Opening for Business

He cleared his throat, then began calling out to the street,

"Come along and take a look, everyone! Exclusively made tooth powder from a secret recipe, guaranteed to make your teeth as white as snow! Don't miss it as you pass by, folks! With a mouthful of pearly whites, women won't be able to walk past you, and men won't be able to tear themselves away! You'll be on your way to the pinnacle of life!"

"Exclusively made tooth powder from a secret recipe! Limited supply, first come, first served! I'll apply it right here, and if it doesn't work, I won't charge you a single copper! You can't lose, and you can't be cheated, so come take a look, everyone!"

In the bustling market, Lin Xiao's clear, bright youthful voice was like an arrow piercing the clouds, cutting through the clamor.

The people around him were immediately drawn by his voice and turned to look.

They saw a handsome young man with clear eyes standing confidently beside a stall.

More importantly, as he opened and closed his mouth to call out, a set of white teeth flashed in and out of view, dazzling everyone in the sunlight.

Two women in cotton clothes, both evidently from well-off families, came over at once.

They opened mouths full of yellow teeth and asked:

"Young man, can your powder really clean teeth?"

His first customers had arrived!

Lin Xiao immediately gave them a standard smile, his eight even, jade-white teeth reflected in the women's eyes:

"Of course. But my tooth powder has to be used with my family's unique technique. You two can try it for yourselves and see how well it works on each other. If your teeth don't turn white, I won't charge you a thing."

At that, the plumper of the two women immediately said:

"Then let me try!"

The other, thinner woman first asked:

"How much does your tooth powder cost, young man?"

Still smiling, Lin Xiao said:

"Fifty copper coins per person, and that's the fixed price."

The thin woman drew a breath.

"That expensive!"

But the plump woman was evidently from a better-off family. She thought that if she really could get a mouthful of white teeth for fifty copper coins, it would be well worth it. So she sat straight down on the little folding stool in front of Lin Xiao and said:

"Go on, young man! Let me try it!"

Then she tipped her head back and opened her mouth wide so Lin Xiao could get a full view of her yellow teeth.

Lin Xiao apologized to the thin woman for keeping her waiting, then turned and took out the tooth powder-a little of the fine white flour he had brought from home that morning, which his family only ate during New Year and other festivals. With his other hand, he produced a tiny brush and applied the flour bit by bit to the plump woman's teeth.

Then, to avoid drawing suspicion, he pretended to work with intense concentration, knitting his brows and using all sorts of movements to gently scrub the surface of her teeth with the brush.

After two minutes, Lin Xiao felt he had put on enough of a show, so he quietly used a Dust Removal Technique on the plump woman's teeth.

Then he picked up the bamboo tube he had prepared nearby and said to her:

"Ma'am, I'm going to pour a little water into your mouth. Don't swallow it. Rinse your mouth and spit it out."

With her head tipped back and her mouth open, the plump woman nodded to show she understood.

Lin Xiao gently poured half a mouthful of water into her mouth.

The plump woman lowered her head and rinsed with the water. After spitting it onto the ground beside her, she bared her teeth at the thin woman waiting nearby and said:

"Yan'er, quick, look! How is it? How is it? Are my teeth white?"

The thin woman the plump woman had called Yan'er took one look at her teeth and froze in surprise.

They really had turned white!

And they were very white!

It was as though they had just grown in!

The thin woman was astonished. She said to the plump woman:

"Wait! Don't move. Let me rub them with my finger and see if he put something on them..."

As she spoke, she reached out and rubbed the plump woman's front teeth hard with her index finger.

There really wasn't anything painted on them. They had genuinely turned completely white!

Good heavens!

Seeing her friend's reaction, how could the plump woman not know how well it had worked?

She laughed at once, pulled a small string of copper coins from her pocket, and handed it to Lin Xiao.

"Young man, there are exactly fifty copper coins here. Count them!"

Plenty of people had gathered around to watch, and this stunned them too.

He could actually make teeth that white!

Many of the better-off people in the crowd began itching to try it.

The thin woman reacted fastest. After confirming the result, she immediately pulled fifty copper coins from her pocket and slapped them into Lin Xiao's hand. Then she plopped down on the little stool, tipped her head back, and opened her mouth wide, just as the plump woman had done.

"Young man! Quick, do mine too!"

Having received a hundred copper coins in one go, Lin Xiao was delighted. How could he refuse? He immediately gave her the full tooth-cleaning treatment as well.

Another two minutes passed.

The two women, now each with a mouthful of white teeth, grinned all the way home, showing their teeth as they walked.

Meanwhile, the space in front of Lin Xiao was packed with people.

Those with money lined up for him to clean their teeth, while those without gathered to watch.

After all, people with mouths full of yellow teeth had a little powder applied, and before long their teeth turned white. It was like watching a magic trick. They had never seen anything like it, and it was a real novelty.

Many people even grew impatient with waiting in line and wanted to buy the powder directly from Lin Xiao to use at home. But he refused them all, saying that it had to be used with his family's inherited technique or it wouldn't work.

Even so, many people stayed and waited in line.

Suddenly finding himself busy, Lin Xiao hurriedly pulled Lin Dayou over to collect the money for him.

That left only Lin Dashan outside the crowd to watch the stall, and he had been pushed into a corner.

Squeezed off to one side by the crowd, Lin Dashan stared at them, somewhat bewildered.

How was his nephew so good at business?

He was so bold. He had only called out a couple of times, and now a crowd of people surrounded him, wanting to spend money.

Wait, wasn't he supposed to be the demonstration?

Hadn't they said he would get his teeth cleaned first?

It wasn't until nearly noon that the crowd around Lin Xiao began to thin.

For one thing, just about everyone with money had spent it.

For another, many of the people who had come to the market that morning were already getting ready to go home.

People from the surrounding villages and countryside generally came to the market in the morning.

Not many came in the afternoon.

Most were from more distant villages or households in town.

Lin Dayou and Lin Dashan usually went home at noon as well.

Lin Xiao had no intention of changing their plans.

Besides, thanks to the flow of people Lin Xiao had drawn in that day, they had sold more than half the things they had brought. Although Lin Dashan wasn't good at selling, Lin Xiao had helped promote their goods from time to time.

Lady Qin had returned from shopping long ago and was waiting off to the side with Lin Dashan, watching Lin Xiao serve one customer after another.

They saw Lin Xiao tell the people still around him that the tooth powder had run out and to come back on the next market day.

The onlookers reluctantly dispersed.

Lady Qin and Lin Dashan began packing up the things at the stall, ready to head back to the village.