Chapter 93: Chapter 93 Selling Mooncakes_1 Chapter 93: Chapter 93 Selling Mooncakes_1 Early the next morning, Lin Yuan handed over the task of grinding beans to Lin Wei and Lan Hua and set out with a basket full of mooncakes on the path to earning a fortune.

Before she left, Lan Hua pulled her aside with a mysterious grip on her arm and shared a piece of gossip.

It turned out that their young mistress, Lin Siyu, had gotten engaged.

As for which family’s son she was betrothed to, that remained unclear — only that he was certainly rich or of noble birth.

Lin Yuan typically had no interest in such matters.

Whether Lin Siyu married well or poorly was of no concern to her, as long as it didn’t disturb her own life.

Since she hadn’t prepared in advance, Lin Yuan had nothing with her but the basket holding the mooncakes.

Therefore, upon arriving in town, she first stopped by the grocery store — the same place where she had bought bowls previously.

The elderly couple who owned the store were surnamed Ma; naturally, they had named it Old Ma Grocery Store and everyone referred to their son as Xiao Ma.

This young man clearly remembered her and upon hearing that she needed some paper for the mooncakes, promptly provided her with one hundred sheets of straw paper, along with a generous supply of thin hemp twine.

In truth, Lin Yuan didn’t need that much paper, as she had only brought a portion of the mooncakes.

After all, the basket was too small to carry many.

As for a spot to set up her stall, she did not seek out Sister Gui Zhi at the blacksmith’s this time but instead headed to a street corner that specialized in edible goods.

The area was bustling with people, and not far after turning the corner on the right was the Fuman Building.

Selling mooncakes couldn’t be done the same way as selling vegetables, where one could simply spread them out on the ground.

Therefore, Lin Yuan went to find Liuzi to get a long table for her.

This trivial matter did not require consulting the shopkeeper.

Liuzi found an unused table in his own room; it just wasn’t as valuable as those at the Fuman Building.

Fortunately, Lin Yuan only needed it as a stand.

Too expensive a table might scare customers away from buying.

She also covered the table with a brand-new pink cotton cloth decorated with flowers, which she had obtained only after much pleading with Lady Liu.

If Lady Liu knew that the flower cloth she treasured and couldn’t bear to use for clothes was being used by her daughter to pad a table, she would probably faint from heartache.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, there were indeed many mooncake vendors in town.

However, after making a round, Lin Yuan felt reassured.

The mooncakes were either round or round, and the most ornate ones just had a petal stuck on top or a simple carved pattern.

But those patterns, well, they were hardly commendable.

Therefore, when Lin Yuan laid out the mooncakes from her basket, she dazzled everyone’s eyes, and even the other mooncake vendors couldn’t help but come over to praise them.

But although there were many onlookers, few were buying.

Not for any reason but the price.

They must be made of gold and silver, to be priced at half a tael of silver apiece!

“Miss, even if your mooncakes are novel and the fillings are rare, they are too expensive to attract buyers!

Little girl, you’d best heed an uncle’s advice, don’t set your sights too high or you might end up at a loss!” An old man, who claimed to have been selling mooncakes for over ten years, pointed around her stall for quite some time, obviously disdainful as he shook his head and returned to his own.

Lin Yuan neither took offense nor argued, but merely smiled.

Her mooncakes were never meant to cater to the common folk.

The reason she chose this spot today was precisely because it was close to the Fuman Building, frequented by the rich and the eminent.

She intended to sell her mooncakes exclusively to the wealthy — oh no, that’s not right, to serve the wealthy!

Sure enough, her judgment was sound!

It wasn’t long before several sumptuously decorated horse-drawn carriages passed by, and all the vendors shouted more vigorously with their wares.

That old man even chased after a carriage, waving a mooncake in each hand: “Miss, miss, take a look at these mooncakes!

They’re delicious, why not buy some to try?”

The carriage showed no intention of stopping.

However, the curtain twitched slightly and a few Copper Coins clattered out.

The old man, clearly accustomed to such occurrences, quickly stopped and, while laughing and thanking them, scrambled to collect the Copper Coins from the ground.

Lin Yuan looked on in astonishment.

It appeared the noble young lady in that carriage mistook him for a beggar!

She would never resort to such undignified begging, and even if she became wealthy in the future, she would never demean the poor in such a manner.

Although Lin Yuan didn’t loudly hawk her wares to advertise herself, she had other methods, such as offering free samples.

Yesterday, when making mooncakes, she had specially made many small mooncakes, each slightly larger than a Copper Coin.

Despite their small size, they were made with quality ingredients, and each had an exquisitely carved plum blossom on the crust.

This sampling approach naturally proved effective, and with her keen eye, she could tell at a glance who was a servant from a wealthy household.

Coupled with her eloquent praises, she soon sold two portions of mixed nuts mooncakes and three of red bean paste mooncakes.

There was even a young lady who had already left in a horse-drawn carriage but had her Maid circle back to purchase two double-yolk mooncakes of ‘Flowers in Full Bloom and Moon at Its Full.’

Although this young lady was discreet, Lin Yuan could easily tell that she was smitten with spring.

Lin Yuan sold her mooncakes with glee, and the old man who had lectured her before watched her handful of Silver agape, astounded that the girl had actually managed to sell them!

“Take care, beautiful girl, I assure you your mistress will love them!

And if you get a reward, don’t forget to promote my goods!” she cheerily waved goodbye to another rich gentleman’s personal Maid, weighing the Silver in her hand and smiling so broadly her eyes were nearly invisible.

Her gaze swept over the area and suddenly spotted a fleeting figure at the left turn that looked awfully like her eldest cousin.

But wasn’t Lin Yongcheng supposed to be at school?

What was he doing coming out of Chunfeng Building?

According to Lan Hua, that was the largest den of pleasure in Zhuma Town, a place you wouldn’t dare to set foot in without Silver in your pocket.

Lin Yuan snorted coldly in her heart but turned her face away, not giving it another thought.

Her aunt always cried poverty at home and refused to contribute Silver.

It seems she was saving it all for her son to squander.

What Lin Yuan didn’t see, however, was that Lin Yongcheng, his legs weak, had just left Chunfeng Building with a few classmates and had also laid eyes on her.

His heart skipped a beat; if this little girl gossiped at home, he would have trouble with the old man.

Lin Yongcheng’s eyes darted as he took a detour back to the academy.

Hmph, he had ways to keep her from speaking out.

It wasn’t long before the mooncakes Lin Yuan brought were sold out by half.

These refined and fresh mooncakes clearly pleased many, especially those rich young ladies who were used to being waited on hand and foot, rarely venturing out of their doors, and found them highly desirable.

Some were purchased by Maids to please their mistresses, some were sought by young ladies who discreetly sent people to buy them after returning from a ride, and of course, some were bought by handsome young men as gifts for their sweethearts.

As Lin Yuan had predicted, the double-yolk mooncakes and those representing blissful unions had almost been snatched up.

It seems that whether in the modern era or in ancient times, lovers’ money is the easiest to earn.