Chapter 26: Exchanging Tofu
The aunt didn’t refuse the free gift and weighed it in her hand, “It looks fresh, but I wonder how it tastes…”
Then she took a bite.
“Hmm?” She barely chewed the dried sweet potato when her eyes lit up. “I must say, this dried sweet potato is really soft and sweet, very easy to eat.”
In a few quick bites, she finished the dried sweet potato in her hand and even smacked her lips, “Not bad at all.”
“Hey, why is your dried sweet potato softer and tastier than others’?”
Dried enough to be preserved, but still soft and glutinous when eaten, with just the right sweetness of sweet potato. After finishing, it leaves an endless aftertaste and makes you want to eat more.
The aunt stared at the dried sweet potatoes in Su Mulan’s bamboo basket, barely hesitating, “Here, give me two coins’ worth. My husband has bad teeth but always craves tasty things. He can’t eat much else, but these dried sweet potatoes are good for his teeth.”
“Sure thing.” Su Mulan quickly took out the slightly worn scales to weigh the dried sweet potatoes and said, “This dried sweet potato is our family’s secret recipe. No one else can make it taste like ours. If you find it delicious, come buy more at the next market.”
“Since you were my first customer today, I’ll add a little extra for you.”
Su Mulan weighed generously and, after weighing, added a few more pieces before packing them into the aunt’s bamboo basket.
“You sure know how to do business,” the aunt laughed, handing over the two coins to Su Mulan.
“Take care,” Su Mulan said, tucking the coins into her waistband and resuming her sales pitch.
“Soft, sweet, glutinous dried sweet potatoes…”
Her melodious voice echoed throughout the market.
Once someone made a purchase, others followed suit out of curiosity about whether the dried sweet potatoes were truly as soft and sweet as advertised. After tasting, about half of them ended up buying some.
Some bought about half a pound for two coins, some got three ounces for one coin, and there were even generous buyers who purchased two pounds at once.
Selling gradually, by the time the sun rose high and the weather became hot, causing the market crowd to thin out, the bamboo baskets of Su Mulan and Bai Shuiliu were nearly empty, with only a little left.
Su Mulan thought for a moment, then gathered the remaining dried sweet potatoes and said to the tofu vendor nearby, “Uncle, I have about six or seven ounces of dried sweet potatoes left. Can I trade them for three pounds of your tofu?”
Six or seven ounces of dried sweet potatoes are worth about two coins, which is exactly the price for three pounds of tofu.
Two coins could buy a bit more than one sesame candy bar, and not much fried dough twist. But with those two coins, you could buy half a pound of dried sweet potatoes. Besides, he had just tasted the dried sweet potatoes, and they were indeed quite good.
Moreover, this was a trade for tofu. If the tofu didn’t sell, it couldn’t be kept until the next day in this hot weather; it would have to be eaten by his family. Running a tofu workshop meant they were tired of eating tofu every day. Trading some for dried sweet potatoes seemed like a good deal.
The tofu vendor thought for a moment and then nodded. “Alright, I can take these back as snacks for the kids.”
“Thank you, Uncle.” Su Mulan gathered the remaining dried sweet potatoes and handed them all to the tofu vendor.
The vendor quickly cut a large block of tofu and weighed it. “Three pounds and two ounces. Okay, I won’t take it down to three pounds. Your scales are generous, so I don’t want you to lose out.”