Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 53

In July, the Bian River was filled with distant sails. The high-ranking officials of the capital traveled north by boat to escape the summer heat, with Mount Yunwu as their first choice. By then, the southeast street of Shili Town would become lively and bustling.

(Note: Shili Town is Ten-Li Town, I decided to just use Shili instead of Ten-Li as it’s less awkward to read. Better for the flow too.)

Thus, on Southeast Street there was a saying, “Closed all year, but one month of business feeds you for a year.” It referred to this very time when the capital’s nobles traveled northward to escape the summer heat and passed through this place.

“If Shopkeeper Zeng wants to make candied fruits, just send someone to Dongjun Village to find me. I’ll definitely come by and lend a hand.” Ying Su quickly left these words.

(Note: If you’re wondering why he was introduced as a steward but is now called a shopkeeper, just think of him as a shopkeeper for a distinguished family. He’s a steward that manages the business of a family.)

Shopkeeper Zeng beamed with squinted eyes and handed the remaining fifty taels of silver to Ying Su. Skilled at reading people’s expressions, he saw that Ying Su still had matters to attend to and said, “Then I’ll send someone to fetch you when the time comes. I won’t keep you today.”

Ying Su smiled as she took her leave. Just before stepping out, she seemed to remember something, and with a grin she said to Shopkeeper Zeng, “We’ve been talking so much, I haven’t had the chance to try the pastries from your shop. You don’t mind if I pack some to take with me, do you?”

Shopkeeper Zeng was clearly taken aback, but he quickly recovered, smiling as he called over a worker to pack up the pastries. In his heart, however, he thought he had overestimated this woman yesterday. So, she was just another shallow-minded farmwife after all.

Ying Su could more or less guess at his silent complaints, but she didn’t care in the least.

Carrying the packaged pastries, the three of them left the shop. As soon as they did, Li Dalang started scolding Liu Chuncao.

“You shallow-eyed woman! Cuihua was talking business with Shopkeeper Zeng, and you thought you could sneak some pastries without anyone noticing? You just embarrassed Cuihua for no reason!” Li Dalang barked at her with a dark face.

Liu Chuncao knew her actions just now had been inappropriate. Feeling wronged, she muttered, “I just thought of our Dazhuang, who’s never had pastries like these. I couldn’t help wanting to bring some back for him to taste.”

Ying Su quickly smoothed things over, “Sister-in-law didn’t do anything wrong. I can understand her care for Dazhuang. Besides, those pastries were offered to us anyway. Taking a little back isn’t a big deal, in fact, it’s a gain for us!” She laughed as she shook the package of pastries in her hand.

Grateful, Li Dalang said to Liu Chuncao, “Cuihua helped you save face by having Shopkeeper Zeng pack the pastries himself. Shopkeeper Zeng must think less of us now.”

Blushing with shame, Liu Chuncao looked at Ying Su apologetically. “Cuihua, I was short-sighted… Sister-in-law…”

Ying Su said casually, “Why should we care about whether he looks down on us? We live freely, it’s none of his business. Even if Shopkeeper Zeng looks down on us, he still has to come to me to learn how to make candied fruits. And even if he respected us, so what? He wouldn’t give us an extra tael of silver for it. He’s just an irrelevant person, we might never cross paths again. Why bother?”

Her words were bold and carefree. After thinking it over, Li Dalang realized she made sense and kept quiet. As for Liu Chuncao, she thought even more highly of Ying Su now. Ying Su had stood up for her, and she resolved to treat her even better from now on.

Once the matter was dropped, Li Dalang shifted to the real issue. “Which street should we look for our shop on?”

“Northeast Street,” Ying Su replied firmly, the same choice Li Dalang had been considering. The southwest and northwest streets were crowded with peddlers and small stalls, unsuitable for a proper shop.

Northeast Street was the most suitable, but that meant they would be opening right across from his former employer. What’s more, there were already two wood shops there, bitter rivals of one another.

If they opened another furniture shop between them, could they really stand a chance? What if business failed?

Ying Su only smiled at his concerns. “You don’t need to worry about that. The things our shop will sell are things those two could never have.”

She planned to bring high-end modern home textiles into the shop. Furniture and a wood shop might sound similar, but in reality, they were worlds apart. What she intended to sell was home textile goods.

She had already inquired, this northern region grew cotton in many places. Even Dongjun Village sets aside plots every winter to grow cotton.

Families stuffed their own quilts with homegrown cotton, and weaving cloth also required spun cotton. So as long as she was willing to pay, cotton would be plentiful. Those two wood shops were nothing to fear.

Seeing her confidence, and remembering her remarkable insight and foresight, Li Dalang realized Ying Su wouldn’t make such decisions without careful thought. Clearly, opening this shop wasn’t a whim but something she had planned for a long time.

They took the ox cart to Northeast Street to look for a shop. After much searching, they finally found a suitable one, right across from Li Dalang’s old workplace.

Standing inside the shop, Li Dalang felt awkward, worried his former boss might suddenly walk out from across the street. If that happened, he really wouldn’t know how to greet him.

The location, however, was excellent, right at the entrance of Northeast Street. Anyone walking in would immediately notice it. Ying Su was very satisfied, and she didn’t spare a thought for the wood shop across the street.

The shop used to be a fabric store. But because business had declined, the owner was ready to sell. Inside were still bolts of fabric that the shopkeeper was unloading at low prices.

Ying Su examined the fabrics and decided to buy them together with the shop, paying a full year’s rent upfront. The shopkeeper, who was also the property owner, was overjoyed at her generosity and smiled from ear to ear.

With the shop secured, the three of them immediately set to work. They cleaned the place thoroughly. It was about one hundred square meters, with a backyard attached. Ying Su was very pleased.

At noon, they ate bowls of noodles on the street, followed by some of the pastries Ying Su had packed from Shopkeeper Zeng’s store.

Ying Su already had ideas for the shop’s decoration. She planned to draw up designs at home and hire someone for a proper renovation.

With the shop found, the next step was to hire reliable workers. Back when Li Dalang worked at the wood shop, he had trained a few apprentices. One of them was particularly diligent, capable, and quick to learn woodwork.

This young man’s name was Shi Fei. His father had died of tuberculosis, and his mother had long been bedridden with illness. As an apprentice at Li’s old wood shop, the pay was pitifully low, but his mother’s illness required constant money. In the end, he had no choice but to quit and work at the docks, carrying cargo and unloading goods for passing boats.

Since Shi Fei had once worked under him, Li Dalang knew the young man well.