“Alright, they all look pretty good. Let me weigh them for you.” With that, she picked up the scale and started weighing.
In her memory, the original owner had seen her mother use it before, so this was her first time, but she handled it quite decently.
Very soon, the basket of dandelions was weighed. “Exactly one jin. Big sister, take a look and see if it’s correct?”
As she spoke, she even pushed the scale toward her.
When she did that, she looked up and just happened to catch the surprised expression that hadn’t yet been hidden on the woman’s face.
She understood immediately. The original owner’s reputation in the village wasn’t good—besides being lazy and glib, she also looked down on people, always holding her chin high when meeting others in the village.
Today she didn’t cause trouble or cheat on the weight, so of course people were surprised.
She didn’t care what others thought. She took fifteen copper coins from her pouch and handed them over. “One jin of dandelions, fifteen coins. Big sister, count them carefully. Once you confirm, the deal is done.”
The woman, called “big sister,” didn’t refuse. She took the coins and counted them. That’s just how people are—even if they just watched her count, they still had to double-check themselves.
After confirming there was no mistake, she asked, “Right, exactly fifteen coins. Yatou (girl) from the Gu family, will you still be buying tomorrow?”
This was money—of course she had to ask clearly. She had four or five half-grown children who ran around the mountains every day. Instead of letting them fool around, it was better to have them dig dandelions.
Even if it was only one jin a day, it could still buy several jin of coarse grain and let the whole family eat a few full meals.
After getting her answer, the woman left happily with her child.
After the first one, others came one after another.
Seeing baskets almost shoved into her face, she frowned and pushed them away. “Everyone, don’t push. Line up one by one. You’ll just waste time like this. Don’t worry, I keep my word. I buy all medicinal herbs.”
But no one listened at first. Only after she raised her voice did people reluctantly line up.
In the end, she collected twelve jin in total, and her pouch of over a hundred copper coins was emptied.
A relative who didn’t get along with her originally came to watch the show, but when she saw real money being paid out, she couldn’t stay calm.
She loudly said, “Yatou from the Gu family, you’re collecting dandelions like this—are you making a lot of money? We’re all villagers, don’t cheat your own people!”
Her face turned cold. “What do you mean cheating? Explain clearly.”
The woman sneered, accusing her of profiting behind their backs.
She replied calmly, “If you think it’s profitable, then don’t sell to me. Nobody forced you. And if you’re jealous, you can collect them yourself.”
Then she turned to the others: “It’s voluntary. Sell if you want, don’t if you don’t.”
After saying that, she went back inside.
Soon, everyone finished selling.
Later that day, the Gu family returned home.
She proudly presented the dandelions. “Mother, look! Twelve jin today. And I also picked wild vegetables. Amazing, right?”
The old lady nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad.”
At that moment, Gu’s second aunt and second uncle arrived, both with ugly expressions.
“Mother, the village is saying Little Sister is collecting dandelions—what’s going on?”
The old lady immediately called everyone together and explained that she had met a traveling peddler who offered higher prices for herbs, so they were collecting them on his behalf. She also instructed everyone to keep the same story and not leak it.
The second uncle immediately asked if it was true.
The old lady said coldly, “Do you think I’m lying? If anyone dares to talk nonsense and ruin this business, don’t blame me.”
She then warned everyone again to keep it secret.