Chapter 24: 24. Refund_1
With the car bought and the wild vegetables growing like crazy, almost as they were trying to sprout inside Wu Lan’s heart, she was dying to go to the market to sell them every single day.
But Song Tan wouldn’t have it.
She was the only one in the family with a driver’s license, so that by the third day, Wu Lan had no choice but to cram a whopping 170 pounds of vegetables in the back of the car!
Even Song Tan fell silent at the sight.
“Mom, after we sell this batch, let’s give the wild veggies a couple of days off, okay?” The vegetables were being coaxed to grow non-stop, not even allowed a chance to rest.
Thinking about the soil that was nearly scraped clean, Wu Lan coughed dryly, “Gas is expensive, you know… each trip has to at least break even.”
...
After a pause, she added another reminder, “I’m taking soone to your grandpa’s today at noon to check on the mushroom spawn. Your dad is getting soone to go up the mountain to cast nets. If you guys co back for lunch, go straight to your granddad’s house to eat.”
“Sure!” Song Tan started the car. “Qiaoqiao, let’s go!”
Qiaoqiao, thrilled, settled into the passenger seat. Following Song Tan’s instructions, he buckled up his seatbelt and looked around, “Sis, is this our car?”
“Yes!” Song Tan coaxed him as she drove, “Pretty impressive, huh? Qiaoqiao’s been good and sensible these past few days, so your sister specially took you for a ride!”
Maybe it was the instinct from her days as a working stiff, but now speaking off the cuff, she actually dangled a big promise in front of her six-year-old-at-heart brother:
“Hang in there, Qiaoqiao, and once your sister makes so money, she’ll buy you a learning machine so you can watch Peppa wherever you go.”
After she finished, listening to Qiaoqiao’s cheers in the car, Song Tan fell silent first.
Hmm, turns out she was the capitalist after all.
…
Song Tan arrived at the vegetable market again.
Fearing a parking ticket, she parked the car a bit farther away. Seriously, Cultivators have no sense of prestige… And then, without moving from the spot, she set up her stall right under the car to start selling.
At this mont, the aunties who had been wandering around the market for the past half-hour were too eager to wait any longer.
No one expected these wild veggies to taste so good!
Last ti, on Song Tan’s first visit, and with the price set at 20, the most anyone bought was about four to five pounds per person. Those who bought less only took a handful each.
But who knew they’d be so delicious. A plate of wild greens would be gone in just a few bites, and any other veggies left over…
Everyone shared a saying from a rather anachronistic poem:
“The vast ocean doesn’t make for good water anymore, once you’ve seen the clouds over Wushan mountain.”
That’s just what it felt like!
Having tasted these fresh and tender wild vegetables, eating anything else felt like chewing on grass. It was not just hard to swallow but made them long for more.
Song Tan hadn’t co the entire day yesterday, leaving everyone heartbroken with anticipation. This morning, even the most calculating auntie had three to five hundred yuan in her pocket.
So in a secluded corner of the vegetable market, a group of aunties didn’t even wait for Song Tan to notify them on the group chat before they accurately spotted them!
And sure enough, you wouldn’t find a more eye-catching sister and brother duo in the entire market! How noticeable!
The crowd surged forward. This ti, nobody even bothered to pick and choose. “Shepherd’s purse! Give
five pounds of shepherd’s purse!”
“Wild chives, I want three bunches of wild chives, I’m going to make wild chive and pork buns when I go back!”
“Water spinach! Oh my, it makes a soup so rich and smooth!”
“Chickweed—”
“Give
two handfuls of purslane! Add two more for the buns I’ll make!”
It was like so major clearance sale frenzy, with everyone agitated and shoving money forward as fast as they could. Qiaoqiao was so busy he almost cried out, “Slow down! Slow! Qiaoqiao can’t calculate anymore!”
He couldn’t do math to begin with, but Song Tan would tell him how much to collect, and he could recognize that, just a bit slowly.
Now, with his voice quivering with the threat of tears, sothing funny happened—the buying army instantly cald down.
The stylish red-haired auntie at the head of the line looked at him fondly, “Alright, sweetie, no rush, let’s line up!”
Having said that, he quickly took the opportunity to stand first in line.
Soon, a small queue had ford. Since there was no need to weigh the produce, the process was highly efficient, and each auntie packed her bag to the brim, fearing they wouldn’t get another chance.
Song Tan looked at the two remaining baskets of vegetables in the back of the cart and thought that today’s selling speed might even surpass that of the day before!
Buying vegetables at the market and seeing people queue up to grab them?
People nearby slowly gathered around, and seeing the aunties jovially parting with hundreds of yuan without a second thought, they couldn’t help but mutter, “Are they using shills to sell vegetables now?”
The auntie ahead of her turned back to see a youngster and imdiately snorted arrogantly, looking down her nose and sideways at the eyes:
“Oh my, young people can’t cook these days, that’s for sure, but now they can’t even pick out vegetables.”
When it was her turn, she said in a loud voice, “Give
the remaining four catties of shepherd’s purse! I’ll take three catties of purslane… and three catties of watercress too!”
Then she smiled and asked, “Miss, when will you co again next ti?”
Song Tan was helpless—couldn’t the spiritual energy cultivation be a little less exaggerated?
“In three days, I’ll notify the group.”
The youngster behind was even more astonished—selling vegetables in the market with group notifications now?
The auntie in front left with her bags full. Song Tan turned to the young new custor and asked with a friendly smile, “What would you like?”
The young man craned his neck to look—not recognizing a single one.
After thinking it over, he said, “Just… that one that looks like a leek.”
Qiaoqiao burst into laughter, “Brother, this is called wild leek, you can make buns, stew fish, or fry it with eggs, it’s delicious!”
The young man felt a bit embarrassed, but then he looked into Qiaoqiao’s bright, innocent eyes and his heart softened instantly—
[Although it’s embarrassing to be laughed at… he called
brother!]
So he imdiately stopped being annoyed and instead asked, “Then how do you make buns with it?”
This ti, it was Qiaoqiao who was stuck for an answer.
He said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Qiaoqiao doesn’t know how, Qiaoqiao only knows how to eat.”
“Why don’t you join the group then? My sister said you’d find out if you joined the group, there are many who know how to cook.”
Since the brother said it!
The young man decisively scanned the QR code, and on seeing the group mbers—
[Boundless Skies] [Orchid Heart, Gentle Virtue] [Cha Yun] [Happiness is All]…
Yeah, the age range was pretty clear.
Just at that mont, a slightly shrill voice ca from behind:
“Miss, the wild greens I bought from you the day before yesterday were old and bitter, not tasty at all. Didn’t you say you would refund ?”
“But you said I had to bring the vegetables back, so what can I do? By the ti you ntioned it in the group, my family had already eaten them all, we can’t waste food right?”
“You see, either give
two more bunches of greens or a refund.”
The young man was taken aback and looked at the wild leek in his hand—fresh and dewy, with a strong flavor, it didn’t look old at all.
The girl selling the greens had a clear and fair face, pure and flawless, with a smile that was both amiable and sweet:
“Is that so? Auntie, what’s your group nickna? I rember you bought a bunch of Malan head, right? Twenty yuan.”
The auntie’s eyebrows imdiately lifted with smugness, “You have a good mory, girl… what’s a group nickna? I am this—hey hey hey! Why did you move
out of the group?!”
“I was going to buy a few more catties of shepherd’s purse!”
The young man beside couldn’t help but let out a snicker—what do you an moved away? Clearly, she was kicked out.
Besides, if it really tasted bad, would you co back for more?
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