Chapter 26

As they were speaking, a few government officers in official uniforms suddenly walked arrogantly into the market.

They rudely pushed and shoved the street vendors, gesturing and pointing arrogantly.

Everyone respectfully refrained from resisting, not daring to oppose them.

After eating Zhou Jing’s food, Uncle Chen felt he should look after him. He leaned in and whispered, “Their leader is surnamed Yang, he’s the head constable, and those behind him are in charge of this area. You’re out of luck; today just happens to be rent collection day. When they come over, don’t say anything. If they ask for money, just give it, to avoid trouble.” ^[1]Constable – a peace officer with limited policing authority, typically in a small town.

Uncle Chen pointed at the items on the counter and said, “Your food looks pricey. If they charge you extra stall fees, don’t make a sound. They really do hit people, and even if they do, you can’t do anything to them.”

“Thank you for the advice, Uncle Chen. I’ll remember it,” Zhou Jing said.

Not long after, the group of men reached Uncle Chen’s stall. Since his stall only had vegetables, which weren’t worth much, they took the money and moved on. But when they turned and saw what was displayed in Zhou Jing’s stall, their eyes widened in astonishment.

Just as Yang reached for his pouch, Zhou Jing quickly stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

“Brother Yang, do you still remember me? I’m Zhou Jing. During the New Year, my mother and I visited your home,” Zhou Jing said with a friendly smile.

Captain Yang was momentarily stunned when someone suddenly grabbed his hand, a look of confusion on his face.

His father had also been a Constable, and his mother was from the town; they had no close relatives from the countryside.

Just as he was about to reprimand Zhou Jing, he felt a cold object being slipped into his hand.

His fingers gently pinched it, and Constable Yang immediately realized it was worth about one tael of silver. Instantly, a smile spread across his face as he pretended to remember. “Oh… it’s you! I remember now. You did visit my house during the New Year. My mother even asked about you the other day! How have you been since then?”

Zhou Jing released the hand of Constable Yang and smiled: “Farmers are just like that; as long as they can fill their stomachs, it’s enough. You see, I made some sausages, thinking they could help supplement my family’s income. You know my family…”

“Yes, I understand. Your family is struggling,” Constable Yang replied, patting Zhou Jing’s shoulder as if he felt the same.

“Big brother, this is…” A young constable nearby leaned in.

Constable Yang laughed and said, “This is my mother’s relatives; we’re quite close.”

“Oh,” the young constable replied, but he seemed lost in thought, his eyes darting around as he looked at the food on the stall.

Without warning, Constable Yang raised his hand and slapped him.

“I’m telling you all, keep your eyes wide open! This is my real cousin. If any of you dare to bully him, you’ll regret it!”

The young constable covered his head and asked, “Is he really your cousin?”

“Bullshit! How could a cousin be fake?” Constable Yang scolded. “I’ll have you know, my mother and his mother are sisters. If you dare to bully him and he tells my mother, I’ll make sure you pay for it!”

“If he’s really your cousin, then of course I wouldn’t dare!” the young constable replied. “But what about the stall fee…”

Zhou Jing quickly interjected, “I wouldn’t let my cousin be treated unfairly. My mother specifically instructed me to be honest, so just tell me how much it is!”

The young constable said, “Sausages are valuable; they can’t be compared to a handful of vegetables. You’ll need to pay at least fifty copper coins.”

Without a word, Zhou Jing took out the silver and handed it to the young constable for him to keep track of.

Constable Yang nodded in satisfaction.

“I’m telling you, this is my cousin. Keep your eyes open! If I find out anyone bullies him, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

Constable Yang pointed at the several constables behind him and added, “It’s not easy for farmers to make something. I wouldn’t dare take from him myself, so if any of you dare to be greedy and take advantage, I’ll tear your mouths off!”

“Yes, yes…” the constables replied in unison, no longer daring to think about taking food.

“I’m leaving now. Cousin, you remember where my house is, right? Just turn left on Linfu Street. If you need anything, just come find me; I can help you out with this,” Constable Yang said.

“Thank you, cousin,” Zhou Jing replied.

“Why are you being polite? We’re family!” Constable Yang said, giving Zhou Jing a pat on the shoulder. “I have official duties to attend to, so I’ll be going now. I’ll treat you to a drink someday!”

As he walked away, the young constable could still be heard asking, “Is he really your cousin?”

“Bullshit, of course he is! My mother’s sister’s son—what do you think?” Constable Yang replied. “Every family has a couple of poor relatives. I’m telling you, none of you are allowed to bully him. If you do, you’ll be in trouble!”

The silver in his arms wasn’t heavy, but Constable Yang was extremely pleased. He and Zhou Jing weren’t actually related; they had no connection at all and hadn’t known each other before.

However, Zhou Jing had been savvy, giving him a couple of silver coins right away. Yang understood the meaning behind it: it was a way to buy peace.

Otherwise, with Zhou Jing selling sausages, it would have been impossible for the constables under him not to take a bite. Fortunately, it was better to bribe him directly with the money than to let it go to waste.

Plus, he didn’t have to share what he received with his brothers; he could use the guise of family to cover his actions. It was a win-win situation for him.

Indeed, he had been considerate.

“Is that your relative?” After the person had completely disappeared from sight, Chen Bo finally dared to ask.

Zhou Jing nodded but did not say much more.

Chen Bo seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Otherwise, I was wondering how you dared to sell such exquisite food here.”

Zhou Jing could fool Chen Bo, but he couldn’t deceive Shen Mo and Shen Lin.

They both knew that the Wang family definitely did not have such a “prominent” relative. However, they understood Zhou Jing’s intentions, so neither of them said anything to expose it.

However, this only strengthened Shen Mo’s worries. The sausage business hadn’t even started, yet they had already invested a considerable amount of money.

Before long, blisters had formed on Shen Mo’s lips.

Zhou Jing noticed them at a glance while speaking to him.

He turned around and poured a bowl of sugared water he had prepared that morning into a jar, and handed it to Shen Mo.

After taking a sip, Shen Mo realized it was sweet. He had thought Zhou Jing was just filling the jar with plain water, not expecting it to be sugared water.

He couldn’t believe his luck in finding such a caring man.

Shen Mo felt deeply moved. Unlike his interactions with Shen Lin, where he felt he was always giving, it was only with Zhou Jing that he understood what it meant to be loved.

No wonder some girls in the village chose to marry men who weren’t as “suitable” as those their families preferred; it turned out that being with someone they loved made even the hardships of life more bearable.

Shen Mo comforted himself, and thought to himself: ‘Forget it, if it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t sell! Everyone has to face some setbacks when starting out!’

Zhou Jing lost in thought, finally came to his senses and said, “Xiao Mo, Xiao Di, come here! I’ve thought of a way to sell the sausages.”

Shen Mo quickly asked, “What’s the plan?”

“We can offer free samples first!”

“Free samples?” Shen Mo replied. “How can we have enough? We’ve been here all morning, and we haven’t sold half a pound!”

Zhou Jing said, “Just slice them thinner; we won’t need much.”

As he spoke, he put on a pair of oilpaper gloves and cut small pieces from each flavor, slicing them very thin.

The size was just enough to get a taste, enough to whet people’s appetites.

Zhou Jing: “Xiao Di, you will be responsible for calling out to the customers. Just shout, ‘Try it before you buy! If it’s not good, you don’t have to pay! Don’t miss out as you walk by—come taste it; you won’t lose anything!’ This is a line that will last through the ages, and I believe it will definitely work.”

Zhou Jing then turned to Shen Mo and said: “Xiao Mo, you will handle the weighing, and I will take care of collecting the money.”

“Okay.” the two brothers of the Shen family replied.

At that moment, Shen Lin was too anxious to care about the embarrassment of shouting in front of a large crowd.

He opened his mouth and began shouting.

“Try it before you buy! If it’s not good, you don’t have to pay! Don’t miss out as you walk by—come taste it; you won’t lose anything!…”

Shen Lin shouted with great enthusiasm, his voice loud enough to be heard clearly from a distance.

This promotional method was quite unique and, at that time, stood out on its own, especially the concept of “Try before you buy.”

Whether driven by a desire for a bargain or genuine interest in making a purchase, it was very appealing.

Before long, an elderly man dressed neatly came over, leading his young grandson, drawn in by the novelty of the shouting.

The child, even before getting close to Zhou Jing’s stall, took a deep breath.

“It smells so good! It smells better than the ones from Yun Ji’s!” the child exclaimed as he approached the stall—his eyes widening at the brightly colored sausages that filled the air with a delicious aroma. “Grandpa, I want to eat the sausages! They must taste better than Yun Ji’s!”

The old man scoffed, “How could this kind of stall compare to Yun Ji’s? Who knows what they’ve added; maybe the only good thing about it is the smell!”

This is an opportunity!

Zhou Jing was not annoyed; instead, he smiled and said, “Uncle, I can’t argue about whether Yun Ji’s is good or not, but I can say that the flavors I have here are definitely not available over there.”

“It’s all sausages. What other flavors can you make besides meat?” the old man retorted.

“Exactly!” The little boy blinked his big eyes, also finding it strange; what other flavors could sausage have besides meat?

“No, no, no…” Zhou Jing said, wagging a finger playfully—as if teasing the child. “I have spicy, five-spice, and original flavor. The original is what you call meat flavor.”

The child, naturally curious, tiptoed to reach for the sausages but was quickly held back by his grandfather.

Zhou Jing was also born with a talent for business, and his hands moved quickly and skillfully.

Seeing that both he and his companion were neatly dressed, he worried that the old man might dislike the pieces that had been cut earlier. To address this, he deliberately put on oil paper gloves and cut some fresh pieces in front of them, ensuring that these slices were thicker than the previous ones.

“Try this.” Zhou Jing said as he directly offered it to the child’s mouth.

Without the elder’s approval, the child hesitated to take it, glancing anxiously at his grandfather.

The old man felt a bit troubled; he thought such a small stall might not be clean and worried that the child would get an upset stomach.

However, since Zhou Jing had gone to such lengths, it felt unreasonable not to let the child try it.

Besides, if the child did eat it, they wouldn’t end up buying these sausages, right?

Zhou Jing noticed the old man’s concerns and quickly reassured him, “Don’t worry, everything we sell is made by us and is the cleanest. Look, when I’m handling the sausages, I’m wearing these gloves. How could I not pay attention to hygiene while making them? Besides, it’s just a taste; it doesn’t mean you have to buy anything. If you think it’s not good, you can just take the child and walk away. I won’t say a word against it.”

The old man was swayed by Zhou Jing’s words. He noticed that although Zhou Jing’s clothes were worn out, they were neat and clean, unlike the usual appearance of countrymen.

Especially since Zhou Jing had mentioned wearing gloves, which meant he hadn’t directly touched the sausages.

The emphasis on hygiene was impressive; even a well-known Yun Ji couldn’t match that.

Regardless of the taste, it would definitely be hygienic, and they don’t need to worry about having an upset stomach. If the child didn’t like the flavor, they simply wouldn’t buy anything, and Zhou Jing couldn’t do anything about it.

This way, his little grandson could also be at ease, and he could avoid his grandson’s tantrums on the way home.

With this mindset, the old man nodded, allowing his grandson to try a sample.

The child cheered, eagerly shoving the long-desired sausage slice into his mouth.