Li Xiangqin hadn’t expected Lin Shengxia to come. More precisely, she hadn’t expected her to arrive carrying so many things.
Without thinking, she took the bamboo basket from Lin Shengxia’s hands. When she looked inside, she saw not only a small hanging melon, but also fresh wild vegetables, wood ear mushrooms, and other mushrooms.
As soon as the two carp in the fishing net were placed on the ground, they began flopping around vigorously. After a moment’s thought, Li Xiangqin turned and went back into her shop, returning with a large bucket that she filled with water before putting the fish inside.
It wasn’t mealtime yet, so the small vendors along the street didn’t have much business. Seeing Lin Shengxia arrive with wild vegetables and carp, several people wandered over to see what was going on.
The moment one woman saw the carp in Li Xiangqin’s bucket, she couldn’t resist stepping closer for a better look. Then she exclaimed in surprise.
“Oh my! These are wild carp! There’s no mistake! Four-nostril carp—these are a specialty from Lu Province!
“My husband, Old Xiao, is from Lu Province. He’s always talking about how much he misses these! Xiangqin, no matter what, you have to sell me one of these carp!”
Hearing her words, Li Xiangqin looked doubtfully at the two carp in the bucket.
Sure enough, she could clearly see the four nostrils.
“These really are wild?” Li Xiangqin exclaimed. “Goodness, little girl! I only gave you a few baskets of steamed buns. This gift is far too valuable. I can’t accept it!”
As she spoke, Li Xiangqin moved to pour the carp back into Lin Shengxia’s fishing net.
But two pairs of hands stopped her at the same time!
Lin Shengxia froze and looked at the middle-aged woman who had reached out alongside her.
It was the same woman who had just said she wanted to buy a fish for her husband.
Xu Aixia looked at Lin Shengxia and tentatively asked, “Young lady, would you be willing to sell this carp? I promise I’ll give you a fair price!”
Lin Shengxia shook her head solemnly.
“These fish are gifts for Auntie Li. If Auntie hadn’t given me steamed buns and fever medicine yesterday, my little brother…”
Her eyes reddened as she spoke, and she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
Only then did Li Xiangqin remember why Lin Shengxia had come yesterday.
“Is your little brother better now?”
“His fever is gone, and he ate the steamed buns. He’s full of energy now. He even sorted these wood ear mushrooms himself and told me I had to give them to you and thank you on his behalf.”
The main reason was that everyone in the family had already tried using the back door.
Except for Lin Shengxia, whenever anyone else opened it, they only saw the road leading directly to the mountain behind their home. The vast white boundary never appeared for them.
For now, it seemed Lin Shengxia was the only one who could cross into this place.
That was why Lin Handong had specifically asked his sister to properly thank Li Xiangqin for him.
Yesterday, Li Xiangqin had only helped because Lin Shengxia looked so pitiful that she couldn’t bear to ignore her. She had never expected anything in return.
Who would have thought that Lin Shengxia would take her kindness so seriously?
Before Li Xiangqin could say anything, another surprised cry came from the crowd.
“My goodness! These vegetables are completely wild, not greenhouse-grown? And these wood ear mushrooms—they’re wild too?!”
The moment she said that, several older residents crowded closer to inspect the produce carefully.
They had lived through difficult times when they were younger, so naturally they knew how to distinguish genuinely wild vegetables and mushrooms from cultivated ones.
Now, not only did Xu Aixia refuse to leave, but everyone else wanted to stay too!
These days, such things were treasures that were almost impossible to find at the market.
More importantly, they could be certain that these wild vegetables hadn’t been sprayed with pesticides. They could eat them without worrying.
Surrounded by so many people, Lin Shengxia inevitably became nervous.
Li Xiangqin noticed her discomfort and immediately raised her voice, shooing everyone back.
“Goodness, if you want to look, then just look! Why are you all crowding around her? It’s already so hot. You’re going to suffocate the poor girl!”
Hearing that, everyone sheepishly took a step back.
Still, their eyes remained fixed eagerly on Lin Shengxia. It was obvious that they all wanted to buy something from her.
Although Lin Shengxia’s clothes weren’t covered from top to bottom in patches, they were still extremely old and worn. In truth, she looked rather out of place compared with her surroundings.
Everyone simply assumed she was a girl who had come down from some remote mountain village, so no one thought too deeply about it.
Li Xiangqin knew that Lin Shengxia had no money.
After thinking for a moment, she leaned close to Lin Shengxia’s ear and whispered a few words.
Lin Shengxia immediately panicked and waved her hands repeatedly.
“Auntie, my family gave all of these things to you. I can’t sell them!”
Li Xiangqin glared at her in exasperation.
“Since you gave them to me, doesn’t that mean I get to decide what happens to them? I’m going to sell these things for you right now. Don’t say anything. Just stay behind me.”
After saying that, Li Xiangqin casually pulled Lin Shengxia behind her protectively.
Then she turned toward the old neighbors gathered around them.
“This child has had a hard life, so I’ll take the liberty of setting the prices for her. The fish are twenty-five yuan per jin. The wild vegetables will be ten yuan per bunch. As for these wood ear mushrooms, wild ones aren’t cheap, especially when they’re this fresh! Forty yuan per bunch, and that price is firm!”
The moment Li Xiangqin finished speaking, the crowd fell silent.
But only for a moment.
Then everyone hurried toward her!
Anyone capable of establishing a business on this street was doing well enough for themselves.
Who would be short of such a small amount of money?!
But fresh wild vegetables and wild-caught fish like these were rare treasures that money couldn’t always buy!
If they were sold in an organic fresh-food supermarket, the price would be at least three times higher!
In barely any time at all, both fish were sold and every bunch of vegetables was snatched up.
If Lin Shengxia hadn’t clutched her bamboo basket tightly against herself, someone might have tried to buy that too!
Her mother had woven the bamboo basket herself. It was the only proper container their family owned, so there was no way she could sell it!
Li Xiangqin checked the payment records on her phone and carefully calculated everything. Once she confirmed that no payments were missing, she smiled and called Lin Shengxia into the shop.
“The two wild carp weighed ten jin and eight jin. That’s 250 yuan and 200 yuan. There were eight bunches of wild vegetables, so that’s another 80 yuan. The wood ear mushrooms were 40 yuan. Altogether…”
Li Xiangqin reached for her calculator, but Lin Shengxia had already done the arithmetic in her head.
“Auntie, it’s 570 yuan altogether.”
Li Xiangqin stared at her in surprise.
Then she quickly checked the numbers on her calculator.
It really was 570 yuan!
“My goodness, you little girl! You’re really quick with numbers. It really is 570! Did you bring a phone? I can transfer the money to you.”
Lin Shengxia knew that a “phone” was the small black rectangular object Li Xiangqin was holding.
But how could she possibly own one?
Perhaps noticing Lin Shengxia’s awkwardness and worried that she might feel embarrassed, Li Xiangqin laughed casually.
“It’s fine if you didn’t bring one. I have cash here. I’ll get it for you.”
With that, she pulled open a drawer, counted out 570 yuan, and held the money out to Lin Shengxia.
Lin Shengxia stared at the colorful banknotes in front of her but didn’t reach out to take them.
“Auntie, I brought those things to thank you. The money from selling them should naturally belong to you too.”
“Don’t I still have that little hanging melon and a big bunch of mushrooms?” Li Xiangqin replied. “That’s more than enough. Those steamed buns only cost a little over twenty yuan, and after reimbursement, the fever medicine was only a little over ten. A 570-yuan gift in return is far too much. I can’t take advantage of you like that!”
After thinking for a moment, Lin Shengxia accepted only 500 yuan.
No matter what Li Xiangqin said, she stubbornly refused to take the remaining 70.
Li Xiangqin understood what the girl was thinking and sighed softly.
“Those people seemed very interested in the things you brought. If you have more, just bring them here and sell them!”
Lin Shengxia hadn’t expected Li Xiangqin to actually allow her to sell things here.
Overwhelmed with gratitude, she hurriedly bowed deeply.
“Auntie, thank you!”