Vegetable Retail

Susan Evans nervously rubbed her hands together, watching Lily Evans and lost in thought. Uneasy, she secretly tugged at Sam Evans’s sleeve.

Sam Evans lowered his head, a simple and honest man. Thinking of his two children at home who didn’t have enough to eat, he decided to swallow his pride: “Lily, please say yes to your third aunt. We’ll take the vegetables today, and tomorrow I promise we’ll bring you the money.”

Lily Evans looked up at her third uncle and aunt, smiled, and said, “No problem at all.”

Susan Evans and Sam Evans were delighted—they hadn’t expected Lily Evans to be so agreeable!

“Lily, thank you so much!” Susan Evans hurriedly stood up.

“No need to thank me, Aunt Susan. It’s a small matter,” Lily Evans waved her hand. “Your idea to sell vegetables is a good one. My family only used to do wholesale, big business—retailing vegetables takes more manpower and effort than we have. Here’s the deal: today, I’ll give you five jin of each vegetable, and you can add five copper coins per jin when you sell them. Remember, you must add at least five copper coins per jin. If there are a lot of buyers, you can raise the price, but never lower it.”

“Why can’t we lower the price?” Susan Evans asked, puzzled.

“I have my reasons. You’ll understand soon enough,” Lily Evans waved her hand. “As for the payment, just write me an IOU for the vegetables. Once you’ve sold them, settle up with me. Since it’s the first day, just take a small amount—five jin of each kind is enough. Our vegetables are all about freshness. If you take too much and can’t sell it, it won’t be fresh and won’t fetch a good price.”

Susan Evans quickly nodded in agreement.

Lily Evans added, “There’s a big estate in the south of town, full of well-off folks. Those families can afford these vegetables. Sam, why not take the vegetables there and see how it goes?”

Sam Evans couldn’t stop grinning, rubbing his hands together and repeating, “Thank you, Lily!”

Lily Evans immediately sent a servant to the fields to call for help. They brought five jin each of nine kinds of vegetables, plus five jin of mushrooms—ten varieties in total, fifty jin altogether.

Susan Evans gazed at the basket of vegetables, each one plump and fresh—utterly tempting! After months of eating nothing but dried turnips and cabbage in the dead of winter, anyone who saw fresh veggies would be craving them.

Sam Evans’s family wrote an IOU, carefully memorized Lily Evans’s set prices, and Lily lent them the vegetable baskets and shoulder pole for carrying.

The whole family left Lily Evans’s house in high spirits, with Susan Evans carefully covering the vegetables with a straw mat to keep them from freezing.

“Sam, with these fifty jin of vegetables, we’ll earn at least five copper coins per jin—that’s a minimum of two hundred and fifty coins in one day!” Susan Evans calculated on her fingers, hardly daring to believe it.

“Two hundred and fifty coins in a day!” Sam Evans’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of money! It’s more than working outside! Lily has really found us a good way to make a living!”

Susan Evans’s face filled with guilt. “Sigh, why didn’t I realize Lily was such a good person before? It’s all my fault for listening to the eldest sister-in-law’s gossip. Luckily, Lily is generous and doesn’t hold grudges—she’s even letting us buy vegetables on credit.”

Sam Evans nodded, “I always said Lily was a good one.”

Susan Evans sighed, blaming herself for her poor judgment. Sam Evans and their son Sean Evans headed into town to sell the vegetables, while Susan Evans took Lana Evans home. She felt both happy and anxious—what if the vegetables didn’t sell?

By evening, Sean Evans and Sam Evans returned, carrying a heavy money pouch. Susan Evans counted the day’s earnings—two hundred and eighty-five copper coins!

Susan Evans was so excited she could hardly sit still. She felt as if she’d struck gold—just one day of vegetable selling had brought in a small fortune!

She clutched the money pouch tightly, her mind racing with dreams of a better life. Maybe, just maybe, this was the turning point for their family.

"Oh my goodness, we're about to strike it rich!" Susan Evans exclaimed, clutching the money with trembling hands, her excitement barely contained.