“Then I’ll take it. Thank you, Auntie. Oh, and these are the wild garlic shoots you wanted. We got up a bit late this morning, so we didn’t drop them off at your shop first—we were planning to bring them over after we sold out. But since you’re here, here you go.”
“Oh, so fresh! The mud on these hasn’t even dried yet.”
Chen Fang didn’t stand on ceremony and picked out a bundle for herself.
Xiaogu chimed in, “My sister and I went up the mountain to get them this morning. They’re all super fresh—not a single bad one.”
“Auntie, don’t you want a bit more? Just one bundle?”
“This stuff doesn’t keep long, and a little goes a long way. One bundle is plenty—I can steam some with eggs and still have enough to stir-fry with cured meat.
Let me show you how to use this scale. See, here’s where you set the price. This is a kilogram scale, so since you’re selling your wild greens for 10 yuan per jin, you need to set it to 20 yuan.
After you set the price, just put the greens on top, and the total will show up.
Look—this bundle is one jin and two liang, so that’s 12 yuan total.”
It was pretty simple. The two kids caught on right away, and after a couple of practice tries, they were using it smoothly.
“Sis, tomorrow we don’t have to sell everything by the bundle anymore, right?”
“Yeah, starting tomorrow we can sell by weight. People can buy as much or as little as they want.”
“Little girl, are these yams for sale too?”
Lin Xiaohe was taken aback for a few seconds before she registered the question.
They’d been in such a rush today that they hadn’t had time to sort the greens at home—they’d only started doing it after arriving here.
The yams had stayed in the basket, not taken out.
“Your yams look pretty fresh—dug this morning? Are they wild yams?
I saw some wild yams inside going for 15 yuan per jin, but yours are a bit rougher—curved and broken in places.
I’ll give you 12 yuan per jin. Would you sell them at that price? If so, I’ll take the whole lot.”
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes lit up. Yams were heavy—that one they’d dug this morning weighed at least three or four jin.
That would be thirty or forty yuan.
“Sold! We’ll take your price.” She put it on the scale—it came out to four jin three liang, and they rounded it down to four jin.
That came to 48 yuan.
“Oh my, I finally found you! I’ve been wandering around all morning and was starting to think you weren’t coming today.”
An old lady stood by the stall and began to chat.
“Your wild greens are really something—they’ve got that true wild flavor without any bitterness, and everyone loves them, young and old.
Wild greens are so healthy—I ate some last night and felt refreshed all morning.
Your timing’s just a little late, though. I’m usually already home by this hour.”
As she chattered, she picked through the greens, but her gaze caught sight of someone paying for yams.
Her eyes lit up immediately. “Oh! You’ve got wild yams too! Those are fantastic in chicken soup—really nourishing.
Little girl, how many do you have left? I’ll take them all.”
Everything this little girl sold was good. The greens she’d bought yesterday had been a hit with everyone at home—even her picky grandchildren had fought over them. She’d come out bright and early today just to buy more.
“Grandma, that was all we had. If you want some, come back tomorrow.”
The old lady clicked her tongue in disappointment. “Ah, just one step too late—what a shame. It’s a deal, then!”
“Your stall’s never in the same spot every day—it’s hard for regulars to find you.
Make sure you save a yam for me tomorrow, alright? If I have to search all morning again like today, I might miss out.”
“Of course, Grandma. Don’t worry—we’ll save one for you.”
Just as that loyal customer left, two more old ladies came together.
“This is the stall I was telling you about. Their wild greens are amazingly fresh—did you see the photos I sent you yesterday?
And they’re not expensive either—about the same price as other greens.”
The two ladies each bought two jin.
The earlier regular customer had also bought three jin.
By now, they had only a small pile left—about three jin or so.
A customer bought the whole lot—three jin two liang, rounded down to three jin.
Lin Xiaohe counted on her fingers: they’d sold twelve jin of wild greens today at 120 yuan total, plus 48 yuan from the yam.
Today’s total earnings: 168 yuan!!
“We’re rich, we’re rich!” Xiaogu cheered, practically dancing with joy.
“Shh—don’t let people hear. Come on, let’s go buy you a hair tie.”
“Hehe~”
They packed up and headed off to buy hair ties, but after a few steps, they stopped—where exactly were they supposed to go?
No problem—if you don’t know, just ask. That’s what mouths are for.
Spotting a kind-faced old lady, Xiaogu dashed up to her with a big smile.
“Hello, Grandma! Could I ask you something—where can we buy hair ties?”
“Hair ties? There are plenty of places. Walk out the main entrance and you’ll see a shop with a loudspeaker blasting ‘Everything 2 yuan, everything 2 yuan.’ They’ve got quite a selection.
Across from that shop is a boutique that also sells hair ties and accessories, but theirs are expensive.”
If it weren’t for her granddaughter’s taste, she’d never have known a hair tie could cost ten or twenty yuan—outrageous.
Lin Xiaohe nodded. “Thank you, Grandma! We’ve got it.”
The expensive shop was out of the question. They’d go to the 2-yuan store.
“Sis, spending 2 yuan on a hair tie feels kind of pricey—a whole jin of meat costs that much. Maybe we should forget it?”
“Forget it? We earn money to spend it. Come on—I’ll buy you the prettiest one.”
Lin Xiaohe waved her hand with swagger. It was only 2 yuan—so what?
Money was for spending. Especially when it came this easily, there was no reason not to.
If it was something they needed, then it was worth it.
Standing at the shop entrance, they felt a strong sense of familiarity.
The store wasn’t big, but it was packed to the brim—crammed with goods in every nook and cranny.
It was just like their commune supply store back home!
Totally different from those high-end, fancy shops. They walked right in without hesitation.
The shop owner had her hair permed into tight little curls, tied up with a wide elastic band, and she wore bright red plastic earrings.
Xiaogu couldn’t take her eyes off her. “Sis, this lady is so stylish—she looks like a movie star from a magazine!”
“I can’t do your hair like that, but I can get you one of those hair ties. I see they have them.”
Lin Xiaohe pointed to a wall display of hair ties—all kinds of styles and colors.
“Really?!” Xiaogu’s eyes lit up. “Hehe~ I really like those.”
“Of course. If you like them, I’ll buy them for you.”
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