After serving those students, Ding Baozhu thought about selling all of her jar of peach blossom tea.
In this peach blossom tea, the firewood was gathered, the petals were readily available, and even the tea leaves were not used for strong tea, so very few leaves were actually consumed. This kind of beverage was the real key to making money.
Ding Baozhu had tried this peach blossom tea herself; the main draw was the unique fragrance it emitted, which was most effective at attracting people.
If she added some supplementary ingredients, like longan or honey, it would probably taste even better.
While she was lost in thought, someone suddenly arrived at the stall. Ding Baozhu reacted immediately, and the words slipped out of her mouth as she said:
“Customer, would you like to try some cold cakes? You can mix and match the three flavors—”
Before she could finish, she looked up and suddenly fell silent.
Standing in front of the stall was Xu Ye.
However, considering he had to leave the village eventually, and her chosen location was between the village and the town on her first day of business, it wasn’t strange to see him. She continued:
“We also have tea. Do you need some?”
Xu Ye looked at the plate where more than half of the different-colored cold cakes had already been sold. They looked quite nice and were clearly not being ignored by others. Recalling something, he asked:
“How are they sold?”
“Cold cakes are three copper coins each, or five coins for two. You can match the flavors yourself. Peach blossom tea is two coins a bowl…”
At this point, she paused and added with a smile:
“But if you brought your own container, one serving of peach blossom tea is only one coin.”
“…Oh?”
Xu Ye showed a hint of interest. He took something from his waist and showed it to her, asking:
“Is this okay?”
Ding Baozhu looked closely and saw it was a water skin.
Furthermore, it was made of leather, about the size of two palms, and looked neither new nor old, as if it had been used for a long time.
“Of course.”
Ding Baozhu agreed immediately. She had made a full jar of tea; even if she sold it for only one coin a bowl, it was still profitable.
She briskly opened the lid and ladled the water, handing it back once full, not forgetting to ask with a smile:
“I made a new flavor of cold cake. Would you like to try it?”
Xu Ye had originally intended to buy some cold cakes, so hearing her say this, he naturally asked:
“What flavors do you have?”
“Matcha with red bean filling. It’s more refreshing than the other two flavors and isn’t sweet.”
As Ding Baozhu spoke, she deftly sliced a small piece and handed it over.
Xu Ye took it and tasted it. He found that the skin truly wasn’t like the others; it didn’t just have the sweetness inherent in grains, but rather a faint bitterness unique to tea leaves. This highlighted the light sweetness of the red bean filling inside, and the two tastes blended together to create a very balanced pairing.
Most importantly—it wasn’t sweet!
Most people bought the brown sugar jujube paste ones for a sweet treat, or the millet peanut ones to fill their stomachs.
In reality, there were people who didn’t like things too sweet, like Xu Ye. This matcha red bean filling happened to suit his taste.
“I’ll take two of the matcha red bean, and two more with the other fillings.”
“Coming right up.”
Ding Baozhu was delighted; this was her first big order since opening today. She quickly and carefully packed the cakes and handed them over.
“That’s fifteen coins in total.”
Xu Ye was stunned and asked in confusion:
“And the tea? Shouldn’t it be sixteen coins?”
Ding Baozhu smiled:
“It’s your first time at my stall and you bought all these, so I’m giving you a discount. If you think they’re good, just come back next time.”
Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, Xu Ye’s expression darkened slightly.
The birthmark covering his brow and eye twitched slightly with his subtle expression. A moment later, he said in a low voice:
“No need. It costs what it costs. I don’t want to owe you anything.”
After saying that, he handed the money to her all at once, took the cakes and his water skin, and left.
Ding Baozhu looked down; it was exactly sixteen coins.
Refusing a discount? And… why did it feel like he was suddenly a bit angry?
How bizarre.
Baozhu couldn’t figure it out, so she took the money and soon put the matter out of her mind.
After all, they weren’t very familiar yet. If there was anything to it, it could wait until later.
She continued calling out to customers. It was now mid-morning; the mist had cleared, and the spring sun was shining from above.
The number of people on the road had thinned out. A few scattered pedestrians walked by as usual, but the regular crowds were no longer in sight.
Ding Baozhu targeted the sturdy men among the travelers to sell her peach blossom tea. The “bring your own cup” discount she introduced was very suitable for them.
Because most of them, like Xu Ye, carried containers—even if they weren’t leather water skins, they were wooden or bamboo water tubes. She filled them up directly, so the tea sold faster than the cold cakes.
In addition to those customers, nearby vendors also came over to take a look, but they generally didn’t buy cakes; instead, they came to buy tea to drink.
Some even stared straight at the cold cakes, their thoughts unknown.
How could Ding Baozhu not understand? They likely saw that there was a profit to be made from these cakes and were starting to think about selling them as well!
So, while these cakes of hers could still be sold for a few more days, she had to think about whether she could introduce something new.
Ding Baozhu had arrived here early and hadn’t even eaten breakfast, and by now her stomach was rumbling.
She sat down on her small stool and grabbed a piece of matcha red bean cake to eat.
For this matcha powder, she had ground it four or five times until it was finer than dust in the air. The tea aroma was even more intense, and paired with the melt-in-your-mouth red bean filling, the fragrance was overflowing.
If she had milk, she would definitely make a matcha latte or matcha milk jam. As a “matcha head,” she absolutely loved it!
While she was eating with relish, another person arrived at the stall. Baozhu quickly popped the last bit into her mouth to greet the customer.
However, this customer was an old woman wrapped in a headscarf, wearing dark cloth clothes and leaning on a cane. She was all smiles, but her triangular eyes were fixed on Baozhu, as if she wanted to see another person inside her body.
Ding Baozhu felt she looked familiar and froze involuntarily. The old woman spoke first with a smile:
“How is your health, little Zhu? Is your mother still worried?”
Fortunately, with the original owner’s memories, Baozhu realized that this was the “Immortal Yang” mentioned by Ding Hong and Liu Ping.
When the original owner was unconscious, they had reached the end of their rope and invited her to take a look, for which they had been scolded by Grandmother Jiang.
This Immortal Yang was a spirit medium in the village—a woman who lived by the witchcraft of drawing charms and chanting incantations, commonly known as a shamanic witch.
It was clear that back then, the original owner really couldn’t be saved, so the family had treated a dead horse as if it were alive.
But as Ding Baozhu thought about it, she felt a slight chill for some reason.
She didn’t really believe in ghosts and gods, but this was too much of a coincidence, and the way Immortal Yang’s eyes watched her added a touch of mystery. She quickly said:
“I’m much better. Thank you for your concern, Immortal. My mother only agreed to let me out because she saw I had recovered.”
“That’s good,” Immortal Yang smiled.
“Later, your parents came to see me again, saying they wanted to set a new auspicious date for you and that Xu family boy.”
“I didn’t expect you to be out at a stall selling goods now, looking so full of life. In all my years, it’s the first time I’ve seen such a situation.”
Once she had doubts in her heart, Baozhu couldn’t help but overthink, especially feeling that there was a hidden meaning in those words.
She took out a leaf, wrapped two cold cakes, and handed them over, smiling:
“You’ve worked hard, Immortal. This is also a blessing in disguise for me. I was immature and caused such a big mess, making my parents worry for nothing.”
“Now I’ve realized my mistakes and won’t do that again. Immortal, why don’t you try my cakes and see how they taste?”
“It’s best that you think that way. Since you’ve returned to life, be filial to your parents and live well. Even if you go to the Xu family in the future, you should be at peace.”
Immortal Yang advised her, and for some reason, she narrowed her eyes to look Baozhu up and down. Regarding the cakes handed to her, she waved her hand and declined:
“I’ll pass on this. This kind of snack is a bit too sweet for me. I already have a few bad teeth and don’t want to end up with them all falling out. Little Zhu, keep these cakes to sell.”
Ding Baozhu smiled:
“What a coincidence! This one I made isn’t sweet; you can eat it on its own even without tea. Besides, I wanted to thank you anyway, so please take it.”
“If you like it, please visit again in the future. If you don’t, you can do with it as you please, Immortal.”
Hearing this, Immortal Yang finally had to accept them. She said a few more kind words with a smile before leaving.
Ding Baozhu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw she was truly gone.
In fact, what the woman had said was the truth. She couldn’t go back, so she might as well put down roots here!
By now, mid-morning had passed, and the peach blossom tea was the first to sell out.
Baozhu made a rough estimate: some bought the tea for two coins, but most bought it for one. The cost of the tea itself was almost zero; not counting labor, she had made at least twenty or thirty coins.
As expected, compared to food, drinks seemed more profitable…
She looked at the other basket again. Only one or two pieces of the red bean jujube paste and the millet clusters were left, while four or five pieces of the matcha red bean remained. She grouped these cold cakes together and continued hawking from her stool.
A moment later, an elderly man with a white beard and a sage-like air, accompanied by a boy carrying a large basket on his back, walked over slowly.
Hearing Baozhu’s cry, the elder couldn’t help but look over, and his eyes lit up specifically when he saw the plump cold cakes.
Seeing this, Ding Baozhu was about to greet them further when she heard the boy beside him say indifferently:
“Master, you can’t. This is too sweet.”
The old gentleman cleared his throat and said with a bit of displeasure:
“Am I looking at the cakes? Isn’t this the eldest girl from the Ding family? She injured her head last time and took a lot of medicine. Did you forget?”
Baozhu had been holding back a laugh at the exchange between the elder and the youth, but hearing this, she realized—it was Dr. Qiu from the village.
This was clearly a highly respected old doctor. She quickly said:
“Are you well, Dr. Qiu?”
Dr. Qiu stroked his beard with a chuckle:
“Instead of asking if I’m well, you should ask how you are. Seeing that you can even come out to set up a stall, it seems the prescription I gave back then was correct.”
“Who in our village doesn’t know your medical skills, Dr. Qiu? It’s always a case of ‘medicine brings the cure’!”
Ding Baozhu smiled. Seeing that his gaze still lingered on the cakes from time to time, she had a thought and asked again:
“Dr. Qiu, today is my first day at the stall and I made these cold cakes. I just heard you’re afraid they’re too sweet, so I made a flavor that isn’t sweet.”
“The skin is made of ground tea, and the filling is pure red bean. Would you like to have a taste?”
After speaking, she didn’t wait for them to answer and had already sliced a small piece to hand over.
Dr. Qiu had wanted to eat them anyway. Seeing that Baozhu had given him a way out, he gave her an appreciative look, took it, and said:
“Putting ground tea into the skin… Little Zhu’s mind is truly clever. Then I won’t be polite!”
He ate it as he spoke. After just two chews, his snowy white eyebrows couldn’t help but twitch.
“This… this really can be called ‘sweetness after the bitterness’ with an endless aftertaste. Excellent, excellent! Making ground tea into a snack is much more refreshing than other treats!”
Dr. Qiu was old and liked soft, sweet foods, which he usually paired with tea in the afternoon.
However, this snack made with ground tea was truly not cloying, just as Baozhu said. It was good even without tea, and it suited his taste perfectly.
“Little Zhu, I’ll take the rest of these matcha cold cakes. Wrap them up for me.”
Before Baozhu could agree, the boy beside him spoke up in protest again:
“Master, no. Even if it’s not sweet, if you eat too much at once, you’ll get indigestion.”
“I’m not a three-year-old child; don’t I understand that?” Dr. Qiu said unhappily.
At that moment, Ding Baozhu smoothed things over:
“Since the doctor is afraid of indigestion, just let the young man keep them and watch over you. Besides, there aren’t many left in total, and these cakes won’t spoil for a few days anyway. Isn’t that fine?”
As she spoke, she nimbly wrapped up all the remaining matcha red bean cakes.
From her perspective, the most important thing was to sell out all the goods.
Hearing this, the boy stopped talking. His eyes were also fixed on the cakes; clearly, he wanted to eat them too.
After sending off the pair, and seeing that the matcha red bean cakes were all sold out, she finally felt somewhat relieved.
After waiting for a few more cups of tea’s time, Baozhu suddenly saw someone hurrying over to her stall. It was actually the uncle who had been the very first to buy her cakes.
“Miss, do you have any more of these cakes? I’ve sold all the goods at my stall and made some money, so I want to buy some to take home.”
Ding Baozhu smiled apologetically:
“I only have the last two millet chestnut peanut sugar ones left. Do you want them, Uncle? If you do, I’ll charge you only four coins so I can head back early.”
“I see…”
The uncle seemed a bit hesitant. Perhaps he wanted to buy a different flavor to take back as a snack, so he naturally wanted something more refined and sweeter.
However, hearing that it was cheaper, the uncle finally said:
“Alright, wrap them up for me. But will you be back tomorrow?”
Baozhu nodded while wrapping the cakes:
“Barring any surprises, I’ll be back.”
After all, she hadn’t finished using the fillings and glutinous rice flour she had made!
The uncle laughed:
“Good, then I’ll come back to patronize you tomorrow!”
After being here for a few hours, she had finally sold all the food and drink.
Ding Baozhu packed up her little stall, shouldered her carrying pole, and hummed a little tune as she returned to the village.