To Jiang Ran, this was even more exciting than selling a few jin of vegetables.
The two portions she had sold that morning had been bought by customers who left immediately afterward without asking any questions. But this woman had asked, which naturally meant she was interested in buying again in the future.
Jiang Ran said, “We don’t come every day. We come once every two or three days. These are grown at home, so we have to wait until the vegetables are fully grown and at their freshest before picking them. You can also try the noodles from our stall—they’re very delicious too.”
The woman nodded but didn’t say whether she would buy again. Still, to Jiang Ran, it was a good sign.
Auntie Zhao was happy for the siblings as well. As long as the vegetables sold, that was good. However, she still felt that coming earlier would make them easier to sell.
There were nine bundles left. The brother and sister shouted with all their strength and managed to sell them all before the lunch crowd arrived.
Jiang Ran thought she had been right. If some people were willing to get up early to buy vegetables, there would naturally be others who were too lazy to do so.
Besides, this was only the beginning. She wasn’t bringing many vegetables, nor was she making a living by selling them, so selling them off was still quite easy.
She had brought nineteen jin of vegetables and sold them for ninety-four wen. A few customers hadn’t bargained, and Jiang Ran certainly wasn’t foolish enough to lower the price on her own.
She gave all the money to Jiang Song.
After all, Madam Yun and Jiang Chuanli had been the ones tending the vegetables at home. In this era there were no pesticides, so catching insects and applying fertilizer took a lot of effort. It was dirty and exhausting work.
The vegetables had been cleaned and sorted so well that it was obvious the couple had put a lot of care into them. Jiang Song had tilled the fields, and even transporting the vegetables had been his work. Jiang Ran had barely done anything herself.
But Jiang Song didn’t see it that way.
Selling vegetables had been his sister’s idea, and the seedling method had also been her invention. Calling out to attract customers was tiring work too. How could he keep all the money?
Yet one sentence from Jiang Ran left him speechless.
She asked, “If you take this money, does that mean you won’t spend any on me in the future?”
Panic appeared on Jiang Song’s face.
“How could that be?”
Jiang Ran smiled.
“Then that settles it. Keep it. There are plenty of places at home that need money. Haven’t we been short on money all along?”
They weren’t selling vegetables every day, and she had already saved quite a bit herself.
The money could be used to buy vegetable seeds, chickens, and ducks. Tea eggs sold well, so they needed more chickens.
Once the ducks started laying eggs too, she could make preserved eggs and salted duck eggs.
The more chickens and ducks they had, the better. More livestock meant more fertilizer, and more fertilizer meant better vegetables.
Besides, Jiang Song treated her very well, and lately Madam Yun and Jiang Chuanli had also learned to care for the siblings.
They were family.
There was no need to calculate every little thing.
Jiang Song put away the money pouch.
Jiang Ran was right. The family really did need money.
Still, if they bought chickens and ducks first, then buying clothes for his sister would have to be postponed again, and Jiang Song didn’t want that.
He planned to buy several chi of cloth sometime soon and have Madam Yun make the clothes first.
Summer was almost here. Summer clothes needed to be made, and that was the most important thing.
Eggs could still be bought. Even if they earned less money, it was still money.
The two of them didn’t discuss it further.
Money wasn’t something that should be openly displayed on a busy street. It was easy to attract the attention of people with bad intentions.
Even though military patrol officers were present on this street, once they left it, they still had to travel home. There were no military patrols on the road back to the village estate.
As noon approached, customers became more numerous again.
The stall grew especially busy, but Jiang Ran still sent Jiang Song away.
The iron pot needed to be made, and the house needed a thorough cleaning.
The sooner everything was cleaned up, the sooner they could move in.
With one less person helping, the work naturally became much busier.
Fortunately, Auntie Zhao was there.
Whenever things got crowded, she would lend a hand. If there weren’t enough bowls, Auntie Zhao would watch the pot and cook noodles while Jiang Ran washed dishes.
Auntie Zhao felt it was no big deal.
Hadn’t Jiang Ran helped her sell cakes before?
Having someone nearby to do business with was the best thing.
After the noon rush passed, things became much easier.
There were still customers, but they no longer came in groups that had to wait.
Most of the day’s work was already done, and the evening weather wasn’t hot.
Jiang Ran felt that the hardest part of the day had already passed.
Sometimes at night she could even catch glimpses of street performances.
With good business on top of that, the days didn’t feel difficult at all.
After the lunch rush, Jiang Song still hadn’t returned.
He was probably still cleaning.
Jiang Ran washed what needed washing and scrubbed what needed scrubbing.
Just as she was washing dishes, Jiang Song came running back. Sweat covered his forehead.
“Leave it. I’ll do it.”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“No rush. Eat first.”
She had saved two steamed flatbreads and cooked a bowl of noodles for him.
Jiang Song was starving and ate quickly.
Only after eating for a while did he say, “The pot’s been ordered.”
It was made according to Jiang Ran’s specifications—a wide bottom and tall sides so it could hold a large amount of water.
The bamboo strainer hanging beside it was easy enough. Jiang Song could make that himself.
The blacksmith shop had never made this kind of pot before, however.
They only collected a one-guan deposit, and the rest would be settled after the pot was finished.
Jiang Song took another bite of bread.
“The house still isn’t fully cleaned. I’ll have to go again this afternoon. The courtyard was a mess. I made a cabinet for you.”
He didn’t need one himself.
He had very few clothes and could simply place them on a stool.
Jiang Ran nodded.
When it came to cleaning and organizing, she trusted Jiang Song the most.
You could see it in everything he did.
Every vegetable patch was neat and orderly. Even the weeds he pulled were stacked neatly on the field ridges.
When the Jiang family planted rice, the seedlings transplanted by Jiang Song and Jiang Chuanli were always the straightest and most orderly.
The father and son were very much alike.
After Jiang Song finished the bread, Jiang Ran asked, “Are you full? Want another sugar cake?”
Jiang Song shook his head.
“More or less.”
He drank another bowl of rice soup.
After resting briefly, he washed the bowls, chopsticks, pots, and buckets.
Then he bought the supplies needed for the afternoon and returned to the house.
Auntie Zhao watched him leave and sighed.
“Your brother really is wonderful. Hardworking, able to endure hardship, and very capable.”
If Auntie Zhao had a daughter of marriageable age, she would definitely have proposed a match.
Jiang Ran looked proudly at the neatly arranged stall.
“Of course. My brother is very good.”
That afternoon, Jiang Ran simmered bone broth and stir-fried minced meat at the stall.
When she had visited the house that morning, the kitchen had still been a complete mess.
There were grease stains all over the walls, and the floor wasn’t clean either.
Many people renting houses didn’t bother taking care of them.
But Jiang Ran wanted to live comfortably.
If the landlord didn’t change his mind, they would be living there for a long time.
By evening, Jiang Song returned covered in dust.
After organizing everything, they pushed the cart toward Caomen Street.
It had rained only yesterday, and tonight’s scenery was especially beautiful.
There were more people on the streets than usual.
Jiang Ran’s stall benefited from the crowd.
While cooking noodles, she noticed many potential customers.
Some were tempted when they saw the crowd, but after noticing how many people were waiting, they turned away.
One man stood outside the crowd and looked inside.
Seeing only one small table and two stools, he frowned.
“Why don’t you even have proper tables and chairs?”
The comment was rude and dismissive.
Still, Jiang Ran replied pleasantly.
“We’re new here, so our equipment isn’t complete yet. But the food is complete. If you truly can’t make do with it, come back in a few days. I promise it’ll look completely different.”
The customer left with a frown.
Whether he would return in the future, Jiang Ran didn’t know.
But she barely had time to think about it before becoming busy again.
Someone waiting impatiently asked, “Young lady, is mine ready yet? I’ve been waiting forever.”
Jiang Ran replied, “Soup noodles with a fried egg, right? You’re third in line. Once this pot is finished, there’s one order ahead of yours, and then yours will be next. Sorry for making you wait so long.”
Jiang Ran had a gentle temperament.
In the evening light, her complexion didn’t appear dark at all. Instead, her eyes looked bright and moist.
Her voice was clear, and her attitude was warm.
The customer’s face immediately turned red.
“No problem. I was just asking.”
After him, other people asked too.
Jiang Ran remembered every order clearly.
The fourth order was mixed noodles with a fried egg.
The fifth was a bowl of soup noodles with extra vinegar and extra spice.
Business at Auntie Zhao’s stall was good as well.
Sticky rice cakes were especially popular.
Some customers bought one or two to try, while others bought several at a time.
Some even bought one portion, wandered around the street, and then came back to buy more.
It was obvious they hadn’t had enough.
Auntie Zhao said, “It must be because of yesterday’s rain. People stayed home and couldn’t eat what they wanted. Now those people and today’s customers are all crowding together.”
She had prepared enough cakes to sell until nightfall.
At this rate, she would probably have to close early.
Jiang Ran had also prepared her usual amount.
She hadn’t been running the stall for very long and had never expected something like this to happen.
If it rained again in the future, she would know to prepare more ingredients the next day.
Normally she sold for two hours.
Today everything sold much faster.
By halfway through the Xu hour (around 8 p.m.), there was only enough rice batter left for two servings of noodles.
She stopped selling and cooked them for herself.
When customers came asking, Jiang Ran used the same excuse as before.
“These noodles were dropped. I can’t serve them to customers, so we can only eat them ourselves.”
The customer looked helpless.
But after thinking about how clean the stall owner was, he felt reassured about eating there in the future.
“Alright then. I’ll come again tomorrow.”
There were only a few sticky rice cakes left at Auntie Zhao’s stall.
Jiang Ran wrapped them up, intending to take them home for Madam Yun to try.
There wasn’t much left to do, and it was still early.
Auntie Zhao hesitated.
Should she go home now, or go home and make another batch?
After thinking it over, she decided to ask Jiang Ran to watch her stall for a while.
She would be back soon.
The siblings still had things to clean up and wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon anyway.
The customers all nodded.
Jiang Ran’s attitude was always good.
She first ate her noodles.
Afterward, she was still hungry, so she bought some buns from the neighboring stall.
The brother and sister sat down and ate together.
After the meal, Jiang Song cleaned everything up while Jiang Ran watched Auntie Zhao’s stall.
Whenever customers came, Jiang Ran explained that the owner had stepped away briefly and would return soon.
“Why not take a walk around? You’ll be able to buy them when you come back.”
Auntie Zhao returned very quickly.
Fortunately, she had sticky rice cakes available.
If she had needed to prepare leavened dough, there wouldn’t have been enough time.
“Thank you so much,” Auntie Zhao said. “I didn’t delay you two, did I?”
Jiang Ran smiled.
“We haven’t finished cleaning up yet.”
A little while later, Jiang Song finally finished.
Jiang Ran waved goodbye to Auntie Zhao, and the siblings pushed their cart back to the house.
There was no rush to buy meat.
Very few vendors sold meat at the night market.
They still had to go to Binhe Street, where there was a butcher shop that stayed open very late.
Because they needed to bring more things the next day, Jiang Song switched to the larger cart.
After leaving the city, Jiang Song stopped.
“Xiao Ran, get on.”
There wasn’t much on the cart now.
Just some empty buckets, eggs, meat, and seasonings that still needed to be packed.
There was certainly enough room for Jiang Ran to sit.
But Jiang Ran didn’t move.
She had worked hard all day, but so had Jiang Song.
He hadn’t sold anything, yet he had spent the whole day cleaning and running back and forth.
Even if men were stronger, they were still human.
And humans got tired.
Still, after such a long day, the sight of the cart was tempting.
Afraid she might not be able to hold out, she left herself some room to change her mind.
“I can still walk. If I can’t anymore, I’ll ride later.”
She rubbed her sore legs.
“Let’s go home!”
Jiang Song nodded.
Along the way, he asked several more times.
Each time, Jiang Ran shook her head.
Halfway there, she finally stopped walking.
Jiang Song stopped as well.
Before he could speak, Jiang Ran said, “Brother, push me.”
Jiang Song sighed.
“I told you to get on earlier…”
Dragging her aching legs, Jiang Ran climbed onto the cart and held onto the frame.
When she looked back, she saw Jiang Song raise his arms and start pushing. The wheels began turning.
She couldn’t help thinking that her brother was incredibly strong.
And although riding the cart was bumpy, it was still much more comfortable than walking.
The cart swayed gently along the road.
Jiang Ran almost fell asleep.
By the time they arrived home, she had regained some energy.
She started making tea eggs.
Everything else was left for Madam Yun and Jiang Song to handle.
After washing up, she returned to her room and counted money.
Since she had only walked half the usual distance today, she didn’t feel very tired.
She carefully thought through everything they would need to bring tomorrow.
Otherwise, they would have to come back and get things later.
Business had obviously been much better today.
However, they still had only brought the same amount of supplies, so their earnings were about the same as before.
They had three hundred and forty wen left.
For now, she wouldn’t divide it.
They would save it for the monthly rent.
At this rate, earning four or five hundred wen a day wouldn’t be difficult once they no longer needed to return to the village every evening.
Two guan…
They could probably save it in five or six days.
Jiang Ran rolled around on the bed.
Once the new pot arrived, they could get another table and make several more stools.
The next time she came home, she would also ask Madam Yun to prepare more lard.
She hoped that one day Madam Yun and Jiang Chuanli could move there too.
The two of them now listened to Jiang Song and cared about the family.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the whole family could stay together?
And if that happened, Jiang Ran wouldn’t have to get up so early anymore.
The only problem was that the village estate couldn’t be left unattended.
If they entrusted it to the other branches of the family, who knew what kind of gossip they would spread behind their backs?
In the future, she would have to be the one getting up early to simmer bone broth.
Outside, Jiang Song placed the ground rice flour, the starch Jiang Ran had made during the rainy days, and other supplies in the kitchen.
That way, everything could be loaded directly onto the cart the next morning.
The large cart wasn’t needed at home right now.
They could bring it back again during the autumn harvest.
The vegetables had already been picked.
Jiang Song had asked Jiang Chuanli to do that earlier in the morning.
Vegetables picked after dark didn’t need washing.
It was best to leave a little dirt on the roots.
While cleaning up, Jiang Song asked, “How many chi of cloth do we need to make Xiao Ran a new outfit? I noticed Jiang Xing and the others all have new clothes. Especially Jiang Tao—she has the most.”
Madam Yun froze.
The family didn’t have much money, and her children had never asked for anything.
She lowered her head and didn’t dare look at Jiang Song.
“Eight or nine chi should be enough. Use different colors. The top and skirt shouldn’t be the same color. And the cuffs… buy a few different fabrics. Once you bring them back, I’ll make them.”
Seeing her like this made Jiang Song uncomfortable.
He didn’t know what was wrong with himself.
Part of him was angry that his parents had spent the family’s money supporting the other branches, leaving their own household struggling.
Now that he could earn money himself, he couldn’t help speaking sharply to Madam Yun.
But after saying those things, he felt bad too.
Jiang Song said, “When we earn more money, I’ll make a set for you and Father too.”
Madam Yun shook her head.
“Just make clothes for you and Xiao Ran. Your father and I already have enough to wear.”
Not wanting to continue the topic, she quickly added,
“In the future, have your father deliver the vegetables and things. Just tell him how often they need to be brought.”
Jiang Song nodded.
The next day, Jiang Chuanli pushed the cart and escorted the siblings to the village entrance.
The scene reminded Jiang Ran of when they had first started their business, when her brother used to push the cart and bring her here.
Jiang Chuanli was honest and quiet.
Once he had delivered them, he left immediately.
Jiang Ran watched his figure gradually disappear into the distance.
Taking a deep breath, she said,
“Let’s go. We’re definitely going to sell more today!”
The corners of Jiang Song’s mouth lifted.
Holding the cart handles, he said to his sister,
“Get on.”
There were many things loaded on the cart.
The largest items were the two large sacks of rice flour.
There was also a smaller sack of starch powder, vegetables, lard, vinegar, other seasonings, and two jars of tea eggs.
Even with all that, there was still enough room for Jiang Ran to sit.
But after a full night’s sleep, she wasn’t very tired anymore.
“I’ll get on when I can’t walk.”
It was still early morning, and Jiang Ran was full of energy.
She walked all the way to Bianjing.
After entering the city, people surged around them like a tide.
The siblings pushed forward against the flow and first returned to the house to unload their supplies.
Jiang Song worked quickly.
Soon everything was stored away, and he loaded the day’s supplies onto the smaller cart.
Seeing that it was getting late, he immediately locked the door and headed for the street.
Jiang Ran was more familiar with the route today.
As soon as they reached their stall, she spotted Auntie Zhao.
Although there were faint dark circles under Auntie Zhao’s eyes, she looked full of energy.
“There were so many people yesterday,” she said. “I almost couldn’t bear to leave.”
Just hearing her words, Jiang Ran could imagine how good business had been.
But neither of them knew how business would be today, so Auntie Zhao hadn’t dared prepare too much.
If business turned out well, she could always go back and make more.
She smiled at Jiang Ran.
“You’re not going back today, right?”
Jiang Ran paused while arranging things.
“Mm. We’ll try staying later tonight and selling more.”
The daytime schedule would stay the same.
Only the evening would be a little busier.
Actually, it wasn’t more work—it was simply replacing travel time with selling time.
For now, Jiang Ran still had no plans to go to the morning market.
She wanted to save that time for sleeping.
If she got any more tired, she might stop growing.
Auntie Zhao laughed.
“That’s wonderful. Every day after you leave, I feel a little lonely.”
Jiang Ran smiled.
Auntie Zhao had always wanted her to earn more money.
Now that Jiang Ran had finally moved over, she was genuinely happy for her.
Jiang Ran said, “I’ll still be relying on you tonight, Auntie.”
Auntie Zhao waved her hand.
“What relying? We’re just helping each other while doing business.”
They didn’t talk for long because customers had already arrived.
The first was a regular customer who had come many times before.
After ordering and paying, he saw that Jiang Ran’s water hadn’t boiled yet and simply went to sit on a stool behind the stall.
Jiang Ran first brought him the tea eggs he had ordered.
He had bought two.
As soon as they arrived, he leisurely began peeling them.
Tea eggs sold extremely well.
Jiang Ran made forty every day, and there were rarely any leftovers.
More often than not, she didn’t make enough.
If she ran out, she wasn’t worried.
She still had fresh eggs and could simply fry a few.
Before the first customer’s noodles were finished, two more customers arrived.
One of the later arrivals sighed dramatically.
“Oh? I came too late today. Otherwise I might’ve gotten a seat.”
Jiang Ran glanced at Jiang Song.
After the morning rush, she planned to ask him to make another table and a few more stools.
Once the new pot arrived, noodles would cook faster.
There would also be more customers.
One small table clearly wasn’t enough anymore.
Still, her stall was tiny.
Fitting two small square tables behind it would already be pushing it.
Any more than that would start taking up space from neighboring stalls.
On Jiang Ran’s left was Auntie Zhao’s sugar cake stall.
On her right was a bun stall.
The owner was a cheerful young man who was slightly chubby and not very tall.
He had fair skin.
Jiang Ran had bought buns from him several times.
Auntie Zhao had once told her that nobody really managed the stall spaces here.
You just paid a small ground fee and claimed a spot first.
Still, most of the time the bun stall was always to Jiang Ran’s right.
People usually bought buns and sugar cakes and then left immediately.
Because of that, the spaces behind both stalls remained empty.
Jiang Ran thought to herself that if there truly wasn’t enough room, she could ask the two stall owners.
She certainly wouldn’t take up their space for free.
If needed, they could pay the ground fee every day. If that wasn’t enough, they could even offer more.
Of course, that would only be necessary once business became especially good. If business wasn’t great, two small tables would be enough.
All these thoughts piled up in Jiang Ran’s mind, but there were too many customers, so she could only push them aside for now.
There were quite a few people in the morning. However, some saw the crowd ahead of them and were in a hurry, so they simply bought buns or sugar cakes from nearby stalls and left quickly.
Jiang Ran felt it was a pity.
Now that they had finally moved to Bianjing, the only thing still missing was the new pot. She had ordered it yesterday, but who knew when it would be finished?
As soon as the morning rush ended, Jiang Ran urged Jiang Song to go ask about it.
Jiang Song guessed it probably wasn’t ready yet, but he was worried it might be.
“I’ll go take a look. Oh, right, I’ll make another table when I get back.”
That was exactly what Jiang Ran had been thinking.
“Make a few more stools too.”
This time, Jiang Song had brought all his tools with him when they moved.
He only knew basic carpentry, but that was more than enough for things like this.
He also planned to tidy up the house some more, so he might be a little late returning at noon.
“I’ll try to come back early.”
Jiang Ran said, “It’s fine if you’re late. I’ll save the dishes for you to wash. Don’t worry and go.”
Jiang Song nodded and disappeared into the sea of people.
He returned around noon.
On his back was a small table, and several little stools were tied together and hanging from a rope.
The moment he put them down, the customers waiting behind the stall immediately looked delighted.
Seeing that he hadn’t brought the pot, Jiang Ran didn’t even need to ask.
It clearly wasn’t finished yet.
After the lunch rush ended, Jiang Song said, “The pot will be ready tomorrow. The house is almost cleaned up. Let’s go back and work there.”
In the afternoons, Jiang Ran needed to fry eggs, simmer bone broth, and stir-fry minced meat.
In the past, she had no choice but to do everything at the stall.
With only one stove, everything took forever.
Now that they could return home, it would naturally be much more convenient.
Jiang Ran nodded.
“Auntie Zhao, I’m heading back.”
“Go on, go on.”
Auntie Zhao could still sell a few portions during the afternoon and had no plans to return home.
“Oh, wait a moment. Take this.”
She handed Jiang Ran an oil-paper-wrapped roast chicken.
Jiang Ran tried to refuse, but Auntie Zhao directly placed it onto the cart.
“Today counts as you siblings moving into your new home. I’m too busy here to help. Go back and have a proper meal. Don’t try refusing me. Take it!”