Chapter 11: The Upper Market

  Before long, it was the day to go to the market. Because Lin Chuan had a lot of things to buy, early in the morning, Uncle Dashan and Aunt Cuihua came to the foot of the mountain with an ox cart to pick up Lin Chuan and his siblings. At first, Lin Chuan thought the ox cart was rented by Uncle Dashan, thinking they could just walk to the market instead. But it turned out that the ox cart belonged to Uncle Dashan's family. When asked, he explained that their cow had been lent to his younger sister's house a few days ago and wasn't at home. The cowshed was built behind the kitchen, which Lin Chuan hadn't noticed, so they ended up having a little laugh about it.

  It's already deep autumn, the leaves on the mountain have turned yellow, and the bumpy little path is covered with leaves and withered grass. The road to the market from Linjia Village and Chenjia Village is the same one, starting from the west end of Linjia Village and the east end of Chenjia Village. On market days, there will be ox carts waiting here for fellow villagers, which saves them a lot of walking. Usually, there are also pre-arranged ox carts to pick people up. Lin Chuan sat on the ox cart and saw many villagers carrying baskets on their way to the market, with more or less some local specialties in the baskets, probably to exchange for salt, oil, and other daily necessities at the market.

  It was a bit chilly in the early morning, Lin Chuan wrapped himself in his clothes and held Da Tou and Er Ya in his arms. Cui Hua's mother used a small quilt to wrap up Xiao Shan and sat on her lap, leaving only Xiao Shan's head exposed. Da Shan Bo Bo drove the cart in front, although the road was bumpy, but fortunately there was thick straw laid out on the cart, so it wasn't too bumpy, but Lin Chuan still suffered a bit, his buttocks were sore from sitting, after persisting for over an hour, they finally arrived at the town. Da Shan Bo Bo left the cow cart at a friend's house and took Lin Chuan and the others to stroll around the market.

  Dà Tóu and èr Yā were very excited, and together with Xiǎo Shān, the three of them held hands, chattering away like three little sparrows. They had already forgotten about the cold they felt earlier on the ox cart. Lín Chún looked at the people coming and going, most of whom were villagers from nearby villages. On both sides of the street, there were small stalls selling mountain goods, vegetables, eggs, and woven baskets and hampers. Cuì Huā Dà Niáng bought some fresh vegetables and then went to the meat stall to buy a piece of five-flower pork, which she put in the basket on her back. Dà Shān Bó Bó took Lín Chún to the store that sold pots and bowls, where they bought several bowls and plates, as well as a new pot and some miscellaneous items for the kitchen. When it was time to pay, Lín Chún carefully kept track of everything.

  Several people left the shop and went to buy two carrying poles, one large and one small, for Lin Chun and Da Tou to carry. Cuihua Dama also bought several strings of sugar gourds, with each child getting one string, including Lin Chun, which made them very happy. Lin Chun was touched in his heart as he ate the sour and sweet sugar gourd, feeling a mix of emotions. As it approached noon, they had almost finished buying everything, so Dashan took Lin Chun and the others to an alleyway at a street corner to eat wontons. Two big bowls for just a few dollars, very affordable and satisfying. The two adults and four children ate with gusto, the wontons having thick fillings and thin wrappers, over ten pieces in each bowl. Er Ya and Da Tou didn't eat much, leaving most of it for Dashan Bo and Cuihua Dama to finish. Lin Chun was lost in thought and didn't notice, eating a whole bowl by himself, which made Dashan Bo and Cuihua Dama look at him with satisfaction, not scolding him at all, even asking if he had enough. This made Lin Chun's face turn bright red.

  "Hey, don't be embarrassed, your dad grew up with me. When your mom was pregnant for the first time, she went to pick wild vegetables on the mountain and was chased down by a shrew from the neighboring village. If your aunt hadn't rescued her in time, your mom would have been done for too. Although the baby was lost, fortunately, the adults were saved, and after raising them for several years, there was Little Mountain. When Little Mountain gave birth, it was also your aunt who helped with the delivery. That day, it was raining heavily, and by the time the midwife arrived, Little Mountain had already been born. Your Uncle Big Mountain and Aunt Cuihua will remember your aunt's kindness for this lifetime, so they treat you like their own children. Don't mind, just be happy." Uncle Big Mountain quickly spoke up to ease the awkwardness when he saw Lin Chun looking embarrassed.

  Lin Chunyi listened, and it turned out that there was such a thing. Why didn't Da Yu's memory have it? After thinking for a while, Lin Chun also stopped entangling himself. "Uncle Dashan, I didn't know all this, but I still want to thank you. If it weren't for you and Cuihua Dama, the three of us siblings probably wouldn't be here either. Fortunately, everything will slowly get better, so..."

  "Uh, the child is right, everything will get better, don't think about unhappy things anymore, just remember it in your heart." Cuihua's eyes turned red, probably thinking of hitting a child.

  "Hmm, hmm, Uncle Dashan, can I take Daitou and Er Ya with me to wander around?" Lin Chun asked cautiously.

  "Alright, but you must be careful, I'll only give you half an hour, and then go back to Uncle's house where the cow cart is parked and meet up with us." Big Mountain Uncle thought for a moment, knowing that it was the three children's first time at the market, they were very curious, so he didn't bother them much, just instructed them a few times and let Lin Chun and the others go.

  Lin Chun inquired about the route and the general distribution of the market, and learned that the market was divided into three streets. One street was where the wealthy families of the town went to shop, with good clothes, fabrics, jewelry, tea houses, and wine shops. Another street was specifically for villagers from nearby villages to buy local specialties, and occasionally, wealthy families' purchasing agents would also come to this street to purchase goods. The third street operated brothels, inns, and other accommodation and entertainment venues. The three streets converged at the town's three roads, ultimately gathering together at the market entrance, where Lin Chun and her siblings stood.

  Lin Chuan and the others came from the local specialty road, walked to this place, looked around at the surrounding shops, and found that on the northeast side there was a three-story wine building with a lot of people inside, doing very good business. Next to the wine building was a two-story inn, which should be the largest inn in town. On the northwest side, there was a clothing fabric store, also doing very well, but mostly with neatly dressed people selecting goods inside, not many villagers. Beside it was a jewelry store called Qianfuyuan, whose interior situation couldn't be seen clearly. On the south side, it seemed to be the residence of a wealthy family, with two red-painted large iron gates, and in front of the gate sat two stone lions, under the eaves hung two big red lanterns, but Lin Chuan couldn't see the signboard on the gate because he was facing the sunlight at this moment. On the north side, there was a rice and grain store, which was very large, with all kinds of people inside, and earlier Cuihua's mother had bought salt and oil in it, being the only rice and grain store in town.

  Lin Chun thought for a moment, then took Da Tou and Er Ya into the Qian Fu Yuan jewelry store. The store was very clean, with two children, a boy and a girl, both around 11 or 12 years old, who looked very pleasant. They enthusiastically greeted Lin Chun and her siblings as they entered. Lin Chun and her siblings exchanged a few words with them, and when asked what they needed, Lin Chun said she would just take a look. The two children followed behind them without saying anything else, nor did they show any disdain for the three siblings' patched clothes. This made Lin Chun feel very satisfied with this store.

  Lin Chuan walked around the store, on the left were gold and silver jewelry, with less than five pieces of gold jewelry, some silver bangles and earrings, and a few silver rings, all in very ordinary styles. On the top of the counter, several velvet boxes were placed on red cloth, inside which lay a few small silver locks, and one slightly larger one containing a silver necklace. On the right side were jade products, including several jade bangles and pendants. Lin Chuan didn't understand how to appreciate them and couldn't tell good from bad. The most eye-catching thing was probably the jade tortoise on the counter, which was entirely green, even Lin Chuan, who knew nothing about jade, knew that this tortoise was very valuable.

  The little girl in the store saw Lin Chun's interest in the jade toad and introduced herself: "Sister, this jade toad is our store's symbol. Every household in Tianyang Country has one..."