“How about the two of you sell the drinks, and I’ll go sell bamboo wares instead?” Qin Yu teased.
“Qin Yu-ge!” Qiao Suiman lightly swatted his arm. “That’s not what I meant at all.”
“I know,” Qin Yu chuckled. “I’m just teasing you.”
Qiao Suiman gave a soft snort, then broke into a wide, hearty grin. Lu Dongqing was still speaking with a customer; he only glanced over, but his gaze was full of warmth.
By si shi[mfn]巳时 : 9-11 AM[/mfn], the market had grown even busier. Spotting two familiar figures in the crowd, Qiao Suiman quickly called out, “Erfu! Xiaoxi!”
The two turned at the sound of his voice and waved when they saw him. “We’ll come over in a bit!”
Hearing this, Qiao Suiman nodded and returned to serving the customers at their stall.
“You say the county magistrate drank this?” A middle-aged man stroked his long beard as he asked.
“Indeed. Many people around here know about it. What would you like to try, customer?” Qiao Suiman replied.
“I heard another vendor outside also claim that the county magistrate had tried their drinks,” the man said.
Qiao Suiman’s eyes flickered slightly, sensing something off, but he kept his composure. “Perhaps the magistrate bought from them at some point as well. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the magistrate’s servant took twenty portions of our bamboo tube drinks from our stall. Plenty of folks saw it. Others may sell drinks, but pairing them with bamboo tubes started with us. That much can’t be faked.”
The man didn’t specify which vendor he was referring to, nor when the magistrate supposedly visited their stall. Their bamboo tube drinks had only gained popularity after the Dragon Boat Festival. If the magistrate had truly bought from another vendor before then, denying it outright might make them seem like liars.
So the magistrate only ever bought drinks from your family, is that it?
Moreover, he couldn’t mention Liu Mei and Fang Zhihe personally purchasing from him. Lu Dongqing once mentioned that Liu Mei’s fiancé’s family has a stepmother who wanted her own niece to marry him instead.
Li Mama was sent by the stepmother to observe Liu Mei’s behavior, reporting any shortcomings to the second wife in hopes of making Liu Mei’s future father-in-law regret the marriage. Because of this, Liu Mei and his betrothed had even quarreled for a time. What happened afterward, Qiao Suiman didn’t know, but they had run into the pair on Qixi, and from the looks of it, they seemed to have reconciled.
Still, just in case someone twisted his words, Qiao Suiman didn’t bring up that the young master and young lady had personally visited. Wealthy households have many rules he didn’t understand, so he simply said the servant came to collect the drinks that day.
After his explanation, Qiao Suiman smiled lightly. “What would you like to order, customer?”
The man narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a hint of admiration. He approached the stall, glanced at the words on the wooden sign, and asked, “Do you know how to read?”
Lu Dongqing had been watching his every move since the man first approached, unsure of his intentions. Hearing the question, he answered, “I wrote it.”
“You…” The man’s gaze shifted between Lu Dongqing and Qiao Suiman, then he seemed to realize something and said, “You two are married, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing answered in unison, then exchanged a glance.
The man nodded. “Good, that makes things easier.”
He then pointed at the wooden barrels holding the drinks. “Give me one of each kind. Use your bamboo tubes to pack them, and I’ll take them with me.”
Qiao Suiman looked a bit confused, not sure what this man was up to. But since he was helping their business, he and Qin Yu quickly packed it up and handed it to him.
As Miao Lianhua accepted the man’s payment of one mace of silver, Qiao Suiman counted out twenty wen from his waist pouch to give as change. But the man waved it off. “Forget it. Give me another tube of blackberry drink.”
“Right away, customer.” Before Qiao Suiman could react, Qin Yu had already filled another tube.
The man took all five tubes, nodded inexplicably, and turned to leave.
Just then, the two who had greeted Qiao Suiman earlier arrived at the stall. Upon seeing the man, they both froze for a moment. Just as they were about to speak, the man’s gaze signaled them to stay silent. They swallowed hard and did not utter a sound.
Qiao Suiman found it odd but didn’t question them in front of the man, simply bidding him farewell before turning to Erfu and Xiaoxi.
They were the servants of Fang Zhihe and Liu Mei, often coming to buy snacks and drinks to take back home. The Liu family had stricter rules, so Liu Mei couldn’t come out often. Without him, Fang Zhihe rarely visited either, so she just sent the servants to run errands.
Since their households were close, the servants knew each other and often came together, becoming familiar with Qiao Suiman.
After the man with the long beard had walked away, they finally spoke up: “Do you have any new flavors?”
The servants couldn’t read, so Qiao Suiman explained today’s flavors again and asked, “Which one would you like?”
“Blackberry drink. Our young lady loves fruit drinks,” Erfu, Fang Zhihe’s servant, said first.
“Camellia drink. The young master prefers this kind,” Xiaoxi said after a moment.
“Alright.”
Qiao Suiman was very familiar with the process, and packed bamboo tubes with corresponding patterns and gave them to the two of them. Most people would not buy bamboo tubes again after buying them two or three times.
After all, no matter how pretty, you had to actually use them. But these well-off families were different. Rumor has it that some people even liked to collect them.
After receiving the money, Qiao Suiman found an opportunity to ask, “Do you know that man just now?”
Erfu suddenly fell silent, but Xiaoxi whispered mysteriously, “If he comes looking for you again, it’ll definitely be good news!”
After saying this, the two of them hurried away with the bamboo tubes in their hands, ignoring the puzzled expressions on the faces of Qiao Suiman and the others. It was as if they were afraid of being stopped and questioned further.
Qiao Suiman could only say loudly, “Thank you for your kind words.”
He was curious about what that man was really up to.
“He’s probably not a bad person.” Lu Dongqing said, then scratched his head, “I seem to have seen him before, but I can’t remember where.”
Qiao Suiman laughed at his frustrated expression. “Then forget it. We’ll see if he comes back.”
“Mm, that’s all we can do,” Qin Yu agreed.
They didn’t know many people in town. Unlike others, it wasn’t easy for someone to find them here just by chance.
This was just a minor incident and did not affect their enthusiasm for doing business. Taking advantage of the crowd, they started shouting again. As noon approached, there were more and more customers, and for a moment, they didn’t even have enough new bamboo bowls. Miao Lianhua decided to wash the bamboo bowls on one side and let Lu Xuesong take care of both stalls.
While selling drinks, they also referred customers to Lu Dongqing’s bamboo ware stall. They were busy but managed well with so many hands.
After the rush had passed and the crowd had thinned out, Qiao Suiman opened each wooden barrel to take a look. The osmanthus bean porridge was selling the fastest, after all, it was mealtime, and bean porridge was more filling than the other items.
“We’ll sell out in another hour or so,” Qin Yu said.
“Mm, we should keep the hot ones warm.”
In the past, they only sold half by this time, struggling to sell the rest in the afternoon. A couple of times, they even had to sell the remaining stock at a discount to passersby on their way home.
“I’ve only got a few winnowing baskets left,”
With so many people around, Lu Dongqing didn’t hold Qiao Suiman’s hand, but only tugged at his sleeve and said, as if seeking praise. His eyes somehow reminded Qiao Suiman of Heijin who caught the pheasant that day.
Qiao Suiman chuckled. “Mm, you’re amazing.”
Pleased with the response, Lu Dongqing’s lips curled into a grin. In high spirits, he began tidying the bamboo wares that had been left in disarray.
Lu Xuesong: It seems like there is a tail wagging behind my brother.
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Translator [LUNE]: The osmanthus bean porridge looks kind of like this:
(photo taken from Baidu)
If you enjoy my translations, consider buying me a coffee ☕
Thanks for the chapter!