Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Visiting the Vegetable Market Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Visiting the Vegetable Market i ngzhen was startled, “Goodness, that scared to death.”
Not only was i ngzhen frightened, but because of her exaggerated reaction, she even scared her younger brother.
i ngchen plopped down on his bottom, looking at i ngzhen with a bewildered gaze, seemingly worried and a bit scared, his little mouth puckered as if he couldn’t decide whether to speak or cry.
i ngzhen quickly hugged her brother to her chest, and seeing his pitiable look, she comforted him, “Chenchen, why are you looking at your sister like that? You scared to death.”
i ngchen heard his sister’s explanation and imdiately relaxed. He had thought his sister was upset with him, but it turned out she was just startled. With a little pout, he said, “I woke up, and sister, you were still asleep, so I wanted to stay by your side.”
“What ti did you wake up? I’m sorry for scaring you, alright?”
i ngchen reached out and hugged her shoulders, holding her tightly, “I woke up not long ago, I wasn’t scared, sister.”
In fact, he had been awake for quite a while, and had watched i ngzhen for a long ti. It was just that i ngzhen was sleeping so soundly he didn’t want to disturb her. Little did he know, as he watched, he beca entranced, for his sister, protecting him, was at her most beautiful.
i ngzhen twitched her lips upon hearing this answer. The poor thing sounded so aggrieved, yet he pretended he wasn’t scared.
But since her brother was still young, she knew she had to comfort him, so she held i ngchen and patted him for quite a while until his mood gradually settled.
At this ti, i ngzhen decided that taking a nap and entering the “Spiritual Spring” space was a big no-no. That kind of scare was sothing neither her brother nor she wanted to experience again.
Once her brother’s mood was settled, she glanced at the clock. It was ti for dinner.
It seed she had slept quite a while; both the morning and evening als were rather sumptuous. After casually taking so vegetables from the space to make a soup for dinner, they managed to ‘get by’ for the rest of the day.
There had been a lot going on at ho yesterday, so the two of them hadn’t left the house, feeling fully occupied. However, it wouldn’t make sense to stay in again today.
But for i ngchen, going out ant spending money, and their family, well, didn’t have any.
Even though he was very young, he knew this much.
If this had been the past, even if i ngchen was smart, his little brain wouldn’t be capable of understanding these details. But he had been drinking “Spiritual Spring Water” for several days now, and the effects of the water, which were ant to regulate the body and boost mory, were particularly noticeable on the young i ngchen, who naturally had fewer impurities in his body than i ngzhen.
Right now, neither of them realized that not only had i ngchen’s language skills beco much richer, his mind had also beco much sharper.
Of course, since he hadn’t even started kindergarten yet, it was impossible to deduce so much from just a few sentences.
“No worries, let’s go out and see if there’s a place where we can make so money,” suggested i ngzhen. She wanted to go by herself, but with her brother being only 3 years old, it didn’t seem right to leave a child alone at ho. If sothing happened to him at ho, she would feel even more guilty, so she decided it was best to bring him along.
Upon hearing about making money, i ngchen exclaid with joy, “Sister, you thought of a way.”
i ngzhen nodded, “I know soone who can wholesale vegetables— the kind we eat. We could buy so in bulk and then sell them.”
i ngchen’s face lit up with surprise. Such delicious vegetables would surely sell for a lot of money. He happily said, “Good, I’ll be with sister.”
i ngzhen hurriedly nodded, “Yes, we’ll sell them together, but I’m not sure where to sell yet. Let’s go out now and take a look, shall we?”
No matter how intelligent i ngchen was now, at his core, he was still a three-year-old child. Coaxed in such a manner by i ngzhen, the two of them left the house.
They first had breakfast outside, then strolled around the Vegetable Market near their ho.
The Vegetable Market near their ho did diocre business. It mainly catered to people returning ho from work who picked up so groceries on their way, or for those who needed sothing convenient to add to a dish. That’s why the business was quite ordinary, but there was still money to be made.
Speaking of a market that was doing well, another one about a 15-minute walk away was bustling. That Vegetable Market was much larger inside and out, and every stall was doing exceptionally well. The vegetables were fresh and the prices were even cheaper than those at the entrance. Not only i’s parents but also relatives who were off work liked to shop at that market.
After visiting the nearby Market, i ngzhen then took her brother to the busier Vegetable Market further away.
They hadn’t even reached the Market when they found the street so clogged with vendors that it was impossible to pass through. She had not expected there to be so many people shopping for groceries even past 9 o’clock.
i ngchen was small, and fearing he would get trampled, she quickly picked him up.
As they looked around, neither found the dirtiness of the Vegetable Market disturbing; instead, they were both intrigued by the lively atmosphere.
Walking around the Market took more than 20 minutes to complete, which showed how large it was. After surveying the private vendors outside, she found a corner spot and pointed it out to i ngchen, “How about we set up our stall here tomorrow?”
i ngchen nodded enthusiastically, but asked, “Isn’t there one this afternoon?” Why wait until tomorrow when they were free in the afternoon?
i ngzhen was taken aback by his question, “But you have to take a nap in the afternoon, right?”
i ngchen shook his head, “Sister, I don’t have to sleep. It’s the sa if I sleep at night.”
i ngzhen hesitated, she had never sold vegetables before. Trying it out in the afternoon seed like a good idea, but still, “Are you sure you can manage without a nap? Have you ever skipped your afternoon nap before?”
She was truly unaware. After all, she was usually at school, or locked up in her room, or out playing. She hadn’t paid much attention to whether her brother took his afternoon nap or not.
“Definitely,” he said, “I don’t sleep when we go out to play.”
Since that was the case, “Then we’ll give it a try this afternoon.”
If they were going to start selling vegetables in the afternoon, then they needed to prepare the necessary equipnt now.
Luckily, everything they needed was available near the Market. She went down a back alley and after so searching, set her sights on those large PE crates commonly used for logistics, the kind that could be stacked into two layers and had a large capacity. Each cost 25 yuan, and she promptly bought two.
She could have bought more, but she didn’t think she could carry them once they were filled with vegetables.
After another round of shopping, she bought a cart of just the right size to pull the vegetables, spending another 40 yuan. Along with breakfast in the morning, she had spent a full 100 yuan without having done anything else.
A hundred yuan in 2007 was still sowhat valuable. To spend it in such a short ti was painful for soone with no money.
But she didn’t say anything about it. Knowing how sensitive a child’s mind could be, she feared that a thoughtless comnt might lead her brother to worry. However, the child kept tabs in his mind, and before i ngzhen could express her concerns, he started, “How much money did we spend today? Can we earn it back this afternoon?”
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