This was last year when my brother went out to carry timber for two months and earned money to buy her fabric without consulting her first.
After returning, Mom scolded brother a lot, but he didnât get angry, just smiled sheepishly, "My sister has grown up, and hasnât worn many new clothes from childhood to now. Girls should dress up."
Usually, what Lin Wan wore were mostly clothes leftover from others that had been patched up again and again, or clothes that mom altered smaller for her to wear.
At that time, Lin Wan was just happy for herself and didnât notice that at home, when brother was saying those words, he was also wearing patched clothes.
...
Lin Wan stir-fried the potatoes and bean sprouts. She prepared four dishes and two cold dishes, cucumbers and carrots.
She didnât have much money now to buy expensive bean curd and kelp, so she could only make do with lowering costs.
She put the coal into the stove and lit it. After lighting the stove, she placed an aluminum basin on top, half with bean sprouts, half with potatoes, she was reluctant to use oil, only brushing a layer in the pan when stir-frying.
Itâs not that she was stingy, she truly didnât have much money to buy oil now; she plans to use more oil once she makes money in the future.
After the dishes were ready, Lin Wan placed the risen dough on the wooden rack, leaving a small cutting board beside the pan and other places with some condiments.
Seeing that there was nothing else missing, she tied an apron and sleeve covers, pushing the cart outside.
She placed the cart directly at the storefront entrance, using two long benches on both sides to level the cart.
At this time, some vendors in the street had already started setting up stalls.
Lin Wan cleared her throat and called out somewhat shyly, "Delicious egg pancakes, bread stuffed with veggies."
After shouting a few times and seeing no one coming over, Lin Wan didnât want to keep calling.
With her head lowered, she spread out two egg pancakes in case someone comes to buy and couldnât wait.
Around eight or nine oâclock, quite a few people started arriving at the market gradually.
Some people were early risers who hadnât eaten and found the egg pancakes on Lin Wanâs sign intriguing, so they came up to inquire.
"Are there really eggs in the egg pancakes? What kind of food is this?"
"Yes, yes, this is a type of food from the North, it tastes really good, would you like to buy one to try, brother?"
"From the North, huh? I havenât seen it before, how much is one?"
"Three dimes per egg pancake, two dimes per bread wrap with veggies, we also accept food tickets."
"Itâs a bit expensive."
"Brother, a meat bun costs three dimes each, and I put a whole egg on an egg pancake without requiring tickets."
"Alright, alright, get me an egg pancake."
"Sure thing." Lin Wan was extremely excited in her heart for her first successful transaction in life, a great start.
She quickly placed the spread egg pancake on the pan to heat it up a bit, spread bean paste, added pickles and greens, and wrapped it with oil paper to give to the man.
"Your change is two dimes," the man handed Lin Wan a fifty-cent note.
Lin Wan glanced at the money and quickly took out two dimes from her pocket to give to him.
As he was leaving, the man said the pancake was nice and tasty.
This made Lin Wan overjoyed, even more motivated.
After the first sale came the second, and in one morning, Lin Wan sold seven bread wraps with veggies and ten egg pancakes.
She collected several dollars by noon and also took two food tickets. Luckily, the basic life necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt here were mostly cash transactions, not requiring tickets, or she really couldnât do business.
Living alone these years, she learned a lot, making these kinds of foods was no problem for her.
Lin Wanâs stall stayed open until the evening. The local residents and vendors also needed to eat.
She sold out the ten bread wraps she prepared, only the egg pancake batter had some left.
She made two pancakes for herself for dinner without using eggs, making do with the leftover veggies and paste. (An eggless egg pancake, ahem... Iâve had it)
After the stoveâs coal burned out, Lin Wan didnât add more coal, letting it extinguish itself.
She planned to relight it early the next morning, even if it was a bit troublesome, this way she could save two coals overnight.
Sitting on the bed at night, Lin Wan counted the money she earned today, dime by dime.
A total of eight dollars and twenty cents, after deducting todayâs costs, she earned six or seven dollars. If this continues, she could earn back her investment in a few days. Just the thought made Lin Wan excited and unable to sleep.
The next day wasnât a market day, but Lin Wan knew there was an elementary school not far ahead, where children from several nearby villages attended.
They all went home for lunch.
With a hopeful attitude, Lin Wan pushed her cart to a spot not far from the school gate.
When school let out, only four or five kids bought her pancakes, the others just gazed enviously from the side.
Lin Wan realized she miscalculated, as most students now went home for meals, and there were even fewer doing business or working outside.
So, these children didnât have the financial capability, but fortunately, some small workshops bought a few pancakes from her, so it seems she should sell at her own front door honestly in the future.
After the children went home, Lin Wan pushed the cart back home, set up the stall at her door, and stayed by the door. Anyway, it was something to earn if she could.
By the evening, she only earned a bit over two dollars for the day, but thankfully she didnât prepare much today.
On a market day, Lin Wan made a few more than the last market day.
By the end of the day, before the night fell, they were all sold out.
Having gained experience, Lin Wan knew how much to prepare each time, striving not to waste.
On the seventh day here, taking advantage of a non-market day, Lin Wan took the money she earned to visit home.
It had been over a week, mom and brother must be really worried.
She remembered the day after she registered for college, she saw mom and brother at the school gate.
Back then, mom was disheveled, looking as if sheâd been seriously ill, having lost a lot of weight, and her brother wasnât any better off.
Mom only blamed her a few times upon seeing her, then all she had were concerned questions about her whereabouts that month, whether she faced any mistreatment outside, and how living alone was.
Brother didnât blame her either, instead encouraging her to study well, saying he would figure out the living expenses, not mentioning his own school matters at all.