I didn’t commission any umbrellas - Chen Shi’s accent/dialect is particularly thick in this phrase, which leads to the shop owner’s comment about it. Again, no idea how to express it in English properly.

The two “sir” spoken by Chen Shi are actually two different words. They are both used to refer to shopkeepers, and the difference is somewhat subtle. The word used in the conversation at the umbrella shop (laoban) is used specifically for the business owners, while the word used at the snack stall (zhanggui) refers to a manager rather than the actual owner.

Residential areas - there existed a strict separation between residential areas where people lived and transactional areas like the market, where business could take place. Business in residential areas was prohibited. This system only began to break by mid-Tang dynasty, when the day market couldn’t keep up with the growing agriculture and crafts.