When Xu Ming’an heard that one serving cost thirty wen, he instinctively grabbed Xu Mingzhu’s arm and whispered anxiously, “Little Sister, that’s way too expensive. We can’t afford it. Let’s go before we embarrass ourselves.”
A single serving of osmanthus cake cost thirty wen, more than he earned spending an entire day quarrying stone from the mountain. It was outrageous.
But Xu Mingzhu didn’t move. Her calm gaze swept across the shop’s neatly arranged assortment of pastries before she turned to the shop assistant and said evenly, “Sir, we’re not here to buy pastries. We’ve recently collected some wild honey. It’s excellent quality and has a light, sweet flavor. We’d like to know whether your shop buys honey. It would make an ideal filling ingredient for pastries.”
The assistant from Yunsu Pastry Shop glanced at the honey in her basket. Their shop already had a special supplier, and he had intended to send them away. But seeing the young girl’s hopeful expression, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything hurtful.
“So you’re here to sell honey. I only handle sales at the front, but I can ask the steward to take a look. If your honey isn’t good enough, don’t blame me.”
Xu Mingzhu gave a slight curtsy, her eyes curving into a smile. “Thank you for helping us. Whether this deal succeeds or not, your kindness today will make you a benefactor to my brother and me.”
“You little girl really know how to talk. Come with me.” Embarrassed by her sweet words, the assistant immediately led the siblings toward the rear courtyard.
The back courtyard housed the pastry workshop. Several craftsmen kneaded dough, prepared fillings, and baked, creating a lively atmosphere filled with the scent and warmth of food.
The assistant stepped forward and respectfully addressed the workshop manager, Master Wang.
“Master Wang, this young lady brought some wild honey and would like to know whether our shop is interested in buying it.”
Hearing this, Xu Mingzhu and her brother quickly took the jars of honey out of their basket.
Master Wang glanced at them. The honey was clear and bright, even better processed than what their pastry shop usually obtained.
Sensing an opportunity, Xu Mingzhu smiled and said, “Master Wang, I filtered this honey three times through fine mulberry-bark gauze, so it doesn’t have any of that raw, grassy mountain smell. Please have a taste.”
Master Wang dipped a chopstick into the honey and sampled it. After a moment’s consideration, he nodded.
“The honey is indeed good. I can buy it.” Then he added, “However, I want to purchase your honey-processing method as well. If you’re willing, I’ll pay five hundred wen for both the method and these three jars of honey.”
“What? Five hundred wen?” Xu Ming’an was so shocked he nearly lost his footing.
Three jars of honey were worth five hundred wen? If he’d known there was such a market for it, how could the Xu family have ended up so poor?
Snapping out of his astonishment, he turned toward Xu Mingzhu and asked in disbelief, “Little Sister, he… he said five hundred wen, right?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he met Xu Mingzhu’s warning glare. Instantly silenced, he obediently retreated behind his younger sister and didn’t dare say another word.
Master Wang took in the siblings’ reactions and immediately understood the situation. For an ordinary farming household, five hundred wen was already a considerable sum. Surely they would accept the offer.
Xu Mingzhu, however, had never expected someone to buy her honey-processing technique as well. Nor did she know whether five hundred wen was a fair price. But she understood merchants. If someone could casually offer a price, it meant the item was worth even more.
“Second Brother, put the honey back in the basket. Let’s ask a few other shops first.” With that, she pretended to leave.
Master Wang immediately strode forward and blocked their path. “Miss, are you dissatisfied with the price?”
Xu Mingzhu nodded apologetically. “Master Wang, my family risked quite a lot collecting this honey, and processing it took considerable effort. At this price, I wouldn’t be able to answer to my family when I return home.”
After thinking it over, Master Wang said, “Fair enough. You’ve clearly put in the work. There’s no need for you to keep running around to other shops. I’ll add another two hundred wen. Seven hundred wen in total. Write down the procedure, and I’ll give you the money.”
Xu Mingzhu was completely penniless at the moment. Hearing the offer of seven hundred wen, she chose not to negotiate any further. “Uncle Wang is truly an honest man. If we come across any good products in the future, we’ll bring them to you first.”
“Excellent.”
Xu Mingzhu wrote down the process and exchanged the recipe for seven hundred wen.
After returning to the front of the shop, Xu Mingzhu took out three copper coins and handed them to the assistant who had led them inside.
“Brother, thank you for your help today.”
The assistant froze in surprise. “Miss, did you sell your honey?”
Xu Mingzhu nodded. “Yes, we did. It’s thanks to you showing us the way. Please take these three wen. Consider it a cup of hot tea from my brother and me.”
Scratching his head, the assistant’s face reddened. “Honestly, I only showed you the way. That’s too much.” As he spoke, he tried to return the money.
Xu Mingzhu stepped back and said sincerely, “Please keep it. If you don’t, we’ll feel bad about it.”
Seeing how earnest she was, the assistant stopped refusing. “Miss, my name is Laifu. If you bring more honey in the future, I’ll show you the way again.”
After thanking him, Xu Mingzhu pulled the still-silent Xu Ming’an out of the shop. “Little Sister, hurry up and hit me.”
Xu Mingzhu placed a hand on his forehead. “Second Brother, that’s a very strange request.”
Xu Ming’an slapped his own thigh instead. The pain made him bare his teeth, but then he started laughing. His behavior scared passing pedestrians into giving him a wide berth.
Feeling embarrassed, Xu Mingzhu hurried ahead to the next street corner.
Xu Ming’an followed with a goofy grin plastered across his face. “Little Sister, that tiny bit of honey really earned us seven hundred wen! If I went looking for honey every day, then wouldn’t I…” He counted on his fingers repeatedly but couldn’t make sense of the numbers. Finally, he blurted out excitedly, “Wouldn’t we make tons and tons of money?”
“Second Brother, that’s not how the math works. This time we got a good price because of the filtering method. There won’t be a next time.”
Xu Ming’an’s smile faded. “Then we’ll sell it to someone else.”
Xu Mingzhu shook her head. “There’s no need. The method is simple. Anyone with a little experience can figure it out. Besides, you were right. Bees sting people. We shouldn’t take that risk.”
“Then…” He had planned to say that from now on they could just search for beehives instead of hauling stones, but that path didn’t seem viable after all.
“Second Brother, I have other ways to make money, but I’ll need your help. And you’re not allowed to go back to the quarry.”
“Alright, I’ll help you.” Xu Ming’an instantly went from dejected to delighted. He wouldn’t have believed such words before. But he had just witnessed his little sister earn seven hundred wen through nothing more than her clever tongue. Maybe she really could do it. After all, if there was another way to survive, who would willingly risk their life in a stone quarry?
“Good. Then let’s buy a few things and head home. We’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
As they passed a gambling house, Xu Ming’an’s heart nearly jumped into his throat. He was terrified that his little sister might accidentally donate all seven hundred wen to the place. Fortunately, she merely walked past without going inside. Only then did he finally relax.
At home, the rice jar was nearly empty. Recalling the wild vegetable soup they had eaten that morning, Xu Mingzhu suddenly felt her throat ache again. She had originally wanted to buy white rice, but when she saw that it cost fifteen wen per jin while coarse brown rice was only five wen per jin, she quietly stepped away from the white rice section.
Thinking about her future plans, she spent fifteen wen on three jin of brown rice instead. As she left the grain shop, she silently vowed that once she earned more money, she would come back and buy white rice.
The two then stopped at a butcher’s stall.
Xu Ming’an grabbed her arm. “Little Sister, you’ve earned some money today, but we still need to spend it carefully.”
“It’s fine, Second Brother. I’m just buying some pork and pork offal. Tomorrow, we’re going to try setting up a street stall.”