When Li Yao suggested that she help with the braised food business, Zhou was so thrilled she agreed immediately, nodding repeatedly.
“Don’t you worry, sister-in-law! I will work very hard.”
“You’ll never be able to manage the stall alone,” Li Yao said. “You should have your husband, Wang Yuanding, come home to help you.”
“Yes, I’ll talk to Mother about it as soon as I get back.”
Wang Yuanding was Zhou’s husband, the second son of the family. Due to the drought, there was no farm work to be done, so he had gone to the docks at Yizhou Prefecture to work as a day laborer. In Li Yao’s memory, Wang Yuanding was just like his brother Wang Yuanshan—honest and hardworking—which was why she chose to prioritize their family for this venture.
Li Yao would handle the preparation of the braised meat, rice, and steamed buns. Every morning, Zhou and her husband would take the supplies to sell at the Yongding market, returning in the afternoon to settle the accounts.
Li Yao had calculated the numbers: she would wholesale each portion for 13 wen, leaving Zhou with a profit of 2 wen per portion. Selling 100 portions a day would mean a profit of 200 wen for the couple, while Li Yao herself would make 500 wen.
When Zhou heard how much they could make daily, she nearly felt faint. Her husband made only 700 to 800 wen a month working his fingers to the bone at the docks. To think they could make thousands of wen just by selling braised food—it was more than she had ever dared to dream!
“You’ll need to provide your own handcart, tables, chairs, and stove,” Li Yao added. “It would be best to find a place to store them near the market so you aren’t lugging everything back and forth every day.”
“My parents’ home is nearby,” Zhou replied. “It isn’t far from the market at all. We can store our things there.”
Li Yao nodded; Zhou was sharp when it counted. After ironing out the details, Zhou scurried back to the family estate, eager to discuss the plan with her mother-in-law.
“You’ve always been honest and reliable; your sister-in-law chose you for that very reason,” the old woman said after hearing the proposal. “I’ll cover the money for the equipment.”
“Thank you, Mother!”
“Follow her lead tomorrow to learn the ropes,” Wang Xue-shi instructed. “I’ll have the fourth son make a trip immediately to bring the second son back. Once he returns, the two of you must work diligently.”
Zhou’s heart finally settled. The prospect of 200 wen a day made her so excited she couldn’t sleep a wink; before the sun had even risen, she was at Li Yao’s house, ready to help before heading off to the market with Dazhuang to learn the trade. Zhou was quick-witted, and aside from a slight struggle with the arithmetic, she adapted quite well.
By the third day, Wang Yuanding had arrived home, and all the equipment had been prepared. Li Yao provided them with 100 portions of braised food and sent them off to sell.
That day, Wang Xue-shi didn’t go anywhere. She sat by the front gate, drying wild vegetables while keeping a watchful eye on the village entrance. Just past noon, the couple returned.
“Back so early?”
“Mother!” Zhou’s face was beaming like a flower. She handed over all the earnings from the day. “Sister-in-law’s food is just too popular! In less than an hour, all 100 portions were sold out!”
“Good. That is very good.”
Holding the heavy coin purse, Wang Xue-shi felt a sense of relief.
Wang Yuanding stepped forward, trying to please her. “Mother, I bought some pork. Let’s stir-fry it for dinner.”
“You wasteful spendthrift, why buy so much? Just like your sister-in-law, you get a little money in your pockets and you lose your sense of direction!”
“Mother, we’re going to my sister-in-law’s place to help. Qiao’er, Yanzi, come along!”
Unable to bear his mother’s nagging, Wang Yuanding grabbed the two sets of pork offal he’d bought at the Yongding market and hurried away with Zhou and their two daughters.
“Wait!”
Wang Xue-shi picked up a basket and went into the vegetable garden, pulling up half a basket of radishes. “Take these to your sister-in-law. Save her the trouble of buying from others every single day.”
“Yes, Mother!”
After the family had left, Shen could finally no longer contain herself. Her sister-in-law is simply too biased!
The second branch of the family only had two girls, while she had given birth to a son! By rights, the business should have gone to her branch first.
“Mother, are you just going to watch while my sister-in-law plays favorites?”
“Don’t you start stirring up trouble!” Wang Xue-shi snapped, her temper flaring. “Your sister-in-law let the second branch handle it because she knows your second sister-in-law is reliable and won’t go around gossiping! If you want to do business with her, you need to learn how to be a decent person first!”
Shen pursed her lips, deeply unconvinced.
Biased is biased, no matter what excuses she comes up with! Shen thought bitterly.
“Why are you still standing there? Get out and cut the grass!” Wang Xue-shi barked.
…
Back in Li Yao’s courtyard, Wang Yuanding and Zhou were busy scrubbing and cleaning.
“Sister-in-law, you rest—let us handle this.”
Qiao’er and Yanzi, the two daughters, had come along as well. Aged twelve and ten respectively, they were so terrified of Li Yao that they sat at the edge of the courtyard, not daring to move an inch. Both girls were as thin as monkeys. Seeing as there were no snacks in the house, Li Yao cut two pieces of brown sugar and handed them over to satisfy their cravings.
“Thank you, Great Aunt.”
“Eat up, then go play with Si’er,” Li Yao said.
“Yes.”
The two girls sucked on the brown sugar until they had licked their fingers clean, then timidly scurried off to play with little Wang Xiaosi.
“Sister-in-law, you’re spoiling them,” Zhou remarked. “Sugar isn’t cheap these days.”
It’s just a small piece of brown sugar, Li Yao thought. Hardly worth mentioning. Little Wang Xiaosi snuck a taste of it several times a day anyway.
“Since you’re storing the equipment at your parents’ place, you’re putting them out. Remember to show them your gratitude often,” Li Yao advised.
“I know, Sister-in-law,” Wang Yuanding replied. “I’ll buy them some meat tomorrow.”
The elder sister-in-law is like a mother. Wang Yuanding used to view his eldest sister-in-law only with fear, but now, a deep sense of gratitude had taken root in his heart.
With the extra hands, the cleaning was finished in no time. Wang Yuanding, in his simple-minded way, tried to head into the kitchen to help with the fire, but Zhou quickly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him home.
“Can you be a little more sensible?”
“What did I do?” Wang Yuanding asked, truly puzzled.
“Sister-in-law’s braised food is selling like hotcakes, and yet no one can replicate the flavor. That means she has a secret recipe,” Zhou explained. “If you go blunderbussing into her kitchen, what if she thinks you’re trying to steal it? You know what her temper is like—she can flip in an instant. If she decides to stop working with us, you won’t even have a place to cry.”
Wang Yuanding let out a sheepish laugh. “You’re right. I’ll listen to you.”
Looking at her husband, whom she hadn’t seen in such a long time, a soft smile tugged at the corner of Zhou’s mouth.
…
With the Yongding market stall successfully established, Li Yao turned her eyes to the two neighboring markets. She wanted to strike while the iron was hot and get operations running there as well. She had already decided on who would run them and how.
Bidding.
She sought out the village chief and spent a long time explaining the concept of a “bidding” process to him.
“I still don’t get it,” the village chief said. “This is such a lucrative opportunity—why give it to outsiders? Isn’t Wang Yuanguo still working as a laborer in Yizhou Prefecture?”
“I’ve already given his family one share; that’s more than enough,” Li Yao replied. “Besides, if I only let my own kin run things, it’ll be a nightmare if any issues arise.”
“That’s a fair point.”
With the village chief’s announcement, the villagers soon caught wind of the news. By that afternoon, hundreds of people were crowded into the open space outside the chief’s house, murmuring in disbelief.
“She’s really going to hand this kind of opportunity over to us? Don’t let it be a trap.”
“The village chief is the one facilitating it. If it’s a trap, we’ll just go after him!”
“I heard Wang Yuanding has been selling at the Yongding market for a day, and he’s already made a profit.”
…
Amidst the noisy crowd, Shen was pacing like an ant on a hot pan. She had accepted that the first stall went to the second branch of the family, but handing the remaining two over to strangers? What kind of sense did that make?
She’s pushing the family’s interests right out the door!
She rushed to complain to her mother-in-law, only to be met with another fierce tongue-lashing.
“Your sister-in-law has already given us one share; are you going to be greedy forever?” the old woman snapped. “If you truly want to do business, learn how to follow your sister-in-law’s rules first!”
Shen pursed her lips, deeply unconvinced.