The vegetable market in Songjiang Prefecture also happened to be located in the southern part of the city, just two streets away from the Zhou residence. The so-called vegetable market was actually just an open space where various vegetable vendors would push their carts here to set up stalls. At dawn, yamen officers in charge of this area would come to collect taxes—usually just a few coins per stall, not a large sum. Still, some bold and stingy vendors would hide when they saw the officers coming; as long as they weren’t discovered, they could save a few coins. However, if caught, the yamen would impose a heavy fine, and they might even get a beating.

Steward Evans set foot into the vegetable market and was immediately met with a wave of heat and noise. The market stalls were arranged in five rows, with narrow paths between them. Shoppers crowded the walkways, haggling with vendors on both sides. The shouts and cries of sellers rose and fell in succession; here, you had to shout to be heard, or else the other party simply wouldn’t catch what you were saying.

Although it was already winter, the market still offered a wide variety of vegetables. The most abundant and cheapest, of course, were the ever-present cabbage and radish. These two vegetables had high yields and could be stored through the winter. Many farming families had dug cellars to store large quantities, which they would sell to vendors or bring to the city themselves during the winter, making it a source of income during the agricultural off-season.

Besides cabbage and radish, there were also vegetables like spinach and crown daisy. Although these didn’t look particularly fresh, they had all been transported from the warmer southern regions. The temperatures down south weren’t too low yet, so these vegetables could still survive, but in another month or two, even the south wouldn’t be able to grow vegetables anymore.

After entering the market, Steward Evans went straight to the stalls selling cabbage and radish. As for southern vegetables like spinach, since they were all shipped from afar, their prices were extremely high, and most buyers were wealthy families—ordinary people simply couldn’t afford them. With the little money he had, he could only buy the cheapest cabbage and radish.

It was just the beginning of winter, the time when cabbage and radish were at their lowest prices. By Steward Evans’s estimation, he should be able to buy a pile of cabbage for just a few coins. But to his surprise, this year’s prices were clearly different. After visiting several stalls in a row, he found that the prices for cabbage and radish far exceeded his expectations.

Finally, Steward Evans came to an elderly vegetable vendor, who looked to be in his fifties or sixties, with graying hair and wearing a filthy, even shiny-black, tattered cotton-padded jacket. He was absentmindedly rubbing the dirt from his neck. There weren’t many vegetables left in front of him—just a small pile of unsold cabbage and a few misshapen radishes, likely the ones others had picked over, so his prices were a bit lower than the other stalls.

Steward Evans figured he wouldn’t be able to buy cheap vegetables today, so as he picked through the cabbage, he casually asked the old vendor, “Brother, why have cabbage and radish gone up so much this year? In previous years, it was five jin for one coin, but today, after walking around for so long, only you are willing to sell three jin for one coin. Elsewhere, the cheapest is only two and a half jin for one coin. What’s going on?”

Hearing Steward Evans’s question, the old farmer patted his reddened neck and replied indifferently, “Brother, you’re asking the wrong person. Just look at the weather this year—it’s already this cold in October. The vegetables planted a bit late in autumn were all killed by frost in the fields. Plus, in many places down south, they can’t grow vegetables anymore. So this year’s prices are double what they used to be. I’m only selling cheaper because these are the last leftovers. If you’d come earlier, I’d have sold them at two jin for one coin too.”

Hearing the old farmer’s words, Steward Evans couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Misfortunes never come singly—his household was already short on money, and now even vegetable prices had gone up. It was clear that life at home would only get harder, and his young master’s burdens would grow heavier.

“Brother, you’ve been picking for ages—are you buying or not? These are the cheapest vegetables you’ll find today. Once you leave here, you won’t get another chance. Besides, I heard there was a disaster in Shandong, and a lot of refugees are coming our way. In a few days, the price of grain and vegetables here might go up even more. So I advise you to buy more now, or else when prices rise, you won’t be able to get vegetables this cheap again!” the old farmer said impatiently. He only had a little bit of produce left to sell today, and once it was gone, he could go home early. But the man in front of him kept picking and hadn’t said whether he’d buy or not, and other customers, seeing the small pile and someone already there, didn’t want to come over and ask the price.

“Buy, of course I’ll buy!” Steward Evans knew that this was probably the lowest price in the whole market, and his household was indeed short on vegetables, so he readily agreed. Then, glancing at the few oddly shaped radishes on the stall, he spoke again: “How about this, brother? You don’t have much left. I’ll buy all your cabbage, and as for these radishes—they’re not worth much anyway—why don’t you just throw them in for free?”