Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 29 - 28 Middle-Aged Man

Chapter 29: Chapter 28: Middle-Aged Man

Chapter 29 -28: Middle-Aged Man

The next day, even before the crack of dawn, Xiao’er woke up.

She found that Mrs.

Liu had already prepared a pot of white porridge and steamed some buns.

Shen Chengyao had also made a pot of chestnuts following Xiao’er’s directions.

The pot of chestnuts that was currently being prepared was also spreading a fresh aroma around.

After Xiao’er had finished freshening up, Jingrui and Jinghao woke up too.

After the family had their breakfast together, Shen Chengyao loaded a cart full of goods and three children onto a bullock cart and set off towards the county.

Upon reaching the county, Shen Chengyao found a stand, unloaded the goods from the bullock cart and started looking for casual labor.

The street was always well patrolled by officers on market days so the security was good.

No one dared to make trouble, so Shen Chengyao was at ease leaving the children to sell the goods.

There were other children selling goods on the street as well.

Xiao’er opened the bag full of chestnuts, revealing the candied chestnuts inside.

The smell of the chestnuts wafted out quickly, attracting a passerby who asked, “What is this that smells so good?”

Xiao’er looked at the woman standing before her; a kind-faced woman in her thirties, who was pulling along a little boy aged four or five.

He pointed at the chestnuts and said eagerly, “Mom, I want to eat this!

It smells so good.”

Xiao’er grabbed a handful and handed them to the woman, “Sister, these are candied chestnuts.

They are sweet and soft, you can try them.

If you don’t like them, you don’t have to buy.”

The woman laughed and responded, “You could be my son, calling me sister.

You should call me auntie.

I can’t accept being called sister, or else people would say I have no shame.” After saying this, the woman took a chestnut from Xiao’er, removed the shell, and fed it to her son before eating one herself.

“But sister, you look so young!

Calling you aunt would make you sound old.

You look just about the same age as my sister.” Women always feel good when someone says they look younger than their age.

The flattered woman began to smile more brightly.

After tasting the chestnut, she found it delicious, “My goodness, your words are sweeter than these chestnuts.

I should buy these chestnuts just for your sweet talk.

How much do they cost?”

“Sister, you are so kind.

These chestnuts are twelve coins a pound.

If you buy two pounds, we throw in half a pound for free.”

“Isn’t that a bit expensive?” The woman frowned.

Twelve coins was almost the price of meat.

“Actually, it’s not that expensive.

If you buy two pounds, we will give you half a pound gratis.

That’s only nine coins and six plates per pound.

Our chestnuts are made with a secret method.

Their texture is fine and soft, sweet and fragrant.

Plus, chestnuts have beauty and longevity benefits.

You will look younger after eating them.

Considering these benefits, this price is actually a bargain.

Today is the first sale, so we are giving away free chestnuts, but the price will rise next market day and there will be no more freebies no matter how much you buy.”

“Mom, buy them, I want more!” The little boy tugged at his mother’s sleeve continuously.

“Oh, you little ancestor, I’ll buy them, alright?

Now stop shaking me.”

“Then I’ll take two pounds.” He was her long-awaited son, who she usually indulged.

If she did not buy, he could make a fuss to the point of giving her a headache.

It was just too annoying.

“Of course,” Xiao’er happily replied.

Jingrui quickly placed the chestnuts in the iron pan to weigh.

After taking out two and a half pounds, Xiao’er added a few more chestnuts into the pan until the rear of the weighing pan tipped upwards.

Xiao’er then wrapped the two and a half pounds of chestnuts into two packages using lotus leaves, before tying it securely with straw and handing it to the woman.

The woman was delighted to see Xiao’er adding a bit more even when she had enough to meet the requirement, and happily handed over her copper plates.

Jinghao counted the twenty-four plates given by the woman before accepting them.

After the first sale, others followed, and Xiao’er’s two-for-one promotional strategy was very effective.

People always love a bargain and felt that they were getting more for their money.

Hence, many people bought two pounds each.

Very soon, half of their chestnuts were sold, leaving only about twenty pounds.

Not far away, a middle-aged man in a navy blue high-quality silk robe, his face weary with travel, was looking for something fresh on the street.

He had just returned from a trip to the southernmost part of the country, where he had promised his children that he would bring them back some delicious food.

However, the fruit he brought back had spoiled.

So, before heading home, he decided to see what fresh items he could find in the market.

Noticing the crowd around Xiao’er’s stall, with everyone leaving with two packages, he walked over.

By the time it was his turn, there were less than ten pounds of chestnuts left.

“How do you sell these chestnuts?”

“They are twelve coins a pound, but if you buy two pounds, we’ll throw in an extra pound for free,” Xiao’er replied while packing chestnuts for an old lady.

Once she had finished packing, she looked up at the man and handed him a handful, “Uncle, you can try them.”

The man broke open the outer shell, put the chestnut meat in his mouth and tasted it.

The rest he discarded back into the basket.

He nodded in satisfaction, “The taste is good.

I’ll take all that’s left.” Having said this, he handed Xiao’er a cloth bag.

Jingrui promptly emptied all the remaining chestnuts in the sack into the bag and weighed it, which came up to nine pounds and three taels.

“That’s nine pounds and three taels.

So we only charge for six pounds, and we’ll give you one and a half pound free.

The remaining one pound and eleven taels, considering uncle bought a lot, I’ll charge you for only one and a half pounds.

I will add another three taels for you, uncle.

So the total will be ninety coins,” Xiao’er happily quoted the price.

The middle-aged man was flabbergasted by Xiao’er’s rapidfire calculations, thinking that this girl was impressive.

Her mental calculation speed was even faster than his shopkeeper’s.

What he didn’t know was that Xiao’er could figure out ninety coins in less than a second, only holding back to let him keeping pace. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Jingrui and Jinghao were also surprised, wondering how Xiao’er became so skilled.

“Young miss, have you learned arithmetic before?”

“Yes, I have a cousin who goes to school, and I learned from him.” Xiao’er started her fabrications again.

The siblings looked towards the sky speechlessly, wondering when their older cousin ever taught her.

Usually, even if they came a bit close, Aunt would stop them, saying not to disturb her cousin while studying.

The middle-aged man nodded his head and, seeing the three baskets behind Xiao’er, asked, “Do you have any other fresh goods?” Not expecting much, he was astonished by what came next.

Xiao’er glanced at the baskets behind her, “Uncle, please wait a moment.”

Xiao’er walked over to the baskets, pretended to sift through them, and then pulled out an orange, a mango, and a small bunch of lychees.

“Uncle, would you like these three types of fruit?”

The middle-aged man stared, his eyes as wide as saucers, as Xiao’er held out the orange, mango, and lychees and exclaimed, “How did you get these fruits?”

“My father picked them in the deep mountains yesterday.

They’re all fresh and very sweet.

Uncle, you can have a sniff.” Even the scent of these quality fruits from her space could refresh one’s mind.

“How can there be mangoes on the mountains this season?

And is this a lychee?

Why is the orange so big?

Is it an orange or pomelo?

Are all these fruits picked from the mountain?

Which mountain?

How can it grow such good fruits?” The middle-aged man held the fruits dearly, firing off question after question.

“I don’t know about that.

My father brought them back from the deep mountains.

Moreover, there are four seasons in a single mountain, and every ten miles represent a different world.

If the mountains can even grow precious items like ginseng, why can’t they produce good fruits?

Uncle, do you want them?” Xiao’er stretched out her hand, pretending to take the fruits back.

“Yes, I want all of them if you have more.

Do you often read books with your cousin?

‘Four seasons in one mountain, ten miles represent a different world’, well said.” The middle-aged man withdrew his hands, avoiding Xiao’er’s and also didn’t forget to compliment her.

These three fruits were the best he had ever seen.

He felt that even tribute items wouldn’t look this good.

Xiao’er moved the medicinal herbs in her basket to another place, sneakily adding a bit more in, and then handed the basket to the man to inspect.

“Is this all you have?” The man seemed a bit disappointed when he only saw half a basket of fruit.

“What’s the price for these fruits?”

“Uncle, you’re a man of the world, and this is our first time picking these fruits.

Please make a fair offer.” In her basket were over 30 pounds of fruit, including about ten mangoes, twelve oranges, and five or six pounds of lychees.

Seeing the man as a straightforward and generous person, Xiao’er let him make the offer.

“You sure know how to talk, young miss.”

He put the fruits back in the basket, picked it up and weighed it before setting it down and said, “Since you believe in me, I’ll offer you ten taels of silver for these fruits.

How about it?”

“Since I asked uncle to make the offer, of course uncle’s decision is final.” Xiao’er happily agreed, knowing that ten taels of silver for goods from her space was definitely a win for her.

Nevertheless, the fact that this man was willing to pay ten taels showed that he wasn’t someone who would bully children.

The middle-aged man pulled out a silver ingot and a chain of coins.

“No need to give change for the remaining ten coins.”

Xiao’er quickly counted out ten coins and handed them to him.

“We agreed on ninety coins.

Please take it, Uncle.”

The man pushed away Xiao’er’s hand, picked up the basket, and also carried a bag of candied chestnuts in his other hand.

“It’s fine, consider those ten coins the purchase for your basket.

Besides, your fruits might have actually given me quite a bargain.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Hearing his words, Xiao’er didn’t act humble anymore, and carefully pocketed the copper coins.

“If you have such good fruits in the future, you can come to the Hongyun Grocery Store and look for me, my surname is Zhou.”

“Sure, take care, Uncle.”