Chapter 14: Starting to Spend Money
The tofu stall owner next to them had been benefiting from the increased foot traffic brought by the fruit stall. His tofu was selling faster than usual, but he kept eyeing the remaining dried fruit on the Qi family’s stall—pieces that weren’t in the best shape and hadn’t sold yet.
“Miss, could you sell me the rest of those at a discount?” he asked hesitantly.
Xu Shuyue was busy counting the copper coins they had earned and didn’t catch what he said.
Seeing her lack of response, the tall man scratched his head, assuming she had silently declined. Disappointed, he turned away.
Just then, Madam Wei stepped in. “Are you taking all of it? If so, I’ll give it to you for 15 wen per half jin (about 250 grams),” she offered.
The remaining fruit—mixed pears and apples—wasn’t worth much more, and 15 wen per half jin was already a compromise.
The tofu stall owner’s face lit up with joy. He immediately pulled out 30 wen and handed it over. At this moment, Xu Shuyue finally caught on. “Oh! You’re buying the dried fruit?”
She was confused—this man had just hesitated over a single candied pear earlier, unwilling to spend the money, so why was he now buying this relatively pricey dried fruit?
Blushing slightly, the tofu stall owner explained sheepishly, “It’s for my wife. She’s pregnant, and lately, she’s been craving things that are sweet and sour. But the expensive stuff is out of our budget…”
It turned out he’d been hovering around the Qi family’s stall for some time, hoping to snag a bargain. Luck had finally been on his side.
Madam Wei, understanding his situation, didn’t take offense. She was planning to sell the leftover dried fruit at a lower price anyway. Coming all the way to the market was no small effort, and she didn’t want to go home with unsold goods.
Estimating that the remaining fruit barely weighed over a jin, she handed it to him directly, smiling as she said, “You’re helping us clear it out. The sooner we sell everything, the sooner we can go enjoy the market ourselves.”
“Exactly!”
The tea stall owner, who had been watching from the side, chuckled as he stroked his beard. With his calm demeanor and long beard, he looked like a wise hermit, though his sudden remark startled everyone.
“This works out nicely,” he added. “Now my wife won’t bite my arm when her cravings hit.”
The tofu stall owner laughed heartily, holding the bundle of dried fruit in his arms. His joy was infectious, and soon everyone around couldn’t help but smile along with him.
With the sun high in the sky, the Qi family finally packed up their stall and joined the crowd of market-goers. Qi Ansheng carried the empty baskets on his back, while Madam Wei walked beside him.
Madam Wei turned to Xu Shuyue and waved her over. “Your father and I will take care of buying the necessities for the house. It’s rare for you to come to the market—go take a look around. If you see anything you like, buy it.”
The coins from the dried fruit sales were still with Xu Shuyue. She had counted them earlier—469 wen in total. Madam Wei’s words carried a clear meaning: The money is yours to spend.
In this era, most mothers-in-law tightly controlled the household finances, rarely allowing their daughters-in-law access to money, let alone letting them spend freely. Madam Wei’s generosity was truly rare.
Xu Shuyue’s heart warmed, and she hugged Madam Wei affectionately, playfully acting spoiled. “Thank you, Mother!”
“Oh, you cheeky girl!” Madam Wei laughed, but her eyes were full of delight.
Grinning, Xu Shuyue dashed off into the bustling market.
Madam Wei called after her, “Your father and I will wait for you by the ox cart near the east gate when we’re done!”
“I’ll find you!” Xu Shuyue waved back energetically.
The moment Xu Shuyue called Madam Wei “Mother” so sweetly, Madam Wei’s heart felt like it melted.
Qi Ansheng, on the other hand, snorted and muttered, “If it were our two boys saying that, I’d be scared stiff.”
Madam Wei burst into laughter, her mood visibly lighter.
After leaving Madam Wei and Qi Ansheng, Xu Shuyue started browsing the market again. Following the flow of people, she stopped at various stalls. The fair was larger than she had expected, with stalls not only set up by villagers but also by shopkeepers from the town. The variety of goods on display was dazzling, making it hard to take it all in.
But the prices—those were heartbreaking.
Xu Shuyue touched her nearly empty coin pouch and quickly moved away from the cosmetics stalls. She had initially thought about buying a jar of face cream for herself and Madam Wei, something to keep their skin from getting chapped in the cold. A decent jar cost 500 wen.
But when she realized that even spending every last coin she had wouldn’t buy her more than three jars, she felt it was absurdly overpriced.
“No way,” she thought, swiftly distancing herself from the stall. She resolved to go without for now and figure out how to make her own cream later. There was no way she’d let these greedy merchants take her hard-earned money.
With her priorities set, Xu Shuyue veered away from the pricier sections of the market and headed toward the stalls selling local goods.
These stalls, run mostly by villagers, offered practical items like rice, flour, eggs, vegetables, wild mountain goods, handwoven baskets, and sewn handkerchiefs.
At one stall, she spotted some neatly folded handkerchiefs. She picked out four, spending 15 wen in total—one for Madam Wei, one for Qi Ansheng, one for Qi Qingfeng (the younger brother), and one for herself. She made sure not to show favoritism.
Satisfied with the handkerchiefs, she skipped over the stalls selling things she didn’t need and was about to head back toward the main market area when something caught her eye.
Her steps faltered as she turned toward a small stall. Behind it sat a boy who looked no older than thirteen or fourteen.
Looking around, Xu Shuyue noticed there were no adults watching over him. Maybe his family’s out shopping, she thought.
While she was hesitating, the boy looked up and rasped, “Are you buying something?”
His voice startled her—it was rough and deep for his age, likely because he was going through puberty. Clutching her chest to calm her racing heart, she asked in a low voice, “Are your parents around?”
The boy, Chen Erping, frowned, giving her a suspicious look. “Why are you asking about my parents? If you want to buy something, just buy it.”
His tone wasn’t the friendliest, but Xu Shuyue wasn’t offended. Instead, she asked calmly, “If your parents aren’t here, can you make the decision to sell me something?”
Chen Erping understood her meaning right away. The tension in his expression eased, and he explained, “I don’t have any parents. This stall is mine.”
He’s an orphan.
Hearing this, Xu Shuyue felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.
Chen Erping waved it off with a shrug. “It’s fine. What do you want to buy? Everything here is fresh from the mountains. Whatever you want, I’ll weigh it for you.”
His straightforward attitude made her feel less awkward, so she pointed at a pile of white fungus on the stall and asked, “How much for this snow fungus?”
“Snow fungus?” The boy blinked in surprise, clearly unfamiliar with the term. “So that’s what it’s called. Well, I don’t know how much it’s worth. I just picked it by chance, so… you can offer what you think is fair.”
The “snow fungus” he referred to was silver ear fungus, a prized mountain delicacy that was extremely rare. Its price was anything but cheap.
The pile on his stall weighed at least half a jin (250 grams), and at market value, it would easily sell for four to five taels of silver. Even if Xu Shuyue emptied her coin pouch, she wouldn’t have enough to buy it.
But she wanted it desperately.
Ever since she and the Qi family had sold their candied fruit and dried fruit, she had been brainstorming new products to diversify their sales. The silver ear fungus reminded her of a classic winter dessert she’d seen back in her previous life: ice-sugar stewed snow fungus with pear.
The ingredients she needed were mostly within reach. The pears in the Qi family’s cellar could be used, and maltose syrup could replace rock sugar. Red dates were also available. The only missing element was the silver ear fungus.
This dish wouldn’t be the same without both the pears and the fungus. Staring at the stall, she hesitated for a long time before finally making up her mind.
“Wait here,” she said to Chen Erping. “Don’t sell that to anyone else. I’ll go find my parents and get some silver. I’ll be right back.”
The boy tilted his head, confused. “What do you mean?”
Looking at his thin, threadbare clothes, it was clear to Xu Shuyue that his family situation wasn’t great. The silver ear fungus was the most valuable item on his stall—it was likely his key to surviving the winter.
She couldn’t bring herself to take advantage of him.
With a clear gaze, she quickly explained, “This snow fungus you have is worth at least four taels of silver. I don’t have enough money on me right now, but if you wait just half an hour, I’ll be back with the rest.”
Chen Erping’s eyes widened in surprise. Four taels of silver was an enormous amount of money. “Are you serious?”
“Of course,” Xu Shuyue replied earnestly. “Just hold onto it for me, okay? I’ll be back soon.”
Seeing the sincerity in her expression, Chen Erping nodded hesitantly. “Alright, but don’t take too long.”
Xu Shuyue smiled and ran off, her mind already calculating the steps she’d need to take to make her next venture a success. This silver ear fungus is going to be the start of something new.
Xu Shuyue left the stall in a hurry, leaving Chen Erping staring at the pale yellow snow fungus on his table in disbelief. “This stuff can sell for four taels of silver?”
He couldn’t help but feel doubtful. What if that girl was just lying to me?
Next to him, a middle-aged man, around fifty, had overheard the whole conversation. Shrinking his hands into his sleeves, he sneered, “Kid, I think you’re being scammed!”
Chen Erping turned his head and looked at the man. He was wrapped in bulky layers, his drooping triangular eyes and sallow complexion giving him an untrustworthy appearance.
“Why do you say that?” Chen Erping asked, his tone cold.
The man laughed mockingly. “Hah! Listen to this little farmer trying to sound like a scholar. What’s with the flowery talk? Makes you sound ridiculous.”
Chen Erping’s face darkened. It was true that he had picked up this way of speaking from his elder brother, a scholar whom he deeply admired. To him, anything his brother said was wisdom worth emulating. Hearing this man mock him, however, filled him with anger.
Without hesitation, Chen Erping snapped back, “Better to speak properly than to spew nonsense like you. And mocking scholars, huh? I spit on you! Scholars can pass exams and serve the country. You’ve been selling vegetables all day and can’t even get rid of a single bundle. And you’ve got the nerve to criticize others?”
He shot the man a big, dramatic eye-roll and turned away. No matter what the man said after that, Chen Erping had no intention of listening.
The middle-aged man’s face darkened further, and his expression soured. Feeling humiliated, he growled, “You little brat. You’re getting scammed and don’t even know it! Let’s see if that girl really comes back with the money. Even if she does, there’s no way your stuff is worth four taels of silver!”
He chuckled coldly to himself, looking smug, but Chen Erping ignored him, though unease began to creep into his heart. What if that man’s right? What if she doesn’t come back?
For a moment, he even thought about moving his stall elsewhere, but then he worried the girl wouldn’t be able to find him again. So he gritted his teeth and stayed put, trying to suppress his doubts.
Meanwhile, Xu Shuyue was rushing back to the old tree where the ox cart was parked. Several villagers were already gathered there, resting or waiting for others to finish shopping.
Seeing her approaching, Yu Yougen, the cart owner, called out loudly to Madam Wei, “Hey! Your daughter-in-law is back!”
Madam Wei looked over and saw Xu Shuyue running toward them, out of breath. She immediately stood up and asked in concern, “Shuyue, what’s wrong?”
Panting slightly, Xu Shuyue asked quietly, “Mother, do you have three taels of silver with you? I want to buy some snow fungus, but I don’t have enough money.”
Unfortunately, her words weren’t as quiet as she had hoped. A nearby woman, Madam Jin, overheard and immediately shrieked, “Three taels of silver? Oh my! Sister Wei, what is your daughter-in-law trying to buy that costs so much?”
Her voice was so loud that everyone nearby turned to look. Curious glances and murmurs spread through the group.
Madam Wei shot Madam Jin a sharp glare and then grabbed Xu Shuyue’s arm, pulling her aside to avoid the growing crowd. Lowering her voice, she asked, “Shuyue, tell me honestly—why do you need so much silver?”
Madam Wei was genuinely worried. The market was full of tempting goods, many of them overpriced. For something called “snow fungus” to cost three taels of silver—it didn’t sound right.
“It’s a type of mountain delicacy…” Xu Shuyue began to explain, but snow fungus was so rare and unfamiliar that it was hard to describe in a few words.
Seeing her daughter-in-law’s anxious expression, Madam Wei decided to trust her. “Alright, I’ll go with you to take a look,” she said. Turning to Qi Ansheng, who was sitting nearby with their baskets, she added, “Old man, watch our things. Shuyue and I will be back soon.”
Before she could leave, Madam Jin chimed in again, her tone sharp. “Hey, Sister Wei! What do you think you’re doing? Do you think this ox cart is your family’s private vehicle? Leaving now? Why didn’t you handle this earlier?”
It turned out Madam Jin and a few others had already been waiting under the tree for nearly half an hour. Now that everyone was back, they were ready to leave, but Madam Wei and Xu Shuyue’s sudden departure meant they would have to wait longer. Naturally, this upset them.
Madam Jin’s complaint triggered others to grumble as well.
“She’s right! It’s freezing out here. Who’s responsible if we catch a cold waiting like this?”
“This cart isn’t your personal carriage, Madam Wei!”
