Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 19

Watching the crowds coming and going, she raised her voice to call out, “Fresh fish for sale! Fresh fish here! Big or small, each one is seventy wen! First come, first served!”

After shouting for a while, she finally drew in a customer. A middle-aged man in a blue robe approached, followed by a young man in a gray half-length tunic and trousers, a black belt at his waist and a hat on his head. With just one glance, from his clothing, Ying Su could already tell the one in gray was a shop assistant, and she began making her calculations.

The middle-aged man crouched down to look at the fish of all sizes in the wooden bucket and said, “You’re asking seventy wen even for these little ones? That’s rather expensive, isn’t it?”

“I already said, big or small, it’s seventy wen each. You only noticed me selling the small ones for seventy wen, but didn’t you also see these large fish that I’m letting go for the same price?” As she spoke, Ying Su reached into the bucket and pulled out a fat fish weighing eight or nine jin. She continued, “And I also said, first come, first served. Whoever comes early gets to pick out the big ones!”

The large fish in her hands, along with her words, immediately drew the attention of many onlookers. A small crowd gathered.

The middle-aged man glanced at the hefty fish she held. The corners of his mouth curved with amusement as he said, “This one’s quite a big catch. Including the one in your hand, give me ten. You’re an interesting seller.”

“Alright, that’ll be seven hundred wen in total!” Ying Su deftly threaded the fish on a straw rope and handed them over. The fish thrashed, its tail slapping against her, and she laughed, “See how lively and fresh it is? Absolutely delicious when cooked. I guarantee your customers will want to come back for more!”

The man chuckled, thinking this fish-selling woman was rather sharp, she’d even guessed what business he was in. And with such clever words, he couldn’t help but give her a second look.

He pulled out seven strings of coins from his pouch and handed them over. Then he chose nine more large fish, passing them to the young assistant behind him.

Ying Su tucked the money securely into her bosom, her lips curving in quiet delight.

Seeing that the man had bought ten at once, another onlooker quickly called out, “I’ll take two as well!” He crouched down, picked out two large fish, happily paid, and left with his catch.

With those two sales leading the way, customers soon crowded in. A full circle of people surrounded her, and some even quarreled over a fish. The lively atmosphere worked to her advantage. 

Before long, all the bigger fish were sold out, even those weighing four or five jin fetched seventy wen a piece.

Many who came late and saw only the smaller fish left in the bucket sighed in regret, “If only I’d arrived a bit earlier!”

Ying Su then combined the fish from both buckets into one and shouted again, “Big or small, all of these now go for thirty wen each!”

Hearing this, those who had just been lamenting their lateness felt they’d scored a bargain. Someone hurried to shout, “I’ll take three!”

“And I’ll have two!” The excitement flared up once more, drawing another circle of buyers.

In no time at all, the rest were gone. Even the few fish that had died from lack of oxygen, she sold cheaply to a woman. 

It was a triumphant first sale, she had earned two taels and three qian. Packing away her buckets and basins, clutching the coins against her chest, Ying Su strolled down the street with light steps.

She wandered the market for a while before heading toward the shops on Northeast Street. She wanted to buy some paper and brush for the little bun to practice writing. After circling around, she finally spotted a shop selling the Four Treasures of the Study: brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. She was just about to step inside when, without warning, someone bumped into her.

Ying Su shifted slightly to the side, about to avoid him, but then recalled the prying gaze she’d felt the previous night. Out of caution, she did not move away. Unexpectedly, the young man who bumped her grabbed her wrist and shouted loudly, “Catch the thief! Catch the thief! This woman stole my money!”

The young man wore a blue scholar’s robe though old, it was clean and without patches. He was thin, sallow-faced, and his features were passable, giving him the genteel air of a student. His whole bearing should have been that of a refined scholar, yet it was ruined by the shifty, false gleam in his eyes.

His loud cry immediately drew a crowd of onlookers. Ying Su merely arched a brow, her expression calm as she regarded the scholar.

Seeing her composed face, showing neither panic nor fright, the young man faltered inside. His gaze greedily swept over the bulge in front of her chest where the coins were hidden. Gritting his teeth, he cried even louder, “You thieving woman, you stole my silver! Hand it over this instant!”

The crowd looked from the scholar to Ying Su. Seeing her dressed in patched, ragged clothes while he wore a blue scholar’s robe, their sympathies tilted toward him.

The corners of Ying Su’s lips curved in the faintest of smiles. Someone dares try to pluck fur from the tiger’s head at Mount Hu (Mount Tiger)? How amusing.

The scholar grew even more uneasy at her unshaken demeanor. With more and more people gathering, he put on a pitiful air and pleaded miserably, “That silver took me so long to save. I was going to buy paper and brushes. Without them, I can’t write essays. Please, be kind, return my money to me!”

Moved by his pitiful act, some onlookers began to speak out, “Woman, how could you steal even from a scholar? That’s truly wicked. Hurry up and give his money back!”

“That’s right! Look how anxious this poor student is. Hand over the money!”

Almost all the bystanders sided with the scholar without question, loudly condemning Ying Su. Amid their uproar, Ying Su remained utterly calm, as if the thief they shouted at was not her at all.

“You say the money on me is yours?” Her black eyes fell on the young man’s face, unreadable. Then, with a smile that lit up her striking features, she said, “And what proof do you have that my money is yours? Do you have witnesses? Any evidence?”

The scholar was stunned, at a loss for words. “This… this…”

The crowd, however, took her composure as insolence. To them, not only was she a thief, she was also sharp-tongued and unrepentant.

“What a glib little woman! To talk back like that after stealing!”

Ying Su only laughed more freely, as if amused. Looking at the scholar, she said, “Sharp-tongued? Oh, I can’t compare to him!” She raised a slender white finger to point at him. “He’s the glib one here. With just a few words, he wants to trick me into handing over my silver and even saddle me with a charge of theft. With such a silver tongue, I can only concede defeat!”

Her words struck the scholar pale. Seeing the crowd wavering, he grew anxious and quickly said, “Don’t listen to her nonsense! This woman is sly and full of tricks! The silver she’s hiding is exactly two taels and three qian, just have her take it out, and you’ll see for yourselves!”