The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 24

In a brief moment, at the entrance of Sanli Village, several households had women hurriedly returning home, then swiftly coming out carrying bowls from their homes. Behind each of them were two or three children, making the scene lively with tasting.

Of course, not everyone was willing to spend money to buy food. Some only wanted to bring their children to taste for free, with no intention to purchase after trying.

Among them, some genuinely didn’t buy anything, while others, after their children couldn’t resist the temptation, negotiated with familiar people who were also reluctant to spend much. They pooled their money together.

One person, one coin; after returning home, the two families split the proceeds, which was enough to add some dishes.

At this first stop, Sang Luo sold a total of six pieces of fairy tofu for twelve coins. Shen An kept his hand in his pocket, tightly grasping the handful of copper coins, afraid of losing them or having someone pilfer them.

As they went further in, households a bit farther from the village entrance had already seen what was happening here. When Sang Luo approached, she didn’t need to shout much; people came forward to inquire on their own.

“What are you selling, young lady?”

She still followed the routine of introduction and free tasting, which went smoothly. Who could refuse free food? Everyone was still preparing breakfast, and the seasonings were readily available, so it wasn’t any trouble at all.

After selling a few more pieces, a woman tasted them but didn’t buy anything. She didn’t leave until Sang Luo was about to move on. Then the woman spoke up, “Young lady, can you exchange things?”

Bartering was something Sang Luo had grown accustomed to. “Of course, but it depends on what you want to exchange.”

The woman asked in return, “What are you willing to exchange?”

Sang Luo didn’t hesitate, “Grains will do.”

Vegetables didn’t last long, and she would need to give change for things like cloth. Money was more convenient, especially since she didn’t urgently need cloth now.

The woman, upon hearing that grains could be exchanged, hesitated for a moment and asked, “If I exchange with you using soybeans, how would that work?”

Indeed, at this time, soybeans were considered grains.

In Sang Luo’s original time and space, bean dishes were the main food for ancient commoners, and here, ‘bean’ referred to several types of beans, among which soybeans were one. In this era as well, not everyone in rural households could afford white rice; most mixed it with other grains, and for some, beans were the staple.

Sang Luo wasn’t sure about the current price of soybeans, so she vaguely replied, “You can exchange according to the market price, deducting two coins.”

The woman pursed her lips, then nodded in agreement, “Alright, wait here, I’ll go measure the soybeans.”

After the woman measured out the soybeans, Sang Luo took a look. It was half a sheng (a traditional Chinese unit of volume). So, at this moment, were soybeans priced at four coins per liter?

She thought that was close to the price of millet, which was seven coins per liter. Since she had no bag to hold the beans, she took out the piece of linen she brought and wrapped the beans in it before tying it up and putting it back into her basket.

With one person initiating the exchange with soybeans, those who were initially hesitant to buy but were enticed by their children also exchanged for two pieces.

By this time, Sang Luo had only two pieces of divine tofu left out of the sixteen she brought out today.

She sold fourteen pieces of fairy tofu, earning twenty-two coins. With a liter and a half of soybeans, she should have earned enough money to buy meat and sauce.

Moving forward, she would reach the butcher’s shop next. Sang Luo thought of continuing on, selling these two remaining pieces, then returning to the butcher’s and grocery store to make her rounds. If she could accomplish this today, it would be considered a fulfilling trip, and she could return home content.

However, before she could move on to the next spot, she was hailed as she passed by the butcher’s shop.

“Tofu lady!”

Tofu lady???

Sang Luo was stunned for a moment before realizing that they were calling her. Following the voice, she saw a plump woman stepping out briskly from behind the butcher’s counter.

It was someone she knew.

It was none other than the woman who had snatched the third portion yesterday.

“Tofu lady, over here.”

The plump woman seemed delighted to see Sang Luo. While greeting her, she walked out from behind the meat counter. Her eyes first glanced at the ceramic basin in Sang Luo’s hands. Seeing there were still two pieces left, two dimples formed on her cheeks as she smiled.

“Weren’t you supposed to sell them at the next market? Why are you here today?”

Sang Luo wasn’t embarrassed at all. She smiled and said, “I thought I’d buy some lard and meat at the market, so I brought some tofu along.”

“Buying meat?” The plump woman laughed upon hearing this, turning her head to gesture with her chin toward the meat counter behind her. “This is my family’s butcher’s shop. Come, come, whatever meat you need, just tell my father, and he’ll prepare it for you.”

“So, sister-in-law’s family runs a butcher’s shop. What a blessing you have.”

In this era, who ate the best food? Apart from the wealthy, among the ordinary folks in the countryside, it was the butcher’s families who ranked at the top.

The plump woman evidently agreed with Sang Luo’s words and was in a very good mood.

She glanced at the ceramic basin in Sang Luo’s hands and said, “You’ve come at the right time. I was just thinking about this. Sell me these two pieces, and I’ll have my parents and siblings taste them.”

Yesterday, she bought some for her husband’s family, and today, she came to her own family’s butcher shop. It was fortunate to encounter Sang Luo selling these fairy tofu pieces. How could she not show filial piety to her parents and siblings? It also prevented her sisters-in-law from thinking that she only took things from her parents’ home to her in-laws’ home.

Sang Luo was delighted; her eyes curled with joy. She said, “Sure, sister-in-law, you’re a repeat customer. These are the last two pieces. I’ll also give you a few smaller pieces as a bonus.”

“Bonus? That’s great!” The plump woman loved bonuses, especially when they were unique and not available elsewhere. Spending money felt doubly satisfying.

She asked Sang Luo to wait a moment, went inside with a smiling face, and brought out a bowl to fill with tofu. Then, she told her father that this was a familiar young lady, and if she needed meat, to choose a good piece for her. After that, she greeted Sang Luo and went inside with the two large bowls of fairy tofu she had just bought, to sell them to her mother and sisters-in-law.

The butcher doted on his daughter; otherwise, could a married daughter still occasionally come back to her parents’ home to pick up some meat to bring to her in-laws’ home? Since his daughter said this was a familiar young lady, he was extra accommodating.

“Miss, what kind of meat would you like to buy?”

Sang Luo inquired about the price of meat.

The butcher smiled and said, “It depends on the type. Fatty meat costs more, while lean meat is cheaper.”

Sang Luo glanced at the meat counter, where meat was displayed just like in modern times. She pointed to a piece that was seven parts fat and three parts lean and asked, “How about this one?”

The butcher glanced at it and replied, “For rendering lard? That one is 18 coins per jin(a traditional Chinese unit of weight).”

Shen An pinched the handful of copper coins in his hand. It was quite expensive, and he was worried he might lose it.

The little guy felt distressed but didn’t say anything. He knew to leave household matters to his sister-in-law.

After some thought, Sang Luo said, “Please give me half a jin.”

The butcher smiled in agreement, expertly weighed the meat, and cut out exactly half a jin.

His skill was truly admirable.

Once it was weighed, the butcher picked up a piece of pig liver from the meat counter, cut a small piece, about two liang (a traditional Chinese unit of weight), tied it together with the piece of meat using a grass rope, and handed it to Sang Luo. “Since you’re a friend of my eldest daughter, here’s a piece of pig liver for you.”

The butcher had heard and seen it just now. That fairy tofu, the young lady had given several pieces to his eldest daughter. Pig liver wasn’t expensive, so he considered it as returning a favor to his own daughter and giving face to his family.

This unexpected surprise made Sang Luo busy thanking him. She then looked at the corner of the meat counter, where there were almost only bone scraps left. She thought of the radish she had exchanged at home and asked about the price.

“Rib bones? Although there’s not much meat on these, they make delicious soup. They’re one coin each. Would you like one?”

One coin for rib bones was a good deal for nutritional supplementation, and it was economically reasonable. However, after looking at the meat and pig liver in her hands, Sang Luo thought for a moment and said, “Maybe next time. I have enough for today.”

The butcher nodded, “Sure, just come over whenever you need to buy.”

Sang Luo smiled and agreed, thinking of putting the pork in her basket. Suddenly, she remembered they didn’t have a kitchen knife at home—only a bamboo one. Cutting tofu was fine, but cutting meat? That was out of the question.

She quickly handed the meat and liver back to the butcher, saying, “Uncle, could you please help me by cutting these?”

Seeing the butcher’s puzzled expression, Sang Luo smiled apologetically, “We just moved out, and there are many things we haven’t arranged yet. We don’t have a kitchen knife at home.”

Understanding her situation, the butcher asked how she wanted the meat cut and promptly did it for her.

Since she couldn’t tie them with grass rope now, she washed two ceramic basins with water from the butcher’s shop and put the meat and liver directly into them.

Shen An and Shen Ning were excited about the delicious food they had bought. They wanted to tell their sister-in-law, but they felt too embarrassed to do so in front of the butcher, so they held back.

Shen An took out the copper coins he had received earlier and handed them to Sang Luo.

Sang Luo took them, counted out nine coins, gave them to the butcher, and put the remaining seventeen coins into her sleeve pocket. She thanked the butcher again. Since the plump woman wasn’t around, it wouldn’t be appropriate to say goodbye especially. Sang Luo left after bidding the butcher farewell, asking him to convey her thanks to his daughter again.

Shen Ning remembered what their sister-in-law had said about needing sauce to cook eggplant. As soon as they turned around, she asked Sang Luo, “Sister-in-law, are we going to buy sauce now?”

Sang Luo nodded, “Not just sauce, we’ll also buy some vinegar.”

Vinegar was useful for various purposes. It removed fishy smells from fish, added flavor to cold dishes, and even enhanced the nutritional value of bone soup by helping dissolve nutrients from the bones.

While chatting, Sang Luo led the two children to the grocery store across the street.

The shopkeeper at the grocery store remembered Sang Luo and her children. When he saw them, he smiled and asked, “What can I do for you today, young lady?”

Sauce and vinegar were the most commonly sold items in the shop, displayed prominently on the counter. Sang Luo spotted them immediately and asked about the price.

Upon hearing that Sang Luo wanted to buy sauce and vinegar, the shopkeeper said, “Do you have your own jars? If you bring your own, the sauce is one coin for two big spoonfuls, and the vinegar is one coin for two small spoonfuls.”

Since she didn’t have her own jars, Sang Luo ended up buying the smallest jars of sauce and vinegar that the grocery store had, totaling twelve coins.

With the remaining five coins, Sang Luo bought a small jar about the size of a palm. They would need a jar to store the rendered lard. She wanted to buy a larger one, but she didn’t have enough money. However, they wouldn’t need a lot of lard at once, so the small jar would suffice for now.

The only regret was that Sang Luo had planned to buy needles today. The cloth she had obtained needed to be hemmed, or it would unravel quickly. Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough money, so she would have to wait until next time.

This time, Shen An and Shen Ning got what they wanted: the basket with meat. Since the heavier pots and jars were transferred to Sang Luo’s own basket, the children walked happily when leaving Sanli Village.

While the children were ecstatic, Sang Luo was calculating that their food supplies at home were running low. At their current rate of consumption, even if they only ate porridge, their two and a half liters of rice wouldn’t last long. They needed to earn money to buy grains.

But would she be able to sell another sixteen pieces of fairy tofu in Sanli Village tomorrow?

Sang Luo knew that it wouldn’t be as easy. Today’s sales were good because everyone wanted to try something new. However, if she came back tomorrow, it might not be as successful. Sanli Village was wealthier than neighboring villages, but it had its limits. Coming once every three to five days was feasible, but coming every day was unrealistic.

Sang Luo couldn’t help but turn her gaze to the dirt road leading to the county town. Uncle Arita had mentioned that Sanli Village was only three miles away from the county town. Rural people had limited spending power, but people in the county wouldn’t find two coins for food expensive.