Chapter 5

“Jian Li, are you asking for trouble?”

Wang Mengmei hadn’t sold many sesame cakes in the morning, and her temper was already boiling. Seeing Jian Li take out her homemade salted duck eggs to display, she immediately found a way to vent her anger.

Jian Li grinned. If it were in her past life, she would have hidden under the blanket and cried. But in this new life, she had already seen through Wang Mengmei’s bluster beneath her furious demeanor.

Wang Mengmei may yell, but she would never lift a finger.

This was rare in the whole compound, as there were hardly any parents who wouldn’t hit their kids. In fact, the more they beat their children, the more they were praised for having strict parenting, with their kids being called “well-behaved.”

But Wang Mengmei had been shouting loudly since she was a child, and never raised a finger.

As she would say, “If I hit her, she’ll need to go see a doctor, wasting money.”

This type of motherly love was so subtle that Jian Li only gradually realized it when she was 25 in her past life.

Now…

Jian Li hugged her mom’s arm and began to act cute in a voice so sweet it might make one’s teeth hurt. “Mom, your salted duck eggs are so—delicious! How about we try selling them?”

Wang Mengmei’s soft spot in life was that she responded to sweetness, not harshness. Once Jian Li used this tactic, she didn’t know how to react.

Jian Li herself felt uncomfortable being so clingy, but she thought if she was uncomfortable, Wang Mengmei would definitely be more uncomfortable.

Sure enough, Wang Mengmei couldn’t stand it and brushed her hand off. She was relieved not to have to deal with it anymore.

“Go away, do whatever you want, just don’t cling to me!”

In any case, no one would buy a salted duck egg for three mao.

After calculating the time, her medicine would soon run out. She planned to take Jian Li to the hospital for a check-up in a couple of days. If nothing was wrong, she would send her to the countryside for the summer vacation, to avoid the lazy days of eating and sleeping without doing any summer homework.

Wang Mengmei had everything planned out, but Jian Li was secretly cheering in her heart.

The reason why Jian Li acted first was because her mom was too stubborn.

As her grandfather would say, “She’s as stubborn as a donkey, always insisting on her own way.”

Jian Li knew that if she tried to convince her mom to change stalls, her mom wouldn’t believe her.

So Jian Li planned to add more items to the stall first, then stay at the booth and wait for the market management to come and register. Once that happened, she would make sure her mom moved to the other side.

Unfortunately, Jian Li waited the whole morning, but only a few customers came by.

Wang Mengmei stared at the sesame cakes she made, frustrated.

The weather was too hot, and these sesame cakes had been baked yesterday and then reheated today. If they were left until tomorrow, it would be unacceptable.

At noon, Wang Mengmei asked Jian Li to go to the canteen and get some food. The mother and daughter ate two sesame cakes with the dishes. Jian Li made two packs of soybean milk powder to at least get some protein.

Jian Li poked at the stewed potatoes with oil beans in her lunch box. “Mom, the food in the canteen is getting worse and worse.”

They didn’t even use lard for the oil beans anymore. It was watery, obviously stewed with extra water for too long.

The canteen had changed the most in recent years due to poor business.

Jian Li remembered when she was in elementary school, the canteen used to serve braised pork with thick oil and red sauce, chicken legs and pig’s feet with perfect marination, and various vegetarian dishes that tasted as good as those in small restaurants.

But now the canteen either served steamed noodles for convenience or dishes that lacked oil and salt. Jian Li, used to her mother’s cooking, couldn’t stand it.

She broke open a sesame cake, added the salted duck egg, and then added some of the tasteless canteen dishes. After taking a bite, at least it finally tasted good.

Wang Mengmei laughed, even though she was annoyed. “If it’s so bad, then just eat less.”

Jian Li squinted. “No!”

She ate happily, and her appetite was contagious, making Wang Mengmei also start eating.

Wang Mengmei stood up, took a salted duck egg, put it into a hot sesame cake, and smiled. “Not bad, this tastes really good.”

The two of them ate the hot sesame cakes with oil beans and stewed potatoes, and this meal was the most satisfying they had in a while.

By noon, other stalls around them were also having lunch. Since the market didn’t allow stoves, everyone went to the canteen and grabbed some food to eat with their steamed buns.

Seeing Wang Mengmei and Jian Li eating salted duck eggs in the sesame cakes, many people were interested.

“Mei Jie, having lunch?”

The conversation seemed forced, a sign that they wanted something.

Wang Mengmei didn’t waste time with pleasantries. The person quickly changed the subject to the salted duck eggs.

“Mei Jie, how did you make these duck eggs? They looked so delicious when you were eating them.”

Wang Mengmei chuckled. “How else? Just red clay, salt, some peppercorns and bay leaves, and finally a bit of wine…”

Jian Li didn’t stop her mom from sharing the recipe, since others wouldn’t be able to replicate her mom’s taste anyway.

But after Wang Mengmei finished, Jian Li interjected, “Auntie, are you interested in buying some salted duck eggs? Three mao each, five mao for two.”

The other person awkwardly smiled. Originally, she was hoping to get a free one, since salted duck eggs weren’t worth much. A duck egg was sold at a cheap price in the market because a local duck farm had opened a few years ago.

Although three mao wasn’t expensive, in these times, people preferred to make things themselves rather than buy them. She had seen Jian Li not sell a single one all morning, thinking she could get a free one. But instead, Jian Li outsmarted her.

Now, not buying would be a little awkward.

“Then give me two.”
She and her husband each wanted one.

Jian Li responded quickly, “Auntie, I picked the two biggest ones for you.”
Saying that, she pulled out the two smallest ones.

Wang Mengmei’s face turned red, and she started arguing with the woman who was about to pay.

“The kid was just kidding, how could she actually want your money? Just two duck eggs, take them back and eat them…”

“Don’t say that, Xiaoli is really good at business. She said two, and I left fifty cents here for you!”

Wang Mengmei pinched the fifty cents, her eyes wide open in surprise, then grabbed Jian Li.

“Jian Li!”

Calling her full name, Jian Li instinctively shrank her neck.

Wang Mengmei was furious. When she first came to this market, most of the people around her were also former workers from cotton mills like her. Who knows how many more years they’d have to get along? For a few cents over duck eggs, she was being so stingy—how would they ever get along after this?

Wang Mengmei was upset. If she went to return the money, the woman would definitely refuse. But if Jian Li went, she might accept it.

“You go give the money back!”

Jian Li turned sideways: “I’m not going.”

That woman had once sold vegetables next to her mom’s stall, and they’d often argued over occupying the alley. Life as a small vendor wasn’t glamorous, and the two stalls next to Wang Mengmei were especially difficult to deal with. Relying on their husbands, they often caused trouble. Wang Mengmei had cried at home many times because of it.

Seeing that Wang Mengmei was about to explode, Jian Li quickly covered her duck eggs: “I’m not going! I’m going to sell the duck eggs somewhere else!”

Half of the people in the market knew her mom, and if everyone got free eggs, what would she sell?

After saying that, Jian Li ran off.

Wang Mengmei stomped her feet in anger behind her.

Jian Li, with her thirty or so salted duck eggs, went to nearby stalls to ask if anyone wanted to buy them.

Some vendors who recognized her cheerfully gave her a piece of candy or a snack, and she graciously accepted it, then said a few kind words.

“Thank you, Uncle, may you make a lot of money!”
“Auntie, you’re so kind, next time I want rice sugar, I’ll buy it from you.”

It turned out that people had little resistance to sweet talk.

Jian Li might be chubby, but her little face turned rosy, making her look rather cute. As she walked around, she received a lot of sincere kindness.

Of course, many bought the duck eggs.

Jian Li gave discounts to the people she recognized and told strangers where her stall was and offered discounts for next time.

By the time she sold all the duck eggs, Jian Li had earned six dollars and eighty cents.

She used the money to buy two small bean ice creams—one for herself, a red bean one, and one for Wang Mengmei, a green bean one.

When Wang Mengmei saw that Jian Li had sold all the duck eggs, her face was filled with disbelief: “All sold out?”

Three mao each for salted duck eggs, and they were all gone?

Jian Li slurped her ice cream: “Yes, all sold out.”

Wang Mengmei was really shocked, and this shock even made her anger subside.

“How could they all sell out…”

Salted duck eggs weren’t hard to make. For Wang Mengmei, even if they were two mao each, she wouldn’t have bought them.

How much money could it cost to make them herself?

Why spend so much when she could save?

Jian Li burped, watching her mom doubt life.

Wang Mengmei used to think only things people could eat would sell, and even for the pancakes, she sold them for three mao each, worried that if they were too expensive, no one would buy them.

But her daughter, in just one afternoon, made more money selling salted duck eggs than she did selling pancakes all day.

This was…

Jian Li, seeing that her mom forgot to scold her, quickly ran away. She had already met her exercise quota for the day and was planning to watch TV!

—-

That evening, when Wang Mengmei saw her husband, she couldn’t wait to tell him about it behind Jian Li’s back.

Jian Feng: “…Xiaoli went out to sell?”

Jian Feng was a bit worried. His daughter had always been shy and well-known in the area for being timid. How did she turn into such a daring child overnight?

Wang Mengmei grabbed his arm: “I’m talking about salted duck eggs, pay attention!”

She went on and on about her mistaken views: “I originally thought the market couldn’t support high consumption, that selling pancakes would be enough. But now I see people can still afford it. Xiaoli also said that when she was selling the salted duck eggs, several people tasted them and liked them, so they bought two more…”

“I’m thinking maybe we should add a few more items and sell them together.”

Jian Feng: “I told you before, but you insisted it wouldn’t sell. You said if it were you, you wouldn’t spend a penny.”

Wang Mengmei: “…You and Xiaoli are both so good at bringing up old issues. Did I say something wrong? We’re just trying it out, who knows if it’ll work!”

Jian Feng was speechless: “You’re the one who said it would work, and now you’re the one saying it might not.”

“…Are you trying to start an argument?”

Jian Feng didn’t want to argue and quickly changed the subject.

“The old lady will be buried tomorrow morning, and tonight we have to entertain guests. I’ll help out, and after sending them off tomorrow, I’ll come back. Don’t wait for me.”

Wang Mengmei: “Xiaoli and I will go with you, we’ll come back early tonight.”

She didn’t want Liu Xiangdong and his wife to take advantage of things yesterday, but today was the last day, so they should at least pay their respects to the old lady.

When Jian Li came out of the room, she heard her mom saying that they would go with her to the funeral banquet.

“Go there and bow to Grandma Liu, and we’ll give our respects.”

Thinking about what happened earlier today, Wang Mengmei immediately regretted not telling her husband about it, so she warned her daughter, “Don’t say anything foolish when you get there!”

Jian Li crossed her arms and tapped her feet: “Okay.”

Perfect timing. This family owed them money, and since her parents couldn’t get it back, she had to try herself.