in2ebook Chapter 118 Jialin County, here we come!
Chapter 118 Jialin County, here we come!
It rains heavily during Qingming Festival.
Two carriages set out from Shanglin Village.
Galloping all the way in the morning light.
Lin Xiaoman and Lin Jingzhe have never left Dayi Town.
For Lin Jingzhe, this was his first time to go to the county town.
Lin Xiaoman was curious, would the county towns in ancient times be similar to those on TV?
In the first half, the four of them were chatting and laughing.
In the second half, the four people who had been working hard for days finally couldn't resist sleepiness.
From the little chicks pecking at rice and nodding tiredly, to later one by one going on a date with Zhou Gong.
"Master, we have arrived at Jialin County."
Following the martial arts master's rough shout, the four people woke up one after another.
Lin Jingzhe opened the carriage curtain.
The towering city walls stretch far into the distance, until they are out of sight.
After some trouble, we entered Jialin County.
Fine rain was floating in the long and wide alley, and the bluestone slabs were wet.
Jialin County is located in the north of Lin'an Prefecture, in the Jiangnan area, rich in fish and rice.
With a tall city tower in the center, buildings are scattered on both sides.
There are all kinds of shops on both sides of Kuanxiang, including teahouses, wine shops, pawnshops, workshops, shoe shops, restaurants, etc.
There is an open space deep in the alley with many large umbrellas erected and many small vendors hawking their wares inside.
The carriage traveled for about a quarter of an hour before they arrived at the Jixiang Bookstore in Jialin County.
When Lin Xiaoman got off the car, he saw a middle-aged man bending over and greeting Gu Changsheng.
"Master, I have arranged everything. I will reserve a space in the bookstore for you to use."
Lin Jingzhe pulled Gu Changsheng's wide sleeves and said, "Changsheng, did you ask your father to reserve a place for us in the bookstore?"
Gu Changsheng shook his head. "I only asked my father to arrange an inn for us to stay at night and a carriage for us to travel. The rest is up to me."
That was the bookstore owner's own idea.
Lin Xiaoman looked around. The bookstore here had two floors, and the bottom floor alone was almost four or five times the size of the bookstore in Dayi Town.
There was no shouting or hawking around the bookstore. If the books were really placed here, they would have to bring their bamboo baskets back the same way they came.
Gu Changsheng rejected the shopkeeper's kindness and only accepted the oil-paper umbrella that the shopkeeper had prepared in advance.
When the rain gradually subsided, the four of them and Master Gu's two servants went out.
The name is to understand the market first.
The shop doors on both sides of the street were shiny from being soaked by moisture. Although it was past breakfast time, people were still shouting out their wares in the various pancake shops, steamed bun shops, and mutton noodle soup shops.
Diners came in and out, the charcoal fire in the stove glowed red, and the mist from the steaming buns freshly out of the pot mixed with the rain, creating a thick smell of smoke.
Lin Jingzhe couldn't help but sigh: "It's so lively!"
Lin Xiaoman saw that the meat buns here were also three cents each, but the buns were slightly smaller.
A bowl of mutton noodle soup costs six cents, with a few chopped green onions floating on top. Adding a portion of mutton slices costs an additional six cents.
Even though a serving of mutton noodles costs twelve cents, the shop is still full of diners.
There are food shops everywhere on both sides of the street, steaming hot and filled with aroma. There are fried, deep-fried, and braised food, all kinds of food.
The freshly baked mutton biscuits are golden and crispy, and the mutton bone soup boiling in the wonton soup pot exudes an enticing aroma.
Smelling the fragrance, Lin Xiaoman felt hungry again.
It's not the stomach that's hungry, but the eyes and nose that are hungry...
Lin Xiaoman looked at his cheap brother looking around, then looked at Gu Changsheng and Xie Ci'an's calm and composed expressions, and felt that he and his brother were undoubtedly country bumpkins.
"Brother, do you want to eat mutton soup?"
Lin Jingzhe swallowed his saliva and said to himself, I miss you so much.
But he said, "It's more important for us to do business."
After saying that, he closed his eyes and smelled the rich aroma of food, taking a deep sniff.
Looking at the plum can quench your thirst.
Lin Xiaoman felt that he looked a bit like a pervert.
Gu Changsheng was also greedy. He held the silver his father gave him in his arms and said generously, "You need to eat and drink enough to have strength. I haven't had mutton soup for a long time. I'll treat you."
The four of them drank the mutton soup. The mutton did not smell at all. As the soup went down their stomachs, all the chill from the rain was blown away.
Lin Xiaoman had never seen anyone raising sheep in Dayi Town, and there were no restaurants in the town selling mutton.
Lin Xiaoman felt sorry. Mutton can be used to make various delicious dishes. I wonder if my parents have ever eaten mutton?
Lin Xiaoman looked at the bustling county town and thought to herself that if she had the chance, she would bring some mutton back for her parents...
There were countless snacks of various kinds on both sides of Kuanxiang. The four of them walked and stopped to ask about the prices of the food. During the time, they ate golden and crispy fried sesame cakes and a portion of secret braised food.
Come with a half-full stomach and leave with a round belly.
The bakery’s Qingming rice cakes with brown sugar filling are the size of a child’s fist, and they come in a box of six for one hundred wen.
Lin Jingzhe came over and whispered to Xiaoman, "I can eat one of these small Qingming rice cakes in one bite, but a box costs 100 coins. It's outrageous, outrageous."
Lin Jingzhe said two outrageous words in a row.
"The Qingming rice cakes we made are as big as my fist, and they are stuffed with bamboo shoots and meat. Xiaoman also made the peach blossom cakes for peace and happiness. Add the paper sticks and bamboo baskets you drew, and five hundred coins is not too much!"
Gu Changsheng thought that five hundred coins were not expensive, so he turned his gaze to Xie Ci'an who remained silent, "Ci'an, what do you think?"
During every festive occasion, the exquisite pastries sold in various pastry shops in the capital had to be ordered in advance, with a small box of peach blossom pastries costing one or two taels of silver.
If the bakery doesn’t make money now, when will it make money?
But that was Shangjing.
The more powerful and wealthy the people are, the more they want to snatch things, because only expensive things can show their status.
A farmer's son like Dad, who had seen the rich feasting and drinking while the poor froze to death on the streets, naturally would not associate with the powerful in the capital.
Ah--
That's what polluted their eyes...
Thinking of this, a hint of sneer flashed in Xie Ci'an's eyes, but it disappeared in a flash and he returned to calm.
"Let's try with 500 wen. The peach blossom cakes and Qingming rice cakes made by Miss Xiaoman will sell well."
Seeing that they had agreed on the price in a few words, Lin Xiaoman waved his hand and said, "Let's get started. We'll try to sell out before noon tomorrow."
If the items are still unsold by noon tomorrow, basically no one will buy them.
The four of them hurried back.
Ping'an and Kangtai looked at each other. The young master was really energetic. After such a long journey in the carriage, didn't the young master feel tired?
If the young master had traveled at this pace in the past, he would have been exhausted long ago.
It's easier to get things done with someone in the city, so the owner of Jixiang Bookstore asked the waiter to move a long table for them.
There is strength in numbers. In less than a quarter of an hour, the eight big words "Peace and Happiness Qingming Gift Basket" appeared in the open space deep in the alley.
Lin Xiaoman borrowed the kitchen of Jixiang Bookstore to heat up the Qingming rice cake and peach blossom cake for a while, took a few plates, took out the Qingming rice cake, and cut one Qingming rice cake into four pieces horizontally and vertically with two strokes of a knife. Lin Xiaoman cut four at once.
The peach blossom cake is round and one is cut into eight pieces for diners passing by to taste.
The eight characters of Xie Ci'an were so powerful and forceful that even Gu Changsheng nodded repeatedly after reading them.
This place was not far from the Jixiang Bookstore, and there were also students wearing light blue robes nearby. Lin Xiaoman blinked and frantically searched the crowd for the first customer to try out the new service.
“The salty Qingming rice cake has bamboo shoots and meat, it is delicious and tasty. Both the elderly and children love to eat Qingming rice cake~”
"The sweet and soft peach blossom cake, the peach blossom water is everywhere in spring, sending you the fragrance of peach blossoms for ten miles, free to taste, if it doesn't taste good, no charge!"
The girl's sweet voice and the green and pink pastries stand out among the noisy vendors.
When Lin Jingzhe saw someone approaching, he took the initiative to invite them to taste it.
"The Qingming rice cakes we make are salty. Try them. They have meat in them! They are delicious!"
Xie Ci'an and Gu Changsheng, who had never experienced the shouting and hawking of goods, were like two doves, panicking and not knowing what to do.
You look at me and I look at you, each waiting for the other to speak first—