4. Potato Shreds and Wild Onion Pancakes

The night market was even busier than the day, and before the hour of the Pig, the cloth bags filled with popcorn were already empty. They had earned a total of one hundred and fifty-five wen.

Wen Mengdong had never stayed up this late before, and his eyelids could not stop fighting each other. On the way back, Wen Zhongxia simply carried him on her back; the little boy wrapped his arms around her neck, mumbled a few times, and drifted into a deep sleep.

"Xia'er, pinch me. Am I dreaming?" Xu Xiu felt as if her feet were floating on air.

Just that morning, she had felt there was no way out and life was impossibly hard, yet in a single day, they had earned over two hundred wen. If she had relied on washing clothes, it would have taken her over twenty days to earn that much.

Wen Zhongxia laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, the old saying goes that dreams are the opposite of reality. Do you want to be dreaming like this?"

"Never mind that, I don't want to dream," Xu Xiu waved her hands repeatedly, then added, "Let's make a bit more tomorrow. We should strive to pay the rent early; it keeps me from feeling unsettled."

Wen Zhongxia nodded. It would be best to have their own home, though housing prices in the Great Song were truly enough to make one sigh in despair. She decided to stick to her small goal for now: building up her food business step by step.

Wen Zhongxia observed the night market stalls with interest. Perhaps because of the cold, most had already packed up and gone home, though a few vendors persisted, refusing to leave until they had sold everything.

A middle-aged man in a dusty cotton jacket was half-squatting, a piece of cloth spread out before him. On it lay a small pile of potatoes and a bunch of green plants. As they drew closer, Wen Zhongxia saw they were wild onions.

The vendor, hands tucked into his sleeves, sniffed in the cold and asked, "Young lady, do you want these? Take them all for five wen." He just wanted to finish selling and go home to sleep.

Wen Zhongxia handed her little brother over to Xu Xiu and squatted down to look. The roots of the wild onions were still caked in mud and looked quite fresh, and there were six or seven potatoes. She held up three fingers and said, "Three wen, and I'll take them."

"Young lady, there's hardly any profit in these things to begin with, and you're still bargaining?" the vendor complained. "If I weren't in a hurry to get home, I wouldn't sell them for five."

Wen Zhongxia pointed to the potatoes. "They aren't very big, and one of them has sprouted. I can't take that one."

"Which one has sprouted?"

Wen Zhongxia pointed it out to him.

"Sprouted doesn't matter, it's still edible," the vendor said dismissively.

"Sprouted potatoes are toxic and cannot be eaten. You're a potato seller, surely you know that?"

The vendor muttered, "Is that so?"

Wen Zhongxia said sternly, "It's fortunate I discovered it. If someone who didn't know bought it and got sick, that would be a major disaster."

"I... of course I know that. I just didn't notice it for a moment." The vendor moved the potato aside and stood his ground. "Four wen at the lowest, no less."

"Three wen. If not, forget it."

Wen Zhongxia stood up. Xu Xiu was stunned; she never expected her sister-in-law to bargain over two wen, and to lose the deal at that. However, Wen Zhongxia didn't look embarrassed or discouraged; instead, she winked at her. What did that mean?

Three steps later, the vendor’s frustrated voice came from behind: "Fine, fine, young lady! Three wen it is. Let's just get it over with."

Wen Zhongxia smiled and immediately turned back.

"You're quite young, but your bargaining skills are seasoned."

"It's just being poor. I wish I could split every single wen into two," Wen Zhongxia said without a hint of shame.

The vendor thought of his own situation and felt a sense of camaraderie. He didn't even bother with the cloth, simply rolling it up, bundling the potatoes and onions into a heap, and handing them over.

Xu Xiu watched with her mouth agape. She had learned something new—so that was how to bargain! She realized she had been losing out quite a bit in the past.

Back home, after a simple wash, Wen Zhongxia hit the pillow and was out like a light. As a night owl in her previous life, she couldn't remember the last time she had slept so soundly. When she woke up, she felt refreshed and full of energy.

At the first light of dawn, Wen Zhongxia washed the potatoes and onions; they would be breakfast. They had no eggs, and she hadn't seen anyone selling them at the market last night, but there was a little flour left—enough to make potato and onion pancakes.

She had bought yellow-skinned potatoes, which were high in starch and had a soft, fluffy texture. Wen Zhongxia wielded her kitchen knife, and in a flash, a pile of uniform potato shreds appeared on the plate.

Xu Xiu, who had been crushing corn kernels for porridge, watched her sister-in-law’s fluid knife skills and clicked her tongue in wonder. "Xia'er, you truly inherited Mother's talent. Is this what they call in the storybooks, like having your meridians opened up...?"

"Opened up my Ren and Du meridians," Wen Zhongxia provided for her.

"Yes, yes, that’s it! It’s incredible." Xu Xiu felt her own cooking skills were completely eclipsed.

Wen Zhongxia thought to herself that it was fortunate her sister-in-law was simple-minded; if someone sharp-eyed had seen her transformation, she might not have been able to hide it.

Wild onions were excellent; they were long and thin with round, white bulbs at the base, and they had a much stronger aroma than regular green onions. She diced them, mixed them with the potato shreds, and sprinkled in just enough flour to hold them together.

After mixing, she pressed the mixture into palm-sized rounds and laid them into the hot, oiled pan. As they sizzled, the distinct aroma of the wild onions was fully released, wafting into the air and drawing them in like a siren's call. Once the bottoms were lightly browned, she flipped them over to continue frying.

Just as she was frying the sixth one, Wen Mengdong wandered into the kitchen, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Big Sister, it smells so good." The little boy had been woken up by the scent and had climbed out of bed without even tying his clothes.

Wen Zhongxia smiled. "Smells good, doesn't it? Go wash your face and brush your teeth; we'll be eating soon."

Seeing the golden pancakes, Wen Mengdong’s eyes lit up. Fully awake now, he scampered off to grab his toothbrush made of horsehair, quickly scrubbing his tiny teeth.

Xu Xiu joked, "Others rise at the sound of the rooster, but our Dong'er rises at the smell of the food."

The scent was indeed too tempting for anyone to resist, let alone a child.

A moment later, nine potato and wild onion pancakes were ready. The golden color of the pancakes was flecked with bright green; they were crispy on the outside and incredibly soft on the inside. Potatoes were the most versatile ingredient, and even with just a little salt, they were delicious.

Xu Xiu cooked the corn grit porridge according to Wen Zhongxia’s instructions: into boiling water it went, stirred constantly, until it was thick and smooth. It was light, refreshing, and cut through the richness of the pancakes. After finishing a pancake and taking a sip of the warm porridge, they felt completely satisfied.

Wen Mengdong couldn't stop eating, but his stomach was limited. After two pancakes, his belly was slightly rounded. Fearing he would overeat, Wen Zhongxia took the last pancake and split it between herself and Xu Xiu, despite his longing gaze.

After the meal, the two women began making more popcorn. Wen Zhongxia was getting more proficient, achieving a nearly ninety-nine percent success rate. She only lamented the lack of seasonings; if she could make chocolate or matcha flavors, business would be even better.

Following the quantity sold yesterday, she made a bit more, but didn't dare to make too much. Popcorn lost its flavor quickly, and if they didn't sell out, it would be a loss.

The three of them returned to the same spot on Madao Street. Business was brisker than the day before, and they even had some repeat customers.

One customer complained, "Young lady, you don't know—I meant to eat these as a snack after dinner yesterday, but the little ones in my house snatched them all up! Today, I’m buying two portions to eat myself!"

Wen Zhongxia laughed; this kind of snack was addictive.

Another customer approached and said, "Young lady, this popcorn is made of corn, isn't it? My old man has tended to cornfields for over a decade; he tasted it the moment he had a bite."

Xu Xiu felt a jolt of anxiety. Her sister-in-law had said it was easy for others to learn how to make it, but she hadn't expected it to happen so fast—it was only the second day!

"As expected, the older ginger is the spiciest. I admire you," Wen Zhongxia replied with a smile. "However, this is just a small business, so I hope you won't spread the word."

The customer waved his hand. "Don't worry, young lady. My family doesn't rely on this for a living, but since we could figure it out, others will too. I was just giving you a heads-up."

Wen Zhongxia was secretly amazed. As expected of a dynasty with a thriving commercial economy, even the common people had a keen sense of business.

The second day went very smoothly, and they earned fifty wen more than the day before. Back home that night, after tucking Wen Mengdong into bed, the two women sat by the oil lamp and counted their earnings carefully.

After deducting the cost of sugar and oil, as well as other small expenses, they had five hundred and forty-eight copper coins. Xu Xiu counted them happily over and over again. She had seen larger sums of money before, but this was different—this was money they had earned themselves.

She strung the coins onto a cord and said, "Xia'er, let's take the rent to Aunt Yang tomorrow morning, so she doesn't change her mind at the last minute."

Wen Zhongxia nodded. "Agreed. I’ll bring her some popcorn as well; she did give us some leeway these past few days."

Although they had signed a rental agreement, there was no shortage of people looking for housing in Dongjing, and tenants were in a weak position. If they encountered an unscrupulous landlord, even a contract wouldn't always protect them.

"It's just a pity that this half-guan of money hasn't even warmed up in our hands yet and it's already flying away," Xu Xiu sighed.

Wen Zhongxia smiled and pushed all the money toward her. "Then, Sister-in-law, you can just cuddle with it in bed tonight; I’m sure it’ll get nice and warm."

"You naughty girl, you only know how to tease me."

But Xu Xiu did indeed sleep with the coin purse clutched in her hand—to guard against thieves, and for peace of mind.

...

Aunt Yang’s home was not far, just two streets away. After Wen Zhongxia arrived and stated her purpose, a servant led her inside.

Aunt Yang’s husband, surnamed Lu, was a long-time resident of Dongjing, and his current properties and farmland were ancestral legacies. Even without doing other business, the rent was enough to support the family. They were not exactly a wealthy clan, but they were certainly a standard affluent family.

In theory, with such a comfortable life, she didn't need to collect rent in person every time—she could have just sent a manager—but the motives of the wealthy were sometimes hard for others to understand. Just like in her past life, Wen Zhongxia had seen landlords who owned several buildings but insisted on collecting cash in person, bringing a money counter house-to-house every month, never tiring of it.