Whenever someone came to buy meat, Chen Xiaosang found herself advertising her soup.
An intrigued customer asked, "How about I purchase a penny's worth of meat, and you throw in a bowl of soup?"
Chen Xiaosang shook her head vigorously, "That would put me at a loss."
"But you only have a few radishes in it and no meat. Who would spend a penny on that?" the customer retorted discontentedly.
Chen Xiaosang glanced at her rapidly selling meat and then at her untouched soup, feeling torn.
By the time all the meat was sold out, she had only managed to sell two bowls from the large bucket of bone and radish soup. Those who missed out on the meat left shaking their heads and drooling.
Old Chen's eyelids twitched, looking at the unsold soup. The radishes were homegrown, so not selling them was one thing, but the bones were purchased. Not being able to sell them would mean a loss.
Unable to bear it any longer, he suggested to Chen Xiaosang, "Should we consider selling it at a lower price?"
Chen Xiaosang wasn't too thrilled. After all, making the soup was more laborious than the meat; her father and Fifth Brother had put in much effort.
But if they couldn't sell it, they'd have to discard it, which would be an even greater loss.
After some deliberation, she made up her mind and called out to the nearby crowd, "Bone and radish soup now at a discount, two bowls for a coins!"
A few people were tempted but were promptly dissuaded by others, "Are you daft? There's not a single piece of meat in that soup, just a little radish water."
One man, swallowing his saliva, murmured, "It does smell quite good though…"
"What good is a nice smell? It doesn't even have much broth. You might as well go to the shop, get a bowl of hot water, and eat it with some bread," came the retort, and so the man abandoned his intention to buy.
Disappointed, Chen Xiaosang looked around, noticing everyone eyeing the people enjoying their meat. She had thought the soup would sell better than the meat.
Chen Dashu, seeing her disappointment, suggested to Old Chen, "We've made a bit from selling the meat. The soup will spoil if it stays, why not distribute it to the people here?"
Chen Xiaosang frowned, "I spent thirty coin on the meat and bones. Giving it away for free would be a loss."
Their own lives were hard enough, and her brothers were still working hard to earn money. How could she be so wasteful?
To her surprise, her statement stunned Dashu and the others. They gathered around her, questioning, "Where did you get the meat from? How could it be so cheap?"
"Could it be spoiled? It looked a bit dark, not like what we usually eat."
"We can't earn money that goes against our conscience, Xiaosang!"
"My conscience is this big!" retorted Chen Xiaosang, gesturing with her hands to form a large circle.
The group of boys glanced at their younger sister, their faces showing clear displeasure. Their eyes darted between each other until they finally settled on Old Chen.
Old Chen dismissively waved his hand, "It's all quality meat, bought from Butcher Shen's family."
Relieved, the boys relaxed. Chen Xiaosang stood up, her lips pouting. "This is braised meat. It's prepared with quality meat and spices. It tastes better than the meat we cook ourselves."
She added after a pause, "The soup is delicious too."
Their mother had woken up early to cook the white radish till it was soft and tender. It tasted wonderful, and the bone soup was sweet and savory.
"Today, we've earned at least a hundred wen," Dashu reassured her. "After covering the costs, we've made almost as much as we would from a day's work at the docks. If they have some of this, we can continue working there and survive."
The weather was sweltering. If they couldn't finish the food and brought it home, it would spoil. That would be a terrible waste of food.
With her arms crossed, Chen Xiaosang tilted her round, youthful face upwards. In a childish tone, she declared, "Today, I'm going to bring all my brothers home."
Her words, lacking any real threat, amused the boys. Each of them reached out to ruffle her soft hair.
Seeing their disbelief, Chen Xiaosang stomped her foot in frustration, "I mean it!"
This only caused the boys to laugh even harder.
She was not even as tall as their waistline. If she could somehow bring them home, they might as well carry a thousand-pound bag.
Old Chen noticed his daughter's reddening face and coughed, "Enough, stop teasing your sister."
Chen Dashu, still coughing, managed to suppress his laughter. He squatted down, holding Chen Xiaosang's shoulders, and teased, "How exactly are you planning to bring us home?"
Chen Xiaosang puffed up her cheeks, "With money. We earned just as much today as you guys did."
"But our household expenses are higher. Your third brother needs to get married. A hundred coin is hardly enough," Chen Dashu retorted, playfully tousling her short hair.
Chen Xiaosang combed her hair back into place with her tiny hands, responding, "But if I sell all the soup, I'll make more than you guys. You sell meat here every day, and your daily earnings surpass what you make from lugging bags."
There seemed to be some truth to her words.
The boys turned to look at Big Brother.
Chen Dashu glanced at the bucket full of hot, steaming soup and formulated a plan. "If you manage to sell all this soup, we'll go home with you."
Chen Xiaosang immediately dismissed their underestimation of her. She stretched out her pinky, saying resolutely, "Then we need to pinky swear."
Chen Dashu extended his pinky, hooking it with hers, swaying it back and forth.
Seeing her beaming, Chen Dashu added, "But we have to sell everything today. We can't cheat by having our own people buy it."
Chen Xiaosang guiltily recoiled, she had been planning to convince her father to buy the soup.
But she couldn't show her fear now. She nodded vigorously, "Deal!"
Chen Xiaosang ran to the bucket of soup and sat cross-legged on the ground. She looked at the bucket of soup and shook her body back and forth, thinking about how to sell it.
Chen Dashu lovingly looked at Chen Xiaosang, who was scratching her head a short distance away, and said, "She won't be able to sell it."
"But why?"
"Those who come here to carry the loads aren't wealthy. Who would willingly spend on bone soup that lacks any richness? Moreover, it's hot now. Everyone prefers to eat their pancakes with cold water. No one wants hot soup."
Chen Xiaosang, the young girl, had assumed everyone would want to pair their pancakes with soup. She was certain it wouldn't sell.
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Old Chen casually responded.
His daughter was quite clever.
Chen Dashu didn't pay much heed to his father's words. Instead, he invited his brothers to scoop a bowl of hot soup and pair it with their pancakes.
Before they had even finished eating, a boat docked nearby. He, along with his three younger brothers, hurried over to it.
Seeing them run off, Chen Xiaosang puckered her lips. "I will sell the soup, for sure!"
Old Chen felt the need to remind her, "Your older brother said, people here are reluctant to spend on soup that lacks flavor."
Chen Xiaosang's eyes sparkled at this. She got up and ran to Old Chen, wrapping her arms around him with a cheerful expression, "Father, let's go pay the taxes."
"You're not planning to sell the soup anymore?"
"I will, but the folks here are tight-fisted. Let's find some wealthy people to sell it to." Chen Xiaosang replied.
Old Chen quickly covered his daughter's mouth. After ensuring no one was around, he signaled her to remain quiet and whispered, "If someone hears you, they might want to hit you."
Chen Xiaosang clapped her hands over her mouth, cautiously glancing around. Seeing no one, she straightened up again, "I'm so endearing, who would have the heart to hit me?"
Old Chen was left speechless.
"Who would praise themselves for being likable?" Chen Wushu asked."