A whole foam box of cucumbers and eggplants filled Jiang Tang's basket to the brim.
She did not intend to go any further inside, so she carried the bamboo basket and a sack of potatoes on her back and headed toward the entrance.
The boss watched from the side, secretly clicking his tongue. This young lady had quite a lot of strength; even he, a rough man who moved goods every day, might not be able to do it so easily.
Jiang Tang did not walk far before turning into a deserted alley. She stored everything into her Space, leaving only the empty basket to continue browsing.
The time was still early today, and remembering that she hadn't bought Water Shoes yesterday, she planned to go take a look.
Passing by the two-yuan shop, she remembered that she only had two headlamps at home, which wasn't enough, so she stepped inside.
The boss saw her come in again, still wearing that patched Coarse Cloth clothing, though it was a different set.
Her ponytail was tied high, and she still carried a faint salty, fishy scent, looking like someone who dealt with Seafood all day.
The boss wondered to himself: this young girl looked to be of school age, so why wasn't she in school, but instead wandering around his shop every day?
Seeing that she had bought several dozen yuan worth of items last time, she didn't look like someone who lacked money.
Could it be that she just liked wearing these kinds of clothes? Could it be the cosplay that young girls love to play?
Jiang Tang had no idea that the boss was making up so many stories in his mind about her clothes.
If she knew, she would only smile; the boss was just too idle, while she was simply poor.
She took two headlamps and picked out a few pairs of plastic gloves.
Wandering into the glassware section by chance, a set of exquisite small wine cups on the shelf caught her eye.
The six cups, with glacial textures, looked like Crushed jade frozen with frost, refracting starlight under the light. The uneven texture had both natural wild charm and the delicacy of being carved by hand.
The small cup bodies had clean lines, narrowing in the middle like a slender waist. Held in the hand, the cold glass texture reflected the lively patterns, as if scooping up a handful of winter ice crystals or sealing some fragments of the galaxy, condensing the elegance of a Small drink at her fingertips.
Remembering that Young Master Ning had sent Silver yesterday and she was worrying about not having a suitable return gift, Jiang Tang decisively picked up this set of wine cups.
She glanced at the price tag on the Packaging box; it was a bit expensive, nineteen point nine. What about two for ten thousand taels?
Jiang Tang naturally defined the nine point nine as ten thousand taels on the other side.
But she decided to take the item she had fallen for at one glance. She thought that by giving this set of cups, she would have no sense of being in debt at all; instead, she felt that Young Master Ning had actually gotten a huge bargain of twenty thousand taels from her.
When paying the bill, she asked the boss: "Boss, where can I buy Water Shoes?"
The boss looked up at her and pointed the way: "Turn left out the door, walk forward one hundred meters to the ready-to-wear clothes street. The fifth shop is a shoe store; they have all kinds of shoes inside."
After paying the money, Jiang Tang walked in the direction he said. Sure enough, she saw an entire street of ready-to-wear clothes, a bit like a street stall where the clothes were displayed right out to the entrance.
That shoe store was exactly the fifth one, blocked tightly by the clothing stalls on both sides. If the boss hadn't reminded her, she wouldn't have seen it at all, nor would she have thought there would be a shoe store here.
Entering the shoe store, there was no business at the moment, and an old couple was organizing the goods.
Seeing Jiang Tang enter, their eyes landed on her.
The boss saw her, and his glasses slid down to the tip of his nose, but he didn't even push them back up, staring at her without blinking.
It wasn't that he meant anything by it; he was just purely curious.
This young girl was dressed even more shabbily than they were when they were young. What era was this, that there were still such clothes?
"Young girl, what would you like to buy?" The Shop owner saw her looking around and took the initiative to ask.
"Grandma, do you have rain boots here?" Jiang Tang looked around the shop and didn't see any sign of rain boots, so she couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, we do," the Shop owner replied with a smile. "The sun is bright today, so I figured no one would want to buy them, and I didn't put them out."
As she spoke, she bent down and crawled into the back Warehouse. The entrance was low, and inside were iron shelves piled full of all kinds of shoes.
Before long, the Shop owner came out carrying several pairs of Water Shoes in different styles: "Young girl, take your pick and see which style you like."
Jiang Tang took a fancy to a pair of light brown rain boots; the color was dirt-resistant, which was just right: "Grandma, I want three pairs of this style, two in size thirty-eight and one in size thirty-five. Also, one pair of black men's size thirty-eight."
Her foot size was about the same as Su Lianxue's, and Song Jiuxi was only eleven, so her feet were smaller, and size thirty-five was just right.
The men's pair was for Jiang Yi. Even though he wasn't very old, his feet were growing quite fast.
The old couple didn't expect her to want so many at once, and they hadn't even made a sale yet today.
The first business of the day was this simply dressed young girl, and she was buying rain boots that they thought wouldn't sell.
"Wait a moment, I'll go to the back to get the sizes." The boss turned and went into the Warehouse.
The boss soon found the four pairs of rain boots, then turned back inside and brought out a black pair: "Young girl, this pair is size thirty-six. There's a small flaw at the shoe opening, and it can't be sold. Do you want it? If you want it, I'll give it to you."
"I'll take it, thank you, Grandfather."
Jiang Tang took it and looked; the small gap at the shoe opening was inconspicuous and couldn't be seen at all without looking closely. This size was just right for Grandma to wear.
In winter, the snow was heavy. When wearing cloth shoes, the snowmelt would seep in through the shoe opening, making them icy and cold. Having a pair of rain boots would be much more comfortable.
Three pairs of women's shoes at twenty-five each, and the men's shoes at twenty-seven, totaling one hundred and two.
Jiang Tang counted out one hundred and twenty-seven and handed it over, then turned and left, carrying the packed rain boots.
By the time the Shop owner finished counting the money, Jiang Tang had already walked far away. She tugged on her spouse's sleeve: "Old man, look, it's too much! She gave twenty-five extra, exactly the price of the shoes we gave her!"
The boss adjusted his glasses and counted carefully. Sure enough, it was extra: "Keep it. That girl probably saw that we old folks have it hard and gave it on purpose. This girl has a kind heart; she must have cultivated a bodhisattva's heart in her past life."
He muttered on and on, his eyes full of warmth.
Jiang Tang, who had walked far away, faced the sun, her body seemingly plated with a golden edge. Her Coarse Cloth clothing could not hide her open and honest confidence, instead revealing a fresh and lively energy.
Walking to the end of the street, she remembered that it wasn't very appropriate for her to always wander around here in ancient clothes, so she turned and entered the first ready-to-wear clothes shop she had passed on her way.
The shop sold young women's clothing, with moderate prices that ordinary people could afford, which was just what she wanted.
She picked out two dark-colored, dirt-resistant sets. Since she dealt with Seafood all day, they didn't need to be too nice; as long as they were wearable, that was enough.
When she returned to the pork shop, Zhao Fugui had just finished trimming the Fatty meat.
"Uncle Zhao, I'm back."
"Xiao Tang, you've come just in time. I just finished trimming it, and I'll bag it for you now." Zhao Fugui picked up a bag and put the trimmed meat inside.
At this moment, a woman walked over, her Flip-flops making a "pat-pat" sound. Her short, permed, curly hair bounced with her steps like a spring that had just been removed from a mold.
She had a colorful cloth bag slung over her shoulder. As soon as she entered, she picked up a Teacup and took a big gulp, her voice loud and clear: "It's so hot today! It's like a steamer even at eight o'clock.
Luckily I went out early. I've collected all the rent for Morning Market Street, and everyone told me business was bad.
I stood there for two hours; they couldn't say business was bad, so they all paid up obediently."
She paused and then said: "It's just that kid Zhou Chong'an, his business is still not great. I told him to stock up more and not just sell plastic bags, but he won't listen. He's almost unable to even earn back the shop rent. If his wife wasn't my best friend, I wouldn't rent to him."
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