Chapter 52

On August 25th, before the sky had even brightened, the oil lamps in the households of Ten-Mile Village began to flicker to life one by one.

The climate of the Great Qian Dynasty was probably slightly different from Sang Luo's original era, but that hardly mattered. With time and space being entirely different, minor climate variations were only to be expected. In short, across all the villages in Qingpu Township of Qiyang County, farmers were scheduled to begin harvesting rice either today or tomorrow.

Elderly farmers, who usually only ate two meals a day, would certainly not go hungry today. Women rose before dawn to tend the cooking fires. Abandoning the usual two-meal routine, they prepared three meals for the day, and the staple grain had to be solid rice. Only by eating substantial rice could one muster the strength required for consecutive days of high-intensity agricultural labor.

At midday, it was best if there was a bit of meat. Even the poorest households, who typically survived on thin gruel, would find a way to let the men laboring in the fields have a taste of oil and fat during these few days. Otherwise, their bodies wouldn't hold up and would inevitably collapse under the strain.

The women of Ten-Mile Village were busy, and Sang Luo was equally busy. Qin Fangniang was not selling fairy tofu today, but Sang Luo still had to. Not only fairy tofu, but she had also made two blocks of regular tofu.

It wasn't that she didn't want to make more; the reality was that she lacked capital and had to carefully calculate and budget her purchases, so she could only manage two blocks.

Even so, she had kept three pieces at home to use for dinner tonight, leaving only twenty-nine blocks of tofu to be carried to the market for sale.

Fortunately, she also had the fairy tofu, so overall, the harvest from this trip would not be small if she managed to sell everything.

After a lapse of more than ten days, Shen An was finally able to accompany his eldest sister out to do business once again!

He was utterly delighted and bustling about busily since early morning. Shen An carried a full basket of lotus leaves that had been picked and washed yesterday, while Sang Luo gritted her teeth and shouldered the poles carrying the tofu and fairy tofu.

Luckily, walking twenty miles every day over the past few days had not been in vain; her physical stamina had improved by leaps and bounds. Just as the households of Ten-Mile Village were lighting their lamps and busy cooking breakfast, Sang Luo and Shen An set out from home.

Shen Ning stayed behind. There was no help for it; Sang Luo had not yet managed to save enough surplus cash to buy a lock, and no matter how much Shen Ning wanted to tag along, someone had to remain behind to look after the house.

...

Sang Luo had not visited the morning market in Sanli Village for a long time. Previously, when setting up her stall in the county town, she had been too occupied to attend to the Sanli Village market. On the previous two market days, she had asked Old Mrs. Chen whether she would be setting up a stall, and if the old lady was willing, she would send a batch of fairy tofu along with her.

Today, however, Old Mrs. Chen had no time to carry a basket and sell a few blocks of tofu, and since Sang Luo also needed money, she naturally had to make the trip herself.

Upon arriving at the market, her very first stop was the butcher's stall. She greeted the butcher with a smile, and after looking her over for a moment, he actually recognized her.

"You're... the friend of my eldest daughter who sells fairy tofu?"

Sang Luo beamed. "It's me. Uncle, you have a fine memory to still remember me."

The butcher laughed aloud. "I remember. Though you two look much healthier now, so I almost didn't recognize you for a moment. What is it, looking to buy meat today?"

Sang Luo nodded. "Indeed, I'm here to buy meat. We're setting out three tables of banquets at home today. However, I'm a bit short on cash right now, so I plan to sell the tofu and fairy tofu I brought first, and then come back to buy the meat. I'm afraid that because everyone is harvesting rice today, there will be a rush of meat buyers. By the time I finish selling my goods, all the good cuts might be gone. That's why I came over specifically to ask you a favor—could you let me pick mine out in advance and set it aside for me? I'll come back later to pay and collect the meat."

Realizing the situation, the butcher smiled and said, "That certainly needs to be set aside. Over the next few days, every household in all the surrounding villages will buy a bit of meat to build up their families' strength, and a little later there won't be any good cuts left. Very well, tell me which cut you want, and once you've picked it, I'll set it apart exclusively for you. Come by snake hour. If you haven't come past snake hour, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold it."

In the summer heat, meat wouldn't keep long, and after snake hour, buyers dwindled, making it easy for the stock to spoil on his hands.

"Understood, holding it until snake hour will certainly be plenty of time. Uncle, does your family want to buy some tofu or fairy tofu?"

The hour was still early, and the butcher had no customers yet. Hearing Sang Luo's question, he couldn't help his curiosity: "I know fairy tofu, but what is this tofu?"

Shen An was remarkably quick-witted. Hearing this, he immediately uncovered the tofu baskets on Sang Luo's left and lifted the damp cloth, smiling as he said, "Look, it's just like this. This tofu tastes exceptionally good when cooked."

Sang Luo glanced at him, feeling a slight urge to laugh.

You've only ever eaten tofu dregs, oh, and soybean milk and tofu pudding—when on earth have you ever eaten cooked tofu?

Yet, seeing the little fellow was quick enough to help her drum up business, Sang Luo picked up his thread: "This stuff is similar to fairy tofu, but when actually made into a dish, it's even more delicious than fairy tofu. Since you run a butcher shop, you can slice some pork belly to stew with tofu, or add some lean meat to braise with it. Even without meat, simply pan-frying it until both sides are golden brown, adding a bit of garlic, some seasoning sauce, and sprinkling with chopped scallions makes it an absolute delicacy, no less tasty than meat."

"No less tasty than meat?" The butcher was skeptical. "Could it possibly taste better than meat? Surely not."

Sang Luo smiled. "Uncle, once you try it, you'll know. As long as the person cooking has decent skills, that flavor will definitely make you crave a second serving after just one bite. Furthermore, there are countless ways to prepare it. I don't even need to teach you; if Auntie is skilled in the kitchen, she can figure out all sorts of variations on her own."

Hearing her rattle on so persuasively, the butcher grew slightly tempted. He craned his neck to gauge the size of the tofu blocks. "All right, give me one block, and two blocks of fairy tofu."

The butcher's family also farmed, and they were busy with the harvest today as well. Even if his family didn't view the fairy tofu as a dish, mixing it with some sweetened water made for an exceptionally refreshing snack. After coming home from harvesting rice in this sweltering weather, eating a small bowl of this would be just right.

"Very well. Uncle, would you mind bringing a bowl to hold them? That would be sturdier than these lotus leaves."

There was no arguing with that. The butcher turned and shouted into the house for his wife, and moments later, the butcher's wife emerged carrying two large soup bowls.

Indeed, they had to be large soup bowls. The tofu and fairy tofu Sang Luo made were substantial; a standard rice bowl used for everyday meals at home could only hold a single piece.

Sang Luo picked out the tofu for the butcher's wife. Upon seeing the tofu—white, tender, and quivering, as smooth and flawless as lard, or rather, even prettier than the rendered pork fat they made at home—the woman let out a cry of admiration.

"This is crafted splendidly. How do you prepare it?"

Sang Luo had no choice but to explain several methods of preparation to her all over again.

Listening to Sang Luo describe three or five different cooking methods, the butcher's wife pondered for a moment and said, "Give me two blocks, and add one block of fairy tofu as well, make it three blocks total."

Turning to her husband, she added, "Buy a portion for our girl to taste too. She's been yearning for a taste of this fairy tofu day in and day out. This tofu doesn't look inferior either; I just wonder how such clever hands managed to make it."

Sang Luo merely smiled, choosing not to respond directly to the butcher's wife, and instead steered the conversation toward the butcher's daughter with a smile: "Eldest Sister will certainly be delighted. Uncle and Auntie truly cherish your daughter; Eldest Sister is a fortunate one."

The topic shifted smoothly, while also flattering the couple into high spirits.

Before she had even purchased the meat, five blocks of tofu were already sold off, marking a roaring start to the day.

Ten copper coins in total; the butcher made no mention of offsetting the cost against her future meat purchase, counting out the cash and handing it straight to her.

Sang Luo accepted it without any awkwardness, tucked the money neatly into her purse, covered the tofu baskets, and finally turned her attention to the meat.

She cut out a square, thick slab of prime pork belly, a pound and a half of lean meat, a pig's ear, a pig's tongue, a large marrow bone, and another pound of fatty pork specifically for rendering oil.

The butcher and his wife, who had just stepped back out, listened in utter astonishment. Three tables of banquets? This substantial?

If someone had bought like this last year, it wouldn't have been strange, but very few people had the heart to buy meat so lavishly this year—after all, most folks could barely fill their bellies halfway.

Their gazes fell back onto the carrying poles resting on Sang Luo's shoulders, and sudden understanding dawned: she had a skill.

The butcher briskly cut up everything Sang Luo requested. Once gathered, he placed them on the scale, announcing the weights as he weighed them, and finally concluded: "That comes to eighty-seven copper coins in total."