Chapter 94 Long-Term Business

Chapter 94 Long-Term Business

Sui Yu kept repeating to herself not to look at Old Baldy's bald head. When she saw an old bald man tying iron buckets onto a camel, she instinctively lowered her gaze.

"Uncle, a guard with a mole at the corner of his eyebrow directed me to you. I dried thirty pounds of vegetables and boiled a hundred eggs. Try them; see if they're suitable for the journey." As she spoke, Sui Yu handed him an egg that had been soaked until it changed color.

Old Baldy took the egg without surprise; many people tried to sell food and clothes to the caravan, so he was used to it.

Sui Yu then offered him a handful of dried vegetables, saying, "These have been washed repeatedly before drying. You don't need to wash them again when stewing meat; just wring them out and toss them into the pot."

Old Baldy nodded, and the few sparse hairs on his head fluttered in the wind as he chewed on a piece of bitter vegetable, spat it out, and said, "Not bad. How much do you want for them?"

"The dried vegetables are two cash per pound, and the boiled eggs are three cash each. They're not expensive," Sui Yu said, lowering her eyes.

"Alright, I'll take them all."

Sui Yu beckoned to Sui Liang, and the siblings squatted down, placing the eggs from their basket into the bucket beside Old Baldy's legs.

The eggs had cost eight cash per pound, and since they were large, there were only four or five in a pound. Sui Yu cooked them with soy sauce and pepper leaves, then sold them for one cash profit per egg, making a modest living.

"Uncle, there are ninety-eight eggs and thirty pounds of dried vegetables. That comes to three hundred fifty-four cash."

Old Baldy gave her three hundred fifty-seven cash, including payment for the egg he had eaten.

Sui Yu walked to the roadside to count the coins. As she counted, she heard the sound of camel bells, and the caravan loaded with goods headed west.

A man who had just shaved his beard, with blood still on his chin, emerged from behind a short wall. He high-fived Old Baldy, led away the camel carrying the kitchen utensils and food supplies, and quickly caught up with the caravan.

Sui Yu immediately handed a string of coins to Sui Liang and walked over to ask, "Uncle, do you prepare food supplies for all the caravans coming and going? I thought you traveled with them. What do you think of our eggs and dried vegetables? If you need more, I can supply them."

Old Baldy smacked his lips and said, "The eggs are a bit bland. Travelers sweat a lot and prefer salty foods."

"I'll adjust the recipe and bring another hundred eggs tomorrow. Will you taste them again?"

Old Baldy scoffed inwardly; adding a spoonful of salt was hardly adjusting the recipe, but she knew how to elevate herself.

"Sure, bring them the day after tomorrow. A caravan is leaving then."

Sui Yu was delighted and followed Old Baldy inside, continuing, "Will a hundred eggs be enough? How many pounds of dried vegetables do you need? Give me a number, and I'll prepare them."

"Not too much, no more than fifty pounds."

"Got it, got it."

Sui Yu responded cheerfully, watching Old Baldy go back into his house. She picked up the empty basket and led Sui Liang back.

"Let's go. You take the pigs, sheep, and camels to graze, and I'll visit La Mei for a bit... This way, it's closer."

The alley where the caravan resided was on the western side of South Water Street. Two long alleys away was Dinghu Lane, home to the wealthy and powerful. Although not far from South Water Street, this lane was quiet, with no sounds of street vendors.

Sui Liang held onto Sui Yu's clothes as they walked, but his eyes roamed around. Suddenly, he spotted A'shui crawling out from behind a stone statue.

"Sis, isn't that A'shui?"

"Where?" Sui Yu turned her head and looked in the direction Sui Liang pointed. The child trying to stand up next to the statue did resemble A'shui.

"How did A'shui get here? Let me check." Sui Yu walked over and met the little girl's eyes, seeing her smile widely. She quickened her pace, muttering, "It really is you. Who brought you here? Where are your parents?"

As she spoke, footsteps sounded from behind the statue, and Tong Huaer appeared, visibly startled upon seeing Sui Yu. She hurriedly bowed her head and picked up A'shui.

"You're here. I saw her alone and didn't dare recognize her at first," Sui Yu said, walking over. She glanced behind the statue, noticing the tightly closed gate of the Officer's residence under the signboard.

Sui Yu looked back at Tong Huaer, guessing something. She probed, "How did you end up here with A'shui? It's quite far from Military Settlement."

"Just wandering around. I went to use the toilet, and when I looked away, she disappeared," Tong Huaer regained her composure, smoothed her hair, and smiled. "A'shui likes looking at these stone lions. There are none elsewhere, so I bring her here when I'm free. Why are you two here? How's business? I was planning to visit you."

Sui Yu started walking back, saying, "Past breakfast time, there aren't many customers at the stall. I came back with Liang to take the pigs, sheep, and camels to graze."

Seeing that Sui Yu seemed to believe her, Tong Huaer followed, saying, "Don't worry about home while you're doing business. Someone is always around the alley, and Old Niu and I often drop by."

Sui Yu sincerely thanked her.

Entering Military Settlement, the four parted ways. Sui Liang looked back, seeing A'shui pointing at flying birds while her mother looked down, lost in thought.

"Sis, does Sui Ling live in the Officer's residence?" he asked.

"Probably, you remember that?" Sui Yu wasn't particularly concerned and greeted someone passing by with a smile.

"It's not even noon. Why are you back now?" Aunt Sun, sitting in the shade picking chives, asked.

"Coming back to take the pigs and sheep to graze. By the way, Aunt, how many eggs have you collected recently? Sell them to me," Sui Yu said.

"I've collected about twenty. If you want them, they're yours."

"I'll come by and weigh them when I close the stall tonight."

Arriving home, Sui Liang opened the door to fetch the pigs and sheep. Sui Yu glanced at the door, noting no footprints; it seemed the person who had kicked it before hadn't returned.

Setting down the basket, Sui Yu headed out, saying, "I'm going to La Mei's place. Lock the door when you leave. I won't be back; I'll go straight to the street later."

"Okay."

La Mei was hanging vegetables to dry, with several rows of sticks in her yard, dripping with bitter vegetables.

"Sis, prepare fifty pounds of dried vegetables for me," Sui Yu said without entering. "That's why I came. You're busy, and I'll be busy too."

"Alright."

Dongzi's Mother came out, surprised. "Do you use so many dried vegetables every day? Or are you stockpiling for autumn?"

Sui Yu gave a mysterious smile and said, "I won't tell you."

Sui Liang herded the pigs, sheep, and camels over, with the cat official trailing behind. When it saw people, it tilted its head and meowed.

Sui Yu meowed back.

The sheep bleated twice, and Sui Yu responded with two "baa"s.

The black-skinned pig wiggled its rear end over, grunting twice as it nudged the sheep away.

The camel at the back stretched its head out, and Sui Yu reached up to pat it a couple of times. After greeting everyone, she headed for the street.

"Did you sell everything?" Zhao Xiaomi asked.

Sui Yu nodded, "Everything sold, and I even found a long-term business."

She sat down on a chair to rest, scooped some water to wash her hands, and said, "We sell about forty to fifty pounds of dried vegetables and a hundred eggs every two or three days. With the cold weather, sales might increase. Anyway, we can earn at least an ounce of silver a month. We don't have to spend money buying dried vegetables for the filling either. This business is worth doing."

"I saved for three years and couldn't even save an ounce of silver," Zhao Xiaomi said, a bit angry. She muttered, "We're all born from parents, why such a big difference!"

Sui Yu laughed and said, "Our mothers aren't the same mother, and our fathers aren't the same father."

Zhao Xiaomi huffed, crossing her arms. "My three brothers were born to the same parents, yet there's still a huge difference. Look at my Third Brother, he gets his rations every month and his salary every year. He even got a beautiful and capable wife like you. I wish I were him."

Sui Yu laughed heartily, not bothering to explain further.

By noon, more people filled the streets, and the sisters-in-law stopped chatting and focused on attracting passersby.

"Today we have tofu and bean sprout buns, pork lard and radish buns, and a basket of egg and leek buns. Which one would you like?" Sui Yu greeted an old customer.

"Two of each, please." The auntie handed over a plate and said, "Two more bun sellers opened up at the ends of the street. I heard from A-Gui's wife that the ones at the beginning of the street have smaller buns with less oil. When I passed by, I heard them shouting five coins for two buns. I took a look and decided to come here instead."

Sui Yu paused, then placed a large bun on the plate. "If there's less oil, the buns won't taste good, especially the radish ones. Without enough oil, the radish comes out watery and raw. I cook radishes for the pigs every day, so I know that flavor well. I can't make buns without enough oil; I wouldn't be able to eat them myself."

"Exactly, you're right. Those radish buns without enough oil turn out terrible." The auntie agreed. "Keep selling them this way, and we'll all come here. People who buy buns for convenience don't care about a coin or two."

The person behind her handed over a handful of copper coins. "Give me five egg and leek buns. I love this filling. How do you stir-fry the leeks? My mother makes these buns, but when they come out of the pot, the leek leaves are mushy and watery."

Sui Yu smiled and shook her head. "I can't reveal my secret recipe."

"Then I'll ask again when you stop this business."

"Sure." Handing over the five buns, Sui Yu asked the next person, "Sir, how many buns would you like?"

"Just one, I just wanted to see you."

Sui Yu felt a bit uneasy, earning those three coins wasn't very satisfying.

After noon, the stall's business slowed down again. Zhao Xiaomi couldn't help herself and untied her apron to check both ends of the street. "Third Sister-in-Law, I'm going to take a look."

"Go ahead, take a look." Sui Yu pulled out two boiled eggs from the stove. The shells were charred black, and after peeling them, she patted off the ash on the whites. Sitting in her chair, she leisurely ate the eggs. Roasted eggs were quite chewy and tasted even better.

She considered roasting a few eggs to bring along the next time she delivered eggs.

"What are you eating? Sell me one." The foreign merchant came out, smelling the aroma.

Sui Yu pointed to the other egg on the table. "Try this one. If you like it, I'll bring more tomorrow."

The foreign merchant bit into half an egg and nodded. "Bring more tomorrow. I'll buy them if they're cooked."

"Five coins each."

"There might not be many buyers."

"It's fine. I'll just sell them casually. Even if there are too many buyers, I can't roast that many."

Zhao Xiaomi ran back, and the foreign merchant dusted off his hands and left.

Zhao Xiaomi glared at him from behind and sat down. "Third Sister-in-Law, I didn't see anything. As soon as I went over, they covered their steamer baskets and rolled their eyes at me."

"Don't worry, they won't last long. At most a month, either they'll close up shop or move somewhere else." Sui Yu was confident. She picked up an iron spatula and held it up to her face, chuckling. "They blindly follow trends. When I wasn't doing this, it was a great opportunity, but they didn't set up stalls. Now that my business is thriving, they want to copy me and make more money, but they're stingy with flour and vegetables. They can't succeed like that. Customers aren't fools."