Lin Lan saw the two of them off, closed the courtyard gate, and went back inside. She grabbed two bones for Wangcai and rubbed his fluffy head. "Don’t eat anything we don’t give you," she said. "Someone could poison you, drag you away, and turn you into dog meat."

Wangcai looked up at Lin Lan and whined twice, dissatisfied.

Qiaohui came out from beside the oven, holding a baking tray. "Cousin," she said with a smile, "Wangcai can’t stand hearing people talk about eating dog meat. He barks every time he hears it."

"WOOF WOOF..." Wangcai dropped his bone and started barking at Qiaohui.

Lin Lan chuckled and patted his head. "If you’re scared of being eaten, then just be a good boy and don’t be greedy. That way, no one will poison you, drag you off, and eat you."

Wangcai barked twice, then picked up his bone and started chewing on it.

Lin Lan told her parents to go to bed. Then she taught Qiaohui how to make kidney bean rolls while Tong Xinglan learned how to mash red bean paste.

By the time the three of them finished rolling the bean rolls, it was already 12:30 AM. Yawning, they washed up and went to their own rooms to sleep.

Lin Lan did a quick calculation. Li Xiangyang had been gone for five days. ’According to the schedule, he should have arrived in Yangcheng City yesterday afternoon. Today, he’s probably gone to Zhang Zemin’s place to pick up the watches.’

Her mind drifted as she lay there, and she didn’t even realize when she fell asleep. She only woke up when the alarm clock went off.

Qiaohui sat up in bed and looked at Lin Lan. "Cousin, starting today, we don’t have to set up the stall in the Eucalyptus Forest anymore."

Lin Lan nodded. "Mhm! Let’s get up. After breakfast, we need to take the kidney bean rolls and pumpkin cakes to the shop."

Qiaohui glanced at the alarm clock and gave Tong Xinglan a push. "Xinglan, wake up! We have to go open the shop."

Tong Xinglan sat up, rubbing her eyes. "I want to sleep more," she said listlessly.

"No more sleeping. We have to go to the shop." Lin Lan tucked the covers around Little Douzi, got out of bed, tied up her hair, and left the room.

Wu Shufen had already made breakfast. "Little Lan, did you find someone to watch the shop?"

"I found someone. It’s Dongzi’s cousin. She’s coming today." Lin Lan picked up her toothbrush cup and added, "Mom, stay home today and butcher a few of the pullets. And slaughter two roosters to make cured chicken."

Wu Shufen thought for a moment. "We can give one of the two big geese to Xiangyang’s family. We’ll keep three pullets for the New Year, and two roosters should be enough."

"You decide."

Carrying her toothbrush cup, Lin Lan went to the backyard. She squatted by the drain and quickly brushed her teeth, then poured some hot water to wash her face. By the time she got back from the outhouse, Wu Shufen had already set out breakfast.

There was vegetable congee, boiled eggs, fried pork cracklings with salted vegetables, and a side of pickled greens.

After breakfast, they loaded the kidney bean rolls and pumpkin cakes into a pushcart. Lin Changyou attached a trailer to the back of his roadster bicycle. "Little Lan, you go to the pastry shop. I’ll go open the one in East City."

Lin Lan nodded. "You should take the bus over later."

"You go on ahead," Lin Changyou said, waving his hand. "Your mom’s at home, so I’ll just walk over slowly."

"Okay!" Lin Lan got on her roadster bicycle and pulled the trailer, while Tong Xinglan rode another bike with Qiaohui to the South City vegetable market.

On Vegetable Market Street, commune members were already heading toward the market, carrying shoulder poles, wearing woven back baskets, and holding chickens, ducks, and other baskets.

When they reached the intersection, they saw a large red banner fluttering in the wind at the market entrance.

The sisters Yang Liying and Yang Liqun had already set up their tofu stall. Yang Liqun’s family had even built a rack to display dried tofu, shredded tofu, tofu skin, and deep-fried spicy tofu strips.

Lin Yuezhen was already at the shop. She had taken down the wooden door panels and was inside, packing goods for the Wang Zhixue brothers.

When Wang Zhixue saw Lin Lan arrive, he hurried over to help untie the ropes on the pushcart. "Auntie, we’ll take one of everything. Can I borrow a bicycle? I’m heading to East City, and Zhilin is going to West City."

Lin Lan nodded and pointed to two bamboo baskets at the side. "That’s all for you and your brothers."

Wang Zhixue lifted a basket of bean rolls and said, "Zhigang said he’s staying in South City today. He also said Uncle Li has already gone to the shop." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Okay." Lin Lan positioned the pushcart in a conspicuous spot by the entrance. Her old customers would see the cart and know this was her new shop.

The two Yang sisters, Liying and Liqun, walked to the entrance holding firecrackers. "Lin Lan, we wish you a booming business!"

"Thank you, Big Sister, thank you, Third Sister." Lin Lan accepted them with a smile, then brought out a string of firecrackers she had prepared earlier and handed it to the sisters. "Here’s to all of us sisters having a booming business."

The two of them accepted with a laugh. "Yes, may we all have a booming business."

Yang Liying thought for a moment and said to Lin Lan, "Second Sister asked me to ask you something."

Lin Lan looked at her. "Go ahead."

Yang Liying said, "She said she went to East City yesterday afternoon to check on her stall and saw your parents there. She wanted to ask whose shop is next to yours, and is it for rent?"

"One of the shops over there is Ding Bang’s and the other is Xiuyun’s. They both want to rent them out," Lin Lan said.

Yang Liying nodded. "I’ll tell her when I go back after closing up."

Qiaohui and Tong Xinglan arranged the kidney bean rolls and pumpkin cakes on platters, placed them in the display counter, and then went to the backyard.

The dozen or so different products filled two display counters. Standing at the shop’s entrance, it looked quite good.

At eight o’clock, firecrackers exploded at the market entrance. Lin Lan and the two households of the Yang sisters also lit their firecrackers. A continuous barrage of POPS and CRACKLES erupted throughout the South City market.

Lin Yuezhen and Qiaohui placed the freshly made sachima and puffed rice candy on the pushcart. A crowd immediately gathered, and the four of them got busy.

The Yang sisters’ tofu stall also had customers buying tofu and soft tofu pudding.

Everyone who tried Yang Liqun’s spicy tofu strips thought they were delicious. Since the price was a bit high, most people only bought thirty or fifty cents’ worth to try at home.

After serving a few customers, Yang Liying saw that people were still at Yang Liqun’s stall buying dried tofu and tofu skin. ’My selection is really too small,’ she thought. She decided to buy a steamer that afternoon and start selling soft tofu pudding with rice the next morning.

****

When Lin Changyou arrived at the shop, he carried out the jars of fermented tofu and placed them in front of a large, low, grid-patterned cabinet in the center. He took out the firecrackers Lin Lan had prepared and lit them just as the explosions from the East City market entrance began. Other newly opened shops also set off their firecrackers.

In the row of five storefronts, only his was open, standing there forlornly. He’d been open for quite a while, but no one had come in.

Lin Changyou watched the steamed bun shop across the street, bustling with people coming and going. ’It seems businesses that sell ready-to-eat food do better,’ he thought.

It was almost nine o’clock. Just as Lin Changyou was about to give up hope, a few elderly men and women carrying vegetable baskets walked up to the shop’s entrance, looking at the sign.

A refined-looking old man picked up a star anise. "So, you really do sell spices and local specialties!"

Lin Changyou nodded, his face all smiles. "That’s right. All kinds of spices, plus wood ear mushrooms, dried fungi, and fermented tofu." He picked up a jar of fermented tofu. "We used to sell our fermented tofu in the Eucalyptus Forest."

An old woman nodded. "I know. The girl who sells pastries in the Eucalyptus Forest was selling it. I’ve bought some before."

Lin Changyou said cheerfully, "The older one is my daughter, and the younger one is my niece. They’ve opened a shop in South City now."

Someone with her asked, "How’s the taste? If it’s good, I’ll buy a jar too."

The old woman said, "It’s pretty good. Their wood ear mushrooms are very clean and quite nice, too."

After hearing that, the group asked for the prices and each bought a few things.