Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Too Delicious Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Too Delicious After a mont of bewildernt, i ngchen quickly recalled the recent events and asked, “Sister, selling vegetables, have the vegetables been sold?”
Before i ngzhen could answer, the elder sister spoke again, “Sell what? Your sister’s veggies are priced so high, who would buy them? Are they crazy?”
i ngchen, who had fallen asleep, really didn’t know who this talkative elder sister was. He glanced at the elder sister opposite him and then at i ngzhen.
Then i ngzhen comforted him, “We’ve only just arrived a short while, you haven’t slept long, and since there haven’t been any people, naturally nothing has been sold. It’ll be fine once people start coming.”
The elder sister, unconvinced, felt that the child was too idealistic about the market, “Kid, I’m not exaggerating, but your veggies really are too expensive.”
i ngzhen didn’t bother with this person, she opened the water bottle and fed her brother so Spiritual Spring Water, then took out so money and told him to buy an ice pop. The convenience store was right behind them, so there was no need to worry about him running out of sight, “Go on, I’ll have the old-fashioned ice pop, you can buy whatever you want.”
i ngchen gave the elder sister opposite a look and ignored her as he walked to the convenience store behind them.
i ngzhen naturally found the elder sister quite annoying, but she was in fact quite warm-hearted. She had observed while sitting for a while that the elder sister was quite popular, knowing many people from the nearby private stalls as well as the small shops across the street. Since she had chosen to sell vegetables here, naturally, she wanted to make acquaintances too, “Elder sister, have you had lunch yet?”
“Not yet, it’s too hot. I’ll eat later,” the elder sister said while wiping the sweat from her forehead with a towel.
That worked out perfectly. i ngzhen stood up, took out a big cabbage, and handed it to the elder sister, “Since you haven’t eaten yet, why not have this big cabbage for lunch? The cabbage from my ho really tastes delicious, elder sister will know once you try it. This one is on the house, no charge.”
“You kid.” The elder sister was sowhat surprised by i ngzhen’s gesture. After all, she also sold vegetables; although they weren’t expensive, they did have a cost. And because of this, she knew that selling vegetables didn’t make a lot of money, but here was this child offering them for free, which made her feel a bit embarrassed.
i ngzhen didn’t give her a chance to refuse, “Elder sister, please don’t be polite. You try it out when you fry it for lunch, and in the afternoon you can tell if it’s tasty or not. You can then tell if my vegetables are worth the price.”
The implication was to ask for her help in taste-testing the vegetables. i ngzhen made herself clear, and the elder sister understood too. Without any further politeness, she agreed, “Alright, I’ll give it a try at lunch. If it’s tasty, I’ll help you spread the word in the afternoon.”
“Great, thank you, elder sister.”
The elder sister in front of them took the cabbage and returned to the convenience store behind her.
Yes, that’s right, she collided right with i ngchen, who had just returned from buying an ice pop.
It turns out that the elder sister and the convenience store were from the sa family. i ngzhen hadn’t noticed that.
Seeing her looking puzzled, the old lady on her right explained, “The elder sister you just called out to runs the convenience store. Most of us live nearby, though so live farther away, but we usually pack up and leave at noon.”
In fact, she had observed for quite a while that the young girl’s vegetables were indeed good, but the price was too steep. Just earlier, the price had shocked her, imdiately putting her off the idea of taking any ho. As her words ended, the exchange ca to a close.
Their little stall quieted down again, and the siblings sat calmly on their little chairs, enjoying the aromatic ice pops in their hands.
However, it wasn’t long before a delicious aroma wafted out from the convenience store. The old lady sniffed and said, “What’s that sll? It’s so fragrant.”
So people followed the scent to the door of the convenience store and began asking, “Sister Zhang, what are you cooking that slls so good?”
Sister Zhang was also puzzled; the dish was fried as usual, the seasoning just like any other day, yet today’s cooking slled exceptionally good. Hearing the voices outside, she replied, “It’s just stir-fried cabbage, the leaves lightly fried and the stems with sour and spicy flavor.”
The locals here loved eating it that way, and her family also ate like this at noon, only they just lightly fried the leaves and stems because the children couldn’t eat spicy food.
But as she inhaled the scent of the stir-fried spicy cabbage stems, the ice pop in her hand didn’t taste as sweet anymore. “This dish slls much better than anything sister makes.”
i ngchen wasn’t bothered, his sister was the best at cooking, and without her dishes, how could anyone fry sothing so fragrant? He remained silent, continuing to enjoy the ice pop in his hand.
i ngzhen didn’t get a response from her brother and didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just because the ice pop was about to lt and he couldn’t talk in ti. Kids are like that.
However, it wasn’t long before the ice pop, which was about to lt but not yet finished, was dropped to the ground due to Sister Zhang’s exclamation.
At that mont, Sister Zhang, with a plate in one hand and chopsticks in the other, rushed out with a look of surprise. Her loud voice imdiately drew the attention of many people around, “Kid, your vegetables are just too delicious. Indeed, you get what you pay for. You gave this cabbage to elder sister here for free, and I can’t just take it without giving sothing in return. Bring another two cabbages. No, make that three. Wait, five cabbages, five cabbages.”
Five cabbages? Before i ngzhen had ti to mourn the ice pop that fell to the ground, she was comforted by the order for five cabbages, “Alright, I’ll pack them for elder sister. Ten yuan each, that’s fifty for five. Elder sister, how about trying a radish too? They taste just as good.”
The elder sister hesitated briefly before agreeing, “Okay, then. Give one to try first, and if it’s good, I’ll buy more.”
“Sure, I’ll pack up the cabbages for you right away.” Saying this, i ngzhen got busy. She hadn’t expected soone to buy so much at once and had only prepared small bags for a single cabbage. As she was opening the bags one by one, the elder sister waved her hand dismissively, “What are you packing for? Just bring them straight to the counter. I’ll take them inside myself.”
“Alright, sure.”
That saved the bags. i ngzhen carried the cabbages over to the counter behind them and finally received sixty yuan from the elder sister.
The elder sister also stayed busy, taking the radish to the kitchen. Although i ngzhen didn’t know how she cooked it, as soon as the elder sister finished frying the radish, she ca out and bought another five radishes.
Smiling, Sister Zhang said, “I’m Zhang. You can call Sister Zhang. Are you planning to set up your stall regularly? You seem to be a student.”
“Yeah, I’ll be here before school starts. Once school starts, I’ll have to go to school. After that, I guess it will be just weekends, depending on whether I have ti or not.”
At this point, Sister Zhang didn’t ask any further. After all, it’s just setting up a stall, and the two had just t; asking too much wouldn’t be nice.
However, Sister Zhang’s purchase really startled the people around her, and the old lady from earlier hurried over to ask, “Why did you buy so much? The vegetables aren’t cheap, and you’ve just spent over a hundred. That cabbage looks very good, but you can buy one for just 2-3 yuan, and that radish, it’s too expensive.”
Sister Zhang, unfazed, shook her head, “Really, I’m not exaggerating, it’s so delicious. Don’t go away; let grab a pair of chopsticks for you to try.”
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