Chapter 10: Busy with Their Own Grand Enterprises

Who would turn down candy brought right to their doorstep?

“I’ll do it!” Ergouzi nodded vigorously.

“All right then.” Song Daya nodded as well. “But let’s make this clear first. I only want stones for two days: tomorrow and the day after. However many baskets you bring is how many malt candies I’ll give. Stones in one hand, candy in the other.”

Any longer and the malt candy would melt.

“Deal!” Ergouzi gritted his teeth. “It’s getting dark today, but tomorrow I’ll round up Daniu, Erniu, Dazhuang, Erzhuang, and the rest!”

“You arrange the people yourself, that’s not my business. But listen, I won’t take any from graves, latrines, or temples!” Song Daya emphasized.

“Leave it to me, you can count on it!” Ergouzi thumped his chest with loud thuds.

With the deal struck, Ergouzi hurried home before darkness fell completely.

Song Daya remained seated by the doorway, waiting for her parents.

She waited and waited, but still saw no sign of them.

Old Mother Wu came over to close the wattle gate and shooed Song Daya into the house.

“Grandmother, I’m still waiting!” Song Daya protested.

After she finished her meal and washed her little face, hands, bottom, and feet, she began her grand enterprise of pecking rice, head nodding as drowsiness overtook her.

“If you’re sleepy, go to bed,” Old Mother Wu urged.

“I won’t…”

“Waiting in bed is the same.”

“I… won’t…”

Walking beneath the stars and moon, Song Dalang and Mei-Shi hurried along, but the night had already turned pitch-black by the time they reached the village.

Pushing open the wattle gate of their little courtyard, they saw the tiny flicker of an oil lamp shining from within, and the couple’s hearts finally settled a bit.

“Mother, where’s Daya?” Mei-Shi asked first.

“Just fell asleep,” Old Mother Wu whispered. “Told me to wake her up when you got back.”

Naturally, Mei-Shi could not bring herself to wake her daughter.

The couple stepped inside one after the other, neither noticing the small pile of pebbles that had appeared in the courtyard.

Exhausted from the day, the husband and wife ate their dinner, counted their money, washed their faces, and fell into bed.

When Song Daya woke the next morning, she discovered that her parents had gone out yet again!

Her parents cared deeply about the lunchbox business now, but not quite as much about her.

Song Daya felt gloomy for a brief moment, then went off to attend to her grand enterprise of collecting stones.

Lured by the malt candy, Ergouzi had rounded up six of his playmates and become a middleman boss.

And so, under the pretext of gathering pigweed, a string of little rascals carried baskets wheedled from their mothers or grandmothers and went around the entire village gathering stones.

They also had to steer clear of their grown-ups to avoid getting scolded and having their tools confiscated.

There was strength in numbers, and by midday, Ergouzi arrived with his playmates to deliver the goods.

“Line up, everyone! One at a time!” Ergouzi shouted, putting on an impressive show of authority.

Song Daya inspected each basket of stones and handed out a piece of malt candy, looking every bit like a little landlady.

The kids who received their candy popped it into their mouths without hesitation, their lips pressed tight and their faces blooming like flowers as the sweet flavor melted on their tongues.

Ergouzi’s share of the candy was settled privately, kept out of sight of the others.

“Daya, you’re truly straightforward!” Ergouzi praised sincerely.

*

While Song Daya was busy with her grand enterprise of gathering pebbles, Song Dalang and Mei-Shi were busy with their grand enterprise of selling lunchboxes.

The couple spent most of the day hawking their wares in town, but business was slower than the previous two days, and they sold only around a dozen sets.

Among those were two repeat customers.

One of those repeat customers was the young woman who had been the very first to buy a lunchbox.

This woman’s surname was Jian, and her husband was an escort bailiff who frequently escorted prisoners back and forth to the county seat, often delayed on the road and unable to eat hot food.

Lady Jian had bought a lunchbox set two days earlier, intending to test whether it actually worked well.

It so happened that her husband had to head to the county seat on business again yesterday, so Lady Jian put the lunchbox and water canteen to use.

Her husband hadn’t thought much of it at first.

Only after arriving at the county seat and finishing his duties did he finally take out his meal.

Opening it up, he found the rice was still warm, and so was the tea.

This was far more comfortable than chewing on rock-hard flatbread.

His colleagues expressed their envy and asked Lady Jian’s husband to buy a set for them.

When others caught wind of it, they placed requests as well.

In this way, Lady Jian alone bought five sets.

Mei-Shi dared not neglect her, naturally selecting the finest ones.

Lady Jian gained goodwill and practical benefit, Mei-Shi made her sales, and both sides were delighted.

Seeing the sun slant toward the west, Song Dalang figured there probably would not be much more business, so he consulted his wife, “It’s getting late. Why don’t we call it a day and head back early?”

Mei-Shi looked at the sky and felt worried about home as well, so she said, “Let’s head back then.”

The couple had walked the streets and alleys all day; tired as they were, they were truly thrilled inside.

Passing by a pastry shop, Song Dalang went in and bought a box of bean cakes.

“It’s not a holiday or festival, so why buy this?” Mei-Shi asked, puzzled.

“Didn’t you say Daya came up with a great idea? I’m bringing it back for her and Mother to taste,” Song Dalang said with a smile.

“Just keep spoiling her, why don’t you!” Mei-Shi shot her husband an exasperated glare.

Turning around, Mei-Shi spotted a fabric shop, and the words slipped naturally from her mouth: “Daya’s been shooting up lately, outgrowing her clothes after wearing them for just a few days. I was thinking maybe I should just make her clothes a bit bigger so she can wear them for a couple more years!”

Song Dalang did not call out his wife’s sharp tongue and soft heart, merely chuckling. “You decide on that. I’m just a man; I don’t understand these things.”

And so, Mei-Shi stepped forward and picked out two Chi [approx. 66 cm] of fine linen.

When paying, she took a fancy to a piece of red cloth as well and asked for another two Chi [approx. 66 cm].

“Children look nice wearing a bit of color,” Mei-Shi covered up, then asked, “Are we coming back to town tomorrow?”

Song Dalang said, “Tomorrow, I’m thinking of going to the county seat.”

He had thought it over carefully these past two days. The greatest advantage of bamboo lunchboxes was their convenience.

Yet that very convenience was the catch: wealthy families looked down on them, and poor families couldn’t afford them.

Only households with a bit of money to spare would think of buying one to try.

But the town was only so big. They had sold across it the day before yesterday, sold across it yesterday, and sold across it again today.

If they came back tomorrow, there was no telling if they could sell many at all.

So Song Dalang thought they might as well endure the extra hardship and try their luck in the county seat.

The way to the county seat was long, requiring them to set out in the middle of the night, and Song Dalang hated the thought of putting his wife through that toil.

Yet precisely because of the long journey, Song Dalang wanted to take all the remaining lunchboxes and sell as many as possible. Having an extra person along would mean an extra pair of hands to help.

And so he explained it all to Mei-Shi.

“All right, then, I’ll go with you,” Mei-Shi readily agreed. “We can each shoulder a load.”

No matter how hard it was, it would only be for a day or two anyway.

Song Dalang thought for a moment and said, “We’d better borrow an ox cart instead.”

In Songjiatai, only the village head’s family owned an ox cart, and though it was called borrowing, one couldn’t truly take it for free.

“How much will that cost?” Mei-Shi asked, feeling the sting of the expense.

Ordinarily, taking the ox cart to town cost one Wen per person, or two Wen round-trip. Going to the county seat was two Wen per person, or four Wen round-trip.

So unless a family truly had money to spare, ordinary folk could never bear to spend on an ox cart ride.

“With you and me, that’s two people, which comes to eight Wen for the round trip. On top of that, we’re borrowing the cart to haul goods, so nobody else will be able to ride…” Song Dalang pondered for a moment, then said, “I’m thinking we should offer twenty Wen.”

Mei-Shi was so pained by the expense that she could not say a word.

That was twenty Wen!

After all, there were several households in Songjiatai that couldn’t save up twenty copper coins in an entire year.