Chapter 13 – Going to the Market

Before dawn, Xia Tian woke up early.

After a quick wash, she hurriedly fetched water twice to fill half the water jar.

While Shen Nian was still asleep, she quickly started the fire to cook breakfast.

She steamed some buns, made millet porridge, and set them aside. Then, she fried a few cornmeal pancakes in a small pot for herself.

Today, they were going to the market, and with so many people, taking steamed buns wouldn’t be practical.

Once breakfast was ready, she quickly boiled a pot of water, went upstairs to fetch the teapot, filled it with water, and added a bit of spring water.

When she saw Shen Nian waking up, she hurriedly set out the breakfast and also added a few drops of spring water into his millet porridge.

Seeing that he looked fine and hadn’t coughed much this morning, she felt much more at ease.

After Shen Nian finished his porridge, she filled another bowl for him. “Brother Shen, have some more. Do you feel better today?”

“Mm.”

“I’m meeting with Sister Yao and the others to go to the market. We’ll also buy some rice and flour. Do you want to come with me? You could visit a clinic and get some medicine?”

Shen Nian shook his head. “No need.”

“Will you be okay staying home alone?”

Xia Tian was still a bit worried. If they hadn’t run low on food at home, she wouldn’t have wanted to leave at all.

“I’m fine.” Shen Nian replied calmly.

“Okay then, drink some hot water while I’m gone. I’ve filled the teapot. I’ll try to get back before lunchtime.”

“Do you need anything?”

Shen Nian shook his head.

As Xia Tian was finishing her meal, Shen Nian took out a small pouch from his clothes and handed it to her.

“What’s this?”

Xia Tian took it in confusion, opened it, and found it filled with silver coins.

She felt happy inside. Brother Shen was really thoughtful, knowing she was going to the market today and had prepared the silver coins in advance.

But when did he know she was going to the market today?

She didn’t remember mentioning it.

Never mind, maybe she had mentioned it yesterday and forgotten about it.

Xia Tian handed the pouch back to Shen Nian. “I still have some left from last time!”

“Keep it,” Shen Nian replied without taking it.

“Alright, I’ll keep it for now. If I need anything, I’ll buy it.” Xia Tian quickly finished her meal.

After tidying up, it was almost time.

Xia Tian wrapped two cornmeal cakes in a clean cloth, strapped her basket on her back, and said, “I’m off,” before heading out to meet Sister Yao and the others.

Shen Nian poured a cup of water and slowly sipped it, listening to the sounds of Xia Tian opening and closing the door, asking if Sister Yao was ready, and hearing their voices gradually fade as they walked away.

Xia Tian and Sister Yao arrived under the big willow tree at the village entrance, where several people were already waiting.

Not long after, Old Liu from the village arrived driving his ox cart. They each paid one copper coin, climbed into the cart, and set off toward the town.

The town they were heading to was called Qingquan Town. Walking from Liujia Village to Qingquan Town took about an hour and a half, but by ox cart, it would only take about an hour.

Qingquan Town held large markets on the 5th and 10th of every month, and people from several surrounding villages came to trade and buy necessities.

It was always bustling, with villagers selling their surplus goods or buying things they needed for the home.

Though Xia Tian and Sister Yao left early, by the time they arrived at the town, there were already quite a few people.

Qingquan Town ran from north to south and was square-shaped. The main streets formed a “井” (well) shape, not too big but quite busy.

As soon as they entered the town gate, they saw the flags of the shops fluttering in the wind, and shop assistants shouting at passing pedestrians.

Xia Tian didn’t stop, but while observing the ancient town, she followed the villagers toward the market area. The town had a designated street for setting up stalls, which made things convenient for the people.

At that moment, both sides of the road were lined with various goods, and villagers with items to sell quickly found places to set up their stalls.

She planned to first visit a grain and oil shop to buy rice and flour, and she had arranged to meet Sister Yao by Uncle Liu’s ox cart at noon.

Uncle Liu’s cart always parked outside the town gate, in a designated area since no ox carts were allowed inside the town on market days.

Thus, Xia Tian didn’t want to shop with the villagers so they wouldn’t know what she was buying.

She wandered along the main road, passing by grain shops, meat stalls, and other vendors to check prices.

Having only recently arrived, she wasn’t familiar with the local prices and wanted to get a sense of the market situation.

When buying items, it’s always good to compare prices from different shops.

After gaining some understanding, Xia Tian found a shop with reasonable prices.

Fine rice cost eight wen per jin, white flour seven wen per jin, and she bought ten jins of each. Brown rice, coarse flour, and cornmeal were two wen per jin, so she bought five jins of each.

Millet was more expensive, five wen per jin, so she bought two jins.

She didn’t bring a bag for the grain, so she bought one from the shopkeeper for a few extra wen and packed everything into her basket.

Vegetable oil was pricey, ten wen per jin. Xia Tian bought five jins and even got a jar to carry the oil.

She noticed there were vegetable seeds in the shop, so she bought some, planning to plant them in the backyard garden to avoid having to buy vegetables in the future.

Farmers generally grew their own vegetables, as buying them daily wasn’t a sustainable plan.

Having bought most of the essentials, Xia Tian left the store and continued strolling.

She found a quiet spot to transfer the fine rice and oil into her space, leaving only the brown rice, coarse flour, cornmeal, and vegetable seeds in her basket.

At the meat stall, she bought two and a half jins of pork, paying twenty wen, and five jins of pig lard at twelve wen per jin, planning to make lard at home.

Seeing other meats like pig intestines, hearts, and lungs, she bought five jins for fifteen wen. The butcher, noticing her large purchase, even gave her a large pig bone as a gift.

Nearby, a farmer was selling chickens, so she bought a hen for thirty-five wen.

Realizing she hadn’t bought any spices like cinnamon or star anise, she grabbed some spices as well.

She didn’t need soy sauce or vinegar since she still had some at home.

Once again, she found a quiet spot to store the meat, chicken, and spices in her space, leaving the lard and pig intestines in her basket.

Xia Tian calculated that the total spent on these items was about four hundred wen.

Thankfully, Shen Nian had given her money when she left, or she might not have had enough.

Having bought most of what she needed, Xia Tian checked the time. Since it was still early, she slowed down, enjoying the lively atmosphere of the ancient market.

The sounds of vendors shouting filled the air, and Xia Tian continued browsing.

There were bun vendors, noodle stalls, lamb soup, potstickers, and all sorts of foods, as well as shops selling cloth, headwear, pouches, and other goods. It was bustling with activity.

Most of the farmers selling items on the side of the road were offering their homegrown vegetables, eggs, woven baskets, and other farm products, attracting many customers.

It seemed that most of the buyers were from the town itself.

As she wandered, she noticed there weren’t any stalls selling marinated food, which gave her an idea to try making and selling some herself to earn a bit of extra money.

It wasn’t sustainable for two people to sit at home every day and live off nothing.

Villagers had land and grew their own food, so they didn’t need to buy grains, but Xia Tian and Shen Nian had nothing. Just buying grains cost quite a bit.

As she continued her walk toward the meeting spot, Xia Tian bought five meat-filled buns from a bun stall and secretly placed them in her space.

When she arrived at the meeting spot, Sister Yao and the others hadn’t arrived yet. Xia Tian greeted Uncle Liu and sat on the cart, eating the cornmeal pancakes she’d brought while waiting for them.

Not long after, the others arrived, and the cart was almost full. Uncle Liu started driving the ox cart back.

On the cart, everyone chatted and exchanged stories about what they had bought.