Shen Nian suggested she go to the Yamen first thing tomorrow to inquire about the procedures required for setting up a stall. If she planned to operate long-term, it would be best to file a case with the Yamen.
Xia Tian had originally thought that since many villagers set up stalls to sell goods on market days, she could simply go and do the same.
But Shen Nian explained that if she intended to run a stall regularly, it was different from the temporary market-day businesses of the villagers. Filing a case would be more appropriate.
In case anything happened, she could seek official assistance.
Xia Tian nodded—that made sense!
It was better to follow the advice of the local residents.
After their conversation, the two washed up and returned to their respective rooms to rest.
Before sleeping, she mentally reviewed everything she needed to do the next day, ensuring nothing was overlooked, before drifting into a deep slumber.
The next day, she woke up early, had breakfast, washed her clothes, and prepared lunch for Shen Nian before leisurely heading out.
Today was just about scouting the route and buying some seasonings and ingredients like pork intestines. She planned to marinate them in the evening and test the results at the market tomorrow.
Since she wasn’t in a hurry, she didn’t take Uncle Liu San’s ox cart and walked to town alone.
It wasn’t a market day, so the town was relatively quieter, though still quite lively.
Xia Tian first went to the Yamen to inquire. Sure enough, if she wanted to run a stall long-term, she needed to file a case.
After filing, the Yamen would assign a fixed stall location and charge a management fee of five wen each time she set up.
Fortunately, the fee was only collected on days she operated the stall, right at the stall itself, with no advance payment required.
This was better—if she didn’t show up one day, she wouldn’t have to pay the fee, which would be more cost-effective.
Once she understood the process, she decided to file the case and secure her stall right then since she was already there.
She paid a deposit of one hundred wen, and the Yamen registrar recorded her details and issued her a slip. She could go directly to the stall when ready.
Xia Tian looked at the slip. It indicated a fixed stall but only specified a general location—which street and number.
The exact spot wasn’t clear.
At the moment, the street was filled with stall vendors. Xia Tian thought about asking a Yamen staff member to show her the location so she could set up directly tomorrow.
She discreetly slipped some copper coins to the person in charge. Seeing her as sensible, the supervisor called a Yamen runner to take her there.
Xia Tian thanked him and followed the runner to check out the stall.
On the way, she struck up a conversation with the runner. “Brother Ya Cha, is the stall fixed in one specific spot, or can I set up anywhere along the street?”
“You can’t move around freely. Once the spot is marked, you must stay in that location,” Brother Ya Cha replied.
“If I don’t set up on a particular day, will the spot be reserved for me, or can someone else use it?”
She lived far away and was worried that if she arrived late one day, her stall might be taken. It was better to clarify.
“If someone takes it, it’s fine. You can just go there when you arrive, but it’s best to come early,” Brother Ya Cha patiently explained, not seeming annoyed by her questions.
Xia Tian guessed that while the stall was fixed, if she arrived late and someone else had taken the spot, she would have to resolve it herself.
“Thank you, Brother Ya Cha. I understand,” Xia Tian said sincerely.
As they talked, they arrived at the location. The stall area was on the market street, which certainly didn’t lack foot traffic.
The yamen runner pointed out the location to Xia Tian, which was quite good—not far from the intersection of two streets.
Xia Tian slipped Brother Ya Cha a few copper coins and thanked him. After he left, she wandered around the area.
Most of the shops on this street sold food—steamed buns, wontons, noodles—but she didn’t see any braised dishes for sale.
Xia Tian felt somewhat relieved.
With the stall location settled, she still needed to prepare the ingredients.
First, she went to a spice shop and a pharmacy to gather all the necessary braising spices. She didn’t buy too much, just enough for about a month’s use.
Some of the required spices were considered medicinal herbs and weren’t available in ordinary spice shops.
After buying the spices, Xia Tian didn’t rush to the butcher shop. Instead, she headed to a cloth store first.
The clothes she was wearing still belonged to the original owner—patched and worn thin.
If she was going to sell food, she needed to dress more decently and neatly.
That would make her appear cleaner too.
Xia Tian went directly to the Jinxiu Cloth Shop she had visited before and bought two pieces of coarse cloth—one in wine red and the other in sky blue.
She planned to make two sets of clothes so she could alternate and wash them.
After placing the items in her back basket, she went to a general store to buy needles and thread. She had already cut the fabric for Shen Nian’s clothes but hadn’t sewn them yet.
However, now that she was going to set up a stall, she probably wouldn’t have time to sew. She considered asking Sister-in-law Yao to do it for her in exchange for payment.
Noticing oil paper on the counter, she remembered that there were no plastic bags in ancient times—oil paper was used for wrapping items. She bought a stack of oil paper for twenty wen.
Seeing wooden bowls and chopsticks for sale, she also bought ten pairs of chopsticks and ten wooden bowls, spending another twenty wen. These would be used for customer samples tomorrow.
With all these purchases made, Xia Tian prepared to go to the butcher shop to buy some pork intestines.
On the way, when no one was around, she secretly transferred the items into her Space to avoid cross-contamination later.
She covered the back basket with a tattered bag. As long as no one lifted it to look inside, no one would know whether her belongings were in the basket or in her Space.
By the time she reached the butcher shop, there wasn’t much meat left.
She had left home late today, and it was almost noon. Most of the good cuts had already been sold, leaving only some lean meat.
Fortunately, not many people bought pork intestines. Xia Tian bought two portions for twenty wen.
She also bought a pair of pig’s trotters for fifteen wen.
She had wanted to buy a pig’s head too, but it was already sold out.
Since tomorrow was just a trial run, Xia Tian didn’t dare to buy too much.
She bought two jin of lean meat for dinner and prepared to head back.
Passing by a tofu stall, she noticed dried tofu for sale and bought two jin for ten wen.
When braised, dried tofu tasted just as good as meat.
For tomorrow’s stall, Xia Tian planned to braise everything at home tonight and bring it directly to sell tomorrow. She could discreetly store it in her Space, and it would still be warm when she set up her stall in the morning.
This way, she wouldn’t need to start a fire, which would save a lot of trouble.
With nothing else to buy, Xia Tian stopped at a noodle stall and ordered a bowl of plain noodles. She ate slowly before starting her journey back.
It was already past two in the afternoon when she arrived home. After greeting Shen Nian, she hurried to the village carpenter’s house to order a table, wooden buckets, and a wooden basin.
She wouldn’t need to cook at the stall, but she couldn’t sell food directly on the ground either. A table would make everything look cleaner.
The wooden buckets and basin would be used to separate the braised dishes.
The carpenter had ready-made items available. Xia Tian bought one square wooden table, two wooden buckets, and one large wooden basin. She paid and asked for them to be delivered directly to her home.
If she found anything else missing tomorrow, she could always purchase it later.
It was getting late, so Xia Tian hurried to clean the pork intestines and trotters, then started a fire to begin braising them.
Shen Nian watched Xia Tian bustling about but didn't disturb her, quietly sitting in the yard whittling bamboo. Since Shen Nian's health had improved, he had developed a great interest in bamboo weaving and would often sit in the yard weaving when he had free time. Now, the house was filled with back baskets, bamboo crates, small stools, and the like.
Still, it was a good thing for Shen Nian to have something to do—it helped pass the time.
After Xia Tian started braising the pork intestines and other ingredients, she noticed it was getting late and began preparing dinner. The baby bok choy from the garden was ready to eat, so she stir-fried some with garlic, sautéed lean meat with dried chili peppers, and made an egg drop soup. The main dish was steamed rice, and soon, dinner was ready.
After the meal, she turned down the heat to let the braised dishes simmer slowly, allowing the flavors to deepen.
Xia Tian took some fabric to Sister-in-law Yao, asking her to help make clothes and offering ten coins per garment. Sister-in-law Yao happily agreed.
Remembering that tomorrow was market day and Uncle Liu San's oxcart would likely be crowded, Xia Tian went to Uncle Liu San's house to ask if he could pick her up at her door in the morning. She had a lot to carry and couldn't manage alone, promising to pay him double the fare.
The next morning, Xia Tian got up early, prepared breakfast for Shen Nian and kept it warm in the pot, then quickly ate something herself.
Around five in the morning, Uncle Liu San arrived. Xia Tian loaded the table, wooden buckets, and basins onto the oxcart, bringing along a small stool Shen Nian had woven. The wooden buckets were covered with lids and contained only a few items; the rest were stored in her Space, to be quietly transferred into the buckets later upon arrival.
Once everything was loaded, she rode directly to the village entrance.