My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 20 First Day of Setting Up a Stall

Just then, Zhou Jiye walked in, carrying a newly bought coal stove in one hand and a piece of kraft paper tucked under his other arm.

"I am back!"

"Oh, Xiao Zhou is back."

When Aunt Wang turned around and saw that it was Zhou Jiye, she greeted him very warmly.

Her gaze fell on the coal stove that Zhou Jiye was carrying. Before she could ask, Lin Ying explained that because they were going to sell tea eggs, she had asked Zhou Jiye to buy another coal stove. Otherwise, it would be inconvenient to have a stove at home after they stopped setting up their stall.

"I'm so sorry, Auntie, I didn't tell you about this beforehand," Lin Ying said apologetically.

"No need to make any special arrangements for such a small matter," Aunt Wang said with a smile, pointing to the corner. "A stove doesn't take up much space. You can put the new stove here; there's just an empty spot here."

"Thank you auntie."

Lin Ying quickly thanked him and gave Zhou Jiye a look. Zhou Jiye wasn't stupid and hurriedly thanked her as well. He carried the stove to the corner and placed it there. After setting the stove down, he gestured to Lin Ying with the brown paper he was holding under his arm. Lin Ying said to take it upstairs first and deal with it when he had time. Zhou Jiye agreed, greeted Aunt Wang, and went upstairs first.

After putting the kraft paper upstairs, Zhou Jiye went downstairs again. When he returned, Aunt Wang was no longer on the first floor. He asked her and found out that she had gone back to her own room first.

"I overheard you talking to Aunt Wang about selling tea eggs at the door just now?" Zhou Jiye asked Lin Ying in a low voice.

"Of course we have to tell her. How can we not talk about this? To run this business, we need to cook tea eggs every day. Don't forget we're renting Aunt Wang's house. We're living under her roof, and she's the landlord. How can we not give her a heads-up?"

"It's fine to greet her, but why did you agree to give her two free tea eggs?"

"What's wrong? Feeling the pinch?" Lin Ying stirred the tea eggs in the pot with her chopsticks and said indifferently, "You have to give to receive! You'll be soft-hearted once you take something from someone, don't you understand that? Besides, how much are two tea eggs worth? With Aunt Wang protecting us and helping us out, we've saved ourselves a lot of trouble. Don't forget we don't even have Shanghai residency permits. If we offend Aunt Wang, we might not only lose our place here, but we might even lose this business."

"Yes, yes, it was my oversight." Zhou Jiye quickly nodded with a smile. To be honest, he was indeed a little unhappy just now, feeling that Aunt Wang was clearly taking advantage of him by taking his tea eggs.

They worked hard to collect the eggs from the countryside and used so many seasonings to cook them—it's all money! The tea egg business hasn't even opened yet, and they've already given away two—isn't that a loss?

But upon closer reflection, Lin Ying's words made sense. This matter really couldn't be judged by appearances alone. My perspective was indeed too narrow. Two tea eggs were enough to build a good relationship with Aunt Wang. Once she was happy, it saved me a lot of trouble. What was such a small sacrifice?

Another hour passed, and the tea eggs were almost cooked. Although they would taste even better if they were cooked for a little longer, the flavor had already seeped in, so they were ready to eat.

She scooped two out and put them in a bowl, then poured some broth on top with a spoon. Lin Ying then carried the bowl to Aunt Wang's house.

Aunt Wang was all smiles after receiving the free tea eggs. She happily accepted them, saying that it was just a trial and wouldn't happen again, and also told Lin Ying that she must never do this again.

Lin Ying smiled and agreed, but she only listened and let it go in one ear and out the other; she would never actually believe it. There was no way Aunt Wang would refuse free tea eggs. To build a good relationship, Lin Ying decided that as long as the business went smoothly, she would send Aunt Wang a few tea eggs every few days. This small effort was worthwhile.

Dinner was very simple tonight. Since the newly bought stove hadn't been lit yet, and it was the first time making tea eggs, they weren't well-prepared. So Lin Ying simply cooked a pot of noodles, added some greens, and then scooped out two tea eggs as a topping for their dinner.

To be honest, Lin Ying's tea eggs were really delicious. One bite and your mouth is full of fragrance. In addition, the eggs they collected were completely different from the high-tech farmed eggs of decades later. Although they were smaller, they were very fragrant. Zhou Jiye gave them a thumbs up.

After finishing her meal, Lin Ying added a few more eggs to the pot and continued cooking for a while before sealing the stove and letting the remaining embers in the fire slowly simmer the tea eggs.

After finishing all that, Lin Ying tidied up downstairs before going upstairs to cut the kraft paper she had bought with Zhou Jiye.

The two large sheets of kraft paper were eventually cut into nearly a hundred smaller sheets, each about the size of a palm. This size was perfect for holding the tea eggs, and because the kraft paper was thick and had a layer of wax on it, it wouldn't get hot to the touch.

"Finally done."

After carefully folding the cut cowhide, Zhou Jiye stood up and stretched. He forgot that the attic was too low, and as he suddenly straightened up, his head almost hit the ceiling. Lin Ying couldn't help but laugh at Zhou Jiye's embarrassed appearance, pointing to the area near the dormer window: "Planning to poke a hole in the ceiling? So clumsy, don't you even notice?"

"Hehe, didn't you forget?" Zhou Jiye chuckled, scratching his head. He took a few steps forward, stretched his limbs, and casually asked Lin Ying, "What time are you planning to set up your stall tomorrow?"

"Around seven o'clock, I'll go to the market this morning to buy some dried tofu and other groceries, otherwise we won't be able to cook lunch. By the way, once the stall is set up, you'll have to cook lunch. Can you handle it?"

"It has to be done, even if it's not feasible." Zhou Jiye thought for a moment and said, "Simple meals are no problem, but I'm not sure about the more complicated ones. Just don't complain when the time comes."

"Then there's no problem, this task is yours." Lin Ying nodded, then remembered something, took out some money from her pocket, counted it carefully, and asked Zhou Jiye, "How much money do you have left?"

"Not much left, let me see." Zhou Jiye took out his money, counted it, and said, "I have three yuan and forty-six cents left, how about you?"

Lin Ying had a little over eleven yuan in her hand, and even with Zhou Jiye's money, it was less than fifteen yuan. In addition, there were some grain coupons and other things she had exchanged.

When they moved in, they only had 42 yuan and 37 fen left. Later, Lin Ying managed to exchange her national grain coupons for 62 jin of Shanghai grain coupons, plus 10 yuan in cash and the pile of coal briquettes downstairs, so she had 52 yuan and 37 fen in cash.

I spent a bit on food and other expenses these past few days. In addition, yesterday's trip to the suburbs to collect eggs, the round-trip bus fare, and the wicker basket for the eggs cost a little over sixteen yuan, plus eleven jin and eight liang of grain coupons.

Later, they bought tea, spices, rock sugar, a coal stove, and kraft paper, plus the broken cart they bought from the scrap yard. In addition, they gave Director Liu of the cinema five yuan for setting up their stall a month in advance. After deducting all of these, their total assets shrank drastically, leaving them with less than fifteen yuan.

Fifteen yuan might not seem like a lot in the rural areas of Northwest China, but in Shanghai, where prices are high and there's no residency permit or food ration coupon, it's practically nothing. They need money everywhere to live in Shanghai, and if their tea egg stall doesn't sell well tomorrow, they'll face a serious problem of financial shortage or even bankruptcy.

Thinking of this, Lin Ying's expression became somewhat solemn. However, there was no turning back once the arrow was released; since she had already made her decision, there was no need to regret it. Besides, the deal hadn't even been done yet, and to back down before the battle would only diminish her prestige. She believed her decision was correct, or rather, she believed even more in what her grandfather had told her back then, and her expression gradually relaxed.

"Go to sleep early, you have to get up early tomorrow." Lin Ying said lightly, but Zhou Jiye saw a hint of worry in her eyes.

Zhou Jiye originally wanted to comfort Lin Ying, or perhaps to encourage himself. But then he thought that saying these things now would not only be ineffective, but the outcome of the business would be clear tomorrow, so it wouldn't be too late to discuss everything after setting up the stall tomorrow.

Besides, can a living person really die from holding their pee? Even if this deal falls through, we can always find another way. Both Lin Ying and I are time travelers; our minds are filled with memories far beyond this era. How could we possibly fail? That's impossible!

At worst, if this deal goes wrong, so what if I end up working like a beast of burden at the docks? A true man can bend and stretch. Before Han Xin rose to prominence, he crawled between people's legs. Anyway, I've been a beast of burden at the company for so many years, so working like a beast of burden at the docks is no different. I refuse to believe that I can't turn things around with my skills.

Even if the sky falls, Zhou Jiye has a good attitude. After washing up, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep quickly after a busy day. When he opened his eyes, it was already the next day.

Lin Ying, who had gotten up earlier than him, was almost ready. She told him she was going to the market first and then left. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhou Jiye also got up quickly. After washing up, he went to the public toilet to take care of his business. When he came back, he added some water to the pot of tea eggs that had been simmering all night. Then he cleaned the coal stove, added a new coal briquette, and used a hook to clean up the accumulated coal ash at the bottom. Just as he finished, Lin Ying returned from the market.

"I was lucky today, I bought a few pounds of dried tofu." Lin Ying said to Zhou Jiye with a smile, put down the shopping basket, and took out the dried tofu she had just bought.

The uncut tofu was neatly stacked. Lin Ying said it was fortunate that she arrived early, and that the supply of bean products had been relatively abundant in the past two years, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to buy any.

Find a cutting board and cut the dried tofu into pieces about the size of a child's palm. Then, put the pieces one by one into the pot where you are making tea eggs. This is the best way to cook dried tofu. It only needs to be cooked for one or two hours to absorb the juices, and it will taste delicious when you eat it.

The two busied themselves preparing, having the fried dough sticks and flatbread Lin Ying had brought back as breakfast. After they finished, seeing that it was almost time, Zhou Jiye carried the coal stove into the cart, put the pot on the stove, and then pushed the cart out. Lin Ying followed beside him, and the two chatted as they walked. Half an hour later, they arrived at the movie theater.

The movie theater isn't open yet, and the ticket office is closed, but since it was already arranged yesterday, Zhou Jiye and his group simply pushed their car to the spot where they were going to set up their stall.

Stop the car and take down the small stool hanging on the back handle. It's called a small stool, but it's actually a wooden reel for cables and wires. These things are not uncommon in factories. People usually take a few home to use as stools. Every household has one.

The ones they're using were specially given to Lin Ying by Aunt Wang when she delivered tea eggs yesterday. She said that since there are so many of these things at home anyway, it would be convenient to use them while sitting when setting up the stall.

(End of this chapter)