Chapter 33: Market Fair
After selling the malt candy once more, Su He finally had a bit of real money on hand.
Just over sixty yuan wasn't much, but it was enough for Su He to go into town.
She needed to make a trip to the city, try some small business, and then buy two sets of clothes for the kids.
Her current clothes were too big—they didn't fit properly anymore.
Though she could exchange clothes in her space [her special ability], the styles there were too modern for this time period, so she decided to buy some outside instead.
Su He purposely waited by the door for Aunt Niu to go pick vegetables from the garden. When she saw her, she asked, "Aunt Niu, when is the next market fair in town? I'd like to go do some shopping."
"The next market fair is in three days. Are you planning to go?" Aunt Niu replied.
"Yes, I've been back in the village for so long but haven't been to the town market yet. I figured I'd bring the kids to buy a few things," Su He said with a smile.
"That'd be swell! I'll be going too. My chickens and ducks have laid some eggs, so I'll take them to sell. Why don't you come with me? It's just a half-hour walk—very close," Aunt Niu warmly invited.
"Sure!" Su He happily agreed.
After hesitating for a moment, Su He asked, "Aunt Niu, do people sell malt candy in town?"
"Yes, and there's more than one seller. They make it fresh every day to sell," Aunt Niu said with a sigh.
Su He got the message—if she tried selling malt candy in town, she wouldn't stand a chance.
After Aunt Niu left, Su He began thinking about what else she could sell at the market.
With only just over sixty yuan on hand, she sighed. She had no confidence at all.
"Mom, Mom, are we going to the city?" Niu Niu, having overheard Su He's conversation with Aunt Niu, immediately hugged Su He's leg and asked.
"Not the city—we're going to the town market. It'll be packed and exciting, so you two must stay close to me, understand?" Su He said seriously to the children.
"Wow~ we get to go play!" The two kids were bouncing with excitement.
Even when they had lived in the city, Su He rarely took them out.
Su He let them celebrate and turned her attention back to figuring out how to make money.
What about candied fruit sticks? But the ingredients—hawthorns or apples—would raise questions if she suddenly had them in the village.
After much deliberation, Su He decided not to sell anything from her system [her special ability]. Instead, she would make fried dough balls.
With just sweet potatoes, flour, scallions, and some seasoning, she could fry up some delicious snacks.
Every household had sweet potatoes—except hers.
So she went back to Aunt Niu's house.
"Su dear, what brings you by?" This was the first time Su He had come to her door, and Aunt Niu was pleasantly surprised.
"Aunt Niu, I wanted to ask—does anybody in the village have sweet potatoes for sale? I'd like to buy some," Su He said with a smile.
"Buy sweet potatoes? How much do you need? I can spare you some," Aunt Niu said, already heading inside to fetch some.
"Aunt Niu, wait—please, let me pay for them. I really need quite a bit. If you have extra, I'd rather buy them from you. I don't want you to give them to me," Su He quickly caught her arm and explained.
"How much do you want?" Aunt Niu stopped and asked.
"Thirty jin." Su He thought she definitely wouldn't sell that much, but she could always eat it herself. *(Note: One jin is approximately 0.5 kilograms or 1.1 pounds.)*
In those days, sweet potatoes were the main staple, not white rice.
"Okay, we normally charge twenty cents a jin, but I'll give them to you for fifteen cents."
"No, no, twenty cents is fair. Thirty jin would be six dollars, right?" Su He counted out six dollars from her pocket and handed it to Aunt Niu.
Aunt Niu didn't argue and weighed the sweet potatoes for Su He, even adding an extra two jin.
Back home, Su He started testing her fried sweet potato cakes.
First, she mixed the flour batter to the right consistency, then coated the sliced sweet potatoes with it before frying them in oil.
The smell slowly spread, and the two children, drawn by the delicious aroma, rushed into the kitchen. Seeing Mom cooking up something delicious again, they obediently sat by the fire pit, unwilling to leave.
"Mom, that smells amazing," Niu Niu said, mouth watering.
"These two are almost ready. Want one each, you and your brother?" Su He said with a smile.
When the cakes were golden, Su He fished them out and let the kids try them.
No surprise, the kids loved Su He's sweet potato cakes.
"I'm gonna sell these at the market," Su He said, smiling.
"Mom, I'll help you then," Zai Zai immediately offered.
"Good kids," Su He praised.
Su He thought about frying them fresh at the market, but in this era, there was no gas or electricity—would she need to build a fire right there?
So she settled on frying them at home, stashing them in her space, and then taking them out to sell directly.
This saved the most time and money, so she priced them very low—twenty cents each.
The day before market day, Su He spent the whole day frying sweet potato cakes at home, immediately storing them in her space as soon as they were done. They'd still be hot when she took them out.
On market day, Aunt Niu came to Su He's door early in the morning.
"Coming!" Su He peeked outside—dawn was just breaking.
"Didn't you say you wanted to sell something at the market? Gotta go early to snag a good spot, or else all the spaces will be taken."
Aunt Niu hauled her cart piled with eggs, veggies, and sweet potatoes—all meant for sale.
Su He also pulled her own cart, which had a large basket covered with a white cloth, hiding its contents from Aunt Niu's view.
"What've you got to sell this time, Miss Su?" Aunt Niu asked as they walked.
Su He placed the two children on the cart and replied, "Just some homemade fried snacks. I want to try selling them at the market—see if they'll sell."
"You could also sell malt candy. Your malt candy's way sweeter than the town's, according to my grandson," Aunt Niu said cheerfully.
"Nah. It's our first time at the market, let's not compete with others." Besides, the malt candy wasn't even made by her—it was exchanged from her space.
"Alright. Market's packed today."
Aunt Niu and Su He took another small path from the end of the village to town. Although the road was narrow, it was still wide enough for carts.
Once they reached the main road, they saw many people pushing their own carts or, for those better off, riding bicycles to the town market.
The two kids were very excited on the cart. The big crowd seemed like great fun to them.
"When we get to town, you two don't go running off, understand?" Su He said sternly to Zai Zai and Niu Niu.
"We know, Mom," the two children replied obediently.
"My oldest daughter-in-law will bring her kids to the market later. I can ask my eldest to show your kids around," Aunt Niu said warmly.