Fuzhe County was not far from Fire Knife Village, and if one walked briskly, it was only about an hour away. However, the weather that day was not very good; it was quite gloomy from the morning, as if it could start raining at any moment. Hua Xiaomai's mother, anxious, kept pulling on Hua Xiaomai, repeatedly telling her that it was okay if the bamboo shoots did not sell, but she must come back early.
This was Hua Xiaomai's first time coming to such a bustling place as the county after crossing over. The streets were lined with shops, and street vendors loudly hawked their wares. Although it was only morning, the streets were already crowded with people. It was very lively. Being new to this place, Hua Xiaomai found everything fresh and intriguing. She looked here and there, which quite delayed their progress, and Guan Rong, sighing at her side, could only pull her by the arm and moved forward, stopping in a crowded market area.
"Look, the restaurants in Fuzhe County are mostly concentrated over there on Tiansheng Street," Guan Rong, helping Hua Xiaomai off with the bamboo basket, pointed not far away, "There are small eateries where a bowl of noodles costs just two or three copper coins, and there are large restaurants where a meal costs a tael or two of silver. If you ask me, rather than running around everywhere, you might as well try your luck there directly. It might even be more convenient."
"Okay," Hua Xiaomai cheerfully nodded, looked around, took some dried bamboo shoots out of her basket, and placed them in the bamboo basket Guan Rong was carrying, "Sister Rong, you must be tired after walking such a long distance. I see there are quite a lot of people here. Why don't you wait here for me? I'll leave some bamboo shoots with you, and if any passerby is interested, just sell to them. Remember the pricing we discussed earlier; don't sell them too cheaply."
"I... I set up a stall here?" Guan Rong was a bit distressed, her fingers uncomfortably twisting the strands of hair hanging over her shoulder, "But I don't know how to hawk..."
"No worries, sell as much as you can." Hua Xiaomai, who never had high expectations for retail, smiled and said, "If you find you've been waiting too long and I haven't come back, just leave the city and go sit and rest at that tea stall we saw on the way here. If I can't find you when I return, I'll naturally go there to meet you."
"Well... okay then," Guan Rong was still somewhat hesitant, but seeing that Hua Xiaomai had already taken on the more challenging task, she could no longer decline and agreed. Then she thought for a moment and added, "Then you be careful!"
"Sure!" Hua Xiaomai turned back and smiled at her, adjusted the hemp rope on her shoulder, and walked through the bustling crowd into Tiansheng Street.
Guan Rong was right; this narrow street indeed gathered many restaurants, big and small. It was not yet mealtime, and most eateries weren't open for business yet; the doors were half-closed, and the staff were cleaning inside. The shopkeepers stood behind the counters, rattling the abacus beads, adding a further cacophony to the already noisy street.
While looking around, Hua Xiaomai thought about which restaurant she should approach first. She had barely taken two steps when she suddenly heard someone calling from behind.
"Little sister, the one in the yellow dress!"
She turned around and saw a chubby middle-aged woman rushing towards her, holding two or three pieces of bamboo shoots, "Little sister, you dropped these!"
Hua Xiaomai turned to see, indeed, there was a hole at the bottom of the bamboo basket she was carrying. She quickly smiled and said, "Ah! Really, I didn't notice the basket was broken, thank you sister."
"No worries, I checked for you, and only these few fell out. Take them quickly." The woman stuffed the bamboo shoots into her hands, unable to resist taking another look, "Little sister, what are these things, anyway?"
"Bamboo shoots, homemade," Hua Xiaomai handed back the bamboo shoots, "Sister, thank you for the help. Please, take these home and give them a try. They're great for meat stews and soups."
"Really?" The woman didn't shy away, bringing the bamboo shoots close to her nose and sniffing them, murmuring to herself, "Hmm, they smell quite fragrant. Did you smoke them with pine branches? Ah, there's also a hint of honey. I wonder how they taste?"
"Give them a try, they're cooked and edible," Hua Xiaomai tilted her head, smiling slightly.
The woman did as suggested, biting into a piece and chewing thoughtfully before exclaiming loudly, "Oh my, these are really good! The honey has formed a thin layer on the shoots, making them nicely crunchy. The sauce is just perfect, complementing the winter bamboo flavor well, plus that pine scent... Tsk tsk tsk, this is good stuff!"
She looked up at Hua Xiaomai's face, "Little sister, you came all the way to this Tiansheng Street, planning to sell these bamboo shoots to restaurants, didn't you?"
"Yes," Hua Xiaomai listened to her lavish praise, her heart filled with joy, her eyes narrowing as she nodded, "Just trying my luck. Not sure if I can..."
"Well, why don't you sell them to me?" the woman slapped her thigh, "I work as a cook, and fresh vegetables are scarce in the winter. I'm actually quite worried. It seems like you have only about twenty or thirty pounds in total. If you sell them to me, I'll have vegetables sorted for the next few days!"
Business coming to her was a good sign, wasn't it? Hua Xiaomai was thrilled but still a bit hesitant, "But..."
"I know, you want to sell to the restaurants, thinking maybe they'll become your regulars, right?" the woman understood, "Don't worry, my husband works in a restaurant. If everyone likes your bamboo shoots, I'll have him connect you there! It's just that you have quite an amount here, and I need to ask the owner first. Would you like to come with me?"
Who to sell to wasn't the issue—earning the money was! After thinking it over for a moment, Hua Xiaomai nodded. The woman promptly led her out of Tiansheng Street, weaving her way into an alley before stopping in front of a dark wooden door.
"Look, I work as a cook here," the woman said with a hint of pride, lifting her chin.
Hua Xiaomai lifted her head and gazed at the plaque above the door, her eyes widening suddenly.
"Sister, you're a cook at Lianshun Escort Agency?"