In the afternoon, Li Changan went to a small restaurant to deliver wine. When he got home, his sister-in-law's four sisters had all arrived.
"Excuse me, sisters." Li Changan cupped his fists and saluted.
"Chang'an, why did you call us over?" Xiaolan asked.
Li Changan took out the prepared candied haws on a stick and said, "Sisters, I invite you all to come here today. I want to ask the four sisters to take the candied haws on a stick to the evening market stall and help sell them."
"Candied Haw Lu? What is this?" Xiaolan and the four of them looked at each other.
Li Changan explained, "This is a snack made by my sister-in-law and I."
"For every stick sold, the four sisters will receive two cents."
"But Chang'an has only one request."
"any request?"
"A bunch of candied haws cost five cents, so the price cannot be reduced."
"Five cents!?" Xiaolan and the other four almost stared out of their eyes.
They all could tell what candied haws was. Isn't it just hawthorn fruit?
There are dozens per pound.
Just a bunch of eight hawthorn fruits can be sold for five cents?
It's a money grab, isn't it?
Li Chang'an motioned to the four of them to try a candied haws a stick, "We won't do much today, so each of the four sisters will help sell five skewers."
"As long as I sell them, I will give my sister two cents for each bunch."
"The evening market is over, and we invite four sisters to meet here..."
Send Xiaolan and four others out,
Liu Zhiyin was still a little reluctant, "Erlang, two cents per string, isn't it a bit too much?"
"After all, a pound of hawthorn only costs two cents."
"If you give up, you will gain." Li Changan clapped his hands, "We just have to wait and see what happens in the evening market tonight."
…
The sun sets in the west and the lanterns begin to shine,
Sanyangmen became lively again, with people coming and going.
Xiaolan still didn't believe that this bunch of candied haws could be sold for five cents.
"Xiaolan, are you telling the truth about Zhiyin's ill uncle?"
"I always suspect that they are trying to trick us." Another person came over and said.
Xiaolan shook her head and said, "Xiaofang, what do you think he can do for us?"
"It's not like we're asking for money. If you can't sell it, forget it. If it does, we can share some of it, right?"
Xiaofang nodded, "That's right. Just a bunch of candied haws like this can be sold for five cents. I dare not even think about it."
"For the sake of my friend, let's give it a try."
Someone from the stall next to him saw the candied haws of sugarcane and came over to ask,
"Xiaolan, Xiaofang, what is this?"
"Candied haws on ice, it's delicious, sour and sweet." Xiaofang said with a smile.
"Hey, isn't it just hawthorn fruit? Give me two skewers for one penny and let me have a taste." The man next to him said and took out a penny.
"Exactly, a penny? A bunch of five pennies, no counter-offering." Xiaofang said with a slanted brow.
"Five cents!? Why don't you go grab the money?"
The man next to me was startled.
Xiaofang also hurried to her stall.
Xiaolan looked at the people passing by on the street, took a deep breath, with a bright smile on her face, and a clear and loud voice sounded,
"Sugar-coated haws……"
"The sweet and sour candied haws on a stick..."
For a time, dozens of eyes on the street looked over.
"Candied Haw Lu... what is this?"
"Never heard of it."
"Let's go over and have a look..."
Candied haws, the dominant street snack in later generations, is still a new thing in this world.
Some people came over curiously after hearing the sound.
"Girl, what is a candied haws of water?"
Xiaolan pointed to the five candied haws stuck next to the stall.
Everyone looked closely and saw that although the outside was wrapped in a crystal clear shell and stained with sesame seeds, wasn't the red bead-sized thing inside the fruit a hawthorn fruit?
"Girl, how do you sell this rock candy...gourd you are talking about?"
a middle-aged woman asked.
"Five cents a bunch."
Xiaolan said.
The middle-aged woman was stunned for a moment, "How much? Five cents per string!?"
Then he shook his head and left.
Everyone knows that hawthorn fruits are rarely bought for two cents per pound, but this bunch of so-called candied haws of fruits only has eight hawthorn fruits.
Why sell it for five cents?
"This is too expensive, it's just a few hawthorn fruits."
"How dare you ask for a price."
"It's gone, it's gone. Isn't it delicious to buy bread for five cents?"
…
The dozen or so people attracted by the hawking sound quickly dispersed.
Xiaolan's heart slowly sank.
The thing I was most worried about happened.
Even a fool would not buy a bunch of hawthorn fruits for five cents.
But since I have promised Liu Zhiyin, I still want to help anyway.
Xiaolan regained her strength,
"Candied haws on a stick, sour and sweet candied haws on a stick."
“It’s not sweet, it doesn’t cost any money, it’s delicious candied haws...”
The novel candied haws on a stick constantly attracts people to come and watch.
But when they heard about a bunch of five cents, everyone shook their heads and left.
I shouted intermittently for a quarter of an hour, but still no one was sold.
Xiaolan sat helplessly on the small bench and took a rest.
"I said Xiaolan, the candied haws you sell is too expensive, you can sell it at a lower price."
The person next to me kindly reminded me.
"I promised others at that time that the price would never be reduced for a bunch of five cents." Xiao Lan shook her head and prepared to shout again later.
At this time, a young scholar walked past the stall and suddenly stopped.
"Girl, what is this? How to sell it?"
Xiaolan stood up quickly and said with a smile, "This is candied haws, sweet and sour, and costs five cents a bunch."
The scholar was stunned for a moment, then took out five cents and said, "Give me a bunch."
Xiaolan didn't react at all. She thought that this person would be like the previous people and leave after asking the price, but she didn't expect that he actually bought it.
He quickly took out a bunch of candied haws and handed it over.
The scholar took it and continued walking forward.
"Hey, Xiaolan, you are so lucky, someone actually bought it..." the people next to you said with envy.
Selling a bunch is equivalent to selling a pound of apples, which is much more profitable than apples.
The scholar walked into the alley and took a bite. A trace of surprise flashed across his face. He lowered his head and glanced at the candied haws in his hand.
"It's sour yet sweet, crisp and refreshing, and interesting. A small hawthorn fruit actually has such a taste. It's just the right time for Gu Jiaoyu and other students to try it."
Thinking about it, the scholar returned to Xiaolan's stall and said, "Girl, please give me the remaining four skewers."
"ha?"
Xiaolan was stunned, and everyone around her was also dumbfounded.
In his opinion, selling a bunch of hawthorn fruits for five cents is no different from robbing money.
As a result, not only did someone actually buy this thing, but they also bought all five strings at once.
It's simply unreasonable.
Xiaolan blinked, and then quickly handed over the remaining four skewers of candied haws.
Five bunches of candied haws, are they sold out now?
Looking at the twenty-five cents in her hand, Xiaolan was dumbfounded.
…
The scholar took five skewers of candied haws of water, turned into the alley, and finally walked into Zhangji Winery.
Inside Zhangji Winery,
There were already many people sitting there, walking from north to south, and porters gathered in twos and threes, eating side dishes and drinking small drinks.
The scholar walked inside and saw that several tables at the back of Zhang Ji's wine shop were put together intentionally.
At this time, several scholars were already sitting there, toasting each other, talking and laughing.
"Zizhao, come on, come on, Gu Jiaoyu should be here soon." A scholar waved, "Hey, what is that in your hand?"
"It's called... Candied Haws." The young scholar named Zizhao said, "It tastes very good to me, so I brought it here for everyone to try."
"One for each person, leave one for Gu Jiaoyu."
…
Zhang Fugui sat at the counter of the wine shop and asked, "Xiaosi, is there enough wine for today?"
"That's enough, boss, I first bought fifty catties last night, and then bought ten more catties," the waiter said quickly.
"Well, Gu Jiaoyu and these county school students will come over tonight and ask the chef to cook more side dishes and serve them two pots of wine."
"Understood." The waiter didn't dare to neglect, and quickly filled two bottles of wine and trotted to the table of the county school students.