Vendors in the Food Market

By Wan Xiaoyan

There is a bean sprout vendor who grows in a most natural way in nine clay vats in his yard, such as using well water instead of tap water.He certifies that his soybeans are locally grown and non-GMO, and that he uses no artificial fertilizers of any kind. He also rotates the harvest of the nine vats, and only when the sprouts are fully grown does he take one to market,where they sell at three times the cost of normal soybean sprouts.Regardless of the time spent, the moment they sell out he packs it up and returns home, refusing to any more until the next vat is ready. This way not only do his soybeans sell very well, but his uncompromising integrity also garners him praise.

Only God knows when his bean sprouts will be fully grown.Sometimes he shows up at the market for days on end, and there are long stretches when no one sees hide or hair of him. There are even some people who wait for him at the market but leave empty handed. It is his soybeans that determine when he will make an appearance. Though it is just a common vegetable, it has become something of great value that,like panning for gold, can only be gotten by chance not by choice. I went to the market one weekend and happened to see him selling his soybean sprouts, so I bought one kilo of them for lunch. By the time the dish was ready I was chopping at the bit to try them and found that they were indeed tasty.

賣菜也有講究

文/萬曉巖

有個賣豆芽的，有九口大瓦缸，不用自來水，用自家井水，把本地出產的非轉基因黃豆，用最自然的方法泡豆芽，不添加任何催生劑。九口大缸輪換著，出一缸賣一缸，價錢高出普通豆芽三倍，不論時間早晚，賣完回家。在下一缸沒有長成之前，不再出攤。他的豆芽是菜場的腕兒，從不屈就，偏就產生了大牌效應。

沒人知道他的豆芽啥時出缸，有時連續幾天出攤，有時好幾天不見人影，有人專門在菜場等他，卻等不著。他出攤完全看豆芽的生長，把家常的豆芽硬是搞成了可遇而不可求的奢侈品。一個周末，我在菜場趕上了一缸，買了兩斤，中午炒了，趕緊嘗一筷子，果然味道鮮美。

生意這么好，他卻不肯擴大經營，守著九口大瓦缸，像固守著九卷經文。有人問他原由，他說，九口缸是我干活的極限，多了照顧不過來。別人說，可以雇人啊。他說，不雇，豆芽會認生。

他每一次清缸、泡豆、汲水都井然有序，一個人熟練、執著地做這件并不復雜、技術不算高難的事情。他只是安靜地做，從容地做，不焦躁、不奸詐，心明如鏡，在月華如水的夜里，與九座宮殿的精靈心心相印。我常想，那生長的欣喜，是何等令人愉悅；人的心底，該是何等安然滿足。

另一個中年婦女剛好和他相反，總是掐著時令的尖，用一臺農用貨車，三天兩頭換著賣新鮮時蔬。別人沒上的菜，她先上；別人上了的，她上最好的。她進貨時早已事先苛刻地篩選過，放手讓你挑。誰偷加幾棵菜，她看到了，也不言語，笑瞇瞇地把貨包好放到人家手上。老老實實、不偷不拿不講價的，她主動給你秤旺點。她隔一兩天就會換貨，今日剛清空了一車新鮮的蕓豆，明天就換成了最甜的西瓜。她的功夫在心理層面，出手就打人貪心的要害。

Although his soybean sprouts have become a hot commodity,he refuses to expand. He only watches over his nine vats like they are nine scrolls containing the precious Buddhist canon.When people ask him why, he answers, “I can only look after nine vats at most. If more than that, I won’t be able to handle it.” Some people say, “Why don’t you hire an assistant?” He says,“No. My bean sprouts will feel uncomfortable if it’s a stranger taking care of them.”

Even if growing soybeans is not a kind of rocket science, it does take incredible focus. When he cleans the vat, soaks and drains his crops, he always follows a strict regimen and completes every step with proficiency and consistency.

By nature, he is calm, patient and honest, and his mind is as clear as a bell. Working over the vats on a moonlit night, it is like his mind is in complete synchronization with the light,the wind and nature itself. I often think what an amazing feeling it must be to feel the joy of growth,and how peaceful and satisfied he must be.

Contrast this with a middleaged woman who sells assorted seasonal vegetables whenever they are available directly from a farm truck. She is always the quickest to pick newly grown crops. As her stocks consist of only choice quality customers can pick whichever ones they like without fear of inconsistent quality. Sometimes she sees a customer sneaking a few more vegetables than what she/he has paid for, but she never says anything about it, but just wraps them up and hands them over to the customer with a big smile.And the honest customers, who neither bargain nor sneak more than they have paid for, receive a few extra as a free gift. She sells different things every other day,for example, when a truck of kidney beans are sold out one day, she may sell water melon the next day. On a psychological level, she understands people’s desire to get more than they pay for, and let it work for her sale.

In my hometown, there is a traditional pickled vegetable dish called lump pickles. It is dark green, and looks ugly and repellent to the uninitiated, but it is a favorite of those from the area, as it reminds them of home.There is a sweet gentlemanly vendor selling lump pickles,who has an intellectual flair. As he sells his product, he wears a clean mask and a pair of plastic gloves. The cloth covering the pickle jar and his apron are snowwhite, and the metallic cart and stainless-steel jar lid are polished to a glistening shine. Even the boxes of the highest quality,all of which are so spotlessly clean that elicit respect from the customers who might wonder if he is selling pickles, or showing his achievements in food safety research. As for his glossy pickles, no one would doubt if they are polluted by flies or other insects, or if there are any additives or excess nitrites inside.

There is another vendor—a butcher couple. The husband is aggressive and the wife shrewish.The two are like local despots,with a stall set up so close to the middle of the road as if they wish to stop traffic and force customers to buy from them.When they sell meat, they wave a cold and shiny cleaver around,hacking away maniacally like executioners. At the end of the day, customers detour around them to keep their distance.

As human beings we are always comparing things,whether it is between people or products, nothing wants to be compared to death.

(FromProse, May 2018.Translation: Zhu Yaguang)

老家有一種老咸菜，叫疙瘩菜，黑乎乎的，不熟悉的人很難喜歡，本地人總有懷舊的，專門愛這一口。賣咸菜的男人像個知識分子，溫文爾雅，戴著干凈的口罩和塑料手套，蓋布雪白，圍裙雪白，出攤的咸菜車和不銹鋼蓋子擦得锃亮，連盛咸菜的小袋子也是質地良好的，一塵不染到讓人心生敬意，不像是賣老咸菜，而像是食品科研成果推介。這個黑到發亮的老咸菜，沒人懷疑它在漫長腌制過程中是否落過蒼蠅蚊蟲、是否添加過化學制劑、會不會析出過量的亞硝酸鹽等。

另有賣肉的夫妻，生生一對“鎮關西”。男的悍，女的潑，攤子恨不得占到路中間。他們寒刃閃閃，手起刀落，人們只是繞著走，避開他們。他們在菜市，極像是在北京斬犯人的菜市口。

人比人要死，貨比貨得扔。世上的事情，怕就怕一個對比。