In the evening, when everyone offered to help, Xiaoxiao turned them down.
"Dad, you should still go to the mountain if you need to, and continue with your embroidery work. Our household's earning methods must not stop; you are my strong support. There aren't many hawthorns, and I reckon they won't sell for many days. There's no need for the whole family to join in. Let the fourth brother help me with selling the candied hawthorn—that's enough!"
"The third daughter-in-law is right, we cannot simply abandon our usual ways of earning money." The mother-in-law agreed, fearing that if everyone turned to doing that thing and it failed to sell, it would be disastrous.
The next day, as soon as it was slightly light, Xiaoxiao and Yang Dong got up to start their tasks, Xiaoxiao had Yang Dong make a target to stick the candied hawthorns on, and they made a hundred skewers. Not knowing how well it would sell, they didn't make too many. After having breakfast, they set out!
They walked there, and along the way, they passed many people heading to the town. Xiaoxiao wouldn't miss this great promotional opportunity. Although most of them were from nearby villages and probably reluctant to spend money, as the saying goes, "a little something is still something." She picked up a skewer and began eating it herself while singing,
"They all say candied hawthorn is sweet, within its sweetness it envelops sourness. They all say candied hawthorn is sour, within its sourness it reveals sweetness…"
"Mom, what is this candied hawthorn? That sister sings so beautifully!" At this moment, a child by the roadside started asking his parents.
Xiaoxiao didn't answer; she just kept on singing. She awaited people to come and inquire on their own. After not singing for a long time, it felt great; after all, she was a microphone hog who couldn't be stopped when singing.
Yang Dong, listening to his sister-in-law singing joyfully, was filled with exasperation and anxious seeing the reactions of the passersby.
Finally, the people gathered around to ask.
"Tasty candied hawthorn, five coins per skewer. You won't regret buying, no getting fooled here!"
Upon hearing this, Yang Dong gasped. His sister-in-law truly dared to shout out the price—five coins for a skewer with just five hawthorns, that was almost equal to half a pound of cornmeal.
"Five coins is too expensive!" everyone hesitated after hearing this.
"Beautiful lady, five coins are absolutely worth it. It's covered in sugar outside, and sugar is a valuable item. One pound of sugar can't make many skewers! It's super delicious, no charge if not tasteful..."
Xiaoxiao started using her eloquent tongue again, walking and stopping. Upon reaching the town, she realized she had sold ten skewers; it was a good start.
Yang Dong was completely impressed by his sister-in-law's ability to talk, especially the way she kept everyone's attention without repeating herself.
"Fourth brother, you should pitch in too! My throat is almost smoking, don't just hold the target without saying anything." How could his fourth brother become so quiet? They had gone over the selling points of the candied hawthorns together when making them.
Although they had prepared, Yang Dong was timid by nature and shied away from public speech. But remembering he was already 15, he felt his sister-in-law was much bolder than him, so he clumsily started to imitate her.
It was much better in the town than on the road. They stopped here and there and by noon had sold out, so they hurried home. On the way back, Yang Dong, still puzzled, asked, "Isn't five coins per skewer too expensive?"
"Are you silly? One pound of sugar only makes twenty skewers, and I even made them smaller to help people accept them. Normally, it should be ten per skewer. We used five pounds of sugar today, that's 250 coins. Sometimes we lose some in failed attempts. Tell me, if we sell less, how would we make anything?"