Chapter 58: Chapter 35: Selling Food in Erlipu

Erli Village was bustling with people, and the banks of the Qinghui River were especially noisy. From a distance, you could see sets of stone steps climbing from the river’s edge up to the embankment, with a new set appearing every so often.

People constantly hopped off the boats below, climbing the steps to the shore. Villagers who had risen early for the market streamed toward the town, while others went down to the river to load goods onto boats of all sizes.

The area beside the embankment was also quite flat. However, aside from a few small stalls selling steamed buns and noodle soup, there were no other shops. For safety reasons, no buildings were allowed here. If the tide came in, there would be no time to escape.

Xiatang Market wasn’t exactly large—few wealthy families or major merchants were willing to live here. But it wasn’t small, either—farmers from all the villages for miles around depended on it for their shopping!

The place was simply too remote. It was far from the Qinghui County town upstream and Linhuzhou downstream. With no special products or culture to speak of, it was destined never to become a major commercial hub. If not for the Qinghui River flowing past, who knows how forgotten it would have become. But the large boats traveling along the Qinghui River to Linhuzhou wouldn’t stop here. Even if they occasionally did, it was only to buy some daily necessities they were short on; they wouldn’t purchase goods in bulk.

Still, the Qinghui River made life much more convenient for the people here. The hurried, weather-beaten country folk would bring their homemade goods to the market to sell, then use the money to buy the household supplies they needed.

There was weariness on their faces, but no sorrow or despair. As they walked, they loudly discussed this year’s harvest, new things they’d bought for their homes, and what they planned to plant next year. In their simple minds, as long as they kept working, there was always hope for a better life.

Just as the woman from the Yang family set down her shoulder pole and baskets of food, a group of men chewing on steamed buns and cornbread gathered around. Some of them were even holding bowls—something they hadn’t done before.

The woman from the Yang family stoked the fire in her wood stove, adding a few more sticks. Laixi took the pot that had been covering a bamboo crate, placed it on the stove, and then took a cloth-wrapped wooden spoon from a basket. He began ladling the pig offal from an earthenware pot into the wok.

The aroma immediately wafted in all directions, causing even those still working to glance over. But at this hour, many hadn’t finished their work, so few were eating breakfast. The villagers at the market hadn’t started heading back yet, either. As a result, only a few people bought the offal.

A dark, thin man bought three cents’ worth of pig offal. Two cents’ worth was put in a separate small jar for him to take home.

He squatted on the ground, eating the dish and taking occasional bites of the cornbread bun in his hand. He said to the Yang family woman, “Ma’am, the flavor of your food is just incredible. Yesterday, I bought one cent’s worth to take home, and my wife and son both loved it. They said it was a great deal—for one cent, you can’t even buy a white-flour bun! My wife told me to buy two cents’ worth today to bring home as a treat for our son. It saves money, too!”

An old man nearby added, “That’s right. Eating this gives you strength for work. And this young lady is honest. She always gives a generous scoop, not like those sly, crooked merchants.”

The woman from the Yang family smiled. “Mine is a small business, so it all comes down to being meticulous! You have to wash it clean so the pig offal doesn’t have a strange smell, and you have to cook it with care so it tastes fragrant. I want to build a long-term business; I’m not just going to sell for a little while and then stop. Even if someone else starts selling this in the future, if you all see that my food is cheap and delicious and you keep buying from me, then I’ll have succeeded. What’s the use of selling it for so much that no one can afford it?”

The dark, thin man laughed. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ll definitely keep buying from you. Yesterday, Da Lengzi saw how good this was and bought a set of offal to cook himself. It cost him four cents. His wife washed it for ages, but when she cooked it, it stank so bad nobody would eat it. They threw it all out. Just think, for four cents, you could’ve bought two big bowls of it already cooked! And that’s not even counting the time spent washing and cooking. Plus, Ma’am, you even add in sauce and greens!”

The old man said with contempt, “He’s just jealous she’s making money, but he doesn’t see the effort she puts in. You don’t need the young lady to tell you—washing this stuff is definitely a lot of work. It uses up seasonings, too. I bet it’s not cheap to cook.”

The woman from the Yang family smiled. “That’s true. See how the pig offal in my pot is still hot? That’s because it simmered all last night and I only ladled it out this morning. I even have to get up at night sometimes to add more wood to the fire. Only by slow-cooking it like this does it get so flavorful, tender, and fragrant. If you just cook it all at once, the taste can’t be this good.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep