Lin Yuhe’s candy could be considered a success—at least it had been made. But making it wasn’t enough. She knew well that only when a good product could be sold would it count as true success.
"Uncle Lin, have you figured out how to sell it? Also, when selling things, there will always be bargaining. You need to think about how to handle that."
Lin Yuhe actually wanted to point Uncle Lin toward a clear path: find a pastry shop that could afford a good price and sell the recipe directly.
In this era, candy could only be produced in small quantities because sugar was expensive. Only the wealthy could afford the candy that was made.
Lin Yuhe was thinking of quickly earning her first pot of gold, but she wasn’t in a hurry. She wanted to give Uncle Lin a chance to practice selling, laying the groundwork for the future.
"Little Yuhe, don’t worry! I’ll weigh about how many candies make up a pound. Of course, buying a pound at once will be cheaper. If buying by the piece, two will cost five copper coins. In short, we just need to sell the goods."
Truly an itinerant peddler who roamed villages and streets—he could extrapolate on his own and was a skilled salesman.
"Uncle Lin, I want Changping and Changan to sell candy too. The three of you can discuss it."
Lin Yuhe’s first goal was to train her two younger brothers’ adaptability. She planned to send them to school once she earned some money. At their age, they shouldn’t only know how to chop firewood.
But she couldn’t say that now. She hadn’t earned a single copper coin yet and couldn’t make empty boasts.
"Alright, all of you, stop eating. These are meant to be sold for copper coins," Grandma Lin slapped Uncle Lin’s outstretched hand, thinking about how everyone in the family had just eaten candy. How many copper coins would that have been worth? It pained her heart.
"Mom, I’ll just try one more piece—the one coated with peanuts," Uncle Lin savored the taste from earlier, still thinking the peanut one was the most delicious.
Grandma Lin paid him no mind and took the small basket of candy back to her room.
The next day, Uncle Lin packed about half a pound of candy and went to the neighboring town. Changping and Changan packed twenty pieces each and headed to the nearest town.
"Candy, sweet candy!" Changping and Changan firmly remembered what Lin Yuhe had told them at home: when selling things, you have to call out, or else people won’t know what you’re selling or what’s good about it.
At first, they were too embarrassed, but after seeing that no one paid attention to the two brothers, they finally started calling out.
Each of them held a small wooden box, and one of them carried mulberry leaves picked by the roadside, planning to wrap the candy for customers.
"Kid, how much is your candy?" Finally, a customer asked about the price, and Changan felt a bit unsure.
It turned out to be a neatly dressed woman without patches on her clothes, leading a child. The child, hearing there was candy for sale, was fussing to eat some.
"Three copper coins each," Changping said, letting out a long breath.
"What? Three copper coins each? Why don’t you just rob people? Even the pastry shop doesn’t sell them that expensive. Can we try some?"
To be honest, the two brothers were reluctant. How could they let someone try? Trying one would cost three copper coins—they couldn’t bear to part with that.
"Our candy is sweet and delicious, better than the pastry shop’s. Besides, if you go to a pastry shop and only buy one, they won’t sell it to you."
"Whether it’s delicious or not isn’t for you to say. We have to try it ourselves to decide," the woman with the child made a fuss, and several people gathered around, all saying they wanted to try.
The customer was right, but if we didn't let people taste it, they wouldn't buy it either.
"Wait a moment," Changan said, taking two pieces of candy from Changping's small box. He ran to the noodle stall in the market and borrowed a rolling pin to gently tap each candy.
He brought back the candy wrapped in mulberry leaves, placed it on the small wooden box, and handed a small piece to the first aunt, waiting for her evaluation.
She took the small piece, somewhat disliking it was too small, but since it was a free taste, only a fool would refuse.
"Hmm, not bad. This candy really is as sweet and fragrant as these two kids said," the aunt said, not lying about the taste.
The child beside her clamored to have some too, so Changping gave him a piece as well.
Seeing her child also eating the candy, the aunt said, "Kids, I'll take two pieces."
"Alright, coming right up," Changan replied, taking two mulberry leaves to wrap two pieces separately. "Auntie, here you go."
In just this short time, they sold over ten pieces. "Brother, we don't have to pay a stall fee. Let's walk around and shout our wares as we go." They had seen fixed stalls being charged two copper coins by the yamen runners.
The two brothers were clever, specifically going to places with children to call out their goods.
They had arrived a bit late today, but by noon, when the market was about to close, all twenty pieces of candy they had brought—except for the two they had broken—were sold out at three copper coins each.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring town, Uncle Lin encountered some difficulties selling the candy. Unlike his two nephews, who sold retail, he went directly to Caoji Pastry.
Uncle Lin remembered that this shop also sold candy, though he had only taken goods from them once before, which ended up being a loss. He thought that if he could let the shop taste something better, it would be easier to negotiate a price.
As the saying goes, "Don't strike a smiling face." Entering with a smile, he recognized the shopkeeper. "Third Shopkeeper, it's been a while."
The Third Shopkeeper was momentarily taken aback. "Young man, you look familiar, but I can't quite remember where I've seen you. What brings you here today?"
Knowing that shop assistants often judged people by their appearance, Uncle Lin quickly got to the point. "Third Shopkeeper, I once bought candy from your shop to sell. Today, I wanted you to taste a few types of candy I have and give your opinion."
The Third Shopkeeper watched calmly as Uncle Lin took out the candies he mentioned—three types in total. He picked up one, which was sugar syrup coated with crushed peanuts. It didn’t look difficult to make.
He picked up another, which was even simpler—they could make it themselves. But the last one was different from what he usually saw. It was a thin slice, and when held up to the sunlight, you could see the sesame seeds wrapped inside.
The Third Shopkeeper tentatively took a bite. It was indeed tastier than what they made themselves—fragrant, sweet, and not sticky in the throat. He took a sip of water to wash it down.
"Young man, who made this? Hmm, the flavor is good," he said, waiting for Uncle Lin to speak.
"Third Shopkeeper, my surname is Lin. I’d like to do business with you regarding this candy. Are you interested?"
"Oh, Young Lin, tell me more. How do you want to do business?" The Third Shopkeeper’s lips curled into a meaningful smile.
Uncle Lin had always dabbled in small-time itinerant peddler business, so this was his first time formally negotiating a deal. He revealed his hand too early.
"Third Shopkeeper, I can supply these three types of candy long-term. Since I’ve bought goods from you before and you’ve always been accommodating, we can discuss the price."
Uncle Lin looked at the Third Shopkeeper with hopeful eyes, wishing this deal could be settled. Before coming here, he had already boasted to Lin Yuhe about it and was worried about losing face.
When he saw the Third Shopkeeper shake his head, his good mood plummeted to the bottom. Why couldn’t the deal be made? The price he offered wasn’t high, and he was certain that only the most ordinary kind of candy could be found in regular pastry shops—the others were unheard of.
“Young Master Lin, the three types of candy you brought—our Caoji Pastry can make all of them. Since we can make them ourselves, we won’t source them from outside. Don’t you agree?”
It wasn’t until Uncle Lin saw the clerk carry out the candy that the Third Shopkeeper had only taken one bite of that he suddenly realized—this Third Shopkeeper was not a good man. He wanted to steal their techniques.