stingy landlady

Chapter 4 Happy

Guizhi's mother and Siya slowly tidied up the house. Guizhi's father, along with the three sisters, carried baskets, packed the food into boxes, and covered them with floral cloths so that no one could tell what was inside. The four of them excitedly went to town to sell food.

I didn't really know if I could sell the cassia branches, or how many I could sell. But my family was already in this situation, and as a modern person, I had seen a lot. Since I had no capital, I would use the resources I had to earn some start-up capital.

Upon arriving in town, Guizhi's father and Da Ya and Er Ya looked at each other, bewildered. Where to sell them? How to sell them? Guizhi said:

"Big sister, second sister! Why don't we go ask at that shop over there?"

The group headed straight for a shop with a clerk. It was a general store selling spices, and a clerk, around twenty years old, asked with a smile:

"What would you like to buy, gentlemen? Salt, soy sauce, and sugar are all in stock. Why don't you come in and take a look?"

"Hello, big brother! Have you eaten?" Guizhi asked.

The waiter was taken aback. "It's not lunchtime yet, we haven't eaten!"

Guizhi then asked, "So, do you cook for yourself here or buy food?"

"Oh, our manager's wife will be cooking for us to take turns eating later."

"We cooked our own meals. We were just asking if you've bought any food from outside," Guizhi quickly explained.

"Oh, then you should go ask the neighbors next door."

Guizhi and her companions visited a few more households, cooking their own meals each time. Guizhi's father kept his lips tightly pressed together, his heart pounding with anxiety. What if they couldn't sell their food?

Arriving at a fabric shop, the shopkeeper's wife was inspecting the fabric. Hearing that it was a food shop, she asked:

"What delicious food do you have? Let me see!"

Guizhi's detailed introduction:

"Big sister, there's chicken stew with potatoes, pork stew with green beans, and stir-fried eggs with chives. There's also pork stir-fried with tofu and cucumber salad. We've already divided them up. See which box contains your favorites and choose that one."

As Guizhi spoke, she opened the food box. "Our braised rice costs ten coins a serving. It's delicious, inexpensive, and filling."

Each box contained two kinds of rice, but the side dishes on top were different.

"It looks delicious! Give me a serving of chicken and potato stew, waiter. You guys come over and take a look too, one serving each. Are they all the same price?"

The shopkeeper called to the staff,

Yes, they're all the same!

Guizhi answered with a smile. We're finally open for business!

Three men came out, and a middle-aged man also came over to look.

"Aren't we getting steamed buns today?"

"Yes, honey, it's good to have rice, meat and vegetables like this. Let's have something different today."

The four of them each picked one more, and Guizhi hurriedly said:

"Thank you, beautiful lady! Thank you, shopkeeper! Thank you, big brothers! We'll come back to collect the food boxes in a bit."

Da Ya and Er Ya worked quickly, placing several food boxes along with chopsticks on the empty table. The shopkeeper gave Gui Zhi fifty coins, which Gui Zhi then handed to her father.

After the group came out, Er Ya said:

"Dad! Let's split up and ask around. My eldest sister and I will go one side, and Sanya and Dad will go the other. That way we can sell them faster!"

Er Ya and Da Ya are no longer shy and unable to speak. Anyway, no one knows them, and Er Ya has a sweet tongue.

After being divided into groups, they were very proactive and the results were excellent. In less than half an hour, the group had met up again.

Er Ya chattered excitedly, "Dad, we've sold out! Dad, please put the coins away."

She quickly looked around and stuffed the cloth bag containing the money into her father's hand. Guizhi, like a little adult, said:

"We've sold out too. We'll go collect our food boxes later. We still need to buy chicken and vegetables to make lunchboxes tomorrow."

"Let's go buy some things first, then we can collect the food containers when we get back," Guizhi's father decided. At the market, there were vendors selling chickens, ducks, geese, poultry, fish, meat, and vegetables. It was bustling with activity.

It was Da Ya and Er Ya's first time here, and they didn't know where to start buying. Actually, Gui Zhi's father (Wang Dazhu) wasn't familiar with the area either. Gui Zhi said:

"Compare prices from three different vendors, or maybe we should ask them separately?"

"Dad, we still need to buy some vegetables. There aren't many green beans and potatoes left in our garden. If we pick too many, Auntie and Grandma will probably scold us."

Daya discussed it with her family.

"Then we'll decide what dishes we want to make before we buy them," Guizhi said.

"I think we should stick to the same meat dishes we have today, but let's change things up. Tomorrow we'll make pork stew with glass noodles. Glass noodles don't spoil and they keep well."

Da Ya made the suggestion.

"Potatoes, green beans, and eggplants are plentiful right now, cheap and delicious, and even better with meat!" Er Ya said with a smile.

"Potato stew with eggplant, that'll stuff the old man to the brim! Make this dish tomorrow!" Guizhi's father said happily.

"Then tomorrow we'll have five dishes: pork stew with vermicelli, potato stew with eggplant, pork stew with green beans, cucumber stir-fried with eggs, and some braised chicken with sugar."

Guizhi counted on her fingers, little by little, which was quite cute.

Guizhi's father analyzed:

"So now we'll buy these: one chicken, one pound of pork, eggs we still have at home, potatoes, eggplants, green beans, and cucumbers, right?"

The three little girls nodded in unison.

"Dad, we only need to buy chicken! We bought a lot of pork yesterday, and we still have some! As for vegetables, every family grows these kinds of vegetables, so we can buy them from the villagers when we get home. It's so far away, and we don't need to carry them home; they're so heavy."

Guizhi said playfully.

Several people settled accounts:

Today I bought a small chicken for ninety coins and some vermicelli for ten coins.

Dad! Today we spent 140 coins and made 300 coins. If we sell them all tomorrow, we'll break even! We'll even have 160 coins left!

Yesterday I spent 350 coins on rice and meat. But the vermicelli will last for many days, and the rice will last for a while too. Are we making a profit?

Gui Hong is a little confused!

Dazhu teaches Erya how to do accounts:

“Make money! Er Ya, do the math: you spent 350 coins yesterday and sold 300 coins today! You're still 50 coins short of breaking even! But if you sell another 300 coins tomorrow, even if you spend another 150 coins, plus those 50 coins, starting tomorrow, you'll earn at least 100 coins a day!”

Guizhi whispered, "Dad, eldest sister, second sister! Let's go back to the village and buy some vegetables. This time we can not only make money, but more importantly, our family members can have enough to eat, we won't get scolded, and we can do what we like happily and contentedly!"

After collecting the food boxes, the three sisters put the food into baskets separately. Guizhi's father carried the chicken and, most importantly, a purse of copper coins, home.

Upon reaching the edge of the village, Guizhi's father covered his basket with a floral cloth, and the group hurried home.

As we entered the village, Aunt An, who lived at the village entrance, came out to take out the trash.

"Brother Wang, where did you take the kids to play? You really know how to spoil children!"

"We didn't go anywhere. I just took the kids out for a walk and to broaden their horizons," Guizhi's father stammered.

"I heard you've been separated from your family. If you need anything, come to me. I'm not going to make money off you."

Aunt An also took the opportunity to attract business.

Aunt An's son was a peddler who traveled from street to street. He would also keep some odds and ends like needles and thread at home for his family to sell.

"Yes, yes, I will!" Dazhu replied.

"Auntie An, can I buy on credit? We don't have much money!" Er Ya said with a smile!

"Sigh! I don't have much capital left, and I owe a lot of money. But we'll talk about it later! I'm going back now! You guys should all go home and have dinner early too!"

Now that it's the off-season for farming, almost every family only has two meals a day.

Back home, Guizhi's mother was taking Siya a nap. Seeing the group return, she quietly asked:

"How's it going? Sold out? You're back pretty early."

"Sold out! I bought chicken, pork, and vermicelli." Guizhi's father told her happily.

"That's wonderful!" Guizhi's mother happily got off the kang (heated brick bed).

"I'll go get you some water."

“You don’t need to go. Da Ya and Er Ya, go get the water. Here are the coins left over from buying meat. Keep them safe. Go to the village later to buy some green beans, potatoes, eggplants, and cucumbers for cooking tomorrow.” Gui Zhi’s father said, handing the wallet to Gui Zhi’s mother.

"So many! If we had this many copper coins every day, we could buy some cloth to make winter clothes this winter. Then we wouldn't be so cold, and the children would suffer less."

Guizhi's mother smiled as she counted the copper coins, but tears streamed down her face.

"Keep up the good work tomorrow!" Guizhi said with a smile.

"Mom, be happy that you made money! Let's hurry and go buy groceries to prepare the ingredients."

"Okay! I'll go buy them right away. Gou Sheng's mother has grown a lot of vegetables; I'll go ask her if she'll sell them."

Gousheng's mother gave birth to three children. The first two didn't survive, so they were given the nickname Gousheng, meaning "leftovers" or "leftovers," implying they would be easy to raise. Gousheng's family had a large vegetable garden, but not many people, so they could grow more vegetables to sell.

Guizhi's mother (Li Lanxin) counted out ten copper coins, took a basket, and went out. When she returned, she was with Gousheng's mother, and their baskets were full of eggplants, potatoes, green beans, cucumbers, scallions, and a few tomatoes.

The two chatted and laughed. Gou Sheng's mother was very happy; she didn't need to go to town and could earn ten coins at home. Actually, she could sell for a lower price in town, but the transportation would cost money, and it wouldn't be worth it if she sold too little. Gui Zhi's mother could buy from her, earning more money and saving her effort.

"Oh, sister-in-law, you've made some money! You bought so many vegetables!" Aunt Guizhi came over from somewhere.

"Second Aunt, my parents are worried that we'll get scolded for picking vegetables from the garden every day because we have a large family. Grandma also works hard growing vegetables, and there are so many people to eat."

Daya came out from the inner room, took the vegetable basket from her mother, and carried it to the outer room. Erya also came out to help carry the vegetables, put them away, and emptied the basket belonging to Gousheng's family, returning it to Gousheng's mother.

Gou Sheng's mother took back the basket. "Sister-in-law, I'm going back now. You can come to my place to pick some fresh ones after you've finished eating these."

Not wanting to cause any trouble, she turned and went home.

Aunt Guizhi (Zhao Xiaofang) moved to the old house:

"Mom, my sister-in-law bought a lot of groceries! She just separated from the family and bought all the food she could. She definitely won't be able to save any money. What if she runs out of money and comes back to ask for more?"

The old lady was mending clothes for the old man on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Oh? You bought a lot of vegetables? It's not like we're stopping them from eating the vegetables in their own garden, why spend money to buy more? Do you have money to burn? And you, why are you staring at others? Just do your own job!"

Zhao chuckled, "Mother, I'll go back inside and teach Taozhi how to make handkerchiefs!"

The old lady couldn't sit still any longer. She slowly walked to her eldest son's door, pushed it open, and saw that there were indeed many vegetables in the outer room (the pork and chicken were kept fresh in the well in buckets, so the old lady couldn't see them).

"Boss, why did you buy so many vegetables? Don't waste money! We have vegetables from the garden, so let's eat those first! If there aren't enough for everyone, we can all eat less!"

Guizhi opened the door to the inner room. "Grandma, come in quickly and sit on the kang (heated brick bed)."

Daya went to pour some water and added a little sugar. "Grandma, let me make you some sugar water!"

"Where's the money! Buying candy! What a waste!" The old lady was angry; the family had only just separated and she already knew how to manage money!

"Mom, have some water! Don't be angry. We made some food and went to town today. We sold it for a little money, and we're thinking of selling some more tomorrow. Every little bit helps."

The vegetables in our garden are shared by the family and are for our own consumption. Since we need more to sell, we buy them from the village.

Wang Dazhu (Guizhi's father, referred to as Wang Dazhu from now on) quickly explained.

“Mother, Dazhu is thinking that if we can sell for a few more days and earn some money, we can buy cloth for the children to make winter clothes, so they will be warmer and less prone to illness,” Li Shi (Guizhi’s mother) said cautiously.

"Don't be so loud and boisterous! You're not careful at all. How much money can you make selling your own food? Don't let the whole village know about it. If everyone goes to sell their food, who will you sell to?" the old woman scolded.

Guizhi knew her grandmother meant well, so she came up and hugged the old lady.

"Grandma, you and Grandpa will find out tomorrow. You and Grandpa can try it and give us some pointers! Hehe."

"How did sales go today? Did you make any money?" Grandma asked.

"Grandma, today is the first day, and we've sold out all the food we prepared. My dad and mom did the math, and we still made a few dozen coins," Guizhi said with a smile.

"I won't ask you how much you earn, and don't be foolish enough to tell the truth if others do. As long as you can earn money to support yourselves, your husband and I will feel more at ease. Now that we've separated, you'll each have to live your own lives, just like drinking water—only you know whether it's hot or cold. Live your lives well, we won't interfere."