“Look at those people,” Shen Weiwan said quietly, nudging Shen Mingxuan. “They want large quantities and top-quality produce. With just our three baskets of vegetables, they may not even give us a second glance.”
Following her gaze, Shen Mingxuan saw a steward-like man saying to a vegetable vendor, “I need two hundred jin of the tenderest greens. Deliver them to the back door of Fulai Restaurant on West Street.”
The vendor beamed with delight and hurriedly called for his helpers to pack the vegetables.
“What should we do then?” Shen Mingxuan grew anxious. “We can’t possibly carry them all back home, can we? If Mother finds out…”
“Don’t panic.” Shen Weiwan took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
She knew that this was precisely the time to stay composed.
“Our vegetables may not be the most outstanding, but they’re clean. Look—there’s hardly any dirt on the roots, and the leaves don’t have insect holes. That’s our advantage.”
Squatting down, she picked up a leafy green from the basket and wiped the dust from its leaves with her handkerchief.
“And since it’s our first time here, we can lower the price a little. We’re not trying to make a big profit right now—we just need to get our foot in the door.”
As she spoke, an elderly woman carrying a bamboo basket approached and looked over their vegetables.
“Little girl, how much are these greens?”
Shen Weiwan immediately stood up, a smile spreading across her face.
“Grandma, these were just picked from the fields—they’re very fresh. Six wen per jin, and if you buy more, I can let them go for five.”
The old woman pinched a leaf and turned it over a few times.
“They’re quite tender, though there isn’t much of them. Give me two jin.”
“Right away!”
Shen Mingxuan quickly took out their small scale and carefully weighed two jin. Meanwhile, Shen Weiwan skillfully tied the vegetables together with straw and handed them over.
Looking at the twelve copper coins in her hand, the siblings exchanged glances and both saw relief in each other’s eyes.
“Weiwan, someone actually bought our vegetables!” Shen Mingxuan exclaimed in delight.
“Yes.” Shen Weiwan smiled as she carefully put the money away. “That means our vegetables can sell. Let’s wait a bit longer—more customers will come.”
When weighing the vegetables for the old woman, Shen Weiwan had deliberately added an extra handful. As the woman left, she quietly told her that if they went to the third alley ahead, there were several women there who did needlework and liked buying fresh vegetables. She suggested they try their luck there.
When Shen Weiwan and Shen Mingxuan turned into the third alley, the moss on the gray brick walls was still damp.
The alley was narrow, lined with uneven rows of low houses. Blue cloth garments hung drying from the windows, and the faint scent of soapberries lingered in the air.
“Fresh vegetables! Just picked from the fields!” Shen Weiwan cleared her throat and called out, her voice crisp and bright with youthful energy. “Homegrown vegetables, fresh from the earth!”
Shen Mingxuan also shouted a few times. His voice was slightly tense, but loud enough.
They had barely called out twice when a wooden door to the east creaked open, and an elderly woman carrying a sewing basket poked her head out.
“Little girl, where are the vegetables? Let me have a look.”
“Right here, Auntie!”
Shen Weiwan quickly moved the basket forward. The green leaves glistened in the morning sunlight.
“Look at these hearts—they’re so tender you could squeeze water out of them. We just pulled them from the fields in Hanzhuang this morning. They’re still carrying the dew.”
The old woman turned the leaves over and even gave them a sniff.
“They are fresh. How much?”
“Six wen per jin—cheaper than the market, and we’ll even deliver them right to your door.” Shen Weiwan’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
“That’s a fair price.” The old woman nodded readily. “Give me three jin, and pick out the clean ones.”
With the first customer buying, the other households gradually opened their doors as well.
Women in indigo jackets and elderly ladies with neatly coiled buns gathered around in twos and threes, asking prices and picking through the vegetables.
“I want two jin for lunch.”
“Give me five jin. I’ll pickle them and eat them for days.”
“These look much fresher than the ones at the market. I’ll take three jin too.”
Shen Mingxuan busied himself weighing vegetables and collecting money, while Shen Weiwan removed the old leaves and tied the vegetables into neat bundles with straw.
The siblings worked together seamlessly, and before long, all three baskets were nearly empty.
Even the dried pickled radishes in their back basket were bought by an older woman who loved salty snacks.
“Weiwan, your idea was brilliant!”
Shen Mingxuan counted the copper coins in his hand, grinning from ear to ear. His rough fingertips rubbed the coins until they gleamed.
“This is so much better than just standing around in the market!”
Just as Shen Weiwan was about to reply, an older woman who was stitching shoe soles nearby suddenly spoke.
“Little girl, will you come again tomorrow? We old women don’t get around very well. Going to the market to buy vegetables takes half an hour. If you can come often, it’ll save us a lot of trouble.”
“We’ll come!” Shen Weiwan answered immediately. “As long as you need us, we’ll deliver every day!”
“That’s wonderful!” another old woman chimed in. “By the way, do you have eggs? My grandson goes to school, and I’d like to boil an egg for him to nourish his body. The eggs at the market are often not fresh.”
Shen Mingxuan was about to say, “No,” but Shen Weiwan stopped him with a look.
She smiled and said to the woman, “You need eggs? We don’t raise chickens yet, but I can pick out fresh eggs for you at the market. I’ll charge exactly what the seller charges—no extra. Consider it a favor, running errands for you.”
“That would be wonderful!” The woman’s face lit up. “Then I’ll reserve twenty eggs—red-shelled ones.”
“I want twenty too. White-shelled eggs are fine.”
“Give me ten!”
In her mind, Shen Weiwan counted the orders.
“Twenty… forty… fifty… Alright! Don’t worry, Aunties. Tomorrow at this same time, I’ll bring you fresh eggs.”
On their way home, after leaving the alley, Shen Mingxuan finally asked,
“Weiwan, we won’t earn a single coin from this, and we’ll have to make a special trip to the market to pick out eggs. Aren’t we just working for nothing?”
Carefully placing the copper coins into a cloth pouch, Shen Weiwan patted it and said,
“Brother, think about it. These aunties buy vegetables every day, and they may need other things too. Helping them bring eggs seems troublesome, but it’ll make them remember our kindness. Over time, whenever they need something, they’ll come to us first. This isn’t a one-time deal.”
“Besides…” She blinked mischievously. “If we’re buying eggs at the market anyway, we’ll learn where to get the best bargains. Maybe one day we can raise chickens and sell eggs ourselves.”
Only then did Shen Mingxuan understand. He scratched his head.
“Weiwan really thinks far ahead.”
Their footsteps became much lighter. The bamboo baskets knocked softly against each other with creaking sounds, as if singing a song for the new livelihood they had found.
As soon as they set the baskets down in the corner of the courtyard, Liu Shi came to greet them. She still held her sewing in her hands, the thread wrapped around her fingers swaying gently.
“You’re finally back. You didn’t run into any trouble on the way, did you?”
“Mother, look!”
Like a child showing off a treasure, Shen Mingxuan held the money pouch out to her. The crisp clinking of copper coins sounded especially pleasant.
“We sold all the vegetables, and we even secured business for tomorrow!”
Smiling, Shen Weiwan added,
“The aunties in the alley said our vegetables were fresh and asked us to keep delivering them. They also want eggs, and we agreed to bring some for them tomorrow.”