Today, Li Suisui still wanted to ride the ox cart.
As soon as she reached the borders of Gaojia Village, she couldn’t help but pause.
“Suìsuì, what are you looking around for?”
“Grandpa, I’m waiting for the ox cart.”
At that moment, the cart came into view. She was about to call out to it when Li Laotou scolded her.
“Let’s just walk to the town. Why waste the money? Let’s go!”
Li Suisui had no choice but to follow him.
Gao Laosan, who was driving the cart, caught up to them. “Little girl, aren’t you going to ride today?”
Before Li Suisui could answer, Li Laotou interrupted repeatedly. “Not riding. We don’t have that kind of money to waste.”
“Little girl, this is—”
“Hehe, Uncle Gao, this is my Grandpa. Since Grandpa says no, then we won’t ride.”
Li Laotou was a grumpy little old man. Li Suisui felt a bit intimidated and didn’t dare argue.
Whether she rode the cart or not didn’t matter much to Gao Laosan, but he was curious about what good seafood Li Suisui had brought to town today.
“You are so lucky, having such a clever and capable granddaughter who can bring fine seafood to town every day. What have you brought today?”
Li Laotou, however, kept a frosty expression. “Who is lucky enough to pick up top-quality fish every day?”
“Then why are you carrying buckets to town?”
“What’s it to you? Do I need to explain? Suìsuì, hurry up, don’t dawdle.”
Li Suisui apologized with a glance at Gao Laosan, then hurried after her hastily departing grandpa.
“Grandpa, wait for me!”
Watching Li Laotou’s retreating back, Gao Laosan spat on the ground. “It’s just a few small fish. What’s the big deal? And he won’t even show me.”
After this little incident, Li Laotou scolded Li Suisui some more, warning her to be careful outside—there are too many bad people, and so on.
Then, they set off at a brisk pace.
Li Laotou’s legs seemed to have motors, never stopping. Li Suisui couldn’t keep up and had to jog to catch him.
Exhausted, she finally gasped, “Grandpa, can we rest a bit?”
“Rest? The fish can’t wait. If they die, the price will drop.”
“But I really can’t walk anymore,” she panted.
Looking at her red, sweaty little face, Li Laotou finally stopped. “Girls aren’t as strong as boys. If you need to rest, then rest a bit.”
“Grandpa, I don’t like that. I may not have a boy’s strength, but I’m smart, and I have good luck finding seafood!”
Hearing her mention her luck, Li Laotou suddenly remembered what Gao Laosan had said. “I heard from the cart driver that you’ve been delivering things to town these past few days?”
“Yes, the last two days.”
“The day before yesterday, your Grandma said you found a grouper and sold it for a hundred wen. What about yesterday?”
“Geoduck and a big crab.”
“Yesterday I heard villagers say someone picked up a fat geoduck at the beach. Didn’t expect it to be you.”
“Hehe, Grandpa, my luck isn’t bad, right? Today I even found a large yellow croaker.”
“Luck is one thing, but intelligence is another. You’re too trusting; one day someone might cheat you.”
“Grandpa, I’m your granddaughter! How can you say that?”
“Exactly because you’re my granddaughter, I can say this. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t care. Alright, rest enough. Let’s go.”
This time, Li Laotou didn’t stop again, and Li Suisui ran alongside him, keeping up all the way to town.
“Grandpa, this way!”
“Nonsense! The fish market is this way. How can you sell a yellow croaker without going there?”
“No need for the market. We’ll go directly to Xie’s fish shop.”
“Xie’s fish shop will buy our fish?”
“Of course! The fish I sold before all went to Xie’s shop. They not only buy it, but pay fairly too.”
After Li Suisui explained, Li Laotou realized she had already built a relationship with the Xie family’s shop. He couldn’t quite believe it.
“Really?”
“If Grandpa doesn’t believe me, follow me and see for yourself.”
Soon, they arrived at Xie’s fish shop.
Li Laotou paused at the wide door and golden sign, fidgeting with his patched-up clothes.
Li Suisui, however, ran straight in.
“Uncle Kuan!”
“Little girl, you really came.”
“Hehe, I didn’t lie. I brought something good again today.”
“Show me what you’ve got.”
“Grandpa is holding it for me.”
Li Suisui looked back to see Li Laotou still standing outside. She waved. “Grandpa, come in and show Uncle Kuan the yellow croaker.”
Seeing Li Suisui chatting comfortably with Xie Kuan, Li Laotou was stunned. Was this really his obedient granddaughter? She had clearly made a connection with the fish shop.
Seeing Li Laotou still hesitant, Li Suisui grew anxious. She walked a few steps and tugged his sleeve.
“Grandpa, stop dawdling! Bring the fish in for Uncle Kuan to see.”
“Suìsuì, you call him Uncle Kuan?”
“Yes, he’s Xie Kuan, the shopkeeper. Grandpa, come on! I’ll introduce you. This is the yellow croaker I caught this morning—still alive and large. Give me a fair price.”
Li Laotou quickly set the bucket down. “Shopkeeper Xie, please have a look.”
Xie Kuan smiled mischievously. “Little girl, do you not trust me or Xie’s fish shop? We’re honest—we don’t cheat. Besides, I’ve been instructed by Xie Wuyue, so I wouldn’t dare.”
“Hehe, Uncle Kuan, I know you’re fair. I was just joking, don’t take it to heart.”
“You little trickster!”
“Hehe,” Li Suisui giggled.
“Your yellow croaker is indeed fine. There’s a wealthy customer in town who urgently needs one. I’ll give you a ten percent premium: 1 tael of silver for 100 wen. Is that acceptable?”
“Whatever Uncle Kuan says is fine. I trust you completely.”
Xie Kuan chuckled. “You little girl, always so sweet-talking.”
“All right, I’ll put it on the account. Grandpa, let’s go. Thanks for today, Uncle Kuan.”
After leaving the shop, Li Laotou still felt unreal.
Was this really his granddaughter? In just a few words, she had bonded with the shopkeeper and even earned an extra hundred wen.
“Grandpa, what’s wrong? Let’s hurry! You promised to take me to buy a wooden bed!”
Seeing Li Suisui’s beaming face, Li Laotou finally stopped underestimating her. He realized he needed to pay closer attention to this clever granddaughter in the future.