In just a single evening, six pairs of straw sandals were sold.
In exchange, they got eleven copper coins, five rough ceramic bowls, and three eggs.
Adam said, "One egg can sell for one coin. If we save more, we can take them to the market day and sell them in town for a few coins each."
The rough ceramic bowls were chipped, but still much better than the few broken pottery bowls they had at home.
Clara counted out six copper coins and asked Adam which family in the village sells oil and salt.
Adam swallowed hard and said, "The peddler's family does."
"Do you know how they sell it?" Clara asked, picking up the four remaining pairs of sandals and the worn mat.
If they could buy some oil and salt today, tonight's meal would finally have some flavor. There was still half a handful of yesterday's greens left.
Adam shook his head. He rarely had a chance to buy anything from the peddler's house. Usually, when they collected wild fruit on the mountain to sell, the peddler chased them away.
When so many villagers gathered today, the four siblings felt a bit overwhelmed. In the past, villagers only drove them off or kept their distance with disgust.
But today, everyone actually came closer, didn't look down on them, and even bought their goods.
Adam and Ben vaguely realized it might be because they had washed their faces clean, tidied their hair, and wore shoes now—no longer smelling bad.
And all these changes were thanks to their stepmother. Ever since she arrived, the house became bright, the beds soft, and even they themselves became clean.
Those dark days gradually began to brighten.
Luckily, Adam and Ben knew where the peddler's home was. As the daylight was still enough to see the outlines, Clara told her siblings to wait there while she took the coins and four pairs of sandals and hurried toward the peddler's house.
This peddler was also surnamed Liew, in his early twenties, often going to the town shops to buy daily necessities like needles, thread, oil, and salt, then selling them to nearby villages for a profit.
He also took in various wild goods and embroidered items made by the village women and girls to sell on their behalf, charging a commission.
With business on both sides, he earned some silver coins, making his family one of the better-off ones in the village.
Because he traveled between villages so often, the surrounding people called him Liew the Peddler.
Peddler Liew's home was easy to find — since he sold goods, there was a stall left open right outside the gate, visible at a glance.
Approaching, Clara envied the neatly stacked high stone courtyard wall.
But she firmly believed her family would have one too, very soon.
She knocked on the slightly ajar wooden door. A young woman inside asked in confusion, "Who's there?"
"I would like to buy some oil and salt!" Clara answered.
The door creaked open, and Peddler Liew's wife looked skeptically at the slender, pretty young woman standing at the door. "Who are you?"
Though reluctant, Clara introduced herself: "I'm from Lester Liew's family, the farthest inside the village. My name is Clara. I just arrived in the village. Sister-in-law, you probably haven't seen me before."
"Maggie, who is it?"
Peddler Liew came over and thought Clara looked familiar. He had seen her once and recognized her.
"From Lester's family?"
Clara nodded.
Peddler Liew quickly invited her inside and told Maggie, "You have to call her big sister-in-law — Lester is older than me."
"Sis-in-law, what do you want to buy? I just got some goods from town the day before yesterday; our stock is still complete."
Peddler Liew led Clara to the small room with the stall on the left side of the door, lit an oil lamp, and let her choose.
Yun Niang followed curiously, scrutinizing this new little sister-in-law from the Liew family.
Clara asked the prices for oil and salt.
Rapeseed oil was twelve coins per jin (around 250grams), lard twenty-three coins per jin, fine salt thirty coins per jin, and coarse salt eighteen coins per jin.
Clara looked at the copper coins in her hand and felt a sting in her heart. It was too bitter.
Boldly, she held up the four pairs of straw sandals, "Brother Liew, can I leave these sandals with you to sell? Or you can buy them from me. I'll give you a low price. I sold six pairs at the village well today, and everyone said they were good."
Actually, from the moment Clara entered, the couple noticed the sandals she carried, so they weren't surprised by her offer.
Village women often left handmade insoles, handkerchiefs, and other items with him to sell; sandals weren't unusual.
"Sis-in-law, what low price are you thinking to sell them at?" Liu asked politely.
The more Maggie looked at Clara, the more she sympathized with her. She seemed capable and knew how to weave sandals but was married to Lester, a real troublemaker. Such a hard life.
Seeing Clara so thin, Maggie nudged her husband. "In town, sandals sell for five or six coins a pair. You help sister-in-law sell them and give the money directly back to her. It won't take much effort."
The unspoken meaning was: don't charge a commission.
"No, no," Clara quickly said, "A deal is a deal. Everyone's struggling, and you have to make money too. I sold mine for three coins a pair at the well. If you take them, I'll give you two pairs for five coins. How about that?"
From Maggie's words, sandals in town sold for five or six coins, so Liu could make half a profit by selling hers.
Peddler Liew quietly tried to pull his wife's hand off his arm and said, "Alright, I'll take them to sell first. When they're sold, I'll bring the money back to sister-in-law."
Clara readily handed over the four pairs, "Thank you, I appreciate it."
She added, "If they sell well, I have more. I can make sizes for men, women, and kids."
"Good, good," Liu took the sandals and then asked Clara how much oil and salt she wanted.
With little money, Clara bought only two taels (around 50g; 10taels made up to 1 jin) of rapeseed oil and two taels of coarse salt. Not too much, not too little — exactly six coins.
She hadn't brought any container, so Maggie kindly lent her a bamboo tube for the oil. The coarse salt was wrapped in banana leaves and handed to Clara.
"I'll have Adam return the bamboo tube to you first thing tomorrow morning."
Holding the oil and salt, Clara thought the peddler couple were pretty decent.
Back at the village well, the Liew siblings immediately crowded around, excitedly staring at the bamboo tube and banana leaves in her hands. The faint smell of cooking oil made their starving stomachs rumble.
Clara nodded, "Come on, let's go home and cook."
The four siblings nodded in unison, their eyes sparkling as they hurried home, eagerly looking forward to dinner.
Once home, Adam replaced the old pottery bowl and took out one lined with straw, planning to use it to hold the eggs.
Even though seeing the eggs made their mouths water, none of them thought of eating them right away.
Such precious things were saved to sell so they could buy more rough rice and eat better meals.
So, Adam cheerfully carried the straw-lined bowl to the kitchen looking for Clara.
Just as he was about to speak, his eyes suddenly widened!
He saw Clara skillfully crack open the three eggs into boiling water, stir with chopsticks, sprinkle in some salt, drop a bit of oil, and finally add a handful of wild onions freshly picked by the river.
Instantly, an overwhelmingly delicious aroma filled the air!
Adam, who couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten meat or anything rich, swallowed hard.
Then, without hesitation, he dumped out the straw from the bowl.
The four siblings gathered around the stove, eyes fixed without blinking on the bubbling egg soup, its surface shimmering a faint green glow.
Clara clearly heard someone behind her sucking in saliva. Her own stomach betrayed her, loudly growling with a "gurgle."
(End of chapter)