The Rise and Fall of the Last Imperial Cook

20. Scramble for Fresh Foods

Translator: Luo Yixin

Proofread by Peter Gong

Zhu Shengpeng’s second brother runs a private school. People in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces advocate education. As long as conditions permit, their children are required to go to school. Therefore, the income of running a private school is relatively high and stable, and a teacher who runs a private school possesses additional savings besides the money on hand.

Zhu Shengpeng’s second brother also knows their current situation. After hearing what they mean and considering for a while, he takes out two small-amount silver drafts. “Brother, you don’t have to write an IOU. Born in a family of integrity and righteousness, you would not be reduced to such a situation if you break your words. As a teacher, I don’t have much money, and I have done my best to help you. It could be seen as my investment on you two. After you arrive in Shanghai and start your own business with the money, I won’t blame you if you are in red ink, and I will just regard it as a loss in the dice game. But if you make a profit, I could leave a way out for my child.”

“What child? Brother, you finally get your wife pregnant?” Cai Renxin asks improperly.

Without speaking, Zhu Shengpeng thinks that no wonder his second brother takes out the money without hesitation, it is because they have chosen the right time when he is in good mood.

Second brother frowns at Cai Renxin, then turns to Zhu Shengpeng, saying, “Yes! Your sister-in-law gets pregnant. If she gives birth to a boy, I will let him go to Shanghai and follow your steps if you become prosperous; if a girl, I will also send her to find you. You can help her get married and settle down in Shanghai with my investment share, okay?”

Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin agree to his terms without even another thought, since it increases their confidence. Such a knowledgeable man like Second brother can treat the money as investment share rather than loan, which means that it is promising for them to make a living in Shanghai.

Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin don’t know that second brother actually has deeper considerations. He couldn’t get his money back if the two go bankrupt. One is his brother, and the other has mortgaged his house. He can never get his money back. Besides, he also hears that Shanghai has been a trade port, where foreigners do their business and fortunes can be sought all over the place. Therefore, he generously takes out the money to make a long-term bet for his unborn child. If the two hot-headed young men really make a name in Shanghai, he will also benefit from the share he invests.

It is hard to tell whether Zhu Shengpeng’s second brother is wise or not. After half a month, Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin leave Ningbo for Shanghai without hesitation. And they also can’t predict whether their decision is wise or not. More unpredictable is that they make a gastronomical legend, which causes quite a stir in Shanghai and even all over the country after their arrival in the city.

Soon after Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin set foot on the land of Shanghai, they really regret their impulsive and unwise decision.

After the opening of Shanghai port, many foreign merchants have been coming to do business there. However, both purchases and shipments are made through specialized warehouses or firms with specialized comprador agents. Compradors also have specialized channels for purchases and shipments. The deal is usually concluded in magnificent exchanges or grand hotels, while the docks along the Huangpu River are swarmed with cargoes up and down. To whom the cargoes belong, where they are traded, and how they are traded are all unknown. Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin, who used to be calculating and fastidious in the Zhenhai Market, can never imagine such form of doing business. Wandering around for nearly a month, they even fail to find a job on the dock, let alone starting their own business. Part of the reason is that the market has its own organizations and rules, along with the hidden secrets behind the cargoes shipped. Therefore, the outsiders cannot get in without personal connection or reliable guarantee.

Having been in Shanghai for a long time, they don’t earn any money in the legendary place where fortunes can be sought everywhere. Instead, they spend a lot of money on rent and food every day. However, Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin are reluctant to return home, especially Cai Renxin, who has sold his house. There is no turning back for him.

Fortunately, with an active mind, Zhu Shengpeng first figures out a way to make money—selling groceries along the street. At the beginning, they buy some brooms, dustpans, and feather dusters from some country folks at low prices, and they hawk them along the street every day to earn some money for running errands. Later, they sell some cosmetics, hair oils, topknots and festoons when they sniff an opportunity from the dressy women in Shanghai city.

At that time, Shanghai has already opened as a port. Women there are freer and more enlightened than in other places. But it’s also impossible for them to go out frequently, or there might be gossips. Besides, they won’t go too far if they go out, since most of them are restricted by virtue of foot-binding. It is a convenience if someone sells what they want at the door of their houses.

Their grocery business is pretty good, and they earn enough money to make ends meet in Shanghai. Once, Zhu Shengpeng sells small groceries at Wusong River [1] and he finds another way to make money.

Since the opening of Shanghai port, the number of outsiders has increased dramatically, and many farmlands have been requisitioned. The supply of local vegetables and meat falls short of demand. Therefore, there are inland navigation vessels from North of the Yangtze River, Suzhou and Jiaxing to Shanghang, selling large quantities of meat and vegetables.

After discussion, Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin decide to buy live chickens, ducks and eggs from those vessels, and then resell them directly to the restaurants.

It is because Zhu Shengpeng knows that the longtime transportation of the vessels would spoil the vegetables. They won’t be fresh unless they are shipped from places nearby, or they are wrapped in a deceptive way. But it is still difficult to keep those vegetables fresh after they get them. As for live animals like pigs and sheep, there is no place to keep them. In addition, the cost is rather high, and they may lose all the money if the animals get sick or run away. But it is not true with live chickens and ducks. They can be safely kept as long as there are a few bamboo cages. The storage period of hen eggs and duck eggs is so long that they won’t easily go off even in hot weather.

This new way of making money is actually similar to that of doing seafood business in Ningbo, and it’s easy to get started. In addition, it does not conflict with their selling groceries along the street. Those groceries are durable goods, which could be used for a long time after buying. And their customers won’t buy them several times in a single day, so they could just walk around the street once a day.

However, it is really hard to make money in this new way. For one thing, they need to wait for the inland navigation vessels which usually do not arrive on time. For another, they have to scramble for the goods. They are not the only buyers at Mudu Port; the vendors in other markets and the purchasing managers and attendants of some restaurants will also come for the same purpose. It is a scrambling game for those who want to get the goods. Often the buyers have waded into the water before the vessel pulls in to the shore, and then they scramble for the goods they want and start to negotiate with the owner.

Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin have equipped themselves with the skills of scrambling for goods in the Zhenhai Market. Neither getting into the water nor getting on the ship is a difficult thing for them, so they can get many good live chickens, ducks and eggs every day. Then they prefer to walk more to find snack bars and small restaurants along the street, such as chicken soup and noodle restaurant and duck porridge restaurant. This kind of restaurant requires a small but necessary amount of fresh chickens and ducks every day, so they can make the deal with a good price.

The two are unlucky today. When they arrive at Mudu Port in the morning, they happen to miss an inland navigation vessel. The goods on the ship have been completely sold out, without even an eggshell left for them. So they have to wait by the river, because now they already have a few regular restaurants for their goods. If they fail to get the goods, the restaurants will no longer take their goods because they do not keep their words.

Still in summer, the weather is very hot, but the two stay by the river in the sun, standing tiptoe to see if there is a trafficking boat coming again.

After midday, a conjoined vessel finally arrives. Only with one glance from the distance, Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin feel disappointed since it is a passenger ship. Looking at each other with hopelessness, they turn around and leave the bank of Mudu Port.

But before the two go a little far, they hear the boatman on the passenger ship behind them yelling: “Hurry up! Hurry up! Get ashore. The ship delivering vegetables will arrive soon. We have to make room for it. ”

On hearing that, Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin turn back and run to the river side again. Only by occupying a good position can they get on the ship first to scramble for the goods they want. At this time, they can see a long line of conjoined ships slowly coming from afar.

The passengers on the ship have already disembarked at the moment. The rich will never take such a passenger ship, which is loaded with country folks who have come to Shanghai to make a living. It might be the first time for those country folks ignorant of the world to take a long-distance river trip. So when the boatman yells at them, they all rush to the shore with their luggage, as if they would be taken back home by the ship with a second’s hesitation.

The passengers swarm onto the shore and run along the stone steps, while Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin head for the river. They collide with the crowd. Seeing the throngs with large and small luggage rushing over, Zhu Shengpeng quickly jumps aside to the river slope on the other side of the steps, only to have a small bump with a few passengers running in the front. However, Cai Renxin, going all out to run his way down, squeezes through the crowd to get to the river without dodging it. Besides, he is in the middle of the stone steps, so it is too late for him even if he wants to avoid the crowd.

People and their baggage pile on the top of each other. And Cai Renxin is caught in the crowd. No matter he goes forward or turns back, he will encounter pushes or collisions from all directions. He fails to approach the river after his continuous efforts, instead, he is pushed backward a few stone steps and almost falls to the ground. In addition, the pain caused by continuous collision irritates Cai. He simply stops squeezing forward in the crowd, but rushes forward with all his strength.

The carrying capacity of the inland passenger ship is actually small. It seems that a large number of people have crowded in, and they disperse in just a moment. If Cai Renxin could tolerate for a while, he would not be pushed back by the crowd. But when he rushes forward, there are not many people left behind.

Cai Renxin hits a man’s chest hard. The man carries a large roll of bedclothes, with a heavy tarpaulin baggage under his arm. Due to his heavy load, he lags behinds, staggering up the stone steps. He is pressing forward without noticing the surroundings when Cai Renxin dashes against him. There is no one behind for him to lean on, so he could only fall back a few stone steps after being hit. Fortunately, dexterous in action, he quickly throws away the heavy baggage under his arm, and squats down. He supports himself with the bedding roll on his back and his hands, and successfully avoids falling down.

Cai Renxin, who has just been muddled, gets sober by the accident. He doesn’t expect such a scene with his dashing forward. He would get himself into a serious trouble if he hurts others on the tall stone steps.

“Sorry, sorry, I was reckless. Are you hurt?” Cai Renxin quickly apologizes and leans over to pull him up. Although Cai seems to be rude and rash, he is actually scrupulous about his manner.

“Stay back! Stay back! I’ll get up by myself.” Seeing Cai Renxin coming over, the hit man immediately reaches out to stop him, then he stands up quickly, and fumbles himself all over. It is not to check whether he is injured, but to check whether his purse and cash are still there.

Seeing that the man refuses him and quickly gets up, Cai Renxin is relieved with the thought that there should be no problem. He turns back to walk down the steps to pick up the baggage for the man. But when he just bends over and stretches out his hand, he suddenly freezes. There is a cold light from the baggage flashing across his eyes. It is the cold light that only belongs to extremely sharp blades.

They are knives, real knives, and more than one knife. Although Cai Renxin only sees a small part exposed from the baggage, he clearly recognizes that they are sharp knives neatly arranged and stacked. “Don’t move. I’ll pick it up by myself.” After checking himself, the man runs towards the baggage in a hurry, leaving his bedding roll behind.

Hearing that, Cai Renxin immediately draws back his hands, stands up, and moves aside a few steps in panic. Such a flustered man with so many sharp knives is either a bandit who is planning a robbery in Shanghai to make a fortune, or a criminal who has fled to Shanghai to seek refuge.

The man hastily fixes his baggage to cover the sharp knives inside and leaves the river with his bedding roll on his back before Cai Renxin could determine whether he belongs to the former or the latter.

“Who is that guy?” The crowd disperses, and Zhu Shengpeng also runs back. He doesn’t know what happened just now, only to see that Cai Renxin was stopped by the man and shunned him in a panic, so he hurries over to ask about the details.

“That man is a gangster! His baggage is loaded with sharp knives!” Cai Renxin trembles with lingering fear when he says this. Zhu Shengpeng frowns slightly, “Don’t venture a guess! Must a gangster carry many knives? Is the shop selling knives a bandits’ lair?”

“Hey, man, listen to me. I hit that man, but he didn’t blame or pester me. Instead he seemed to be flustered and slipped away hurriedly. As for those knives, they are life-threatening knives! I am not blind! ” Cai Renxin tries his best to prove that he is right.

Ignoring Cai, Zhu Shengpeng has already jumped to the river side. The long line of conjoined ships transporting vegetables is already to approach the shore.

“Hey, bro, I haven’t finished my words.” Cai Renxin suddenly notices that Zhu Shengpeng is no longer nearby. Only then does he realize what he is doing here. He immediately bounces behind Zhu. He wades into the river without waiting for the ship to dock, and climbs onto the board. At this time, others all go into action, boarding, and shouting. Now, the Mudu Port is bustling with activity.

 

[1] It is later called Su Zhou River.