The bus for the county seat left at half past five.
Shen Qinghe got up at four and packed eight small jars securely inside a wicker basket. She lined the gaps between them with old cotton cloth and tied the mouth of each jar tight with oiled paper. She did not bring every jar she had made. This first trip was not about gambling on selling everything out but about learning how the market worked.
The fare was thirty cents.
She bought her own ticket and also paid the extra fifteen cents for the half seat taken up by her goods. The conductor had suggested she simply rest the basket on her lap but she insisted on paying the proper fare to avoid haggling over space all the way there.
Zhou Yanchuan and Xiao Man sat in the front row. He only pointed out the direction of the eastern morning market as they got off then took the child straight to He Lanqiu’s lodging without following her into the market itself.
Shen Qinghe appreciated that kind of help offered without being intrusive.
The market felt narrower than she remembered. Permanent shops lined both sides while the central lanes were crowded with temporary sellers balancing baskets pushing carts or spreading sacks on the ground. Egg sellers called out five cents apiece. Water dripped from the wooden boards of the tofu stall. Smoke from coal fires and the smell of fried dough twisted together in the air.
She walked the full circuit first.
The entrance was busy but patrolled frequently by staff. Inside the market proper shoppers hurried on after buying their daily goods and might not stop to sample preserved vegetables. The row along the wall was quieter but stood right beside the back gate of a state-run factory where shift changes would bring a steady stream of people.
She chose the spot along the wall and had just laid down her cloth when a man wearing a red armband stepped over. “Where is your registration permit?”
“This is my first time here. I came to ask how to register”
“You must register before setting up. Temporary stall fee is fifty cents a day plus separate sanitation charges”
“The notice said thirty cents”
He glanced at her dismissively. “That applies to local residents. Outsiders pay fifty”
“How do you determine who is from outside?”
“By household registration”
“Will you give me an official receipt?”
He grew impatient. “Fifty cents is hardly worth issuing a receipt for. Move along if you are not selling. Others are waiting”
Shen Qinghe did not argue on the spot. She folded her cloth and went straight to the market administration office. The clerk showed her the written rules confirming the temporary stall fee was indeed thirty cents plus ten cents for sanitation with no distinction made between local and non-local vendors. Cooked food samples had to be kept covered and clearly dated and could not be cut or portioned on site.
“What did the man look like who asked you?” the clerk asked.
“I did not see his name tag”
“Then go back and identify him. We cannot act on your word alone”
When she returned the spot along the wall was occupied by a basket of eggs.
The seller was a woman in her late twenties with a round face and thick eyebrows who was already arguing loudly with a customer over an egg with a cracked shell.
“There is only a thin crack! It is still perfectly good! Take it home and cook it and it will taste the same!”
The customer insisted on paying one cent less.
The woman took the egg back. “Fine I will eat it myself. One cent is still money! Ten of them makes ten cents!”
After the customer left she looked up at Shen Qinghe. “Why are you staring at me?”
“I had chosen this spot earlier”
“Is your name written on the ground?”
“No”
“Then whoever gets here first uses it”
Shen Qinghe noticed the basket only took up half the space. “I will share the other half with you. I will pay half the stall fee”
The woman sized her up. “What are you selling?”
“Preserved vegetables. No cooking and no strong smell to mix with yours”
“How much space will you need?”
“Three feet”
“Two and a half. Your jars will block people from seeing my eggs”
“Three feet and I will keep track of cracked eggs for you. I will remind buyers so you do not have to argue every time”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “You can read and write?”
“I can keep proper accounts”
“Very well then three feet. But you pay the full fee today and I will give you fifteen cents as my share”
“According to the rules it is thirty cents plus ten cents for sanitation. That makes twenty cents each”
The woman looked surprised. “That man Guo Dafeng just charged me fifty”
“Did he give you a receipt?”
“As if he would bother with a receipt for small change”
Shen Qinghe pointed toward the office. “Go ask at the counter”
The woman left her eggs in a neighbour’s care and hurried off. A short while later she returned holding an official stamped receipt looking both angry and pleased. “He gave me back the extra ten cents! Guo Dafeng claimed prices went up yesterday but the office said no such change was made. What is your name?”
“Shen Qinghe”
“I am Tang Guizhi. Next time he overcharges you call me over. I have a loud voice and I will speak up”
“I noticed”
They were not exactly kindred spirits but a matter of ten cents had brought them together as allies. The sum was small yet it had served to anchor a clear rule on paper.
Once settled another problem arose. Market rules prohibited leaving cooked food uncovered so the small wooden tasting spoons she had prepared were useless. She used small plates instead serving samples herself to avoid touching food directly but then customers could not smell the vegetables without leaning in close and that raised hygiene concerns.
Tang Guizhi watched for a moment then picked up a freshly boiled egg from her own stock. “Buy ten eggs and get a bite of preserved vegetable on the house to go with them. I will pay you for every sample given”
“If they take a bite and do not buy who covers the cost?”
“I will. My eggs will sell faster”
“One cent per sample then. And I will keep a record”
“You really do not let a single cent slip past”
“You were arguing over one cent yourself not long ago”
Tang Guizhi fell silent then laughed out loud.
The arrangement worked well. Workers buying eggs for breakfast tried the samples and many decided to take a jar home. Shen Qinghe stopped selling strictly by the jar and instead let customers bring their own containers and pay by portion. She also offered sealed jars from her own stock with a refundable deposit.
By mid-morning five and a half of the eight jars were gone.
Sales were steady rather than spectacular. Some found the flavour too salty. Others asked for a milder version without chilli. A few thought the deposit was too high. Shen Qinghe wrote every comment down.
Tang Guizhi leaned over to look. “Why write down every complaint people make?”
“People who tell you what they dislike might come back and buy next time. Those who say nothing at all are the ones you cannot improve for”
“Did you write down what I said about you being too careful with money?”
“I did. Reliable business partner loud voice strict with accounts tends to agree first then negotiate terms later”
Tang Guizhi glared at her. “When did I ever agree first and change my mind after?”
“When we agreed to give out samples”
She started to argue then realized it was true and huffed instead.
When closing time came they balanced the books together. Tang Guizhi owed seven cents for samples and twenty cents for stall fees. Shen Qinghe gave her ten cents as commission for customers who bought vegetables alongside eggs. In the end Tang Guizhi walked away three cents richer.
“You are counting even this?”
“Of course. They were your customers”
Tang Guizhi held the three cents looking at her with new respect. “Will you be back tomorrow?”
“I will go home first and work out whether I actually made any profit”
“You sold so much surely you have earned money”
“Selling well does not always mean earning well”
She carried the remaining two and a half jars back onto the bus. The basket straps bit deep into her shoulders and her shoes had rubbed blisters on her heels. Ten cents could secure a fixed stall for roughly a month but paying for space did not guarantee customers would come.
Before she boarded Tang Guizhi called out. “If you sign up for a monthly spot let me share it with you!”
Shen Qinghe did not promise on the spot.
“Let us see how these three days go” she said. “We will look at the accounts together after that”
Tang Guizhi rolled her eyes. “Living with you would be exhausting”
Shen Qinghe kept walking.
Living with anyone was not something she was thinking about right now.
She would focus on getting her stall right first. And however strong the wind blew she would stand firm and steady for these three days.