Market.
Lin Yao surveyed the bustling crowd and stalls lining both sides, mentally calculating the items she needed to purchase. Lin Song tugged at his sister's sleeve, curiously observing the surroundings.
Since he could remember, he had never left the village nor encountered so many people. The sudden exposure to such a lively market made him somewhat nervous.
When they passed by a stall selling sugar figurines, Lin Song unconsciously slowed his pace, swallowing hard. His small hand quietly released his sister's sleeve as he wanted to get a closer look at those golden-glazed candies. But the moment he lifted his foot, the stall owner glanced his way, making him immediately withdraw his hand, his face flushing crimson as he tightly grasped Lin Yao's sleeve again.
Lin Yao keenly sensed Lin Song's nervousness and sighed. The child was indeed pitiable, but in these difficult times, having enough to eat was already a blessing. She bent down and whispered in Lin Song's ear: "When Second Sister earns some money, she'll buy one for Song'er."
Upon hearing this, Lin Song's eyes lit up again: "Okay! Second Sister will earn lots and lots of coins to buy Song'er sugar figurines!"
Lin Yao nodded in agreement.
After comforting the little one, Lin Yao continued planning her purchases.
She had originally thought that if she could get a modern-style griddle that heated evenly, making pancakes would be both faster and better.
But after asking around, she learned that even a palm-sized iron plate would cost eighty wen – far beyond their budget. Though disappointed, she had no choice but to give up the idea and make do with their family's pan for now.
If she couldn't afford the hardware, she at least needed to prepare the essentials.
For making pancakes, flour was crucial.
White flour counted as refined grain, significantly more expensive than coarse grains. But to create food that could attract customers and leave them craving more, initial investment was unavoidable.
She followed Lin Cheng to a grain shop filled with various cereals: golden millet, dark brown rice, and the white flour she had been longing for.
Lin Song followed closely behind his sister, his eyes fixed on the snowy-white flour. He couldn't resist poking the flour bag, leaving a small fingerprint on the surface. He anxiously glanced around, and only after confirming nobody had noticed did he quietly sigh in relief.
After inquiring about the price, Lin Yao gritted her teeth and still took out thirty wen to buy a small bag of white flour.
Just as they were about to leave, Lin Yao noticed a tall young man pestering the shopkeeper. "Can you make it cheaper, Shopkeeper? I'm buying fifty jin of white flour! If you knock off one wen per jin, I'll keep coming back to your shop!"
Xu Zhiheng had been sweet-talking the shopkeeper for a quarter of an hour already. Having overspent his grain budget, he could only try to bargain.
"No way! At most half a wen discount per jin – twenty-five wen total. Any more and I won't do business with you!" the shopkeeper said impatiently.
The young man didn't take offense, instead cheerfully bowing in thanks while showering the shopkeeper with endless flattery: "Thank you, Shopkeeper! With your kind heart, your wealth will surely flow abundantly. May your business prosper across the four seas, customers flock like clouds reaching distant rivers, and your shop's reputation spread far and wide!"
Everyone enjoys hearing compliments. The initially impatient shopkeeper now beamed at this stream of praise, waving his hand dismissively: "You rascal, you'll stop at nothing to save a few copper coins."
Xu Zhiheng replied unconcernedly: "You flatter me, Shopkeeper!"
This was Lin Yao's first time witnessing the bargaining tactics of ancient people. She watched for quite a while before finally pulling Lin Song out of the grain shop.
Next on the shopping list was pork back fat.
The remaining lard at home was nearly depleted, and to make crispy and fragrant chive and egg pancakes, lard was absolutely essential.
She led Lin Cheng to the butcher's stall and spent twenty copper coins to buy a moderately sized piece of pork back fat.
As for eggs, the ones they had saved at home were still sufficient, so there was no need to buy extra this time.
After purchasing the necessities, it was still early. Lin Yao decided to go up the mountain to pick more chives. "Brother, I want to go up the mountain to gather some more chives."
Lin Cheng looked worried. "I'll go with you. It's not safe for you to go alone."
Lin Yao waved her hand with a smile. "Brother, you need to take these things back home. I'll just stay at the foot of the mountain and won't go deep inside. I'll be back soon."
Hearing that his sister was going to the mountain, Lin Song excitedly said, "Second Sister, I'll go too! I can help look for chives!"
Lin Yao patted her younger brother's round head. "Alright, Song'er can come along."
Lin Song nodded vigorously, the little bun on his head swaying with the motion as he closely followed behind Lin Yao.
The siblings handed all the items from their baskets to Lin Cheng before heading toward the foot of the mountain.
At the mountain's base, Lin Yao crouched down and began searching for chives. Lin Song imitated his sister, carefully squatting down with wide eyes as he rummaged through the grass.
Suddenly, he spotted a patch of tender green and nearly shouted in excitement. Quickly covering his mouth with his small hand, he whispered, "Second Sister, there are some here!"
Lin Yao turned to look and indeed found several fresh chives. She smiled and praised, "Song'er has sharp eyes!"
The siblings placed the gathered chives into their baskets, and before long, both baskets were filled with fresh chives.
Lin Yao stood up, brushing the dirt off her hands. "This should be enough. Let's head home!"
Lin Song mimicked his sister, shaking the dirt from his hands before following her home, humming a tuneless little song along the way.
Upon returning home, Lin Yao didn't rest for a moment. She first dumped all the chives from the baskets into the yard and began carefully sorting them, removing wilted leaves and any stray weeds. Then she took them to the water basin and washed them repeatedly until every strand was clean. The washed chives were left to drain before being neatly arranged in a vegetable basket.
Next, she carefully poured the small bag of wheat flour onto the cutting board, causing a light cloud of white dust to rise.
Lin Yao used her hands to create a small hollow in the middle of the flour pile, cracked a few eggs into it, and slowly added an appropriate amount of water. With skilled and gentle movements, she stirred the mixture, and soon the batter achieved a smooth and even consistency.
Lin Song watched his sister busily working and wanted to help, but he was afraid of causing trouble. He could only stand to the side, his eyes closely following her every move.
Noticing Lin Song's thoughts, Lin Yao smiled and said, "Song'er, can you help your sister watch the fire and make sure it doesn't go out?"
Lin Song nodded eagerly, scurrying over to sit in front of the stove, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the flames inside.
Meanwhile, Lin Cheng took over the task of cutting the pork back fat. With deft movements, he quickly chopped the fat into evenly sized pieces and placed them into the pot, ready to render the lard.
As the temperature rose, the water in the pot began to boil, and the pork back fat pieces tumbled in the water, emitting a soft sizzling sound.
Gradually, the water evaporated completely, and the pork fat began to melt. Transparent oil slowly seeped out, pooling into a small oily puddle at the bottom of the pan.
Lin Cheng stirred occasionally with a ladle. Soon, the pork fat in the pan turned into golden cracklings, filling the air with a rich aroma.
Lin Song, standing nearby, swallowed hard again and again.
Lin Cheng carefully poured the rendered lard into an earthen jar, leaving the cracklings in the pan, exuding an enticing, toasty fragrance. He picked up a slotted spoon, scooped out the cracklings, and placed them in a bowl to cool slightly.
Lin Song’s eyes were glued to the cracklings, his little nose sniffing eagerly. "Brother, it smells so good!"
Seeing his younger brother like this, Lin Cheng felt a pang of sorrow.
Before the family split up, their grandfather had always favored their uncle’s family, reserving all the good things for them. When their father was still alive, they had occasionally gotten a few pieces of cracklings, but after their father passed away, everything went to their uncle’s family.
Lin Cheng picked up some cracklings and put them in a small bowl. "For you and our sister. I’ll make more for you in the future."
Lin Song’s eyes lit up. He eagerly grabbed a piece and popped it into his mouth. The crispy texture melted between his teeth, leaving a rich, savory taste. He mumbled indistinctly, "So delicious, Brother! You have some too."
Lin Cheng patted his head and took a piece for himself.
Lin Yao picked up a crackling and ate it. It was crispy and fragrant, rich with oil. The only pity was the lack of sugar—dipping it in sugar would have made it absolutely perfect.
After finishing the cracklings, the three siblings continued working until evening, finally preparing everything they needed for the stall the next day.
Looking at the ingredients arranged in the yard, Lin Yao felt a sense of reassurance.
The next day, at the hour of Mao, the sky still tinged with a deep ink-blue, Lin Yao and Lin Cheng rose early.
They tiptoed to the water vat in the yard, scooped up some well water, and washed up.
After washing, Lin Cheng went to the kitchen to cook a pot of coarse rice and wild vegetable porridge. Steam rose from the pot, carrying the faint bitterness of wild greens. The amount of coarse rice was even scarcer than the day before, as preparing for the stall had used up most of their savings.
Once breakfast was ready, Lin Yao went to Song’er’s bedside and gently roused him from sleep. "Song’er, time to get up. Today, we’re going to the dock to sell delicious leek and egg pancakes." Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Song’er nodded groggily and followed his sister out of bed.
After breakfast and tidying up, Lin Cheng tied all the utensils needed for the food stall to a carrying pole and tested the weight.
Lin Yao shouldered a basket filled with the ingredients prepared the night before and the cleaned palm leaves they had gathered earlier.
On her way, she had noticed many vendors using palm leaves to wrap food, so she had asked Lin Cheng to pick some for the same purpose. Lin Yao had initially thought of cutting oiled paper to wrap the food, as she’d seen in TV dramas, but upon inquiry, she learned that paper was quite expensive in ancient times. Since she was practically penniless, she had to save wherever she could.
Once everything was ready, Lin Yao took her younger brother’s hand, and together with Lin Cheng, they hurried toward the dock near the village.