Old Li’s eyes went wide, and he said to Zhou Daya beside him, “Old woman, pinch yourself, are we dreaming?”
Zhou Daya pinched his thigh hard.
Old Li leapt three feet into the air instantly.
“Ow! Why are you pinching me?”
Zhou Daya let go, saying with disdain, “I can’t bring myself to pinch myself.”
She turned her head and broke into a wide grin.
She didn’t expect much, and it turned out to really be a medicinal herb.
Two packages of medicine, even trading for just one coin would already be a profit.
Old Li rubbed his aching thigh and rushed up to the counter, delighted. “Shopkeeper, what’s the price?”
He knew the shopkeeper could tell they didn’t understand medicine, and might try to cheat them.
Better to ask the price first, so if he tried other shops he wouldn’t lose out as much.
The shopkeeper said at once, “Our buying price is fifteen coins a catty.”
Old Li’s mouth fell open into an “o.”
Fifteen coins!
A catty!
Zhou Daya was startled too. “There’s plenty of these wild berries growing in the fields, why are they so expensive?”
The shopkeeper nearly wanted to cry.
“Every year once Wupao ripens, the children pick and eat it. Our medicine shop can never collect enough to last the year!”
There were only a few herb-gathering workers, how could they compete with the children?
Especially this year, up to now he’d only collected a bit over a catty, and once it was processed there’d be almost nothing left.
“Let’s weigh these first, shopkeeper.”
Old Li said, and set the other package on the counter too.
The shopkeeper took out a small scale and weighed it, then said with a smile, “Two and a half catties in total, I’ll give you thirty-eight coins.”
As he spoke he counted out thirty-eight coins and handed them to Old Li.
Old Li took the money, grinning from ear to ear.
A corn flour cake had been traded for thirty-eight coins.
What a huge profit!
Zhou Daya happily patted Chen Xiaoman’s head.
“Our Xiaoman is really something!”
Chen Xiaoman’s little face flushed red at the praise.
Old Li cleared his throat and quickly put on a stern face. “Thirty-eight coins is nothing compared to five strings.”
Chen Xiaoman said crisply, “I’ll earn lots and lots more money.”
Old Li immediately nodded. “That’s more like it.”
Zhou Daya shook her head helplessly.
This stingy old man.
Encouraged, Chen Xiaoman turned and happily asked the person across the counter, “We have a lot more, does the shopkeeper want it?”
“Where would we have…”
Old Li’s sentence was cut short when he saw Chen Xiaoman wink at him.
His eyes darted, and his tone changed at once. “Right, we have a lot.”
The shopkeeper said delightedly, “However much you have, I’ll take it all!”
Old Li pulled Zhou Daya aside and told her quietly, “You two wait here, I’ll go buy up all that woman’s Wupao.”
But Zhou Daya shook her head repeatedly. “If you go, won’t that make people suspicious?”
Old Li grew anxious. “Then what do we do?”
Chen Xiaoman covered her mouth with both little hands and said quietly, “I promised Auntie I’d trade with her again once I had more cakes.”
Old Li nearly wanted to pound his chest a few times. “Why didn’t you give Xiaoman a few more corn cakes!”
Zhou Daya ground her teeth in anger.
If they weren’t out in public, she’d definitely twist this old man’s ear.
Chen Xiaoman volunteered, “I’ll go buy from Auntie myself, she’s willing to sell me five catties for one coin.”
“Right, right, right,” Old Li said, his eyes crinkling with a smile. “Old woman, let’s take Xiaoman to go buy it.”
The three of them agreed at once.
Behind the counter, the shopkeeper watched the two adults and the little one huddled together plotting, his eyelids twitching.
Why did it feel like he’d just taken a big loss?
The thought came and went, and he brushed it aside.
He was buying medicine at market price, what loss could there be.
He cleared his throat and asked with a smile, “When can you deliver the Wupao?”
Old Li stood up abruptly, the wrinkles on his face rippling like water. “We’ll go get it right now.”
After settling things with the shopkeeper, the family of three walked off with brisk, cheerful steps.
The woman was still calling out listlessly.
Then she heard a little girl’s crisp voice, “It’s her!”
The woman turned to look and saw the girl she’d tricked out of a corn flour cake coming toward her with an old couple in tow, looking fierce.
Her face went pale, and she quickly turned away, avoiding their eyes.
But the little girl called out to her anyway. “Auntie, I’ve come to buy wild berries from you!”
The woman was scared half to death, and picked up her basket, about to run.
She hadn’t gone two steps before Zhou Daya caught hold of her.
The woman stiffened and turned her head, forcing a smile uglier than crying.
“Big Sister, can I just give the cake back to you?”
When she’d seen them leave earlier, she’d let out a huge breath of relief.
Who would have thought this family of three would come looking for her again in the blink of an eye.
She knew she was in the wrong, so she’d better just admit it, to avoid being taught a lesson.
If she’d known, she wouldn’t have come to the county town to sell Wupao, no money made, and a huge headache on top of it.
Zhou Daya said quickly with a smile, “Little sister, you’ve misunderstood. We’ve come to buy wild berries, how much for these?”
Seeing Zhou Daya didn’t seem to be lying, the woman let out a breath.
But in the next moment, her mind started calculating.
This couple clearly looked like country folk, how could they afford to buy wild berries just to eat?
She probed carefully, “What are you buying these wild berries for?”
Old Li cleared his throat and put on a stern face. “Are you selling or not?”
“Selling!”
Seeing Old Li getting angry, the woman was afraid they’d storm off.
Whatever they wanted them for, she’d worry about that after making the money.
“One coin for three catties.”
The woman had barely finished speaking when Chen Xiaoman went “Eh,” her face full of confusion. “Auntie, you just said one coin for five catties.”
“That was too cheap.” The woman shook her head repeatedly.
Zhou Daya gave a “humph.” “Do you take us for fools? Come on, we’re not buying!”
Seeing they actually wanted to buy, she’d tried to raise the price on the spot, she scooped up Chen Xiaoman and turned to leave.
Chen Xiaoman looked anxious, peering back over Zhou Daya’s shoulder.
Old Li hurried to stop Zhou Daya. “The child likes it, so what if it costs a bit more, why are you leaving.”
Zhou Daya shot Old Li a look. “One coin is enough to buy the child candy. Only a fool would spend money on wild berries you can find anywhere.”
“Oh come on, Big Sister, one coin of candy won’t last any time at all, but wild berries can feed a child for a whole day.”
The woman said with a smile, trying to pull Zhou Daya back.
“These wild berries are small, it takes a lot of effort to pick just one catty, one coin for three catties isn’t expensive.”
Zhou Daya looked at the docile Chen Xiaoman, then turned back to the woman. “One coin for six catties, or forget it.”
Wild berries weren’t worth anything at all.
The corn cake wasn’t even worth one coin, and it had already been traded for two and a half catties. One coin for six catties would definitely still turn a profit.
The woman looked troubled. “That’s too cheap.”
“Never mind then, I’ll pick them myself.”
Zhou Daya shook the woman’s hand off without a hint of politeness, and turned to leave.
Seeing the group about to walk off, the woman panicked.
She stamped her foot and said hurriedly, “Don’t rush off, I’ll do it at your price!”
Zhou Daya gave Old Li a triumphant look.
Old Li cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, and walked up to the woman. “Let’s weigh it then, I’ll take all of it.”
The woman was stunned for a moment, then broke into wild delight. “Good, good, good!”
“Taking off the weight of the basket, it’s thirty-six and a half catties in total, I’ll count it as thirty-six for you!”
Zhou Daya said reluctantly, “Buying this much and only getting half a catty extra.”
The woman said with a flattering smile, “Thirty-six catties, that’s exactly six coins, isn’t it?”
Zhou Daya took out six coins and handed them to the woman.
Old Li poured the Wupao into his own carrying basket, hoisted it onto his back, and walked off.
“Safe travels!” the woman said happily.
Chen Xiaoman turned and waved her little arm hard at the woman. “Bye-bye, Auntie!”
Oh my, what an endearing little girl.
She’d actually earned her six whole coins!
She really was her lucky star!