The wives of Lijia'ao were, by and large, the kindest and most gentle-hearted women for miles around.
Their lives were not ones of great wealth, yet they carried a steady contentment that came from knowing simple joys.
Precisely because their lives were happy and their wants were small, they were most generous when it came to "eating."
As long as it was for the elders, children, or expectant mothers at home, they would gladly trade even the coppers saved from between their teeth for a sweet bite at the corner of their mouths.
At this thought, Jiang Wan's heart stirred. She spent 5.98 yuan to buy thirty-two pieces of poria cocos cake.
The cakes were snowy white in color and looked soft and fluffy.
They carried a faint, subtle hint of medicinal fragrance. Whether they had any actual medicinal effect remained to be seen, but the flavor was certainly not to be underestimated.
Her attention drifted, and beside the item, the app recommended peach crisps.
Looking at the picture, the golden, crispy pastry was covered in enticing cracks! A dense layer of black sesame seeds was sprinkled across the top.
Just imagining the "crunch" as it shattered in the mouth made her saliva pool.
Jiang Wan swallowed hard, momentarily carried away by temptation, and splurged another 10.98 yuan for two pounds.
[Current Balance: 0.94 yuan]
Looking at the paltry remainder, Jiang Wan felt a sense of security nonetheless.
Both the poria cocos cakes and peach crisps were dry goods that could withstand the heat, so she wasn't in a rush to exchange them.
In a flash, all four items were wrapped tightly in burlap sacks or oil paper and delivered to the pickup point.
This saved her the trouble of tampering in between—she simply transferred them from the sacks into her bamboo basket.
Everything was ready!
A confident smile curled at the corners of Jiang Wan's lips. She hoisted the heavy load of new goods onto her back and strode briskly toward Lijia'ao…
By early evening, the sun had softened its scorching glare, and more people had gathered at the threshing ground by the village entrance of Lijia'ao.
Villagers who had harvested their grain earlier had already spread golden rice across the ground.
The men tossed their winnowing baskets, sending away excess husks and chaff as the warm breeze rose.
The sultry air carried the fresh scent of rice stalks and the dry fragrance of grain.
Women gathered in twos and threes under the shade of trees—some picking through grains that had fallen from the rice ears, others mending clothes, their tongues never idle as they chatted about this household's business and that family's gossip.
Barefoot children chased and played beside the drying grain piles, their laughter rising and falling in waves.
The moment they spotted Jiang Wan's familiar figure with her bamboo basket appearing at the village entrance, the scattered crowd suddenly fell quiet for a beat.
The next second, a warm voice rang out.
"Oh my! Isn't that Wan girl from the Zhou family?!"
Shougen's Wife spotted her at once and hastily set the winnowing basket from her lap onto the ground. "I thought since it was already this late, you wouldn't be coming today."
Jiang Wan wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled with her eyes curving into crescents. "Didn't I promise you all? We small-time merchants take our word very seriously."
Shougen's Wife wore an expression of approval that said "I knew I wasn't wrong about her."
She quickly shifted aside, deliberately shooing away the half-grown children who had gathered to watch, clearing the coolest spot under the shade. "Let Wan girl rest a moment. Everyone, move to the edges a bit—don't block the breeze. Let's see what she's brought us today!"
The stone stools beneath them had long been baked hot from sitting, the warmth seeping through even their trousers and skirts.
Even so, it was no match for the blazing enthusiasm on their faces.
Jiang Wan barely had to lift a finger—eager hands helped unpack the treasures from her basket.
Half a bag of freshly rendered pork cracklings from that morning's batch, a large chunk of dark, gritty brown sugar, a big bundle of plump red dates, and two bags of pastries wafting a sweet fragrance.
The moment they were laid out, that sweet aroma mixed with the rich scent of lard instantly hooked everyone's noses.
Shougen's Wife could hardly contain the smile tugging at her lips, her eyes practically gleaming.
She spun around and gave her grandson, who was winding himself around her skirt, a firm pat, her voice shooting up an octave.
"What are you standing there gawking for? You little rascal—hurry back and tell your mother to bring the money!"
The boy, instead of getting upset at the slap, looked as if he'd just been granted a pardon. With a whoop of joy, he took off toward the village, trailed by a whole gaggle of playmates.
The crisp laughter of the children rang out especially loud across the empty threshing ground.
The women watching couldn't help but laugh and scold, fanning Jiang Wan with their palm-leaf fans to ward off the summer heat while discussing what they'd each take home.
The atmosphere was buzzing with life.
"Slow down! Watch where you're going—hold your little sister's hand, don't tumble off the embankment!"
"These greedy little brats—the moment there's food to be had, they spring into action. Usually you can't drag them home for dinner no matter how hard you yell."
"With this heat, nothing tastes right. Folks young and old all want something a little different." One auntie sniffed the air, her gaze drifting to the package of peach crisps with oil seeping through the paper. "Hey, Zhou's wife, can you open up that pastry package for us to see? If it looks good, weigh me out two pieces—I want to spoil my own little ones too."
Jiang Wan smiled and obliged the auntie's urging.
First, she untied the oil-paper bundle containing the poria cakes.
The snow-white cakes were stacked neatly in rows, a clean, sweet aroma of glutinous rice slowly wafting out.
"Sisters, take a look—these are poria cakes. Sweet but not cloying, perfect for the elderly folks."
As she spoke, she untied the bundle of peach crisps. Crumbs scattered down with her movements, and the watching aunties winced in dismay.
"Oh my, do be careful—don't spill any!"
Jiang Wan murmured two quick acknowledgments, unwrapping both the peach crisps and poria cakes and laying them out before everyone.
The auntie who'd spoken swallowed hard, leaned in, and tested the waters with a slightly uncertain tone: "These pastries are so finely made… Wan girl, how much are they going for?"
"Sisters, you're all practical folk, so I won't be throwing out wild prices—the pastries are three coppers apiece." Jiang Wan quoted the price, her voice crisp and clear. "If you'd rather trade mountain goods or eggs, that works too—two big eggs for one pastry, or one big egg plus a small one. Does that sound fair?"
The words had barely left her mouth when a woman holding a child piped up urgently, "Three of each for me—I'll run home and grab the eggs!" She turned and hurried off without waiting for Jiang Wan's reply.
The auntie who'd first asked about the price moved even faster.
She pulled a cloth pouch from her bosom, carefully counted out fifteen copper coins, and handed them to Jiang Wan.
"Girl, give me two of those white pastries and three peach crisps."
Jiang Wan took the coins, deftly tore off two sheets of oil paper, and wrapped up the pastries she'd requested.
The auntie took the bundle, immediately broke off a small piece of peach crisp, and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes lit up at once. "Mmm! Sweet!"
She pointed at the red dates again. "How much for these?"
Jiang Wan frowned, her gaze sweeping over the pair of bright red dates before her. After a brief moment of thought, she gave a clear price. "These dates are two wen for ten—no picking and choosing, flat rate."
Dates were light and easy to store.
The thing merchants in the trade loved most was to stock up in bulk at low prices during late autumn, right when the dates first came off the trees and production was at its peak, then sell them off slowly and steadily.
If you caught the busiest time when supplies were most abundant, you could even get seven dates for a single wen!
Right now, there was still at least a month or more before this season's new dates came down from the trees.
Shipped from the place of origin to Yongchuan County, with all the transfers along the way, the goods wouldn't arrive for at least two months.
The dates from the Mall weren't large—about fifty or sixty to a catty. Still, they were bigger than the ones that ended up in the villagers' hands, and their skins had a glossy, oily sheen to them.
All things considered, five dates for a wen was already quite fair.
Sure enough, the moment the price was announced, the crowd stirred.
The quicker calculators among the villagers had already started lining up on their own beside the sack of dates.
"Girl, stop chatting and get to business! Give me five wen worth of these dates—I'll take them home and poach an egg with them. They're no worse than brown sugar."
"True enough, and as a snack they're cheaper than pastries too, plus they're nourishing! Wan girl, grab me five wen worth of dates as well!"
"Two liang of brown sugar, thirty dates, and five pieces of each of those pastries!"
"Oho! Is your family celebrating New Year or something? Buying that much?"
"I'm visiting relatives in a couple of days. Buying it now and bringing it over—isn't that cheaper than going to town? Saves me the extra walking too…"
With more buyers, the noise around them began to swell.
Even the men busy collecting grain on the threshing ground couldn't hold back anymore. They set down their brooms and winnowing baskets and came over, wiping sweat with their cloths.
"Don't just buy those sweet things! Get some pork cracklings—I want to have a drink with Second Brother tonight!"
"The meat and oil at home are almost gone. Skip the snacks and grab a couple of handfuls of cracklings instead—that's the practical choice…"
"Hey hey hey! Aunties and ladies! Leave a gap, will you? You're blocking it up tight—the young miss is getting squeezed breathless! Careful, she might not come back next time!"
"Hahaha…"
Good-natured teasing rang out, and the women in the crowd turned to laugh and scold the men behind them.
Still, after that reminder, the crowd stepped back several paces, leaving Jiang Wan plenty of room to breathe and fetch her goods.
Weigh yours, then weigh yours.
Scoop yours, then scoop yours.
Jiang Wan was drenched in sweat from the bustle, but she couldn't hold back everyone's enthusiasm.
After all that work, she'd taken in two catties of assorted dried mushrooms and over a catty of eggs.
This time, most of the villagers from Lijia'ao had chosen to pay in silver.
She figured their stores at home were running low—the little dried goods they had left were being kept for their own families to eat, so they weren't willing to trade them away.
Jiang Wan wasn't annoyed. A smile stayed on her face the whole time.
In her view, when it came to mountain goods, as long as she got the shop set up and built a reputation, villagers would keep coming to sell on consignment and hawk their wares.
By then, her procurement costs would be even lower, and she'd have access to even more things. There was no rush for the moment.
When half a sun still hung at the edge of the sky, most of what she'd brought today had been sold.
There was still a small piece of brown sugar and a little over twenty dates left—everything else had sold out.
Just as Jiang Wan was tidying up, intending to head home against the sunset, a group of half-grown children clustered around a tall, skinny kid and walked up to her.
He carried a burlap sack that looked bulging but was actually light as a feather, his bare feet shuffling nervously against the ground.
Jiang Wan licked her slightly parched lips, pulled out her water pouch, and took a gulp. "Is there something you want to trade with me? I only have red dates and brown sugar left now."
Her tone was calm, her gaze clear, with not a hint of condescension toward the children.
Seeing her gentle attitude, the leading kid mustered his courage, thrusting the hand gripping the sack forward.
Speaking at a rapid clip, he said: "These are Yin-Lady Shells we gathered up on the mountain. Will you take them?"