Chapter 29 1/3

Instead of rushing into the alleys to sell her goods, Sang Luo walked along the main street, familiarizing herself with the layout of the county town and the various shops.

In Qiyang County, the small stalls and vendors were concentrated in the East and West Markets. The shops on the main street were significantly more upscale, offering a variety of goods such as cosmetics, fabrics, jewelry, food and drink, wooden and bamboo ware, and more.

Sang Luo, if interested, would inquire about prices wherever she went, although she knew she couldn’t afford much.

Until she reached a pharmacy, her eyes lit up, and she walked straight in with her basket.

It was still early in the morning, and although the pharmacy wasn’t crowded, it wasn’t empty either. At least one physician was busy consulting patients, and there were one or two patients waiting.

Sang Luo placed her basket against the wall and approached the medicine counter. The pharmacy assistant asked, “Miss, are you here for a consultation or to buy medicine?”

“To buy medicine,” Sang Luo replied. “Do you have gypsum?”

The pharmacy assistant nodded. “Yes, we do. Do you have a prescription?”

Sang Luo shook her head. “No prescription. Our village doctor only said to buy gypsum.”

It was common for village doctors to prescribe medicines based on hearsay or family remedies without a proper diagnosis. The pharmacy assistant didn’t find this unusual and simply asked, “How much do you need?”

“Half a pound, please.”

The pharmacy assistant glanced at Sang Luo with surprise, but gypsum was cheap, and if it was needed for several days, it was reasonable to buy more. He nodded and fetched two sheets of oiled paper. With practiced hands, he found the gypsum in the cabinet, weighed half a pound, and divided it into two packages.

“Five copper coins.”

The price was close to what Sang Luo had estimated. She took out five copper coins from her sleeve and handed them over. Then she put the two packages of gypsum into her basket and left the pharmacy.

Half a pound would last a long time.

After leaving the pharmacy, she asked passersby where she could buy a grinding stone. She heard that there was a stone workshop near the West Market where household grinding stones were sold. On her way there, she found out that a medium-sized grinding stone for household use cost two hundred and sixty-five copper coins.

Sang Luo calculated in her mind. She needed to save up a bit more.

With all her questions answered and having made a round in the main street of the county, Sang Luo didn’t delay any further. She picked a side alley and got down to business.

Now, selling her fairy tofu has become second nature to her. As long as someone showed interest or asked a question, she could confidently persuade them to try it.

The residents of the county were wealthier than those in the countryside, and two copper coins for a piece of food didn’t make them hesitate. Moreover, the tofu was novel to them. Sang Luo only had two pottery pots in her basket, holding a total of twenty-four pieces. After wandering through six or seven alleys, she had sold them all.

She also sold the ten or so bundles of purslane and dried small fish she had brought along.

Fifty-nine copper coins, plus the twenty-two she had brought with her, minus the seven she spent on gypsum, entrance fees, and market taxes, left Sang Luo with a total of seventy-four copper coins.

With her empty basket, her first task was to return to the main street and buy some scraps of cloth from the clothing shop to arrange her money pouch.

Scrap cloth from clothing shops was a thriving business. Women who knew how to manage household expenses, whether from the city or the countryside, loved it.

Of course, the scraps were indeed scraps. However, anything large enough to make a purse wouldn’t be left in the scrap pile for sale. So, it depended on each person’s taste and skill level.

The female shopkeeper had divided the scraps into three grades based on fabric quality and size. The lowest grade consisted of various colors and coarse fabrics, suitable only for mending shoes or patches. It costs one copper coin for two pounds.

The second grade included plain or navy coarse fabrics, slightly larger pieces but still small, the largest being the size of a palm. With skilled cutting, you could get enough from a pound to make two coin purses from the coarse cloth. This grade was slightly better than the scraps in the lowest grade and cost one copper coin per pound.

The third grade was still coarse fabric, but the color and smoothness of the fabric were a step up. The larger pieces could yield more, and Sang Luo decided on this grade. It cost two copper coins per pound.

As for those silk and satin scraps, even if they were scraps, they still cost several copper coins per pound. Sang Luo didn’t even bother looking at them now because she couldn’t afford them. Her money had to be spent wisely.

Not far from the clothing shop was the fabric shop. She considered buying some filter cloths for making tofu, but after calculating her money, Sang Luo had to dismiss this idea for now.

After all, it would be a few more days before she could afford the necessary equipment to make tofu. For now, the priority was to buy two wooden barrels and a bird gun. Being able to bring more magical tofu to the county to sell every day was the most important thing.

With this in mind, she stopped wandering aimlessly and headed straight to the East Market with her empty basket.

Without bringing goods into the East Market, she was just a buyer and didn’t need to pay market tax. Sang Luo spent some time among the bustling crowd before she found Qin Fangniang.

Arriving a bit late, the spot for their stall wasn’t the best, but there were already two women in front of the stall, and Qin Fangniang was offering them samples. Sang Luo smiled, watching from a distance, and waited until the two women inquired about the price and left before approaching.

Seeing Qin Fangniang standing there, patiently waiting for the next customer, Sang Luo couldn’t help but recall Chen Youtian on the first day of the market, squatting behind a basket of eggs, not knowing how to attract customers.

These two couples were really alike.

Sang Luo chuckled and walked over a few steps before calling out, “Auntie.”

Qin Fangniang saw Sang Luo and smiled happily. “You’re back?”

Peeking into Sang Luo’s basket, she was both delighted and surprised. “Have you sold everything?”

Sang Luo smiled. “Yes, I’ve sold everything. I didn’t bring much stuff, just over twenty pieces.”

“That’s impressive. I’ve only sold about twenty pieces too,” Qin Fangniang said, looking at other stalls, realizing where her problem lay. “I’m not very good at calling out.”

Sang Luo laughed. “I can see that. You’re just like Uncle Arita. He didn’t say a word when he sold eggs that day. Calling out isn’t difficult; the challenge lies in speaking up for the first time. Once you’ve spoken up, everything becomes natural.”

With that, she stood in front of the stall and raised her voice to help call out, “Fairy tofu! Delicious fairy tofu! Fresh and cooling, only two copper coins each!”