller samples for customers to try for free. Seeing the old woman’s desperation, she decided to sell it instead.
The women looked at the piece. It was clearly smaller than the others and its edges were uneven. She frowned, dissatisfied.
“If you don’t want it, I’m leaving,” Bai Qianqian said, seeing the woman’s reluctance. She didn’t push and started to pull Zhao Anyao away to find another spot.
“I’ll buy it! That one!” The thought of her grandson’s tearful tantrums the day before made the Granny grit her teeth and agree.
Bai Qianqian wrapped the cake and handed it over. The old woman snatched it irritably, tossed her the coins, and stomped away.
“If you’re thirsty, you can drink the water from the basket,” Bai Qianqian said, noticing Zhao Anyao sitting quietly on his little stool, watching the bustling street with wide-eyed curiosity.
She assumed he was bored. “We’ll sell a few more cakes here, then I’ll take you to get something to eat.”
This was Zhao Anyao’s first time in town. He watched Bai Qianqian hawk her brown sugar jujube cake, his eyes wide with wonder. The tanghulu vendors on the street were just as fascinating; he felt like he didn’t have enough eyes to see everything.
Yet the crowds overwhelmed him. He gripped the hem of Bai Qianqian’s clothes, refusing to let go, and only nodded when she promised to take him to eat.
Their spot was near a restaurant, right next to a steamed bun stall. It was a prime location—heavy foot traffic but shielded from the sun—so Bai Qianqian decided to sell the rest of her cakes here.
The woman running the bun stall had a young daughter with her hair in two little braids. The girl was a sweet-talker, greeting every customer with a smile, and she couldn’t stop staring at Bai Qianqian and her son.
“How much for the cakes?” the woman asked, noticing her daughter’s gaze. She assumed the girl wanted a treat.
“Eight coins each.”
“Can I trade some buns for them?” the woman asked. “They’re a bit expensive. My buns are only two coins each.”
“Sure,” Bai Qianqian agreed. A few buns would be a good snack to tide them over.
The woman quickly returned with four buns, picked out a piece of cake, and went back to her stall.
“Try one,” Bai Qianqian said, handing two buns to Zhao Anyao and keeping two for herself. “Her buns are good. Look how many people are buying them.”
“Your cakes are so delicious!”
The little girl from the bun stall ran over just as Zhao Anyao was munching on his bun.
He didn’t dare reply. He had rarely played with other children—the village kids never liked him—and the sudden appearance of a pretty girl talking to him left him completely flustered.
Fortunately, she was a chatterbox. She didn’t seem to mind his silence, chirping away as she told him all sorts of things.
Bai Qianqian found the scene amusing and let them interact, hoping the girl might help Zhao Anyao become more outgoing.
“Niuniu, time to pack up!” the woman called from the bun stall.
“Coming!” Niuniu had to say goodbye to her new friend.
“Why didn’t you say goodbye?” Bai Qianqian asked, seeing that Zhao Anyao remained silent, his face flushed red. She knew he’d enjoyed playing with the girl but was just too shy to speak.
Noon passed quickly. Only three cakes remained in Bai Qianqian’s basket. The two buns she’d eaten earlier hadn’t been enough to fill her stomach, so she took Zhao Anyao to eat wontons.
“brown sugar jujube cake! Only three left, first come, first served!” Bai Qianqian called out after their meal, carrying her basket and holding Zhao Anyao’s hand. She finally stopped in front of a fabric shop.
She knew how to sew but never had the time. She decided to buy Zhao Anyao some new clothes, thinking he should at least have a few changes of clothing and a pair of shoes.
“How much for the children’s clothes, shopkeeper?” she asked.
“Your boy’s still young. Take a look at these—they’re one hundred and twenty wen each.”
“Too expensive,” Bai Qianqian said, turning to pull Zhao Anyao away.
Seeing her so decisive, the shopkeeper hastily called out, “Hey! Where are you going? I have other ones! This one is only one hundred wen!”
“To be honest, I’m not his biological mother,” Bai Qianqian said, making a move to leave. “If I wasn’t afraid people would say I was mistreating him, I wouldn’t have even brought him here. This is the perfect excuse not to buy anything.”
“Wait! How about this,” the shopkeeper said, his tone now much softer.
He secretly cursed her for being so stingy with her stepson, but he also feared the clothes wouldn’t sell if she left. “I have some for eighty wen each. It’s not much, but it’ll keep the boy presentable. That could earn you a good reputation as a stepmother, wouldn’t it?”
“Sixty wen, max,” Bai Qianqian replied, her posture still ready to walk away the moment he refused. “My own child doesn’t even have new clothes! How could I possibly spend eighty wen on him? It’s not worth it!”