Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 46

Chapter 46

Upon arriving in town, the three of them parted ways to attend to their respective matters. Ye Xi went to the fabric shop to sell handkerchiefs, Li Ran to the spice shop, and Li-ge’er to set up a stall in the alley to sell vegetable seedlings.

They agreed to meet at the city gate before noon and then separated.

Ye Xi carried his basket and went to the fabric shop. The shopkeeper recognized him and had bought handkerchiefs from him before. His embroidery was exquisite, popular among the wealthy young ladies and men in town, the patterns beautiful, and peddlers even bought them to sell in other prefectures and counties.

Seeing Ye Xi, he smiled. “Young Master, it’s been a while, I was wondering when you would come.”

Ye Xi smiled and replied, “We’ve been busy with farm work at home, couldn’t find the time, so I had to wait.”

He handed the handkerchiefs in the basket to the shopkeeper. The patterns on each handkerchief were different, embroidered by Ye Xi based on wild flowers in the mountains.

The shopkeeper took them and examined them carefully, nodding with satisfaction. “Young Master’s patterns are beautiful, the young ladies and men all like these delicate and lively designs. It’s just that there aren’t many, they’ll be sold out soon.”

Ye Xi said, “I’m a farmer and don’t rely on embroidery for a living. The crops in the fields and the food on the table are more important. I can only embroider in my free time.”

The shopkeeper put away the handkerchiefs and took out two pieces of silver and some copper coins from the cabinet. “Young Master, please count it, this is the money for your handkerchiefs.”

Ye Xi took the money, counted it, and confirmed it was correct. “Shopkeeper, please show me some cotton cloth, darker colors.”

He wanted to make a cotton-padded jacket for Lin Jiangshan.

The shopkeeper agreed and asked the assistant to bring a few bolts of dark-colored cloth from the counter. “Is Young Master making clothes for your husband?”

Ye Xi agreed. “I heard that it will be especially cold this winter, and my husband’s cotton-padded jacket is worn out and thinly padded, it won’t be enough to protect him from the cold, so I need to make him a new one.”

The shopkeeper praised, “Your husband is fortunate to have such a caring husband, selling your embroidered handkerchiefs to make him new clothes. If I were him, I would be very touched!”

Cotton-padded jackets were expensive in winter, considered a valuable family asset. The price of cotton cloth alone was high, plus the cost of cotton filling, tailoring, and labor. Poorer families couldn’t afford a cotton-padded jacket for everyone, and they would try to stay indoors during the cold weather.

Ye Xi carefully chose the fabric, darker colors would suit Lin Jiangshan’s dark complexion.

The shopkeeper, having nothing to do, leaned against the counter and chatted. “Last winter, a beggar froze to death on the street in the west of town. I saw him when I passed by, his face blue from the cold. Oh dear, what a tragedy. Later, the government officials asked the charitable burial service to collect the body. They wrapped him in a straw mat and buried him in a mass grave. When they arrived, the beggar’s clothes had already been taken by other beggars. Although they were ragged and dirty, they might help other beggars survive the winter.”

Ye Xi was soft-hearted and couldn’t bear to hear such stories, so after choosing the fabric, he said, “I’ll take this one, how much is it?”

The shopkeeper stopped talking and asked the assistant to measure the fabric. “This bolt of cloth is four zhang long. Young Master’s husband is tall, but he won’t need that much. Let’s cut half a bolt, enough for a cotton-padded jacket, and there will still be some left for making shoe uppers.”

Ye Xi nodded, that was appropriate. “Alright.”

“Half a bolt is a little over two zhang, I’ll give you the extra as a gift. Please bring your handkerchiefs to me next time, let’s continue doing business. I’ll charge you two qian and twenty wen.”

Ye Xi counted the money he just earned from selling the handkerchiefs, took out two pieces of silver and twenty copper coins, and was left with thirty wen.

He smiled. “The money you just gave me, I haven’t even warmed it in my hands, and now I’m giving it back to you.”

The shopkeeper was honest and kind, fair in his business dealings. He smiled. “Young Master, embroider more handkerchiefs next time, and I’ll give you some leftover fabric to make a small bag.”

Ye Xi thanked him. “I’ll remember that, thank you, Shopkeeper.”

He took the cut fabric, put it in his basket, and left the fabric shop.

He hadn’t walked far when he saw Li Ran coming out of the spice shop and quickly caught up with her. “Sister-in-law, did you find out the prices?”

Li Ran’s expression was relaxed, and she smiled. “If I buy in bulk, they’ll give me a discount of three wen per tael. I calculated, and the price is fair. After deducting the cost of pork and spices, there’s still profit to be made.”

Ye Xi was also happy. “Then this is a good business.”

The market was bustling, with all sorts of novelties. Since they had finished their errands, they decided to stroll around while waiting for Li-ge’er.

There were stalls selling rouge, silk flowers, and other trinkets. They looked around but were reluctant to spend money.

Feeling tired from walking, they saw a dessert stall selling various sweet treats. They were thirsty, and the price wasn’t expensive, three wen per bowl.

Li Ran pulled Ye Xi. “Sister-in-law will treat you to a sweet treat.”

Ye Xi said, “Let me treat you, Sister-in-law, I still have some copper coins left from selling handkerchiefs.”

Li Ran was generous and straightforward and naturally wouldn’t argue over the price of two bowls of dessert. As the older sister-in-law, how could she let her younger brother pay? She readily gave the vendor six copper coins. “Shopkeeper, two bowls of sweet osmanthus milk cheese.”

After paying, she pulled Ye Xi to a seat.

Ye Xi had never spent money on food and drinks at stalls before, and it was a novel experience for him to have a sweet treat. Li Ran, seeing this, smiled. “I don’t usually drink these either. When I was young, I would come to the market with my parents to sell pork. When it was cold, my father would buy me a bowl. When I grew up, I felt sorry for the money, so I didn’t ask for it anymore. Today, since we’re here, let’s try these sweet treats in town.”

Ye Xi smiled and agreed. In the village, if they wanted something sweet, they would wait for the peddlers who carried their goods on shoulder poles, spending one wen for two candied fruits, coated in sugar syrup and sprinkled with sugar frosting, a treat for children. Ye Xi loved them when he was young, holding one in his mouth, reluctant to bite into it, until the sugar coating dissolved, leaving only the sour hawthorn inside, then he would finally eat it.

The shopkeeper was an old hand, having run this stall for over twenty years, with his husband by his side. Now, their son and daughter-in-law also helped, the family of four working together at this small dessert stall, enough to make ends meet.

The shopkeeper’s husband brought them two bowls of sweet osmanthus milk cheese, each bowl full, the white milk topped with golden osmanthus flowers and a spoonful of honey. After mixing the honey and milk cheese, the fragrance of osmanthus and the rich, creamy milk filled the mouth.

Ye Xi took a sip, his eyes closing in satisfaction, and smiled. “It’s truly delicious, worth the three wen, the osmanthus honey is well-made, and the honey is rich and mellow.”

Li Ran drank quickly, spoonful after spoonful, finishing half a bowl. “The milk cheese is also well-made, it must have taken half a day to churn to such a smooth and creamy texture.”

The shopkeeper, hearing this, looked at his husband and smiled. “My husband has been making this osmanthus honey and honey juice for over twenty years, this is his specialty.”

The shopkeeper’s son cleared the bowls and wiped the tables. “My father has been churning milk cheese for his whole life. Now that he’s not as strong as before, it’s my turn, his son, to take over. It seems I haven’t learned his skills in vain, I’m happy as long as the customers enjoy it.”

Ye Xi and Li Ran chatted with the shopkeeper’s family for a while. While enjoying their dessert, Ye Xi saw someone coming out of the building across the street, a somewhat familiar figure.

Li Ran, seeing him staring, also looked over. “Xi-ge’er, did you see someone you know?”

Ye Xi looked carefully and said calmly, “Sort of, but not really. It’s the Cao family, the one I was engaged to before.”

The person who just came out of the building was Cao Bin.

Li Ran looked at the building with disgust. “It’s a good thing you didn’t marry him. Didn’t you see which building he just came out of?”

Ye Xi had naturally seen it, it was a brothel, with women applying makeup and waving handkerchiefs upstairs.

He used to think Cao Bin was a polite scholar, although his mother was mean and harsh. But on the day they broke off the engagement, he had seen Cao Bin’s true colors, a lecherous man, and seeing him coming out of a brothel now confirmed his suspicions.

“Don’t mention him, he has nothing to do with me now. Let’s go find Li-ge’er, see if he’s finished selling his seedlings.”

When they went to the alley to look for Li-ge’er, they saw a sturdy man squatting beside him from afar.

Li Ran smiled first. “Guess who that man is?”

Ye Xi raised his eyebrows. “Could it be Li Xi, the second son of the Li family?”

“Yes, it’s Li Xi. It seems they met on the street, and he’s waiting for our Li-ge’er.”

Ye Xi thought for a moment, it wasn’t appropriate to disturb them, so he pulled Li Ran to the side and waited.

Li-ge’er sat on the steps of a shop by the street, shielding himself from the sun, his face slightly flushed. “You don’t have to squat here and help me sell seedlings.”

Li Xi squatted by the seedling stall. He wasn’t good at hawking, usually, when selling pigs, customers would come and ask, and he would just cut and weigh the meat. Selling seedlings was a bit out of his depth. “The sun is strong, you’ll get sunburnt, let me sell them for you.”

Li-ge’er glared at him. “With your large build squatting here, the women and young men will be scared away, how can you sell anything?”

Li Xi scratched his head. “Then how about I buy them all, so you can go home early?”

Li-ge’er was exasperated by him, this man was truly a fool. He squatted down beside him. “I’ll just call out and sell them myself, don’t cause trouble.”

Li Xi squatted beside him obediently, not daring to get too close, afraid of damaging his reputation, but also unwilling to leave.

After Li-ge’er sold a few handfuls of seedlings, he saw Li Xi still squatting there. “Why haven’t you left yet?”

Li Xi hesitated, opening his mouth several times, not knowing what to say.

Li-ge’er wasn’t one for pretense and packed up his stall, preparing to leave.

Seeing him about to leave, Li Xi became anxious and quickly called out, stopping him.

“If you have something to say, say it quickly, Xi-ge’er and Sister-in-law Ran are waiting for me.”

Li Xi finally lowered his voice. “Can we continue with the marriage proposal?”

Li-ge’er’s ears immediately turned red. “Hey, no man should say such things to a young man on the street, aren’t you embarrassed? I am.”

Li Xi pursed his lips, his mind made up. “I know your family dislikes my family’s situation. I’ve decided to separate from my family. After the separation, I’ll establish my own household, build a house near yours, and if you marry me, you’ll be the head of the household, no parents-in-law or sisters-in-law to bother us, what do you think?”

Li-ge’er looked up at him, Li Xi’s face full of anticipation, his eyes pleading.

“We’ll talk after you separate from your family,” Li-ge’er said, blushing and pushing him away.

Although he didn’t give a definite answer, his words revealed his intentions, and Li Xi’s lips curved into a wide smile.

“Alright, I’ll separate from my family as soon as possible!”