Chapter 36: 36. Selling Vegetables Now Has Fans_1
Wu Lan also nodded, “The weather has ward up quickly recently, and there’s no ti to be idle, all kinds of work to do!”
“Tantan, if you’re going to plant rice, you should be preparing the seeds by now.”
“And the vegetables you want to plant, so of them need to start seedling cultivation by the end of the month.”
“Before the end of next month, these fields have to be turned over.”
With these calculations, everyone was too busy to idle away the ti.
Except for Qiaoqiao.
...
But Qiaoqiao also had tasks of his own, taking care of Big White was his number one duty, he also worked part-ti as a porter, a picker, a vegetable vendor.
Song Tan started to rush as well—after all, no matter how much the Milk Vetch sustained, they only had half a month left in their sprouting phase, they had to bloom and grow next month.
So, she hastily finished eating and called out to Qiaoqiao:
“Let’s go, accompany your sister to pick vegetables!”
As a result, Qiaoqiao, sitting on a stool and looking at her, said, “You promised to show
Ultraman, where’s Ultraman?”
Song Tan: …
Sotis kids are not easy to cajole! She had no choice but to promise two more episodes and a Peppa doll.
…
Compared to wild greens, picking Milk Vetch was especially easy, and it was Song Tan’s first ti selling them, it took less than half an hour to fill three large baskets; when she got ho, she saw that Grandpa and Grandma were sitting in the courtyard.
“Tantan, I heard you sold wild greens before? Not bad. Our Song Family girls are capable—look, your Grandma and I are idle, so we ca to help you pick the vegetables.”
Song Tan smiled, “Great! I was worried about not having any help, lucky Grandpa and Grandma care about !”
Picking vegetables was not a burdenso task for them!
The old couple were delighted to be praised, they quickly set to work with nimble hands and feet. Song Tan saw that the three large baskets wouldn’t last half an hour in their care.
She had initially planned to sell these Milk Vetch in the morning, but several group mbers said there was a dance performance this morning, and if she could go in the afternoon, they would bring all the sisters from the dance team.
That was the famous elderly dance group in the city district! They all were connoisseurs when it ca to buying vegetables.
Song Tan knew she couldn’t miss the opportunity to expand her custor base, so she changed the vegetable selling ti to the afternoon.
Now after picking the vegetables and tidying them up, she would be ready to head out soon. She didn’t pick more because it was the first ti selling, and she wanted to test the acceptance among the crowd.
She thought for a mont and then reminded her mother, “Mom, can you make a cold dish with Milk Vetch later on, bring so disposable chopsticks, and I’ll let them taste it when the ti cos.”
…
anwhile.
The aunties of the elderly dance group, clad in uniform rose-colored cheongsams and bright red lipstick, were cheerfully walking on the street.
One of them suggested:
“We won an award today, if you ask , we should celebrate! How about heading to KTV to sing?”
“Yes, we even have a subscription at the KTV. It’s fifty yuan per person per month; we’ll be at a loss if we miss a day!”
These days, the old downtown KTVs struggle to attract new custors, so they offered their already inexpensive afternoon sessions, usually booked via group buying, to these middle-aged and elderly folks.
From one to five in the afternoon, a large room costs 1500 yuan per month, and the aunties pooled their money together to afford it.
This activity was usually very popular, but as soon as today’s suggestion was made, one of the aunties with red curls shook her head:
“No way, I need to buy vegetables this afternoon.”
Buy what?
What vegetables?
People in the queue exchanged bewildered glances.
However, at this mont, another person chid in, “Yeah, the veggies I bought last ti were all gone yesterday, so no matter what, I have to buy more today.”
There was one who seed a bit hesitant, “They’re changing to new vegetables today, that Milk Vetch, the kind we used to feed to the cows when we were kids, do you guys buy that too?”
The red-haired auntie laughed, “Oh my, those wild greens we used to eat until we were sick of them back in the day, now, don’t we still have to fight for them?”
“This girl seems quite alright in doing business; every ti I get wild greens from her, there is no skimping at all, the weight is always exact, and they’re cleaned neatly too.”
“Exactly! They really do taste great! Let
tell you, I’ve beco so picky now, I can tell just by slling whether the vegetables are fresh or not!”
“I definitely need to buy more. My granddaughter is counting on eating more vegetables from this place.”
“Hey, Xiufen, let
tell you, I recently learned a new recipe for stead buns with wild onion filling, and the buns turned out so delicious, each as big as a fist. My grandson gobbled down eight in one al!”
“Really? Why didn’t you tell
earlier, they’re all gone now!”
“Hahaha, at that ti, I was afraid you’d compete with
for buying them, and I’d miss out.”
The aunties engaged in lively discussions, giggling and laughing. Their conversation didn’t quite blend in with the dance team’s blazing red lips and moves.
The rest of the group exchanged confused looks, and it took them a while to voice their question: “What vegetables… are you guys buying?”
Only then did everyone react:
“Oh dear, look at my mory!”
“I planned to tell you guys in the morning, but it’s not too late to say now—we previously found so incredibly tasty wild vegetables, so fresh they could almost lt on your tongue. The owner told us they would set up a stall at the vegetable market at two o’clock in the afternoon, are you going to buy so? Let’s go together!”
“But the wild vegetables have been out of stock for three days, today it’s Milk Vetch. Thankfully, I grabbed a lot of shepherd’s purse last ti, and the dumplings can last another two days…”
Wild vegetables, Milk Vetch, are they all worth such a frenzy?
These are not like the sisters they knew!
With such doubts, the group made their way, dawdling and orderly, to the usually deserted afternoon vegetable market.
As soon as Song Tan’s Little Pika truck appeared, the aunties hurriedly gathered around, first glancing at the truck bed, then letting out disappointed sighs—
“Didn’t you say there’d be a lot? How co there’s only so little!”
Song Tan was also stunned—how did this turn into a group event? And they’re all in uniform?
Qiaoqiao had already skilfully moved the baskets down from the truck, looking at the neatly bundled Milk Vetch and slling the faint fragrance in the air. The red-haired auntie clapped her hands:
“This sll is perfect!”
She turned and stood in front of Qiaoqiao, her voice soft enough to drip water:
“Sweetie, rember auntie? Give
five bundles.”
Song Tan hadn’t expected to now have loyal fans.
So she quickly unpacked the dish of cold Milk Vetch she had brought from ho:
“Auntie, I guess this is your first ti buying this, so let’s not rush. Why don’t you try it first to see if you like the taste?”
She unwrapped a pair of disposable chopsticks and handed them over. The red-haired auntie didn’t play coy; she imdiately grabbed a bite and stuffed it into her mouth.
After chewing for a mont, she suddenly fell silent.
The group of older sisters behind her instinctively watched her, but then she asked, “Miss, when will you sell these again?”
Song Tan thought for a mont, “Milk Vetch is abundant, so from now on, I’ll harvest at seven in the morning, clean them by eight, and get here around ten in the morning.”
The auntie nodded her head, seemingly relieved, “That’s good, coming every day—sweetie, hurry up, take five bundles for !”
When paying, she felt the sting, “My pension for this month is only enough for buying vegetables—I’ll co again early tomorrow! Rember to prepare more, not like this ti, scrimping and saving.”
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