The ge’r’s face flushed instantly, and he stammered, “I’ve seen you selling drinks before. Just now, when you were buying tea leaves and crisp pears, I happened to be nearby and heard you. If you don’t believe me, then let me take a bite and show you.”
With that, he snatched the crabapple from Qiao Suiman’s hand and took a loud crunch, chewing a few times before swallowing. “See? It’s really fine.”
Qiao Suiman was momentarily stunned by the sudden action. Seeing how earnest the ge’r was, he realized he had overthought it and quickly said, “Alright, alright. Give me another one, then.”
But then he felt that wasn’t right either. “No, I’ll buy one from you to try.”
“No need!” The ge’r beamed, lifting the cloth covering his basket and handing another crabapple to Qiao Suiman. “Here, try it.”
Qiao Suiman didn’t hesitate this time. He took a small bite, chewed it, and his eyes lit up with delight. “It really is good!”
At first glance, the crabapple’s skin was a mix of red and green, and its surface felt uneven, making him expect it to be sour and tart. Surprisingly, it was crisp and sweet.
The ge’r was delighted to be praised. “See? I told you. Do you want to buy some?”
Qiao Suiman thought for a moment. Once crabapples bore fruit, they could be harvested for several months. If he could strike a deal with this ge’r’s family, he wouldn’t have to worry about running out of fruit for his drinks before the peaches and green plums ripened. With that in mind, he asked, “You said your family has a few fruit trees. How many crabapples can you harvest now?”
“Nearly seventy jin,” the ge’r answered immediately.
Seventy jin sounded like a lot, but when boiled down into a syrup, it wouldn’t amount to much. It was still the beginning of the year, and the weather remained cold. If the syrup were made now and sealed into small jars, it could be kept for a month, which is perfect.
With half a month to go before the shop opened, he couldn’t just sit around idly. He had already discussed with Lu Dongqing that before the opening, they would roam the town hawking their goods; both to make some sales and to let more people know that a shop would soon open on Beide Road. That was why he was in such a hurry to buy ingredients.
“Alright, I’ll take all you have now. Did you bring any to town?”
“Yes!” The ge’r jumped in excitement. “Wait here for a bit. I’ll get my father to bring them over!”
With that, he dashed off and was soon out of sight.
Qiao Suiman shook his head with a laugh. “He didn’t even worry that we might run off.”
Lu Dongqing chuckled. “Maybe we just look very trustworthy.”
Qiao Suiman laughed out loud when he heard that. He still had half a crabapple in his hand and put it into Lu Dongqing’s hand: “Try it, it tastes pretty good.”
Just as Lu Dongqing finished eating, the ge’r returned with a man around fifty years old, pulling a cart loaded with several baskets of crabapples.
As they got closer, they could hear the man scolding the ge’r. “You reckless child! I took my eyes off you for a moment, and you ran off. There are so many people at the market. If you run around like that, you’ll attract the attention of bad people. What if you bump into something and hurt yourself? Your mother will kill me.”
“I wasn’t running around! I was talking business with someone. He said he wanted to buy all our fruit!” The ge’r stomped his foot when he saw Qiao Suiman looking over. “Stop lecturing me, they’re right there!”
The man finally turned to them, surprise flashing in his eyes. He assumed his youngest was making things up or had been deceived, but seeing Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing, he didn’t think they looked like swindlers. He gave an awkward laugh and asked, “Are you two here to buy crabapples?”
Lu Dongqing nodded.
The ge’r immediately glanced sideways at his father, looking as if to say, ‘I told you so.‘ The man smiled helplessly and asked, “Are you really going to take them all?”
Qiao Suiman stepped forward, picked up a crabapple from the basket, and examined it carefully. “Yes, but we didn’t bring a cart with us today, so it’s difficult to transport it back. Could you deliver it to Xiahe Village for us?”
“Ah, what a coincidence!” the man exclaimed happily. “We’re from Hedong Village, it’s not far. Should I take them over now?”
“Sure, we were just about to head back,” said Qiao Suiman.
As they walked, they chatted, and Qiao Suiman learned that the man was named Tang Xiao, a hunter from Hedong Village. The area was mountainous with many hunters, but his skills were lacking, so he dared only to roam into the outer mountains. He would only venture into the deeper mountains when accompanied by others. Still, the game he caught was enough to support his family comfortably. A few years ago, he dug up a few wild crabapple saplings from the mountains and planted them at home. This was the first year they bore fruit. Since the weather was cold and he hadn’t gone hunting yet, he brought them to sell at the market.
Because the wild crabapples were transplanted from the mountains to be grown at home, the fruit did not look as good as those that were carefully cultivated by other families. They were displayed at the market for quite some time, but no one bought them. Instead, many people just tried them. And eating one wasn’t enough, they wanted another. When refused, some even accused them of passing off wild fruit as proper crabapples. It was really annoying.
That was why Tang Guo’er, upon overhearing Qiao Suiman’s interest in buying fruit, mustered the courage to approach them.
This deal was beneficial for both parties. Qiao Suiman no longer had to search for fresh fruit, and the Tang family, aside from crabapple trees, also had two persimmon trees. Qiao Suiman reserved twenty jin of persimmons as well. Tang Xiao gave them a discount of ten wen per jin, which was lower than the market price of twelve wen.
When they neared the village entrance, Qiao Suiman didn’t make Lu Dongqing accompany them all the way. Instead, he sent him to Carpenter Li’s house to order tables, cabinets, and a bed. With so many villagers around, he could handle leading Tang Xiao and Tang Guo’er home himself.
When they arrived, Miao Lianhua was sweeping the yard, and Lu Xuesong was chopping earthworms to feed the chickens and ducks. Both paused in surprise at the sight of strangers and a cart full of crabapples before helping to carry them into the main room.
Hedong Village wasn’t far, and Tang Xiao knew that Xiahe Village had settled several refugee households in the western part. But seeing the tidy, well-kept yard enclosed by sturdy bamboo fencing and a new brick house inside, his jaw dropped. This… this is what refugees live like?!
Tang Guo’er smacked his arm in embarrassment and whispered to him not to embarrass himself. Lu Xuesong heard this and couldn’t help but laugh out loud, which made Tang Guo’er blush.
Once the fruit was delivered and payment collected, Tang Xiao and Tang Guo’er left. The payment for the persimmons would be settled tomorrow when Tang Xiao delivered them.
Today’s spending on tea leaves and fresh fruit totaled one tael, two mace, and seventy-five wen. Tomorrow’s dried flowers and persimmons would cost around four mace. Lu Dongqing had already taken one tael to Carpenter Li’s, leaving little left. Adding sugar to the cost, they were sure to spend at least three taels.
But with this, they wouldn’t have to worry about supplies for two or three months after the shop opened. Qiao Suiman was still happy. Even after spending three taels, he and Lu Dongqing still have sixteen taels left. Besides, he was confident they’ll earn it all back in the half-month before opening. So he wasn’t too heartbroken and eagerly told Miao Lianhua and Lu Xuesong about the shop.
Even though they already knew, hearing that the deed was secured made Miao Lianhua and Lu Xuesong grin from ear to ear. It was a shame the deed was still with Lu Dongqing, or else Lu Xuesong could’ve read it aloud for Miao Lianhua.
Lu Dongqing didn’t take long. By the time Qiao Suiman had heated the pot to cook, he was back, holding a string of copper coins. “I talked to Carpenter Li for a while. He finally settled on nine mace, and we can collect everything in ten days.”
Qiao Suiman was delighted. He thought they would be lucky to save fifty wen, but they saved double that. He praised, “You’re getting better at bargaining, Shopkeeper Lu.”
Lu Dongqing’s lips curled up. “All thanks to Shopkeeper Qiao’s guidance.”
Miao Lianhua, overhearing their banter, shook her head with a smile. “These two.”
During dinner, Lu Dongqing showed the deed to both Miao Lianhua and Lu Xuesong. Miao Lianhua only recognized the character for “Lu,” but she kept murmuring, “Good, good. We are finally a family that has a shop in town!”
“Mother, if I raise these chickens and ducks well, maybe we’ll be a family with two shops in town!” Lu Xuesong said cheekily.
Miao Lianhua’s eyes crinkled with laughter. “That would be wonderful. Then I can take turns helping at both!”
Dinner passed amid laughter and chatter. Late at night, with the moon bright and the stars sparse, Qiao Suiman lay in bed thinking.
Ever since Qin Yu became pregnant, Qiao Ruifeng would look for work at the dock whenever he had time after finishing his farm work, working hard to make money. He told Qiao Suiman to come home whenever he has time, so that Qin Yu wouldn’t be bored alone, and in case something happened, there would be someone to help.
Now that he needed to test new drink recipes, visiting would also let him keep Qin Yu-ge company. Not just him, Miao Lianhua would come too. Since Qin Yu was less than three months along, standing for long hours to make syrup would be too taxing.
Knowing how much Qin Yu cared for the baby, Miao Lianhua offered to come along before Qiao Suiman could even ask, wanting to check on Qin Yu as well. Qiao Suiman was deeply touched.
After thinking about the drinks to make tomorrow, Qiao Suiman slowly fell asleep. Lu Dongqing hugged him tightly out of habit and fell asleep together.
—
“Qin Yu-ge, Da-ge.”
When Qiao Suiman and Miao Lianhua arrived, Qiao Ruifeng was just about to leave. He quickly ushered them inside, serving them two bowls of hot water before heading out.
Qin Yu had set up a table in the kitchen, where he sat chatting while cutting open the crabapples and removing the cores. Once a basin was full, he mashed them gently. Crabapple flesh was easy to crush and didn’t require much effort; otherwise, Qiao Suiman wouldn’t have let him help.
Recently, Qin Yu had been nearly bored to death at home. After Qiao Ruifeng left each day, he would go to the Chen family’s to chat with Zhou Shuifen, but she was busy these past few days, so he hadn’t gone to bother her. Instead, he fed the chickens and ducks at home and eventually started talking to them too.
Qiao Suiman found it both funny and a little sad. Once he started selling drinks in town, he wouldn’t be able to visit as often. He sighed inwardly and asked, “Why is Da-ge in such a hurry lately?”
He remembered that Qiao Ruifeng and Qin Yu should have saved a lot of money as well.
“He’s worried we won’t have enough money after the baby is born. Since we won’t have breast milk, the baby will need goat’s milk. And he worries I’ll be weakened after childbirth, so he wants to prepare to buy meat and medicine to nourish me. The more he calculates, the more money it seems to need, so he’s gotten anxious.”
Qin Yu sighed. Qiao Ruifeng had been hoping for a child for years, and now that it was finally happening, he was even more anxious than the a-mu. Sometimes Qin Yu even had to comfort him. What a situation.
“Yu-ge’r, you must talk to Rui-xiaozi properly. He can’t exhaust himself. You’ll still need him as the father. Raising a child doesn’t cost that much. A few taels are enough to last several years, and you’ve only just gotten pregnant. When you’re further along, he’ll need to stay home with you.” Miao Lianhua spoke earnestly.
Qin Yu nodded seriously. “Alright, I’ll talk to him later.”
While they chatted, Qiao Suiman worked on making syrup. In a smaller pot, he stir-fried tea leaves with sugar, then added a few slices of sour yellow fruit, similar to the recipe he sold to the wine house, but with cheaper tea. So naturally, it couldn’t sell for twenty-five wen.
He planned to sell camellia tea and roasted tea drinks for eight wen and Tieguanyin tea for ten wen. When the persimmons arrived, he also wanted to try making drinks with persimmons combined with tea leaves or dried flowers. He wondered what the taste would be like.
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