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.

卖菜也有讲究

文/万晓岩

有个卖豆芽的，有九口大瓦缸，不用自来水，用自家井水，把本地出产的非转基因黄豆，用最自然的方法泡豆芽，不添加任何催生剂。九口大缸轮换着，出一缸卖一缸，价钱高出普通豆芽三倍，不论时间早晚，卖完回家。在下一缸没有长成之前，不再出摊。他的豆芽是菜场的腕儿，从不屈就，偏就产生了大牌效应。

没人知道他的豆芽啥时出缸，有时连续几天出摊，有时好几天不见人影，有人专门在菜场等他，却等不着。他出摊完全看豆芽的生长，把家常的豆芽硬是搞成了可遇而不可求的奢侈品。一个周末，我在菜场赶上了一缸，买了两斤，中午炒了，赶紧尝一筷子，果然味道鲜美。

生意这么好，他却不肯扩大经营，守着九口大瓦缸，像固守着九卷经文。有人问他原由，他说，九口缸是我干活的极限，多了照顾不过来。别人说，可以雇人啊。他说，不雇，豆芽会认生。

他每一次清缸、泡豆、汲水都井然有序，一个人熟练、执着地做这件并不复杂、技术不算高难的事情。他只是安静地做，从容地做，不焦躁、不奸诈，心明如镜，在月华如水的夜里，与九座宫殿的精灵心心相印。我常想，那生长的欣喜，是何等令人愉悦；人的心底，该是何等安然满足。

另一个中年妇女刚好和他相反，总是掐着时令的尖，用一台农用货车，三天两头换着卖新鲜时蔬。别人没上的菜，她先上；别人上了的，她上最好的。她进货时早已事先苛刻地筛选过，放手让你挑。谁偷加几棵菜，她看到了，也不言语，笑眯眯地把货包好放到人家手上。老老实实、不偷不拿不讲价的，她主动给你秤旺点。她隔一两天就会换货，今日刚清空了一车新鲜的芸豆，明天就换成了最甜的西瓜。她的功夫在心理层面，出手就打人贪心的要害。

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)

老家有一种老咸菜，叫疙瘩菜，黑乎乎的，不熟悉的人很难喜欢，本地人总有怀旧的，专门爱这一口。卖咸菜的男人像个知识分子，温文尔雅，戴着干净的口罩和塑料手套，盖布雪白，围裙雪白，出摊的咸菜车和不锈钢盖子擦得锃亮，连盛咸菜的小袋子也是质地良好的，一尘不染到让人心生敬意，不像是卖老咸菜，而像是食品科研成果推介。这个黑到发亮的老咸菜，没人怀疑它在漫长腌制过程中是否落过苍蝇蚊虫、是否添加过化学制剂、会不会析出过量的亚硝酸盐等。

另有卖肉的夫妻，生生一对“镇关西”。男的悍，女的泼，摊子恨不得占到路中间。他们寒刃闪闪，手起刀落，人们只是绕着走，避开他们。他们在菜市，极像是在北京斩犯人的菜市口。

人比人要死，货比货得扔。世上的事情，怕就怕一个对比。