Chapter 3
Madam Yeo’s General Store…
Three bowls of noodles cost nine coins.
After paying, So Cheong-yeong asked the old noodle shop owner,
“Grandfather, how do we get to ‘Madam Yeo’s General Store’?”
The old man took the coins, smiled kindly, and pointed down the road.
“Go straight along this road. Do you see the fabric shop at the end? Turn right there and walk a little more. You’ll find it soon. If you can’t read, just look for the door with a big basket hanging on it.”
“Thank you, Grandfather.”
So Cheong-yeong put her money pouch back into her clothes and reached for the twins’ hands.
But she noticed Cheong-yang staring sadly at the coins in the old man’s hand, clearly regretting the money spent. The sight was so funny that she couldn’t help laughing.
Still, her heart soon felt heavy. There wasn’t much money left in her pouch. When she thought about how hard her parents must have worked to save this money while avoiding her step-grandmother’s eyes, she felt even more uneasy.
The three of them left the noodle shop and headed straight for Madam Yeo’s General Store.
The store was in a busy part of the town. Even though the morning market had already ended, many people were still walking around, and many shops were open. It felt completely different from a small countryside village.
Some towns were only lively during the morning market and became quiet afterward. But Pungjeong Town was large, with several hundred households, so it stayed busy all day.
Even some counties had only about a thousand households, so Pungjeong Town was not much smaller than the county seat several dozen li away.
The twin siblings had never been to a town before. Their eyes grew wide at the busy scene.
They held tightly onto Cheong-yeong’s hand, but their eyes never left the shops lining the street. When town children ran past them while playing, the twins watched for a long time with eyes full of envy.
Seeing this, Cheong-yeong’s heart ached. She slowed her steps on purpose so the children could look around as much as they wanted. Whenever they were curious about something, she explained it carefully.
She herself had been to Pungjeong Town a few times before, but only to sell embroidery. She had never really walked around like this. So walking through the streets together with the twins felt new and interesting to her as well.
The streets were clean and tidy. Shop flags fluttered in the wind, making soft rustling sounds, and the buildings along the road had an old, elegant charm.
Soon they reached the fabric shop at the corner the noodle shop owner had mentioned. Inside, shelves were filled with many kinds of cloth—plain fabric, brightly dyed cloth, and even expensive silk.
There were also many kinds of clothes, for men and women, and even for children.
The twins stared at the new clothes in silence. Without thinking, they touched their own old clothes, patched in many places. They looked at the new clothes with longing, then lowered their heads, then secretly looked again. This repeated again and again.
Cheong-yeong’s chest tightened at the sight.
Right now, their household struggled just to have enough food. Buying new clothes was impossible. And even if clothes were bought, they would never be for the children.
She held the twins’ hands tightly and quickened her pace, turning into another street. The twins glanced at her nervously, as if they had done something wrong.
Cheong-yeong smiled gently and spoke softly.
“Later, when your sister earns money, I’ll buy you clothes. Shoes too. And socks. I’ll buy lots so you can change every day.”
“Yes!”
“Wow! Sister, you’re the best!”
The twins nodded hard, smiling brightly. They trusted her words completely.
After walking a little farther, they arrived at Madam Yeo’s General Store, just as described, with a large basket hanging on the door.
This street was called South Street. It wasn’t the main road, so after the morning market ended, not many people passed by. There were only a few customers inside the store.
When those customers left, only one shop assistant remained, moving between the shelves, organizing goods. No one else could be seen inside.
Cheong-yeong slowly walked around the store with the twins.
The floor and shelves were filled with daily necessities—salt, soy sauce, vinegar, oil, rice, flour, mixed grains, dishes, baskets—everything you could need.
The assistant greeted them kindly. Even though they only looked around and asked questions without buying anything, the assistant never showed annoyance and answered carefully. In the end, the assistant even walked them to the door with a smile.
Cheong-yeong paused outside the store to think for a moment. Then she led the twins across the street to a snack shop.
As soon as they entered, a sweet smell filled the air. Not only the twins, but even Cheong-yeong felt excited.
Each basket had a small flag showing the snack’s name and price.
There were many kinds of snacks: white, soft cloud cakes; chewy poria cakes; plum-shaped plum cakes; soft yellow pea jelly; mung bean cakes; red bean cakes; thin sesame cookies; peach-flower pastries; cool summer jelly; mugwort rice cakes; walnut pastries; almond pastries, and more.
The three of them stared in silence.
There were not many customers, and the plump shop owner immediately took a liking to the identical twins. She spoke kindly, joked with them, and then offered a plate of free samples.
The twins had never been to such a big town before. Their eyes were full of curiosity, but also fear. Even though they knew the woman meant no harm, they were shy about accepting kindness from a stranger.
They slowly stepped back and grabbed Cheong-yeong’s clothes, looking between her and the shop owner.
The owner smiled warmly.
“It’s okay. It’s just for tasting.”
Cheong-yeong gently pushed the children forward.
“Try it. You need to know what tastes good so you can choose something nice for your parents later.”
At the mention of their parents, the twins’ eyes sparkled. They picked snacks from the plate.
“Thank you, Auntie!”
“Thank you, Auntie!”
“Oh my, you’re both so good and pretty. How old are you?”
“We’re six.”
“Six? I thought you were only four or five. You really look alike. You’re twins, right?”
Cheong-yeong smiled as she watched the children take small, careful bites. While talking with the owner, a piece of snack was suddenly held out to her.
“Sister, you eat too!”
“Older sister, try this one!”
“I’m fine. You eat.”
When she gently pushed their hands away, the owner smiled warmly.
“What kind, thoughtful children.”
Cheong-yeong nodded with a smile, feeling relaxed as she watched the twins chat happily with the owner. She felt that this woman was not just a good business owner, but also kind and warm-hearted. A thought came to her.
When the owner brought tea, Cheong-yeong took a sip and casually asked about Madam Yeo’s General Store.
The owner, happy to talk, spoke freely.
“That store has almost everything. It’s been across the street for over ten years. The reputation is good, and the prices are fair.
And you came at a good time. The female owner isn’t there now, so you won’t have to argue with her. She’s famous for being strict. She always tries to pay farmers less, finding every excuse to save even one coin. Her greed is as big as the basket hanging on her door!”
The owner snorted in disdain. It was clear there was bad blood between them.
Cheong-yeong listened carefully, comparing the information with what she already knew. She felt she finally understood the Yeo family a little better.
She stayed a bit longer and bought several kinds of snacks, combining them into one wrapped bundle. Since money was tight, she felt sorry for staying so long and letting the twins eat many samples and drink tea.
But the kind owner didn’t mind at all. She even added extra weight to the package. When they left, she held the twins’ hands, patted them gently, and told them to come again.
Cheong-haeng hugged the snack bag tightly and kept waving goodbye. The owner found it so cute that she pulled the child back, hugged them tightly, and patted them again, as if she wanted to keep them.
After leaving the snack shop, Cheong-yeong stopped with the twins in a shaded spot and watched Madam Yeo’s General Store.
Even after a long time, only the shop assistant was there.
Looks like I won’t meet her today…
She felt a little disappointed, but since they had come all the way to town, she decided not to return yet. Holding the twins’ hands, she continued walking along the main road.
