Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 58 Attraction
As soon as Zheng shouted, several women on the other side immediately responded.

The lotus root charcoal was heated to perfection. Several pots of hot water had been boiled in advance. The boiling water was poured into a large vat that had been cleaned beforehand, and then cold water was poured into the pot to continue boiling. The room was filled with steam for a moment.

"Set up a few stoves outside."

Several people moved the clay stove outside the shop, put a piece of burning lotus root charcoal inside, and then placed a ceramic pot on top, filled with water, which quickly boiled and steamed.

"Could someone come?"

A woman from Chenyao Village poked her head out to look around. She really didn't understand why the old lady had ordered the clay stove to be placed outside the shop.

Putting at least two pieces of lotus root charcoal inside a clay stove and letting it burn outside like that is a waste.

The woman was heartbroken.

What's the point of them just setting up mud stoves if they don't advertise outside?

"It will happen eventually," Madam Zheng firmly believed in Madam Xie. Madam Xie was deep in thought. In just a few days, she had gotten used to following orders. Before the shop opened, she was worried, but now that the shop was open and she was busy with everything, her heart had calmed down.

The woman glanced enviously at the bustling shops not far away and murmured, "There are so many people. When will we be able to be like that?"

Zheng said, "Don't think about anything else, hurry up and get to work."

……

A crowd had gathered outside a newly opened fabric store, where the shop assistants were enthusiastically hawking their wares.

"It's full, it's full, you'll have to wait a bit before you can come in."

No sooner had they finished speaking than a carriage stopped in front of the shop. Several women got out of the carriage, and the manager respectfully stepped forward and bowed to invite them inside.

These kinds of scenes are commonplace to everyone.

"Just look at this carriage, and you'll know they're going to buy a lot. So let them go in and choose first."

"I wonder how much cheaper the fabrics are in the new shop compared to the old one?"

"I just want to buy a new patterned dress to make clothes for my family."

As everyone was discussing this, they heard a report from the doorman.

"Eight bolts of silk and satin."

"The two-color brocade has been cleared out."

Those who were waiting to buy fine silk were immediately disappointed, fearing they had come for nothing.

"Let's go in and take another look later. It would be nice if there were other colors available."

Having saved up some money, I only wanted to buy a good piece of cloth at the end of the year. Just then, the market opened, and I heard that the newly opened cloth shops had cheaper prices, so I came early to wait. I didn't expect that they would sell out so quickly.

"It's not that we're out of fine cloth, it's just that we can only sell twenty bolts a day. If you want to buy some, come back early tomorrow morning."

Hearing the shopkeeper's reply, Chen Sanniang was overjoyed and said, "I only need one horse. Just sell me one. We've been waiting at the shop entrance since early morning, almost an hour already."

The waiter glanced at her and said, "Don't even mention one, you can't get a hundred."

This caused several of his colleagues to burst into laughter.

Realizing that this was somewhat inappropriate, the waiter coughed, put on a smile again, and continued to solicit business.

Chen San Niang finally entered the shop, walked around, and found that a bolt of cloth was more than ten coins cheaper than at the old shop.

The shopkeeper added, "In previous years, the price of cloth would have gone up by this time. It's only when the shop owner opens a new store that we can get such prices. Don't hesitate any longer. Buy it now and take it home so you can make new clothes sooner."

I thought a new shop would be something special, but all the fabrics on display are old stock. Chen San Niang has been to the shops in the East Market several times; how could she not see that?
It's only a dozen or so coins short...

After hesitating for a moment, Chen San Niang decided not to buy it.

"Among all the cloth shops in Daming Prefecture, ours is the best."

That's true, but I still feel a little uncomfortable. I'd rather go to an old shop than buy here.

Feeling like she had made a wasted trip, Chen San Niang felt a chill in her heart, and her hands were frozen stiff. She hurriedly tried to run home.

I had only walked a short distance with my head down when I noticed smoke rising in the distance. After being out in the cold for so long in winter, just looking at the smoke made me feel much warmer, and my feet instinctively moved towards it.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that a large crowd had gathered outside a small shop.

Steam billowed out from the open window of the small shop, where several strange little stoves were set up. Charcoal was burning in the stoves, and hot water was boiling in earthenware pots on top. People gathered around were scooping water from the pots with porcelain bowls to drink.

Chen San Niang didn't know what was going on, but she heard an older woman say, "The newly opened rice shop is the same. Although the price is cheap, it sells last year's old rice."

"The price of rice at the Xie family's old shop has also gone up, and I heard it will be even higher in a few days." "Isn't this forcing us to buy old rice from the new shop?"

"What can we do? They used to say that with the opening of the market and the increase in new shops, prices might be lower."

"What are you thinking? Whether it's the East and West Markets or the neighborhoods, they're all his shops. How could he possibly lower the prices? All the rice merchants entering Daming Prefecture have to listen to the Xie family."

Upon hearing this, Chen Sanniang stepped forward and instinctively stretched out her frozen hands, bringing them close to the clay stove in front of her. The heat immediately soothed her palms, making her feel more comfortable.

"Here, let me add some more water to the earthenware pot."

A voice rang out from behind the crowd, and Madam Zheng walked over with several women.

The people gathered here all wore embarrassed smiles.

They gathered around the newly opened shop, only to find that the items weren't cheap. Disappointed, they headed back, but were then drawn by the smoke rising from the shop and spotted the clay stove outside.

Before I could even ask what the shop sold, I heard the woman at the door say with a smile, "You can warm yourself up by the clay stove for a while."

The host has spoken, so how could they not come?

Besides, it was really freezing.

Then... everyone had a porcelain bowl in their hand, which they could use to fill the earthenware pot with water to drink.

After drinking the hot water, my heart, which had been almost frozen, warmed up again, and I started talking.

After waiting for so long, this is the result. It's bound to breed some resentment. It just goes to show how shrewd the merchants in the city are.

"Why isn't his third sister-in-law saying anything today?"

Several people turned their gaze to the woman beside the clay stove.

Sister-in-law Dong was holding a bowl of hot water, sipping it slowly, seemingly lost in thought.

"She was busy drinking hot water."

It wasn't just Sister-in-law Dong; several other women were in the same boat. Firewood was especially expensive this year, and most of the firewood and straw they cut in the mountains had been burned in the winter, leaving them with very little. They were reluctant to light a fire when they weren't cooking, and many families would only cook a meal to tide them over, supplementing their meals with cold food the rest of the time.

Sister-in-law Dong came out early in the morning on an empty stomach, never expecting to be able to get a drink of hot water.

"I've never seen this stove before. What's burning inside? Why is there no smoke?"

Sister-in-law Dong dared not think about charcoal. Charcoal was thirteen coins a pound today. Who would leave their charcoal stove outside to boil water for passersby?

After saying all that, everyone turned their attention to the shop.

I looked up and saw a few words written on the plaque.

The women weren't very literate, so before Zheng and the others entered the house, the older woman asked, "What kind of shop is this?"

Madam Zheng smiled and said, "This is Shuntong Water Shop. We sell hot water and boiled water. If any family doesn't want to light a fire, they can just come here every day to get a bucket of water. Now that the market gates are open, you can come here at night to buy water. You can use it to make hot water bottles, wash your face, or soak your feet."

"When it gets cold, the elderly and children in the family always need to drink some hot water. Drinking cold water all the time weakens the body and can cause illness over time."

Thinking of her mother-in-law who spent all her time curled up in bed, Sister-in-law Dong immediately asked, "How much is the hot water?"

Zheng pointed and said, "A bucket like this only costs one coin."

Upon hearing "one coin," Chen San Niang's eyes lit up: "Then... does it cover the heat?"

Madam Zheng smiled and looked at the shop behind her: "You can come and see. We sell hot water, warm water, and boiled water that has been cooled down. If you come from afar to fetch water, you can also get a sip to quench your thirst, and it's free."

"The landlord said that we can also bring some fried noodles and a bowl of hot water to stir it up and see if our water is hot or not."

The women laughed as they listened, which also attracted the attention of passing men.

"Everything's bubbling in the pot, how could it not be hot?"

As everyone was talking, Sister-in-law Dong thought of something else: "The water carriers, do they really come and scoop a bowl for free?"

She seemed a little embarrassed at this point, and lowered her voice: "Didn't you say we could test if the water was hot?"

Madam Zheng nodded: "Yes, we will have a stove for us when we are away all year round. You can just use the water from that stove, but you can't bring too many people."

“That is…” said Sister-in-law Dong, “not more, just one person.”

They are a water shop, not a free water vendor. Everyone knows that. But the owner is really generous. A scoop of water is not much, but it's not a small amount either.

Seeing that a large crowd had gathered, Madam Zheng continued, "If you come to fetch water every day, it will be cheaper if you pay in silver every two sections; one coin will get you two buckets."

(End of this chapter)