Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 49

By the time the sky had turned dusky gray, the candied hawthorn skewers were nearly finished. Madam Li stayed home to look after the two children, there would be too many people and too much commotion at the temple fair, and Ying Su was worried she might not be able to keep a proper eye on them. 

Madam Li had originally wanted to take the children along to see the excitement, but Ying Su refused, only managing to coax them into staying home by promising to bring back tasty treats and fun things for them.

At dawn, Li Dalang drove the ox cart loaded with their goods, bringing Ying Su and the others along, heading straight for Yunwu Mountain.

Because it was the temple fair, many people had come to set up stalls and sell things. Fortunately, Ying Su and her group went early. They left their ox cart at a household at the foot of the mountain and hurried up to secure a good spot, right by the temple gate where people would constantly be passing in and out.

The stall frame had been prepared beforehand by Ying Su and Li Dalang. The boxes of candied hawthorn fruit were neatly arranged on the rack, immediately drawing attention.

Ying Su had made three wooden stands for displaying the candied hawthorn skewers. Two people carried the stands around to hawk the treats, while the third one was placed at the stall to catch the eye of passersby.

They had just finished setting everything up when the temple gates opened. Worshippers slowly began streaming in to offer incense and prayers.

Yuntai Temple was a centuries-old monastery with many followers. The abbot, Master Liaokong, was a highly respected monk who often entered the palace to lecture the emperor. He not only possessed deep Buddhist cultivation but was also known for his astonishingly accurate fortune-telling. Many came from afar for the chance to request a divination.

However, since Master Liaokong spent most of his years traveling, he was rarely at the temple. No one knew exactly when he might return.

As the crowd grew, Ying Su began to call out loudly. Her voice was clear and pleasant, ringing in the ear, and together with the novelty of the goods, it quickly caught people’s attention. Most visitors to the temple fair were well-off young masters and ladies from town, as well as women bringing children to burn incense and fulfill vows.

The sweet and tangy fragrance of hawthorn preserves drifted far, and before long, a crowd had gathered around the stall. The candied hawthorn skewers, especially, proved irresistible to children, just as popular in this dynasty as in any other.

Plenty of people stopped to look, though few were willing to try at first. Such was the way with selling things, people loved to crowd around.

Ying Su took out the samples she had prepared and carried them over with a bright smile. “You’ll know if it’s good once you taste it! Try a piece, no charge! What matters most is the flavor!”

Since it was free, the onlookers were more than happy to oblige. They picked up the samples of hawthorn sugar snowballs and candied skewers and began to taste.

“How does it taste? Delicious, isn’t it?” Ying Su said sweetly. “This is made with our family’s secret recipe, appetizing and tasty, just as good as any confection you’d find in a big shop! Our fruits are freshly picked from the mountains, clean and fresh. These candied hawthorn skewers are made and sold on the spot, coated with pure white sugar syrup. Children will definitely love them! And they’re not expensive, perfect to buy for your kids!”

“The taste really is good,” said a woman of about thirty, her hair in a matron’s bun pinned with a silver hairpin. She wore a sky-blue cotton gauze dress, with a young maid following behind her. “My daughter loves sour-sweet things like this. The color of the fruit looks so fresh too, and the price is fair. I’ll take some for her. Give me three skewers of candied hawthorn, two boxes of the preserves, and three pieces of hawthorn cake.”

“Alright, big sister, here you go. Altogether, that’ll be one tael, one qian, and nine coins,” Ying Su replied crisply, wrapping everything up neatly and handing it over. The maid quickly pulled out the silver to pay.

Once the first customer took the lead, others followed. After tasting and seeing that the flavor was indeed good, and with children clamoring beside them, it was hard to resist. At just three coins a skewer, the candied hawthorn was hardly expensive.

Soon more and more people were buying, until the entire stall was surrounded. Luckily, with Li Dalang, Liu Chuncao, and Li Jinfeng all helping, they managed without too much chaos. Ying Su, being the quickest with calculations, was in charge of the money, while the others wrapped and handed out goods. Their teamwork grew smooth and efficient.

Since three people were selling at once and only one was collecting money, anyone else would have struggled to keep track. But Ying Su’s mental arithmetic was sharp and precise, and she handled it all with ease, impressing the others even more.

As Ying Su’s money box grew heavier, the others couldn’t stop grinning. They wrapped faster and faster, their hands flying more nimbly. Candied hawthorn, being the cheapest and most eye-catching, sold the fastest. The entire batch made that morning was quickly gone.

Only then did Li Dalang realize how sharp Ying Su’s foresight was. He had worried that the huge number of skewers they made wouldn’t sell, and when Ying Su insisted on bringing along the sugar pot, he had even felt annoyed.

Now he was deeply grateful. With the pot and the raw hawthorn she had insisted on bringing, they could keep making fresh skewers on the spot, exactly what kept customers coming.

The sight of freshly made candied hawthorn drew even more buyers.

Soon, almost everywhere around Yuntai Temple, children and young ladies could be seen nibbling on skewers. The Da Qing dynasty was not overly strict with young women, and there was little fuss over strict gender segregation, so it was common for girls to stroll outside.

Thus, many young women crowded around their stall. Girls loved little treats, especially sour-sweet fruit, and women coming to burn incense often bought boxes of preserves to take home to their daughters.

The preserves, packaged nicely and priced higher, sold slower compared to the cheap skewers, which was expected.

At noon, Liu Chuncao brought out the dry rations she had prepared, and everyone ate a little to fill their stomachs. Li Jinfeng was especially excited, chattering nonstop beside Ying Su. Other than doing embroidery work, this was her first time earning silver.

Liu Chuncao also beamed with joy, and even Li Dalang’s face glowed with excitement. None of them had expected the treats to sell this well.

In the afternoon, more customers came looking for candied hawthorn skewers for their children. Ying Su used up the fresh hawthorn she had brought, making and selling them on the spot until they were all gone.

When those ran out, buyers settled for the sugar-coated hawthorn. Though slightly different from the skewers, the sugar coating was made another way, they were essentially the same. Originally sold loose, Ying Su had a clever idea, she skewered them on bamboo sticks just like the candied hawthorn, and priced them the same. They sold much better this way, likely because they were easier to carry.

The hawthorn cakes were all gone, the fruit leather nearly sold out, leaving only a few boxes of preserves. Seeing that it was getting late, and mindful that Yunwu Mountain was still a ways from Dongjun Village, with a whole ridge to cross, they decided it wasn’t safe to head down after dark. So the group agreed to pack up and head home.