When Xiao Chen heard her son’s suggestion, she lightly patted Liu An on the shoulder and scolded him in a low voice, “Don’t talk nonsense. Those wealthy gentlemen are refined people—who would eat something so lowly?”
Grandmother Liu immediately bristled at that. Unhappy that her daughter-in-law had reprimanded her precious grandson, she retorted, “Who says my grandson is talking nonsense? Those rich households are used to delicacies from the mountains and seas. Maybe they’d like to try something simple and different for a change!”
“Grandma, you’re so clever! No wonder I’m so smart—I take after you,” Liu An said sweetly, buttering her up while sneaking a playful wink at his mother.
“You little monkey, hurry up and eat before the meat gets cold,” Grandmother Liu laughed.
Liu An turned back to Xiao Chen. “Mother, since Grandma agrees, tomorrow morning let’s pick extra cat’s paw greens and take them to town to sell while they’re fresh, okay?”
Eldest Aunt Cuihua chimed in, “Sister Xiao Chen, let’s just follow An’er’s idea. We’ll all go early tomorrow, gather some, and let him try. Even if they don’t sell, we can eat them ourselves.”
Aunt Sun quickly added, “Yes, we’ll go too.”
Several of the girls eagerly volunteered as well.
“Mother, everyone agrees—please say yes!” Liu An pleaded.
Xiao Chen looked at her son’s exaggerated, hopeful expression and felt both helpless and amused. Since her mother-in-law had already agreed, and even if it failed no one would blame the child, she finally nodded. “Fine. Now eat.”
Only then did Liu An relax and happily continue with dinner.
That night’s meal was as lavish as New Year’s Eve. The whole family ate heartily, sweeping the dishes clean and sitting back with full, round bellies. The children smacked their lips, secretly wishing they could eat meat like this every day.
That evening, Grandpa Liu smoked his pipe and asked his wife, “Are you really letting them go to town to sell those greens?”
“Why not?” Grandmother Liu replied casually. “Didn’t you say our family will rely on An’er in the future? If our grandson wants to try, let him. The greens grow everywhere and cost nothing. If they don’t sell, no loss. At least he’ll gain some experience.”
Grandpa chuckled. “You’re right. Our grandson is smart. Seeing the world will do him good.”
Grandmother rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you hear him say he got his smarts from me? Everyone climbs the mountain, yet only he noticed those greens were edible—and he even picked up a rabbit! In all of Liu Village, my grandson is the smartest and luckiest.”
Grandpa laughed. “Fair enough. Tomorrow I’ll have Sanzhuang take him. Give him some money—if anything’s needed, they can buy it. Even if the greens don’t sell, it won’t be a wasted trip.”
The next morning, before dawn had fully broken, everyone was already up. The women skipped breakfast and went straight to the mountain to gather more greens. By the time Liu An woke, only Grandma and Qi Ya were at home.
“Grandma, where’s Mother?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
“They’ve all gone to gather greens for you—your father, mother, aunts, and sisters,” Grandma said with a smile.
“What? Why didn’t they wake me?” he cried anxiously.
“Grandma said you were sleeping so soundly,” Qi Ya explained. “They’ll be back soon.”
Just then, Grandma said, “They’ve been gone about an hour—they should return any moment. After breakfast, your father can take you to town.”
As she finished speaking, the courtyard gate creaked open. Sure enough, Father, Mother, the aunts, and sisters returned with baskets brimming full. Seeing the harvest, Liu An beamed.
Grandmother laughed and scolded lightly, “You silly lot—picking this much! Do you think those wealthy folks will buy it all? If you sell it today, what about tomorrow?”
Liu Sanzhuang scratched his head. “Don’t worry, Mother. The greens are everywhere. If they don’t sell, we’ll bring them home and eat them tonight.”
Grandmother thought about the abundance on the mountains and stopped worrying. “Wash up and eat. Then head to town. We’re out of oil and rice anyway—buy some while you’re there.”
Breakfast was coarse corn buns, vegetable soup, and some dressed cat’s paw greens. Everyone ate contentedly.
Xiao Chen hesitated and said, “Mother, perhaps I should go with Sanzhuang instead. An’er is still small—I’m worried.”
Liu An panicked. He had worked so hard to convince Grandpa and Grandma. If his mother stopped him now, it would all be for nothing.
“Mother, I want to go! I’m the future pillar of the family. I can’t stay home all day—I want to earn lots and lots of money!” he declared anxiously.
Grandmother, recalling her husband’s words from the night before, smiled. “Let Sanzhuang take him. Let the boy see the world.”
“Yes, An’er’s mother, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him,” Third Son said with a grin.
With no choice left, Xiao Chen agreed.
Overjoyed, Liu An planted a loud kiss on Grandma’s cheek. “Grandma, I love you the most!”
She swatted his little backside affectionately. “You rascal. Don’t run around in town. Stay close to your father, understand?”
“I understand, Grandma!”
After breakfast, Grandmother called Liu Sanzhuang into the room and handed him six hundred copper coins. “Buy two jin of fatty pork to render into oil, and fifty jin of coarse rice.”
“That’s too much money—five hundred coins is enough,” he said honestly, knowing the prices well.
“Take it all,” she insisted. “This is my precious grandson’s first trip to town. If he sees something he likes, buy it. I don’t care whether the greens sell, but you must take care of him. If anything happens, don’t blame your old mother for being harsh.”
“Don’t worry. I’d lose myself before I’d lose my son,” Liu Sanzhuang replied simply.
“What nonsense are you talking? Get going before you annoy me,” she snapped, though her eyes softened. Watching her somewhat dim-witted son shuffle off, she thought to herself that fortunately, her grandson had inherited her brains—not his father’s.
When Liu Sanzhuang came out of his mother’s room, he saw that Liu An was directing his mother and sisters to tie the cat’s claw greens into small bundles with hemp rope. Neatly arranged like that, they looked far more orderly than when they were just tossed into a basket.
“An’er, what are you doing?” Liu Sanzhuang asked in confusion.
“Father, customers prefer things that are clean and neatly arranged. If we tidy them up properly, we can sell them faster—and for a better price,” Liu An explained.
Liu Sanzhuang didn’t have much hope that the wild greens would sell at all, so he simply let his son fuss about. Seeing that his father didn’t quite believe in him, Liu An decided not to argue. Once everything was sold, his father would understand.
After directing everyone to load the bundled greens into Liu Sanzhuang’s large basket and covering them with a straw mat, Liu Sanzhuang easily hoisted the basket onto his back, then scooped Liu An into his arms. “We’re setting off now,” he announced.
“Come back early! Take Uncle Zhou’s ox cart so my precious grandson doesn’t get tired,” Old Madam Liu called out before they left.
“Got it, Grandma! Just wait for me at home!” Liu An waved cheerfully, then urged his father, “Hurry up, Father, or we’ll miss the cart.”
“All right, you little rascal. You’re this small and already bossing your father around,” Liu Sanzhuang grumbled, though he quickened his pace toward the village entrance.
Liu Village only had two oxen—one owned by the village head and the other by Old Man Zhou, who made a living ferrying villagers between the village and the town for a few copper coins each day.
“Uncle Zhou, wait! I’m going to town too!” Liu Sanzhuang called out as the cart was about to leave.
“Hop on—there’s still room,” Old Man Zhou replied with a smile when he recognized him.
Liu Sanzhuang hurried over, climbed aboard, and handed him two copper coins.
“You’re holding the little one, so he rides free. One coin is enough,” Old Man Zhou said kindly.
“Thank you, Grandpa Zhou,” Liu An said sweetly, grateful that he wasn’t charged.
“Hehe, what a good child,” the old man chuckled.
Several village women on the cart couldn’t help but admire Liu An. “Brother Liu Sanzhuang, your son looks like he’s from a wealthy family—so fair and delicate!”
“That’s right. When this child grows up, he’ll surely be promising—much more capable than the other village boys,” another chimed in.
Embarrassed, Liu Sanzhuang scratched his head. Liu An sighed inwardly at his father’s bashful reaction, then smiled brightly. “Thank you, Aunties and Grandmas. You’re all beautiful too.”
“Oh my, what a sweet talker!” The women practically wanted to scoop him up and dote on him, but Liu An had already sensed their intentions. He quickly burrowed into his father’s arms and yawned. “Father, I’m sleepy. I’ll nap for a while.”
Everyone assumed the child was simply tired from waking early, so they left him alone. Liu Sanzhuang held him more securely. Liu An had only intended to fake sleep to avoid the enthusiastic aunties, but before long, he truly fell asleep.
“An’er, wake up. We’re here,” Liu Sanzhuang gently said once they arrived in town.
Liu An rubbed his eyes and realized they had reached their destination. The chatty aunties had already disembarked. “Let’s go, Father. Goodbye, Grandpa Zhou.”
Old Man Zhou waved back. “I’ll be waiting here. We head back at around 5–7 PM. Don’t be late.”
“Don’t worry, Uncle Zhou. I’ll be here on time,” Liu Sanzhuang replied before leading Liu An into town.
Liu An looked around curiously. The town wasn’t as bustling as he had imagined—just more houses than the village, a couple of restaurants and medical halls, and peddlers calling out along the streets.
“Father, we won’t sell the greens by the roadside. Let’s go to a restaurant,” Liu An said decisively.
“An’er, those restaurants aren’t places we can just enter,” Liu Sanzhuang frowned.
“Father, the people selling by the roadside are poor farmers like us. They won’t buy wild greens. We might as well try a restaurant. If it doesn’t work, we can come back—there’s no loss,” Liu An reasoned.
After a moment’s hesitation, Liu Sanzhuang found his son’s logical sound and led him to the entrance of Qingfeng Restaurant. A waiter looked at their plain clothes and asked impatiently, “Are you here to eat? Our dishes aren’t cheap.”
Scratching his head awkwardly, Liu Sanzhuang replied, “We’re here to sell wild greens.”
The waiter sneered. “Then you’ve come to the wrong place. Not just anyone can step into our restaurant. Our guests eat only the finest ingredients.”
Flushed with embarrassment, Liu Sanzhuang turned to leave with Liu An in his arms. At that moment, Liu An spoke up calmly, “Big Brother Waiter, you’re absolutely right. We shouldn’t come to your restaurant. It’s only suited for people like you.”
Thinking it was praise, the waiter puffed up his chest. “Not bad for a little kid—you know how the world works.”
What the waiter didn’t realize was that their exchange had been observed from a private upstairs room in the restaurant opposite. A young gentleman watching the scene couldn’t help but laugh. “That child is quite interesting,” he murmured.
Ignoring the waiter, Liu Sanzhuang left Qingfeng Restaurant with his son.
“Father,” Liu An said with determination, “let’s try the restaurant across the street—Heyun Restaurant.”