The early morning in the imperial capital in August was a bit chilly, and the sky had just turned pale, when the gate of a courtyard house at the corner of Beierdao Street opened.
"Be careful, lift slowly." Ye Jiao said, stretching out her hand to brush the drooping hair, with a soft tone.
"Daughter-in-law, stand over there." Ji Yang supported the cart with one hand, and pointed to the side with the other.
"Okay." Ye Jiao walked over quickly.
Ji Yang lifted it vigorously, loaded the iron pot onto the cart, and then pushed it forward, Ye Jiao followed behind him.
It has been a while since the two of them came to the imperial capital, and they have been on the green leather train for nearly five days. They are unaccompanied and live together here.
The courtyard house was rented, and with the more than 900 yuan they had saved before, it was their only source of security.
The two went to the city center with a cart. It was a long street with many factories beside it. Now people in blue overalls were rushing to work.
Someone was riding a bicycle, carrying a green bag, and occasionally a car passed by. The building next to it was much more advanced than that in their town.
Everything opened Ye Jiao's eyes.
As soon as Ji Yang stopped, she put away her thoughts and quickly started to prepare, putting out all the things to be sold.
He lifted the lid of the iron pot, added another briquette under it, then took down the small table and a few wooden benches, and set them aside.
"How much is the tea egg?" A man came over and pointed.
"Twenty-five cents apiece." Ye Jiao stood up and smiled back at him.
"Forty-five cents or two?" The man began to bargain.
"Okay." She nodded, then quickly picked up two, took the money and found the change, "Go slowly."
"Here's a tea egg."
"Here you are."
"Is there mung bean soup today?" A bicycle stopped, and a girl with braids asked.
"Yes, it's still hot." Ye Jiao nodded.
"Fill it in for me," she said, handing the kettle over.
"It's a bit hot, let me do it." Ji Yang reached out to take it, opened another pot, stirred it twice with a spoon, and a burst of heat rose.
"Mung bean porridge is fifteen cents." Ye Jiao said to the girl, and then took the money handed over by the other party.
During the peak period, the husband and wife are very busy, they sell tea eggs and mung bean soup.
A bowl of soup with a tea egg, the soup is refreshing, the tea egg white is fragrant, not greasy and nutritious.
The two tables that had been set up were full of people, and the business was very good.
They kept busy until 10:30 in the morning, and there was still one third of the tea eggs and mung bean porridge left, so the two of them could take a break.
Ye Jiao wiped her sweat, Ji Yang took down the high stool and put it beside her, "Sit down and rest for a while."
"Could the tea eggs be overcooked? We boiled 500 today." Ye Jiao looked at the iron pot with some concern.
In the past, only 300 pieces were cooked, and they sold very quickly, so today I cooked 500 pieces, which was a bit expensive, and she was afraid that she would lose money if she couldn't sell them all.
"If it's not sold out, it will be sold in the afternoon." Ji Yang was not worried, and said with a smile, "Wouldn't it be over if you eat a few more?"
"I can't eat any more." She smelled the aroma of tea eggs and swallowed the taste.
She got up today and ate two, and the purchase price was 10 cents each. If she sold it, it would be 50 cents. She used to earn less than 50 cents a day at work.
too extravagant.
"Eat as much as you want, our family has nothing else, tea eggs are enough." Ji Yang said that he had picked up an egg, and looked at it, "This is delicious."
It was peeled off in two or three strokes and handed to her.
"...Then I'll eat another one, I can't eat it." Ye Jiao smiled, frowned, took it and bit into it.
Like a little hamster, savoring her food, watching him praise, "The spices you made are delicious. We bought tea eggs when we went to the square before, and they were not delicious at all."
When the two came here at first, they were very confused. Although they had money in their pockets, they would spend it all. Ji Yang proposed to do business, starting with selling tea eggs.
He bought tea and spices and studied them. She tried them, but she didn't expect the taste to be very good. All 100 of them were sold out on the first day.
Immediately afterwards, the two cooked one hundred and fifty, then two hundred, three hundred, and today they cooked five hundred.
Life is also slowly getting on the right track, and they have a subsistence job in this big city. Although self-employed and small traders are not decent now, they are very satisfied.
"Eat more if it tastes good." Ji Yang has never been stingy with her. On the first day, she ate five eggs, and when she returned home at night, she was bloated and let him rub her for a long time.
"I want two tea eggs." An old man walked over with a little girl, smiling lovingly, "She made a fuss last time she ate it, and she didn't even like it when the family cooked it for her."
"The kid is so cute." Ye Jiao squatted down, looked at the chubby little girl, and looked at her with big round eyes.
"Call Auntie." The old man reminded with a smile.
"Sister." The little girl pursed her lips, and said very sweetly, "Call my sister, can you give me one."
Ye Jiao laughed, this is a little clever ghost.
"One for you." Ji Yang has already scooped up three tea eggs, "Eat more eggs to grow taller."
"Thank you brother." She bit her lip with her small teeth, smiled wider, and looked at her grandma triumphantly.
"This child... is very young." The old man also had a wrinkled face, "Grandma will hold it for you, it's a little hot."
"Bye bye brother and sister." She waved her little hand.
"Bye bye." Ye Jiao looked at her, her smile was long gone, if she married Ji Yang and had a child, she would be so old now.
"What do you want? Here." Ji Yang interrupted her train of thought and handed over the money.
"It's nothing." She took it, then held the money box, sat down and began to count the money.
It was already full of bills, both large and small denominations.
Excluding the change that was put in, so far, the account has been in the ninety or so, and if it is sold out, it should be in the account of more than one hundred and thirty. Excluding the cost, the cost of eggs is ten cents, five hundred is fifty yuan, and the cost of mung beans is less than ten cents. For 1 yuan, you can earn about 70 yuan.
Every time she did the calculations, she felt happy in her heart, no matter how hard she worked, it was worth it. This was a huge sum of money, a huge sum of money.
Now the salary of a university professor is only 70 or 80 a month, and their daily income is equivalent to a month's salary of others, and the profit is very large.
"Make some purple rice porridge tomorrow." Ji Yang asked, "It's still a bit troublesome to make steamed stuffed buns. It's fine to cook porridge, what do you think?"
"Is the porridge easy to sell?" she asked.
"Don't you drink porridge in the morning? But the porridge is sticky. If it's expensive, it's a good deal. Try it tomorrow." Ji Yang reached out and patted her head.
"But selling so many things, what will you do when I go to school? I can't do it alone." This is what worries her the most.
Ji Yang came to the capital because of her, and now the two of them can make some money, but she is going to study, leaving him alone.
Sometimes when I think about it, I don't know if it is useful to read it, but he forbids her to have such thoughts, so she must read it.
Seeing that Ji Yang didn't reply, she said again, "It's very cold in winter. Although our home is close, we still need someone to help you. What should we do if it suddenly blows and rains?"
It's worrying just thinking about it.
"I'll solve it. Besides, we can't keep setting up a stall. We can rent a shop when we have saved enough money, hire someone, and earn less if we earn less. As long as we can support me and you, that's fine." Ji Yang continued. Added a briquette, and said it casually, and didn't care at all.
Ye Jiao felt her heart warm when she heard this, and her almond eyes slowly turned into crescent moons, looking at his busy figure, she felt extremely at ease.
As long as she is with him, no matter where she is, no matter what she does, she is not afraid, and he will always handle it well.
"Two tea eggs."
"I want mung bean soup."
"A tea egg, fill me with mung bean soup."
…
It was almost twelve o'clock, and the small stall was busy again. Ye Jiao was busy collecting money and catching tea eggs.
Slowly, the tea eggs bottomed out, and the last bowl of mung bean soup entered Ji Yang's stomach.
The two loaded the tables, chairs and benches onto the cart, packed up their things and went home.
The noon sun was high in the sky, Ji Yang and Ye Jiao walked through the streets of the imperial capital, and they would pass a vegetable market on their way home.
"Buy a chicken and some vegetables?" Ji Yang looked at her sideways and asked at first.
"Buy chicken?" Ye Jiao hesitated.
A chicken costs a few yuan, and the green vegetables here are also very expensive. They cost three to four cents a catty, and sometimes they are not fresh.
"Stewed chicken soup? Fried chicken." Ji Yang nodded.
Looking at him, Ye Jiao decided to buy it cruelly. He is a trickster, he had better have some meat every meal, otherwise he would be hungry at night, and the food would not taste good.
I bought chicken, then vegetables, and some fruit.
Pushing open the door of the courtyard, pushing the cart aside, and putting down the things on it, Ye Jiao carried the things into the kitchen.
Apart from them, there is another family living in this small courtyard, and that family is a staff working in the hospital.
Leaving early and returning late, with the nobility of a scholar, I don't have much communication with self-employed businesses like them who set up small stalls.
The kitchen is shared, but the whole family eats in the cafeteria, and half of them know no kitchen.
There was a well in the yard, and Ye Jiao came out with a basin to fetch water and wash vegetables, and took out a knife by the way, and put it in another basin.
They put a small stove next to it, which is used for cooking tea eggs in the morning, and now Ji Yang put a small pot on it, and is boiling water.
Once the water boiled, Ji Yang could grab the chicken by himself, pluck the hair on the neck, and after a few cuts, the bloodletting began. Seeing this scene, Ye Jiao shrank his neck and walked to the side.
She is more afraid of living things.
After he finished killing, Ye Jiao scooped out the water, and under the scalding hot water, he could pluck the hair by hand.
Ye Jiao was quicker to deal with it. Ji Yang had already gone to fiddle with his tea eggs, and now he had to prepare the spice packet, wash the eggs, and mung beans.
While she was cooking, he went to buy purple rice and came back with half a bag.
After the couple finished their busy work, it was already sunset.
The two like to walk hand in hand in the alleys of the imperial capital in the evening, and when they meet a seller of candied haws, Ji Yang will buy her a bunch.
Sweet and sour, she squinted her eyes, but the corners of her mouth were raised.
late at night.
When Ji Yang came out of the shower, Ye Jiao sat on the bed with stacks of money notes beside her, and she was still writing and drawing on the paper.
"What are you doing?" He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Keeping accounts." She lay on the bed, said and wrote down a few figures in the notebook, raised her head, and supported her chin with her hands, "When I go to school, you can use the money to rent a small shop, so that You don’t have to run back and forth every day.”
"We have more than fifteen hundred yuan."
She said it with some pride.
This money is enough to buy ten sewing machines, and renting a shop can cost tens of dollars a month. They have money and can rent it!
"I can solve this matter, you don't have to worry about it." Ji Yang sighed, a little helpless, and hurriedly put it away and went to sleep.
"I'm going to school soon." How could Ye Jiao not worry
He came here for her far away from home.
"I know, after two days, I'll take you to a department store to buy some clothes and go to school in better-looking clothes." Ji Yang stretched out his hand and pinched her cheeks, and the next second he was stern, "However, if you want Read carefully, and don't get too close to other men."
"What are you talking about?" Ye Jiao patted his hand and twisted her little willow eyebrows.
"It's good to have this kind of awareness." Ji Yang nodded in satisfaction.
Ye Jiao looked at his unflattering appearance, kicked him with her little foot, Ji Yang clicked his tongue, and she kicked him again with a smile.
"Hey." Ji Yang leaned over and grabbed her white ankle, pulled it forward, and she fell asleep, tickled by him, and kept struggling.
Next, the ditties at night continued for a long time.
the next day.
Before dawn, the two couples were already busy in the small courtyard. Mung bean soup and purple rice porridge were cooking on the small stove. The purple rice porridge needed to be stirred constantly, otherwise it might stick to the pot and affect the taste.
Ye Jiao didn't dare to relax at all, her hands were sore.
Ji Yang looked at the mung bean soup and tea eggs by himself, and came to replace her when it was almost done. After cooking, the two began to push the cart to the downtown streets.
"I have purple rice porridge today, a bowl of three cents." Ye Jiao had a stack of ceramic bowls and some spoons by his hand.
"Purple rice porridge? Have a bowl, and a tea egg. I'll sit in it."
"OK."
"Purple rice porridge? It looks good, so let me have a bowl."
"Three cents a bowl."
…
Originally, Ye Jiao was worried that the purple rice porridge would not be sold, and Ji Yang cooked a small pot, but now it seems that the sales are very good.
Even better than tea eggs.
"Are you selling things here?" A curly-haired woman walked up to the two of them and looked around.
"That's right, Sister Li, why are you here? Do you want something to eat? Have you finished your porridge? This porridge is delicious." Ye Jiao looked at the person who came and spoke enthusiastically.
Li Qian is the person who shared the courtyard with them. Both of them are doctors.
"How much is a bowl?" She asked, then looked at Chen Wei next to him, who frowned, as if he didn't like this environment.
"No money." Ye Jiao said and had already filled a bowl, "Sit here? The tea eggs we made are also delicious, try it."
She made a bowl and brought it over, and then made another bowl. Li Qian pulled Chen Wei and sat down.
"You guys eat first, it's not enough to call me." Ye Jiao was very enthusiastic the whole time, even though Chen Wei was a little disgusted, Li Qian just smiled politely.
However, their most basic self-cultivation is still there, and they still eat with a spoon.
Chen Wei took a closer look at the spoon before eating, while Ji Yang smiled and said, "The spoon bowls are all sterilized at high temperature, and they were just cooked this morning."
Hearing this, Chen Wei was slightly surprised, a small street vendor still knows this common sense
"Here are two tea eggs."
"I want a bowl of purple rice porridge."
"A tea egg, a bowl of purple rice porridge."
"The total is fifty cents, and yours is thirty cents."
…
Ye Jiao kept collecting money, looking for change from time to time, busy for a while.
Chen Qian peeled the egg and took two bites, then looked at Chen Wei, "Try it too, it tastes really good."
They are used to eating in state-run restaurants, and they have never eaten at such small stalls.
Chen Wei was skeptical, so he also took a bite of the egg. It was very tender and smooth, and it felt delicious after eating it.
The tea has a very light aroma and is mixed with a variety of spices.
Quite skillful.
He took another sip of the porridge. The porridge was sweet, and it was thick but not sticky, which made people appetite.
After drinking a few sips in a row, he turned his attention to Ji Yang. This young man is not very old. They should be husband and wife. Although they live under the same roof, he has never known the two of them. He just thinks that this young man is very hardworking. It seems to be good for his wife.
"I didn't expect this business to be good." Li Qian was also drinking porridge. In less than half an hour, Ye Jiao had already collected more than ten yuan.
There are not many self-employed people now, let alone such small stalls. Everyone yearns for an iron rice bowl.
"A little bit of a business mind." Chen Wei continued to observe Ji Yang, and said something in a low voice, he didn't know what he was thinking in his eyes.
The domestic economy has just begun to develop, and there are a lot of business opportunities. Ji Yang dares to venture into the imperial capital and start a business by himself.
As long as he seizes the opportunity, this young man is not easy.
"The food is delicious." Li Qian sipped the porridge, and she also changed her opinion of the two, taking advantage of their free time, she asked, "Your wife looks young, doesn't she stop studying?"
"My daughter-in-law has passed the university entrance examination, and she is studying clinical medicine. She has to go to class at the beginning of school." Ji Yang turned back to her.
"Emperor University?" Li Qian looked at Ye Jiao, who was a little embarrassed. She slowly recovered her expression and said with a smile, "The Department of Medicine of Imperial University is very famous and has high scores."
She didn't graduate there.
I thought they were two countrymen, but I didn't expect to have such a background.
"I wanted to become a doctor, so I applied for it." Ye Jiao replied.
"Then you go to class, your husband..." Li Qian said and looked at Ji Yang.
"Make money for her." Ji Yang answered simply.
Ye Jiao's cheeks flushed.
"It takes five years to study clinical medicine, and the internship also takes a long time. I'm afraid it will be several years before I really go to work." Li Qian kindly reminded.
She is in her thirties and has no children.
"As long as she wants." Ji Yang replied without hesitation.
Even though Ye Jiao restrained herself, the corners of her mouth raised slightly. Li Qian looked at the two young men, and it was the first time that she had a good impression of them. At least at this moment, their relationship was enviable.