After discussing, Xiao Changyi and An Jing decided to bring eighty jin of fermented tofu to town that day, forty jin for Wang Youbao’s Hundred Dishes Restaurant, and the remaining forty jin to sell at West Market, to see if they could sell out.
Seven days had passed, and now it seemed the vendors selling vegetables would get up earlier than before. By the time An Jing and Xiao Changyi arrived at West Market, the good stalls were basically taken. Just as they were preparing to settle for a less desirable stall, they heard—
"Brother Xiao, An Jing, over here! Over here!"
It was An Fu’s voice.
An Jing and Xiao Changyi looked towards the sound and saw the stall they had occupied twice before to sell fermented tofu was now taken by An Fu, who was waving at them, signaling them to come over.
As for Shi Xiaolan, she was at the stall next to An Fu, selling tofu, but she also waved at them.
Considering it would be indecent for a woman to shout loudly in public, Shi Xiaolan, although waving very energetically at them, was too bashful to call out to them loudly like An Fu did.
Uncle An Quangui was also there, at the stall next to An Fu, selling vegetables. It was clear that An Fu had taken the stall for them.
An Jing’s heart warmed, and she, leading the burdened Xiao Changyi, headed towards where An Fu and the others were.
"You saved this stall for me?" An Jing asked, knowing the answer.
An Fu, somewhat embarrassed, scratched his head before admitting, "Xiao Lan and I figured you’d come to sell fermented tofu in a day or two, so we saved the spot for you. It’s better to have the same spot than to risk not selling well somewhere else."
As he spoke, An Fu moved the few bundles of vegetables from the stall back to An Quangui’s vegetable stand. Those bundles had been used to reserve the stall, and now that An Jing and Xiao Changyi had arrived to sell their fermented tofu, they were no longer needed.
An Quangui smiled and said, "They saved this spot for you yesterday, it’s a pity you didn’t come."
"Brother An Fu, Xiao Lan, thank you so much," An Jing said with heartfelt gratitude. These were people who, if you did them a favor, would go out of their way to repay it if they could.
"Why thank us," both Shi Xiaolan and An Fu said, feeling a bit embarrassed, "it was just along the way since we were here to sell tofu, anyway."
Shi Xiaolan glanced at the eight small jars in Xiao Changyi’s burden and hurriedly said, "You brought so much fermented tofu to sell, you should set up quickly, don’t delay."
An Jing and Xiao Changyi then took out four jars to start setting up, arranging it as before. They placed a small stool in front, on which they put a dish with four pieces of fermented tofu stacked in a decorative fashion as samples.
An Fu went to take care of his tofu stall while Shi Xiaolan squatted next to An Jing. After looking at the jars and seeing no one had come to buy any tofu yet, she quietly asked An Jing, "An Jing, with so much fermented tofu, can you sell it all?"
"I don’t know if I can sell it all, but let’s try and see," An Jing responded. She was confident about selling it, but not entirely certain it would all go.
While speaking, she saw an old woman, who had bought her tofu twice before, walking briskly towards her. Without waiting for the old woman to speak, An Jing enthusiastically called out, "Granny, are you here to buy our fermented tofu again?"
"Of course!" The old woman chuckled, "Otherwise, why would I rush over here? But I’m afraid I wouldn’t get any later! You only come here every so many days, and it’s not easy to encounter you. Let me tell you, everybody in my house likes your fermented tofu."