The bustling scene stirred something in Scarlett Whitaker. She wondered if, while she focused on building her life in the 1980s, she should also treat herself a little better.
“Kay, what do you feel like eating? My treat.”
Kay noticed her good mood. When she smiled, she was stunning—her eyes shone with such brilliance that it was impossible not to be uplifted by her energy.
“How much money could you possibly have? Don’t overdo it!” he teased, a grin spreading across his face. “In the capital, it’s not common for girls to treat the guys. The other day, when you bought noodles, you scared Leo half to death!”
Laughing, Kay pulled her into a shop selling chicken meat soup.
“Do you eat chicken meat? On a day like this, lamb can be too heavy. Let’s have a bowl of chicken soup and some juicy soup dumplings. We can also chat with the shop owner to get a sense of the market here in Harborfield .”
Scarlett wasn’t a picky eater. Aside from exotic creatures like snakes and rodents, she was willing to try anything. In her previous life, she’d had soup a few times while on business trips to Harborfield, but it never tasted as good as this. The steaming bowl of soup before her was rich and flavorful, the meat tender without any gaminess. The celery and scallions floating in the broth added an aromatic touch that reminded her of the past. Unlike the greenhouse-grown vegetables of later years, these ingredients had an unforgettable intensity of flavor.
Scarlett devoured an entire bowl of soup and a serving of soup dumplings.
Kay, with his larger appetite, had a bowl of soup, two servings of dumplings, and even ordered a plate of lamb noodles from a neighboring shop. After filling their stomachs, it was easier to gather information. When the shop owner heard Scarlett was selling eggs and eels, he laughed.
“Walk to the end of this street. There’s a shop selling eel noodles. On busy days, they go through over ten pounds of eel. If you go past this street and turn right, you’ll find the agricultural market.”
Unlike Greenfield County, where purchasing power was limited despite its two factories, Harborfield had a significantly larger consumer base.
Kay pushed the bicycle as Scarlett approached the eel noodle shop. She asked if they needed eels, and the owner didn’t hesitate to buy 15 pounds on the spot. Pork was priced at 1.4 dollars per pound, while eels were slightly cheaper at 1.1 dollars per pound. In Greenfield County, few people could justify spending as much on eel as on pork, but in Harborfield, even a 70-cent bowl of noodles topped with a ladle of eel was affordable to many.
Eels were a profitable business. Scarlett’s purchase price in the village was 0.8 cents per pound, giving her a margin of 0.3 cents per pound. Eels were also sturdier during transport than eggs. Excited by the success, Scarlett immediately shifted her focus from eggs to eels, planning to take advantage of the market for the next two months before winter set in.
Seeing the excitement in her eyes, Kay quickly tempered her enthusiasm.
“You still need to find a larger buyer. One noodle shop can’t possibly take all your stock.”