Chapter 11 - 0: Who knows the value?
Bai Ruozhu happened to have made apricot preserves in her previous life, so she immediately thought of that. At that time, she was in Mi Country, and the camature of her part-time job had several apricot trees. That man was lazy and wouldn't bother to pick up the ripe apricots on the ground, so he allowed Bai Ruozhu to pick some of the good ones for him. He instructed Bai Ruozhu to throw away the rest, but Ruozhu was reluctant to do so. She picked them all up and brought them back home. However, they couldn't be preserved for long, so she searched the internet for recipes and started making apricot preserves. She was actually successful in making some, and the taste was quite good.
The two chatted about making apricot preserves for what seemed like half the day. Fang Guizhi was so excited that she lost track of time until Lin Ping called them to eat. Guizhi suddenly smacked her forehead and exclaimed, "I forgot! My mother asked me to pick up some soy sauce. If I don't go back now, she'll scold me again!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Ping didn't feel it was right to keep her. Guizhi's mother would not only scold her but might even hit her when she was in a bad mood.
Seeing Guizhi practically sprint out of there, Bai Ruozhu and Lin Ping couldn't help but sigh. Every family has their own set of difficulties.
On the second day, the market day arrived. Bai Yihong didn't feel at ease about Bai Ruozhu, and finally insisted on taking Bai Zehao with Bai Ruozhu and her mother to the town. Bai Ruozhu was somewhat helpless but didn't refuse the kind intention.
In order not to tire Bai Ruozhu, Bai Zehao let her and her mother ride in a village ox cart , while he, in order to save money, followed the cart by foot to the town. Seeing her cheery, righteous big brother, Bai Ruozhu was more determined to make money soon. He was soon getting married, yet they hadn't even gathered enough money for the bride price.
Thankfully, Mountain Village wasn't too far from the town. They arrived quickly. Their village was called Mountain Village, named due to the mountain situated behind the village. The closest town was Anyuan Town, which was located towards the northwest. It had frequent trade comings and goings. Even bigger than the town was Beiyu City, which would take several days by horse carriage to reach. Beiyu City was the biggest city in Yanzhou and an important trade city in the northwest with a canal connecting directly to the Capital City.
Bai Ruozhu found all of this out by asking Bai Zepei over the past few days. Her previous self was not interested in these matters, so the geographical information Bai Ruozhu received was quite scanty. However, she had told her family that she was having trouble remembering some things, so when she asked, Bai Zepei explained everything patiently to her without suspecting a thing.
Lin Ping took some eggs and vegetables from the farm to sell at the market. To prevent Bai Ruozhu from being jostled in the crowd, Lin Ping specifically told her not to go and had Bai Zehao accompany her around town. In the meantime, they could head to the restaurant and ask if they will purchase the fresh soup powder.
Actually, Lin Ping didn't count on getting much money for the item. She just wanted Bai Ruozhu to distract herself a bit. After all, with her big brother accompanying her, there wouldn't be any issues.
Bai Ruozhu held her elder brother's hand and took him to East City, where there was said to exist a big restaurant called Welcoming Guests. This restaurant had quite a reputation in town.
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The pair quickly located Welcoming Guests. They were immediately greeted by the shopkeeper who came forth with a smile, "Are the two of you here to eat or stay the night?" Noting that one of the two customers was an expectant woman, he wanted to give her special care.
Instantly, Bai Zehao gave Bai Ruozhu a look. On the way here, Bai Ruozhu had told him to follow her lead in the conversation.
"Shopkeeper, my elder brother and I have some seasonings we wish to sell, might we have a moment of your time?" Bai Ruozhu disliked beating around the bush and went straight to the point of their visit.
The shopkeeper quickly eyed the two, contemplating. Normally, the local seasoning dealers often had dealings with Welcoming Guests, so why hadn't he seen these two before? Could they be from out of town? But their accent sounded local.
"Of course, please follow me." The shopkeeper invited them to the backyard despite his confusion.
"What kind of seasonings are you wanting to sell?" the shopkeeper asked.
Bai Ruozhu was not used to being called "little lady". It immediately reminded her of period dramas from her previous life, where the playboy scholars would often call out to the young village women by saying "little lady". She quickly suppressed the thought on her lips – after all, she did look pregnant.
She took out the package of fresh soup powder, carefully opened it, and said, "I recently obtained this unique fresh soup powder. I think it would be an excellent addition to the dishes offered by a restaurant such as Welcoming Guests, especially when serving distinguished guests. I've brought it here for you to consider."
"Oh?" The shopkeeper, noting Bai Ruozhu's politeness and educated manner of speech, looked at her with more interest and turned his attention towards the powder in Bai Ruozhu's hands.
He carefully dipped his finger in some of the powder. Bai Ruozhu noticed his manners and silently approved, thinking that coming to Welcoming Guests was a good decision.
The shopkeeper tasted a bit and quickly nodded. "Not bad, how much of this fresh soup powder do you have?"
"Only this one package." Bai Ruozhu wanted to say there was a lot, but how would she explain that to Bai Zehao? Even if Zehao wasn't present, she didn't want to bring attention to herself to avoid suspicion.
The shopkeeper laughed, "Then, little lady, you might as well go back. This tiny bit isn't of much significance to our restaurant. It wouldn't be right for me to name a price for it."
Although the shopkeeper looked decent and well-proportioned, his laughter revealed a whole mouthful of yellow teeth, which disgusted Bai Ruozhu. Probably due to an attachment to her previous occupation, the sight of such yellow teeth was unbearable for Bai Ruozhu. It was almost like an obsession. She wished she could scrub their teeth clean.
However, Bai Ruozhu quickly let it go. This was the era before brushing teeth caught on. Not only was the shopkeeper to be blamed for yellow teeth but many others in the village had the same problem too. Her family had better oral hygiene, but their teeth were far from perfect.
Bai Ruozhu's mind started wandering. She should promote the concept of dental hygiene in this era, starting with her family. This would not only guarantee her family's dental health but also offer her more comfort.
Seeing her lost in thought, Bai Zehao nudged Bai Ruozhu with his elbow and whispered, "Little sister, should we leave?"
Bai Ruozhu came back to the present, shaking her head ruefully. The shopkeeper's inability to appreciate the fresh soup powder's potential was Welcoming Guests' loss. Without wasting more words, she carefully packed the fresh soup powder again and followed Bai Zehao outside, just as a hoarse voice came from inside the yard saying, "Bring the product to me for inspection."
"Oh my, the boss is in." The shopkeeper looked nervous and bowed respectfully towards the source of the voice before turning to Bai Ruozhu. "The person inside is our boss. You can show it to him."
Bai Ruozhu hadn't expected there to be another person inside, and that on top of that, he was the actual owner. She turned around walked towards the source of the voice, hoping to find a more discerning person within.
Worried about Bai Ruozhu, Bai Zehao kept close behind her.
Upon opening the door, Bai Ruozhu saw an old man with white hair and a beard sitting at the table, drinking tea. A man around forty was standing behind him. His sharp gaze sized up Bai Ruozhu and Bai Zehao, giving off a defensive vibe.
Bai Ruozhu guessed that the man was skilled in martial arts and probably acted as the old man's bodyguard. Hence, she maintained some distance as she opened the pouch of fresh soup powder.
Just as she expected, the middle-aged man went forward, took a bit, and tasted it. He then nodded towards the old man.