The market was held next to the Kuzhu village, in the neighboring Shen Village.

The Shen Village is a clan village, with nearly half of the households sharing the Shen surname. Many members of the Shen family are educated, and the locals can count at least eight scholars, including one who has achieved great success as an official in Yanjing.

As Shen village’s reputation grew, more people began to move to Shen Village over the past decade. Today, it has become the largest village in the area.

On the sixteenth, Dad Chen and his son Chen Yuping went to town early, not just to buy pig trotters but also to purchase household items they were missing.

Chen Yuping had limited funds, barely two hundred wen. He held onto his money and ran around several medical shops, comparing prices, before finally managing to buy most of the ingredients he needed, though in small quantities due to his tight budget.

After dinner, they began preparing the braised pig trotters. They only extinguished the fire before bedtime, leaving some coals to slowly braise the trotters.

The night was cool, and placing the trotters in the pot did not affect their taste. In fact, it allowed them to absorb more flavor.

The steamed mantou were made by Dad Chen early in the morning, and since the market opened at dawn, he was able to prepare them in time.

Breakfast consisted of steamed mantou served with shrimp paste.

There were some smaller trotters that Chen Yuping set aside, enough for each family member to have one, which made for a delightful meal alongside the buns.

As the time approached, Dad Chen hurriedly grabbed a basket and, with his third son, headed to Shen Village.

One basket held the pig trotters and shrimp paste, while the other held the buns.

The aroma of the braised trotters wafted through the morning breeze, attracting several villagers who stopped to chat.

“What’s that smell? It’s truly amazing!”

“Are you selling buns? Just selling buns is tough, what are you pairing with them? It smells fantastic.”

“Good thing I had breakfast before heading out, this aroma is making me hungry.”

Dad Chen was friendly, answering cheerfully and not hiding anything: “These are braised pig trotters, and we have mantous to pair with shrimp paste. My son Ping ger made them. His cooking is exceptional, and the dishes are particularly flavorful.”

“Ah, braised pig trotters! That’s interesting, there are places in town selling braised trotters, but they don’t taste nearly as good. How much are you selling yours for?”

“Three wen each.” Pig trotters are cheap, they sell for six wen in town and five wen at Uncle San’s house in the village. Ping ger set the price at three wen, which Dad Chen thought was a bit high, but considering the flavor, he felt it was worth it.

“Three wen each?” The questioner seemed a bit confused, looking at the basket, which was covered with cloth, hiding the trotters from view.

Chen Yuping smiled and lifted the cloth.

The trotters weren’t particularly large, but they were sizable, glistening and fragrant, making one want to grab a piece and bite into it. It certainly looked delicious.

Seeing the villagers’ astonished expressions, Chen Yuping covered the basket again, as dust would ruin their appearance.

The man gulped and smiled dryly: “That’s not too expensive.” After speaking, he hurried off, as if something were chasing him.

He was afraid that if he lingered, he might give in to temptation and spend three wen just to taste it, only to face his wife’s wrath when he got home for wasting money—three wen! In the end, his own life mattered more.

When they arrived at Shen Village, many stalls had already been set up, making the scene lively but still orderly.

Dad Chen and his son found a relatively prominent spot on the side of Kuzhu Village and quickly set up their stall.

Setting up a stall isn’t random. Each village designates a space, varying in size depending on the village’s size and the number of vendors. The spots aren’t fixed and rotate to ensure fairness among the villages.

Thanks to this fairness, the villagers coming to set up their stalls willingly followed the Shen family’s rules.

Chen Yuping was still a bit shy, but Dad Chen smiled and didn’t push him, starting to call out: “Spicy braised pig trotters, flavorful and great with drinks, fresh shrimp paste buns—one bite will leave you wanting more!”

The calling couldn’t be too loud, if everyone yelled at once, the market would turn chaotic.

“How much are the braised pig trotters?” asked a patrolling Shen family youth.

“Three wen each, and you can taste them.” Dad Chen offered a small bowl containing pieces of braised pig trotters, each piece skewered with a toothpick.

The youth tried a piece: “Not bad, I’ll take two.”

“Great! How about some of my shrimp paste buns? They taste wonderful too—just one wen each, smeared with shrimp paste, very fragrant and delicious.”

“I’ll take two of those as well.”

Chen Yuping’s braised trotters were genuinely fragrant. Anyone passing by the stall could smell the rich aroma, enticing them.

Nine out of ten people would stop to inquire, and among them, three to five would pull out their money to buy.

Before long, a large bowl of braised pig trotters was sold out, with only a small portion of shrimp paste buns remaining. Of course, as there were many more buns than trotters.

“Counting the time, we’ve only been here about an hour,” Dad Chen glanced at the sun, smiling so broadly that deep lines formed around his eyes: “I was worried we wouldn’t sell out, I should have bought more trotters.”

Chen Yuping was also pleased: “Next time we come to the market, we’ll know to buy more trotters for braising.”

He cut the larger trotters into four pieces and the smaller ones into three, and although the profit was modest after deducting costs, it was still some gain.

“We should definitely finish selling before noon and can head back to prepare lunch.”

When they left, worried about missing lunch and fearing Dad Chen and his son would go hungry, they intentionally saved some buns and shrimp paste, and left the simmering bone soup on the stove, asking Liu Guixiang to check on it occasionally so that lunch could be ready in a makeshift way.

Unexpectedly, the sales were much easier than anticipated.

Before long, the shrimp paste buns were also sold out, and the speed of sales caught the attention of neighboring stalls.

“I had no idea before that Ping ger had this skill.”

“Yeah, these braised trotters are truly aromatic, no wonder people are willing to pay three wen each.”

“With Ping ger’s skill, even if it’s hard to have children, he won’t have to worry about no one wanting him.” This comment was a bit malicious.

The usually gentle Dad Chen felt uncomfortable hearing it, his smile fading: “At least my son Ping ger has skills and is a good person, unlike your son, who is so overweight he can barely move, he’s got troubles ahead. You should earn more money for him so he won’t go hungry in the future.”

“Just a mouthy person, don’t pay him any mind.” On the way home, Dad Chen gently comforted his son, hoping to keep his spirits up.

Chen Yuping didn’t take the comment to heart, smiling: “Father, I can cook well and make money. He’s just jealous of us,I actually feel good hearing that.”

“Yes, we should indeed be happy, we’ve made quite a bit today.”

“Must be several hundred wen, right?” Chen Yuping roughly calculated, subtracting costs: “I estimate the pure profit is around two or three hundred wen.”

“We’ll know when we count it at home, there’s plenty of time.”