Chapter 20: Market Old Classmate_1
People have a herd ntality.
When a group of experienced shoppers at the marketplace gather around a small stall to compete for goods, the crowd around it can only grow larger.
Song Tan could only feel the QR code paynt ringing nonstop, her hands constantly packaging vegetables.
This one wanted wild onions, that one wanted shepherd’s purse, and another wanted kaliris…
Luckily, she possessed spiritual energy and had quick reflexes. Otherwise, her first ti selling vegetables and facing such a scene would have certainly been chaotic.
Qiaoqiao was happily pulling out plastic bags one by one, flapping them open, and handing them to her sister, thoroughly enjoying himself.
...
He didn’t understand the nuances of good or bad business, but he found tearing the bags open really fun!
“Qiaoqiao, shout one ti, say that the shepherd’s purse is sold out.”
“Oh.”
He obediently put down the bags, stood up straight, cupped his hands around his mouth: “Shepherd’s purse——is all sold out!”
With that shout, those at the back who hadn’t managed to buy it beca even more reluctant: “How can it be gone? I was waiting to make dumplings!”
They still lined up at the front, hopeful—no fish, then shrimp would do!
And further back, custors who heard the news——What? Soone was selling shepherd’s purse? Where? It’s already sold out?
Wow, that shepherd’s purse must be good! I must go have a look, morize the stall for an early visit tomorrow!
So, with the sun rising, more and more people gathered in front of the small stall, and at that mont, Qiaoqiao said dejectedly:
“Sister, there are no more bags.”
The custors by now were hardly concerned about whether or not there were bags.
“No problem! I have bags, give
that bundle——the one next to it! I’ve scanned the code already!”
“I have change——here, two bundles, forty yuan.”
Qiaoqiao happily took the money, exclaiming loudly: “I’ve got it!”
Ah, this silly boy, unintentionally endearing, making the aunties handle their vegetables even more tenderly.
At this mont, Qiaoqiao shouted again: “Wild onions——also all sold out!”
Next ca the kaliris.
Purslane…
By the end, when only three bunches of watercress were left, the space in front of the stall finally quieted down.
Song Tan also took a sigh of relief, and turning to look at Qiaoqiao, she saw him staring at the children blowing bubbles up ahead, then turning an expectant gaze towards her.
Song Tan smiled: “Good boy, Qiaoqiao, you helped a lot today! Let’s see, how much have we made?”
Qiaoqiao hurriedly took out all the money from his pocket, a mix of notes and coins, totaling up to over eight hundred yuan. It seems there were still plenty of people at the marketplace carrying cash.
“Not bad at all!”
Song Tan generously divided out twenty yuan for him: “Take this, you can’t wander off far, but you can buy anything you like around here.” She was more at ease with the spiritual energy watching over him.
Otherwise, for a naive child like him wandering around, it would indeed be very dangerous.
Being handed such a large sum of money, Qiaoqiao felt his heart pounding.
He used to run errands for his family, but this was the first ti he had been given so much money solely to buy snacks!
In truth, he was not very good at arithtic, and there weren’t any children of his age in his village, so he lacked social interactions.
But since Song Tan brought him out, she intended to let him practice, and now with the twenty yuan, he could spend it as he pleased. Back in his hotown, the village store had a pitiful selection of snacks, let alone toys.
“But if you run out of money, that’s too bad, and you’re not allowed to go far.”
This riverside had vendors selling vegetables in the morning and people enjoying cool breezes in the evening, and naturally, there were also things being sold for children.
Qiaoqiao’s gaze shifted from the colorful pinwheels to the bubble machines, to the spicy strips the other children were eating…
He suddenly found himself unable to move.
…
And Song Tan checked her mobile paynt—76 bunches of vegetables, with just three bunches of watercress left.
Cash $860, mobile paynt $600 even.
It looked like she hadn’t been taken advantage of today, satisfied!
Then she checked the QR code group from earlier—regrettably, the aunties were good at picking vegetables but seed unfamiliar and resistant to scanning the code to join the group, which now only had 15 mbers.
But it was a good start, anyway!
Song Tan adjusted the group settings and at the sa ti posted an announcent:
“Thank you for supporting the wild vegetables this morning, guaranteed refund if not tasty! Please rest assured. Also, there will be a notice in the group before selling each ti, hope everyone doesn’t miss out…”
Before she posted it, she heard an incredulous voice beside her, “Song Tan?”
Song Tan lifted her head and saw a young woman holding a man’s arm, looking at her in surprise.
It took Song Tan a while to recall this person from her mory: “Wa Qianqian?”
Her high school classmate.
“Exactly!” Wa Qianqian looked over her outfit—a worn down coat, sneakers, and long hair simply tied with a black elastic band, with a bare face.
Although her skin was delicate and flawless, and her features beca even more pleasing to the eye and prettier as one looked…
But what was the use of that?
Look at what was in front of her: an empty basket with only so leftover vegetable leaves and dirt, plus three bunches of so green vegetable.
Clearly leftovers from selling vegetables!
A deep sense of disbelief and sympathy appeared in Wa Qianqian’s eyes, “I heard you were working in Ning City, how co you are now selling vegetables at the market?”
Back in the day, Song Tan was delicate, pretty, and kind, and many boys in the class were nice to her.
Wa Qianqian, on the other hand, had a fiery temper back then and looked down on girls like Song Tan.
Latter on, she went to a vocational college, t her current boyfriend there—this man beside her.
Now, he was visiting her ho, and Wa Qianqian wanted to show off, which led her to bring him to take a tour of the vegetable market.
She hadn’t expected this “surprise,” running into an old classmate.
Song Tan smiled slightly, “Yes, the pressure in the capital was too much, so I simply ca back ho to accompany my parents. Would you like to buy so wild vegetables? I just picked these watercress yesterday; they’re very tasty when mixed up.”
Her straightforwardness sowhat stumped Wa Qianqian, but her boyfriend seriously looked at the vegetables in the basket, “Are these wild vegetables? How do you eat them? Are they good?”
Before Song Tan could answer, Qiaoqiao happily returned with a multicolored pinwheel, and seeing soone interested in buying vegetables, he got even more excited: “They’re tasty! Super tasty! Qiaoqiao can eat three big bowls by himself!”
Anyway, anything in his eyes was as delicious as shepherd’s purse dumplings.
His eyes were pure, and he smiled like a child, which made Wa Qianqian’s look of pity even more evident: “Oh right, you ntioned in school you have a younger brother who is a bit—”
Before she could finish, her boyfriend beside her coughed, prompting Wa Qianqian to quickly shut up and gave an embarrassed smile.
Then she carefully picked up one of the watercress bundles tied with straw, examining it:
“It’s not easy for you, I’ve heard that there’s often gender discrimination in the countryside… ah, what I an is, I’ll take all of these vegetables.”
However, Song Tan didn’t mind.
There are people with a condescending sense of pity everywhere, and they may just be looking for a sense of superiority, not necessarily having bad intentions.
Plus, having cultivated for over a hundred years, she had long since beco indifferent.
So she treated Wa Qianqian’s boyfriend just like any other custor:
“There’s no need to buy three bunches, watercress is after all a wild vegetable, and if you haven’t tried it before, you might not prepare it well.”
“If you want to try sothing new, one bunch is enough. When you get ho, fry so Sichuan pepper in oil, and use chili sauce, soy sauce, salt, vinegar, and such, blanch it and mix it up…”
Wa Qianqian’s boyfriend listened intently, and even seed a bit eager:
“Alright then, we’ll take one bunch to try—how much is it?”
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