CH 87

The next day was another market day, and Mo Yan wanted Ms. Hua to help out at the market. However, there wasn’t anyone to look after her courtyard then.

Mrs. Liang had already taken two doses of Mr. Cao’s medicine, and her cough had improved significantly. However, she might have another coughing fit if she worked too far, so Mo Yan didn’t dare ask her to help out.

After asking Mrs. Liang, she replied, “Your brother’s just loafing around in his room. He can probably look after some goods at the very least, I’ll tell him to go over tomorrow.” [1]

Mo Yan thought, I only want someone there for my peace of mind. If he encounters any trouble, he can just tell sis in the storefront.

“Alright, then tell him to follow us to the market tomorrow.”

The next day, they woke up earlier than usual, as they were afraid they wouldn’t have a place to market their dried fruits. Mo Ling called Mo Feng outside his room for a long time before he reluctantly responded and came out.

“The sun just came out, why are you calling me!”

“Feng’er, help out in the city today, and I’ll treat you to something good!”

After hearing he’d get something good to eat, Mo Feng immediately perked up and followed her to the market.

Mo Yan put dried fruit in baskets and let Ms. Hua put it on a wheelbarrow to push to the market. Then, she used wrapping paper stamped with their business logo to wrap the dried fruit.

Mo Ling gave Mo Feng two wraps and told him to keep an eye on the goods before going to the storefront to do business.

Mo Yan’s decision to ask Ms. Hua’s help turned out to be correct. She was extremely familiar with the market and found a place to market their dried fruit very quickly. It was by the crossroad of North Street and Northwest Street.

With her storytelling experience, Mo Yan wasn’t afraid to market her wares, and she acted very efficiently. When it was less crowded, Ms. Hua couldn’t even do anything, and said, “You’re working so quickly, you don’t even need my help.”

Mo Yan smiled faintly, “Help me observe the crowd. If you see someone you recognise, greet them and feel free to give them a dried fruit as a sample.”

“Your dried fruits will sell well regardless, why are you giving away free samples?”

“We’ll have to earn a living in this city in the future, and we’ll have to garner some goodwill. Just introduce our Yanling Shop to them.”

“Alright.”

Ms. Hua started observing the crowd and called over some people she recognised. Mo Yan took a look at them. If they were of the older generation, she would just say some perfunctory statements. However, if they were of the younger generation, she would talk to them about their clothes and accessories.

Which young lady would be unwilling to talk some more when it came to those?

Mo Yan was arranging the dried fruit when she heard Ms. Hua say, “Mrs. Qiu, are you here for the market day?”

She raised her head and saw two young women walking together. Judging from their hairstyles, one of them was married while the other wasn’t. The married woman replied, “Mrs. Ng, you’re running this business?” This was probably the Mrs. Qiu Ms. Hua was referring to.

She replied, “It’s not my business, I’m helping someone else. Come have a look.”

Ms. Hua gave them a few dried fruits for her to try. After Mrs. Qiu tried it, she turned to the woman next to her, “These dried fruits are different from the ones in the dried goods store.”

Mo Yan smiled, “Of course, these are all freshly imported from the Upper Valley. Would you like to try something else?”

She evaluated both of them while she was speaking. The unmarried woman looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. Her clothing was clean and her hair was neat, even wearing a pearl hairpin. Although her appearance was average, she had an aura of spiritedness that most people living in the village lacked.

“This sister really knows how to dress up well, much better than me. Would you be willing to give me a few pointers?”

She smiled bashfully, “Sure.”

Mrs. Qiu, who was by the side, said, “My sister-in-law will be married next year, so doesn’t she have to dress up nicely?” It turns out they were sisters-in-law.

“Then I’ll have to congratulate you. The New Year isn’t far away, have you made all your preparations?”

The unmarried woman sighed lightly, “Yes, but I’m not very satisfied. There’s only one tailor nearby, and the wedding dresses he makes all look the same. If I cover my face, I’ll look the same as every other bride. That seems meaningless!”

“If you want a unique wedding dress, I can help you out. I know a place with fashionable materials and a lady who’s good at tailoring.”

The sisters-in-law asked simultaneously, “Does Qianshui City really have a place like this? Why have I never heard of it before?”

“The lady just arrived in the city recently. She only helps people she knows. SInce you’re friends with Mrs. Ng, that counts as a kind of connection. If you want to ask her for help, I can introduce you.”

The sisters-in-law looked at each other and smiled, “There’s no harm in taking a look, and it’d be easier to talk to a lady than that old tailor.”

“We want to see her, can you introduce us?”

Mo Yan handed over a piece of wrapping paper with her business logo on it. “The eighth alleyway of Back Street, Jiaolan Courtyard. If you show her this, the woman will be willing to receive you.”

After they left, Ms. Hua said, “So you didn’t go to the market just to advertise your dried fruits.”

“Those silks are worth much more than dried fruit! What’s that lady called?”

“Liu Yuyan, she’s the daughter of governing official Liu Fengchun.” [2]

By noon, not only had Mo Yan sold a lot of the dried fruits, she also persuaded quite a few people to go to Jiaolan Courtyard.

As the saying went, even the deepest alleyway is fine if the wine is good. However, their alleyway was really too deep. If they wanted people to know about the good wine, they’d have to do some work.

She didn’t know if Ms. Zhao would be able to use these people to boost the reputation of Jiaolan Courtyard, so Mo Yan was worried. She decided to go take a lot.

By noon, people starting leaving the market, and Mo Yan let Ms. Hua go back first while she went to Jiaolan Courtyard.

As soon as she entered, she said before Ms. Zhao could say anything, “Please teach me how to do my hair!”

Ms. Zhao smiled, “Yan’er, why’s that?”

“Nothing much. Jiaolan Courtyard is a place where we’re making people beautiful, but how can people be confident in us if I’m looking like a mess?”

“That’s a good point!” Lu Junming entered with groceries from the market in hand, “I saw you persuading others to go here in the market.”

“Then do you know how to make good connections with people? Even if people don’t buy anything, we still want them to praise Jiaolan Courtyard, so we can’t get on their bad side.”

Ms. Zhao said, “If you want to make good connections, you have to treat them genuinely and your wares need to be high-quality and real.”

“You also need to know people. You need to know who’s being real and who’s being fake.”

Ms. Zhao placed her handkerchief in front of her mouth, “Young lady, I haven’t lived all these years for nothing. Have you forgotten I come from a merchant background?”

“Today on market day, I met a pair of sisters-in-law. The married one is Mrs. Qiu and the unmarried one is Liu Yuyan. She’s getting married next year, but she’s not very satisfied with her wedding dress…”

Without letting her finish, Mrs. Zhao said, “If she comes, I’ll make her satisfied.”

“We can’t just make her satisfied. We need to use her wedding dress to spread the name of Jiaolan Courtyard.”

Ms. Zhao smiled, “I know. Come, I’ll teach you how to do your hair, let Ming’er make dinner.”

Lu Junming said, “Just hire someone for domestic work! You’ve saved enough to be able to afford it.”

It seemed like Ms. Zhao used to live a comfortable life, and had never needed to work hard and to do domestic work in the past.

Ms. Zhao shook her head, “I don’t need it right now. We’re not well-off right now, and we need to save as much as we can.”

Post-translation notes: I have four tests next week again…hard tests…it won’t be fun. As always, thank you for reading, and have a nice weekend!

[1] Who thinks he’ll bungle it up somehow?

[2] If you don’t remember Liu Fengchun, I think he appeared in the Manager Liang mini-arc.