“You want to set up a stall selling roasted sweet potatoes?”
“That’s right. In weather this cold, people are bound to love something hot. By the time the weather warms up, Nian Nian’s pregnancy will be much further along. I’ll stay home to help her through childbirth and recovery, and then I can continue selling afterward.”
Yang Yufen nodded.
“Alright. I’ll tell my son to bring over two hundred jin first. Use those for now. If you run out, I’ll have him deliver more.”
“And lend me your tricycle too. I’ll pay you rent every month.”
“What rent? When the weather gets warmer, I won’t be able to handle all the heavy work in the yard by myself. You can help me then, and we’ll call it even.”
“Deal!”
The two women settled the matter without either of them feeling there was anything shameful about it.
Qin Nian returned to work, but she remained somewhat worried about her mother-in-law. She even regretted not taking another day off. She still hadn’t bought winter clothes for her.
Meanwhile, Yang Yufen obtained a large empty gasoline drum from the security department and personally modified it into a sweet potato roasting stove. She mounted it directly onto the tricycle and removed the original canopy.
For the first couple of days, Qin Nian remained concerned. However, seeing that her mother-in-law stayed busy every day and showed no signs of distress, she gradually threw herself back into her research.
After three days of work, the stove was finally finished. Yang Yufen bought a large amount of charcoal. Compared to coal briquettes, charcoal was much more suitable.
Pulling the stove and a hundred jin of sweet potatoes on the tricycle, she left the institute’s residential compound and headed toward a textile factory some distance away.
To keep track of time, she even wore Qin Nian’s old wristwatch. Estimating the timing, she lit the fire and loaded the sweet potatoes into the stove.
Soon, the ringing of the factory bell echoed through the air.
The factory gates opened.
It was time for the workers to get off work.
“Roasted sweet potatoes! Sweet and fragrant roasted sweet potatoes!”
Yang Yufen called out at the top of her lungs.
She grabbed a roasted sweet potato that had caramelized from the heat and broke it open. Instantly, a rich, sweet aroma filled the air.
The textile factory employed mostly women, and at this hour everyone was hungry. They were especially sensitive to the smell of food.
“How much are the sweet potatoes?”
“Thirty cents for a large one, twenty cents for a small one. Two large ones for fifty cents, or three small ones for fifty cents. My sweet potatoes are special. Here, have a taste—they’re sweet as can be. You won’t find any like them elsewhere.”
The roasted sweet potatoes glowed golden-yellow.
Once the skin was peeled back, they looked as though honey was flowing from within.
Thirty cents for one seemed a bit expensive.
The twenty-cent ones looked a little too small.
“If two of you buy together, I’ll give you two large ones for fifty cents. If three people want to try them, I’ll sell three small ones for fifty cents.”
Yang Yufen had cut old newspapers into palm-sized sheets and used them to wrap the sweet potatoes.
That way, people’s hands wouldn’t get dirty, and the potatoes were easier to hold.
“So delicious!”
The two girls who got the first taste immediately cried out in delight.
“We’ll take two!”
At twenty-five cents each, they could certainly afford the treat.
Each girl received a sweet potato. They noticed that Yang Yufen had deliberately chosen larger ones for them.
Just one sweet potato was enough to fill them up.
Once the first customers bought some, more followed.
Drawn by the irresistible aroma, an increasing number of people gathered.
The batch Yang Yufen had prepared in advance, along with those already roasting in the stove, sold out in no time.
“The next batch will take a while! Small ones need twenty minutes, large ones need half an hour. You can go eat first and come back before your shift starts!”
Yang Yufen shouted loudly.
Those who failed to buy any sighed in disappointment and decided to return later.
In truth, Yang Yufen hadn’t dared roast too many.
Business was far better than she had expected.
One hundred jin sounded like a lot, but sweet potatoes contained a great deal of water and weighed heavily.
Before the workers returned for their shifts, all one hundred jin had been sold.
“Auntie Yang, are you coming back this afternoon? These are so good! I want to buy a couple for my boyfriend too.”
“Not today. Tomorrow. I’ll prepare more tomorrow.”
Many people had missed out, but news of the exceptionally delicious roasted sweet potatoes quickly spread throughout the textile factory.
Full of energy, Yang Yufen pedaled the tricycle back toward the residential compound.
She passed her own home without stopping and went straight to Aunt Wang’s house.
“Sister Wang, here. I saved two for you.”
Parking the tricycle, she pulled out two steaming-hot roasted sweet potatoes from the stove.
“They really are better roasted than steamed.”
Aunt Wang accepted them without ceremony.
“I came to pick up the rest of the sweet potatoes. Is it convenient for your son? They’re selling really well. I brought money. If delivering them is inconvenient, I can go pick them up myself.”
“You sold out?”
Aunt Wang was stunned.
Yang Yufen nodded.
“It’s convenient. He’s been worrying about what to do with all those sweet potatoes anyway. Everyone planted high-yield varieties, but somehow his turned out watery. Even the supply and marketing cooperative won’t buy them.”
Aunt Wang looked thoroughly disgusted.
She honestly felt her son’s farming skills were worse than hers.
“That’s wonderful. I plan to sell sweet potatoes all winter and into spring. Can you supply only me?”
Yang Yufen had already done the math.
She was confident she could sell every sweet potato from those several acres all by herself.
“Of course.”
After all, no one else wanted them.
Her son didn’t have the time to search for buyers anyway.
Selling them all at once to her good friend was the easiest solution.
And so, that very evening, one thousand jin of sweet potatoes were delivered to Yang Yufen’s home.
“Auntie, I’ll bring the next batch in three days.”
Aunt Wang’s son came personally.
He always felt that his mother didn’t particularly like him. Since she rarely asked him to do anything—and this task was actually helping him—he happily made the delivery himself and took the opportunity to visit her.
“Good, good. Thank you for the trouble.”
When Qin Nian returned home, she found piles of sweet potatoes stacked throughout the house.
“Mom, why did you buy so many sweet potatoes?”
“I built a stove and went to the textile factory to sell roasted sweet potatoes. Business was pretty good. The only problem is that I might not be able to bring you lunch at noon anymore. But I’ll cook dinner and leave it in the pot so it’ll be ready when you get home.”
“Mom, that’s too hard on you. It’s freezing outside. What if you get sick from the cold?”
Qin Nian couldn’t help worrying.
“It’s not cold at all. I’ve got a military coat, and I’m right beside the stove. Honestly, it’s warmer than staying at home.”
Yang Yufen remained firm.
In the end, Qin Nian had no choice but to agree.
“Then how about selling them at the institute gate instead? The textile factory isn’t exactly close.”
Since she couldn’t stop her, Qin Nian tried another approach.
“You researchers barely have enough time to eat as it is. Who’s going to come out and buy roasted sweet potatoes? The textile factory is different. There are lots of female workers, and they all get off work at regular times.”
Yang Yufen had a point.
Qin Nian could no longer argue.
The next day, however, she managed to obtain a pair of sheepskin gloves for Yang Yufen.
“Mom, I won’t stop you from selling sweet potatoes, but you have to wear these gloves.”
“Such nice gloves. You should keep them for yourself.”
Looking at the brand-new sheepskin gloves, Yang Yufen felt that ordinary cotton gloves were more than enough for her.
“I can’t even use them in the laboratory.”
Qin Nian insisted.
So Yang Yufen finally put them on.
Afraid of dirtying them, she even wore a pair of cotton gloves over the sheepskin ones.