Back at the Snack Shop

Yang Haiyan returned to the snack shop and saw Aunt Fan and Aunt Hong were busy.

Aunt Hong had wrapped her child in cloth on her back.

Yang Haiyan quickly joined in to attend to the customers.

The afternoon crowd was still not as large as in the morning; it had been really busy earlier, especially when people learned there was free milk tea to drink, leading them to queue up early.

Unfortunately, there were only twenty spots available, so very few could actually get some.

Those who did were genuinely happy, as the sweet and rich milk tea satisfied their taste buds.

Since the event lasted for three days, many people continued to line up early the next day.

Yang Haiyan spotted two boys in the queue. “Dawei, Xiaowei, you’re back!”

These two kids had come to line up early the day before, and today they were back again for the milk tea.

After tasting the small round milk tea on the day they attended the wine tasting in September, the brothers couldn’t forget its flavor.

Knowing that the first twenty customers during the three-day event would get the small round milk tea, they arrived to queue before dawn.

Lu Dawei said, “Aunt, I’d like to buy one wen worth of cake, and my brother wants one wen worth of biscuits.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Alright, you can go get them ready, and I’ll bring them over to you shortly.”

Lu Dawei said, “Thank you, Aunt.”

Yang Haiyan brought over a plate: “Here are your small cakes and biscuits, plus two extra cookies as part of the promotion, and two bowls of small round milk tea. Make sure to eat a cookie before drinking the milk tea; that way, you can grow taller faster after the milk tea.”

Lu Dawei replied, “Got it, Aunt. Don’t worry! We remembered what you said yesterday when we came to eat.”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “Dawei is the best.”

Goat milk is highly nutritious; if consumed on an empty stomach, it might cause the protein in the milk to combine with stomach acid, making it less digestible.

That’s why Yang Haiyan reminded customers to eat a biscuit first.

“Shopkeeper, I’d like two bowls of small round milk tea and two wen worth of snacks,” an elderly woman entered with a young boy.

To secure a spot in the first twenty, the elderly woman was also quite determined.

Since there were two of them, they could represent themselves in the queue, allowing them to buy two portions of snacks and receive two cups of small round milk tea.

Yang Haiyan said, “Oh, it’s you, Aunt. Please sit over here; I’ll prepare your small round milk tea.” She recognized this aunt, who frequently visited.

Although she only bought two or three wen worth of snacks each time, it was enough for the child as a treat.

This aunt’s son worked as a steward at a tavern, so they weren’t short on money.

Moreover, snacks were rare for children in this era, and her products didn’t contain any artificial flavoring or sweeteners, making them healthy for kids.

More importantly, they were delicious and affordable, making them quite popular among adults who bought them for their children, proving to be very economical.

The elderly woman said, “Thank you, Shopkeeper.”

She enjoyed coming for the tasty snacks; they were cheap and good, but it was also known that the shopkeeper’s husband was an officer in the military, which made her feel more assured about buying from them.

Yang Haiyan brought over the small round milk tea, repeating her earlier reminder, “Aunt, make sure your grandson eats a biscuit first before he starts on the snacks.”

The elderly woman replied, “Oh, I know.”

“Qin Fang’s family… Qin Fang’s family… we’re here!”

Mother Zhang arrived with her grandchildren in tow, entering the shop without even bothering to queue.

Yang Haiyan had mixed feelings about Mother Zhang.

Previously, she owed five wen and hadn’t paid it back for several days.

Since it was the first time she had extended credit, and they say “everything has its limits,”

Yang Haiyan didn’t press her for it.

However, the day after Qin Fang had won first place in the competition and was selected as a thousand-man leader, Mother Zhang came to repay the debt.

There was no denying that Mother Zhang was quite a character.

Yesterday, Mother Zhang had also come to queue, but unfortunately, she arrived too late, and the small round milk tea was all gone.

Today, she came early, but even if she queued, she wouldn’t be able to make it into the first twenty.

Yet, Mother Zhang had discreetly asked Yang Haiyan yesterday to reserve three bowls for them.

With twenty bowls reserved for the first twenty customers, it was no trouble for Yang Haiyan to set aside an extra three bowls for them.

This way, it wouldn’t affect the first twenty’s interests, and it would save Mother Zhang from feeling embarrassed.

After all, any extra goat milk that wasn’t consumed would just go to waste.

Yang Haiyan said, “Aunt, come sit over here. How many snacks would you like?”

Mother Zhang replied, “I’ll buy three wen worth of snacks: one wen for me, one for my eldest grandson, and one for my granddaughter. One wen is for small cakes, and two wen is for cookies.”

Yang Haiyan nodded, bringing over two small cakes, eight biscuits, and the three extra biscuits that were a part of the promotion, along with three bowls of small round milk tea.

She reminded her, “Aunt, before drinking the small round milk tea, make sure to eat a small cake or biscuit first to fill your stomach; it’s not good to drink on an empty stomach.”

Mother Zhang said, “I know, I know.”

She then turned to Zhang Dabao, “Dabao, eat a small cake first before drinking the milk tea.”

Zhang Dabao replied, “Got it.”

He took a bite of a small cake and then started to sip the milk tea.

Seeing her eldest grandson being obedient, Mother Zhang fed her younger grandson, Zhang Xiaobao, some cake.

Since he was over a year old, he could indeed eat the soft cake.

After feeding him the small cake, she then let him sip the milk tea.

The little child drank slowly, so Mother Zhang fed him a small sip while she drank a larger gulp herself.

Yang Haiyan watched from the side, thinking that the three bowls of milk tea were meant for the three children.

However, she noticed that the little girl was sitting there pitifully, without even a biscuit, while the milk tea was being shared between Zhang Dabao, Zhang Xiaobao, and Mother Zhang.

The seven-year-old girl sat there feeling a bit wronged.

She sniffled, surrounded by the fragrant aroma of small round milk tea, causing her mouth to water involuntarily.

She swallowed hard and lowered her head, wanting to hide her reddened eyes, knowing that her grandmother would not let her have any of these treats.

Yang Haiyan felt a mix of emotions; she did sympathize with the little girl, but it was the kind of sympathy one might feel when reading posts about women suffering from domestic violence on forums—brief and somewhat detached.

She wouldn’t feel responsible for helping the girl; she had no obligation to do so.

Even if she gave the girl a cup of milk tea out of pity, how could she support her for a month or a year?

It was impossible.

Moreover, if she helped the girl now, people like Mother Zhang might take advantage of it, making the girl come to her every day to mooch food.

Besides, if the girl’s relatives didn’t care about her, why should she, an outsider, feel concerned?

Yet, it still left a sour taste in her heart.

Customers continued to come in and out, prompting Yang Haiyan to put aside her thoughts and attend to them.

By the time the crowd had thinned out, the Zhang family had already left.

Before she knew it, it was early November.

Yang Haiyan calculated last month’s profits, and along with the earnings from Yang Dahua’s wholesale sales, after deducting the costs, they had actually made a profit of 16 taels.

The last three days of the promotional event and Yang Dahua’s strong sales were key contributors.

While she didn’t know how much Yang Dahua made from her wholesale sales in the county, Yang Dahua had wholesale purchased from her ten times that month, totaling a profit of five taels.

The snack shop made a gross profit of 16 taels in October.

After deducting the monthly expenses of 600 wen for Hong Aunty and the other two, and accounting for their costs that month, they had about 12 taels remaining, meaning their family spent about three taels on food that month.

It should be noted that when Qin Fang was a hundred-man leader, his monthly allowance was only one tael.

This saying, that as profits increased, so did expenditures, was truly accurate.

“Haiyan… Haiyan…” came the voice of Sister Lu from the entrance.

“I’m coming.” Yang Haiyan walked out of her study. “Sister, what’s the matter?”

Sister Lu replied, “Quickly, the cabbage and radishes have arrived; they’re outside the family quarters. Let’s go pick them up.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Haiyan said, “Great!”

Their cellar was already dug out and ready to store the produce.

Outside the family quarters, it was packed with people.

There were a total of 500 households of Centurion (hundred-man leaders) and 50 households of Captains (thousand-man leaders) in the family quarters.

The higher-ranked leaders, the ten-thousand-man leaders, and the guerrilla generals lived in the county’s general’s mansion.

Although not every hundred-man leader’s household had family members with them, over half of them did.

Therefore, there were many people buying cabbage and radishes at the entrance today.

Sister Lu called for Yang Haiyan and then went with her to call Yang Dahua.

The delivery of cabbage and radishes had been arranged in advance, so whether it was Sister Lu, Yang Haiyan, or Yang Dahua, everyone had made time for it.

Even Mother Zhang had hurriedly come to buy cabbage and radishes, leaving her eldest granddaughter to take care of her younger brother at home.

Yang Dahua commented, “There are so many people; the farmers selling vegetables are really doing good business.”

Sister Lu agreed, “Indeed, many locals earn their living by growing cabbage and radishes. Buying a batch in the winter can count as a year’s income for a typical household.”

Although they were military families and seemed more affluent than the locals, in reality, the soldiers had no land here, and their courtyards were not as spacious as those of some villagers in the countryside.

So, life for the locals was indeed more comfortable than for them.

“Mrs. Lu, over here!” At the entrance of the family quarters, there were trucks loaded with cabbage and radishes from various farms, not just from one family.

An old farmer’s wife spotted Sister Lu and called out loudly.

With so many people around, it was hard to hear anything if someone spoke quietly.

Sister Lu responded, “I’m coming!”

She had been accompanying the troops for several years and had bought cabbage and radishes from this farm for many years.

She was also familiar with them, as she often bought eggs from them as well.

Sister Lu led Yang Haiyan and Yang Dahua over.

A few familiar wives of hundred-man leaders greeted them as they passed, “You’re here! We’ve already bought our share and are heading out.”

Sister Lu replied, “No rush; there’s plenty of stuff.”

The farmer’s wife assured them, “No worries, ladies. We have enough cabbage and radishes. We brought three carts ahead, and more will follow. We’ll definitely have it all delivered today.”

The woman, in her forties, appeared older than she was, her face showing signs of fatigue, yet there was also a lively spark in her eyes.

After several days of harvesting cabbage and radishes, how could she not be exhausted?

But knowing she could earn a lot of money was surely energizing!

Sister Lu added, “I trust you, elder sister. Your family’s cabbage and radishes are always sweet; even after washing the radishes with water, they can be eaten raw.”

The old farmer’s wife said, “You flatter me, Mrs. Lu! Our village relies on growing cabbage and radishes, and every household takes good care of them. You won’t find a single bug on these cabbage and radishes!”

Upon hearing this, Yang Haiyan thought the woman was quite clever.

Not only did she praise her own cabbage and radishes, but she also complimented others to avoid offending anyone.

Since there were many people needing cabbage and radishes, there was no competition between her family and the others, so it wasn’t necessary to belittle anyone else.

It seemed that all the farmers selling cabbage and radishes had the same approach, perhaps due to good management by the village head.