Chapter 20: Business

"Jin Ji."

"Are you serious, sister? You want to sell your pastries at Jin Ji?"

If this were before yesterday, she might have tried, but after the incident at Rong’en Hall, she understood that a simple village girl like her could never catch the eye of such an establishment.

"We are going across from Jin Ji."

Shao Erdan was stunned. "Sister, Jin Ji sells pastries! Every shop that opened across from them went out of business! We’re going to compete with them—can we even win?"

Shao Diandian said airily, "Compete? You’re overthinking it. With just these two baskets of pastries, we won’t even be selling to many people. However, it’s good to have such ambition. Perhaps one day, we really might be able to compete with Jin Ji."

Shao Erdan muttered, "Sister, why are you more prone to daydreaming than I am?"

Shao Diandian smiled. "Well, we’ll know soon enough if they sell or not."

In ancient times, there were no city inspectors. As long as they didn’t block the entrance of a shop, they could generally set up small stalls. Of course, if they interfered with a shop’s business, they would be chased away by the owners.

The jewelry shop across from Jin Ji opened late, making this the perfect time to set up.

Jin Ji’s first batch of osmanthus cakes was almost ready, and a long line had formed at their entrance. The more Shao Erdan looked, the more he felt they wouldn’t sell a single thing today.

Shao Diandian found a suitable spot and took out the pastries. They didn’t have a stall cart, so before leaving, she had fashioned a bamboo tray that hung around her neck.

The golden, flaky pastries were neatly arranged on the tray. If it were any other peddler, it might not have attracted much attention. But Shao Diandian was a two-hundred-pound girl! Who could walk past without taking a second look? Even those waiting in line for Jin Ji’s pastries couldn’t help but glance at her repeatedly.

"Sister, let me hold the tray," Shao Erdan said.

"No need, you have another task." Shao Diandian picked up a pastry and handed it to him. "Eat."

Shao Erdan asked, "Aren't we supposed to be selling these?"

Shao Diandian replied, "You don’t understand. This is called a mukbang."

Shao Erdan was speechless. He was already used to his sister’s strange behavior since she had injured her head. If she told him to eat, he would eat.

By the time he reached the third pastry, a little girl, unable to resist the temptation, tugged at her mother’s hand and said, "Mother, I want to eat that."

The mother and daughter walked over. The woman asked, "How much are these?"

Shao Diandian said, "Ten copper coins each. There are three flavors: white sesame with red bean paste, black sesame with preserved mustard and meat, and double sesame with mung bean paste."

The woman frowned. "A meat bun is only two coins. Ten coins for a small pastry the size of my palm? That’s too expensive!"

Shao Diandian explained patiently, "I use plenty of sugar, so they are very sweet, and the preserved mustard one has plenty of meat filling."

Sugar was expensive in ancient times, and given the costs, this was already a fair price. "Why don’t you try a sample? If you like it, then buy it."

"Ah..." The woman was stunned.

Shao Diandian used a clean piece of gauze to wrap her hand and cut three pastries on the spot, letting the woman and her child taste a small piece of each flavor.

"Mother! It’s delicious, delicious, delicious!"

For once, the woman didn’t argue. She had assumed that pastries sold by a village girl wouldn’t taste very good, but to her surprise, they were incredibly tasty. Furthermore, she had noticed that the chubby village girl’s movements while cutting the pastries were very hygienic.

"Give me two of each," the woman said.

Shao Diandian took out a clean bamboo leaf to wrap the pastries. "Since this is my first sale, I’ll give you one extra. Which flavor would you like?"

"Which one do you like best?" the woman asked her daughter.

The little girl said straightforwardly, "I like them all!"

"Give me a preserved mustard one," the woman said.

"Coming right up." Shao Diandian handed the wrapped pastries to the woman. As the woman took out her purse, Shao Diandian said, "Erdan, collect the money."

Looking at the sixty copper coins that had suddenly appeared in the purse, Shao Erdan was in disbelief. How much time had passed? They’d earned this much already? It was faster than he and his father were at extorting money from house to house!

The mother and daughter’s reaction was noticed by the crowd. Some suspected they were plants, while others were genuinely curious. Suddenly, a young scholar in the line at Jin Ji shouted, "Oh! It’s her!"

His companion turned around and asked, "Who?"

"I told you to come to Jin Ji with me yesterday, and you didn't, so you missed it!" The scholar pointed at Shao Diandian. "She is the chubby village girl I told you about, the one who saved that child who was choking!"

"Ah, that’s right! It’s her!" The person who spoke was an elderly man who had just bought the first box of pastries. He had been there when Shao Diandian saved the child.

The scholar laughed, "I’m going to buy her pastries!"

His companion panicked. "Hey! We’re only two people away! We’ve been waiting for nearly half an hour!"

The scholar ignored him and headed across the street without looking back.

"Miss, do you remember me?"

"Have we met?"

"Well, I was upstairs yesterday while you were in the main hall. You were busy saving someone, so I suppose you didn't see me."

Shao Diandian understood; he was a customer from Jin Ji. The scholar tapped his folding fan and said, "Your pastries look quite ordinary. Jin Ji has flaky pastries like these too."

Shao Diandian said earnestly, "But mine taste better."

"Ha!" The scholar burst into laughter. It wasn't mockery; he simply found this chubby village girl's confidence rather endearing. "Even if they taste terrible, I’ll buy them. It’s for the sake of your heroism! Give me ten!"

Shao Diandian packed ten for him. The scholar wondered, "Why didn't you give me one for free? You gave the previous customer an extra one even though they only bought six."

Shao Diandian replied, "That was my first sale. If you come first tomorrow, even if you only buy one, I’ll give you one for free."

The scholar didn't care about a single pastry; he hadn't expected them to be that good and was just teasing her. He wouldn't be coming back tomorrow! Remembering something, he asked, "Do these pastries have a name? The ones at Jin Ji are called flaky pastries."

Shao Diandian thought for a moment and said, "Wife Cake."

The scholar: "???"

...

The pastries sold faster than expected. In less than half an hour, all one hundred were gone. If she had gone to the market, they wouldn't have sold this quickly. After all, her prices were high, and the average person at the market might not be willing to pay ten copper coins for a single pastry.

Of course, Jin Ji’s customers didn't lack silver, but if she had only been cheaper than Jin Ji, not so many would have bought them. She also carried the halo of having saved a life, which gave customers a sense of trust. Finally, there was the gimmick of the name—Wife Cake. How novel.

Limited by her cooking tools, the Wife Cakes she made were quite different in texture from the ones in her past life. However, for ancient people who had never consumed various preservatives and additives, the taste of these pastries was already magnificent.

As they packed up the stall, Shao Erdan gave a mischievous grin. "Sister, guess how many copper coins we made today?"