NOVEL WEB Chapter 19: Delicious Mushrooms
Chapter 19: Delicious Mushrooms
“Madam, you’ve bought 150 spirit chicken chicks from me, but there are only you and this young lady. It’s not convenient to carry so many chicks. How about my husband and I deliver them to your home?” After saying this, the woman pointed to the handcart beside the man behind her.
They had used this handcart to bring the spirit chicken chicks.
Although Liu Qiniang had bargained hard, the vendor could still make a good profit at three and a half spirit pearls each, since their spirit chicken chicks were hatched from eggs laid by their own spirit chickens, making it a business with no initial investment.
So after receiving Liu Qiniang’s spirit pearls, she said in a good mood, “Madam, feel free to browse the market first. We’ll wait for you here.”
Liu Qiniang couldn’t help but praise the female vendor in her heart for being so perceptive.
She and her little sister did indeed want to look around the market some more.
“Thank you, madam. Xi’er, let’s go take a look around,” Liu Qiniang nodded slightly to show her gratitude, then looked at Li Xi, who was indeed looking at her with great anticipation.
“Second Sister-in-law, look, there’s a candied haw seller over there!” After walking a short distance, Li Xi excitedly pointed towards a small vendor surrounded by quite a few people.
“Second Sister-in-law~” Before Liu Qiniang could respond, Li Xi was already shaking one of Liu Qiniang’s arms with both hands, looking up at her, blinking her big round eyes, acting coy.
Liu Qiniang laughed at her behavior, “Look at how impatient you are, girl!” She then gently tapped Li Xi’s nose with her index finger.
Li Xi giggled when her nose was tapped.
“Excuse me, how much are these candied haws?” Li Xi cheerfully walked up to the vendor and asked.
“Little miss, our candied haws are made with good fruits, two spirit pearls for one stick,” the vendor said with a smile.
Hearing this, Li Xi turned back to Liu Qiniang: “Second Sister-in-law, let’s buy a stick of candied haws for everyone at home!”
“Alright,” Liu Qiniang said with a smile. The family’s love for this girl wasn’t misplaced.
After buying the candied haws, Li Xi ate hers while curiously scanning every stall in the market.
No wonder she was excited; this was her first time at a market. She had never seen such a lively scene with so many people and vendors gathered in one place, and now she was almost overwhelmed.
“Delicious mushrooms, freshly picked delicious mushrooms this morning! Fresh delicious mushrooms!”
Suddenly, a clear voice calling out reached the ears of the aunt and niece.
Liu Qiniang immediately pulled Li Xi towards the direction of the voice, and Li Xi’s steps were also somewhat hurried.
“We really came to the market at the right time today. To think we’d encounter a vendor selling delicious mushrooms! We can fulfill Elder Sister-in-law’s request after all!” Liu Qiniang said with delight.
Before leaving in the morning, Wu Jingwan had specifically asked her to look for something suitable to buy and bring home to make something delicious for Xi’er in the evening.
Delicious mushrooms have tender flesh and a smooth texture. Most importantly, they have a special flavor that is very tasty and quite rare, making them perfect for buying to make something delicious at home.
Li Xi reflexively swallowed when she heard the words “delicious mushrooms,” as if recalling the taste of the delicious mushrooms she had eaten before.
“Second Sister-in-law, let’s hurry, or the delicious mushrooms will be snatched away!” Li Xi, remembering the delicious taste, instantly took charge, rushing to the front and pulling Liu Qiniang along.
Indeed, they saw many people in the surrounding crowd moving towards the direction of the voice, with the same intention as Liu Qiniang.
The vendor had just arrived, and originally the area around was quite spacious with few people. Now they saw the crowd gathering there, surrounding the vendor.
Li Xi and Liu Qiniang were among them, right in front of the vendor.
“Young man, how much are these delicious mushrooms?” Liu Qiniang was the first to speak.
The vendor was a boy who didn’t look very old, seemingly about twelve or thirteen, wearing clothes with many patches.
Surrounded by so many people, his expression remained unchanged, showing no panic. Instead, he smiled openly at Liu Qiniang and said, “Madam, these delicious mushrooms were picked by me at dawn today. Twenty-five spirit pearls per jin, non-negotiable.”
Before Liu Qiniang could speak, someone in the crowd said, “Your delicious mushrooms are too expensive. Others sell them for just over ten spirit pearls per jin. Little boy, you’re not being fair!” The voice sounded quite old.
“Yes, yes, it’s too expensive!” Many people in the crowd agreed.
The young man, questioned by others, sat there calmly with his hands in his sleeves, not arguing at all.
Liu Qiniang knew that those who spoke up didn’t actually think twenty-five spirit pearls per jin for delicious mushrooms was expensive. They just thought this young man was easy to fool because of his age, so they wanted to lower the price.
Liu Qiniang crouched down and picked up a mushroom to carefully examine its appearance. There were no old parts, no damage, the quality was very good.
“These delicious mushrooms look very good. Selling them for twenty-five spirit pearls is a bit low,” Liu Qiniang said fairly.
“How can you side with the little boy, madam? Are you two working together to raise the price?” The person who first spoke up was unhappy hearing Liu Qiniang’s words.
Liu Qiniang ignored them.
Hearing Liu Qiniang’s words, the young man finally smiled and said, “My mushrooms are all carefully wrapped to prevent damage during transport. If I dare to sell them for twenty-five spirit pearls, naturally there’s a reason. Madam, how many would you like?” The first part was addressed to everyone, the last part was for Liu Qiniang.
Indeed, the mushrooms on his stall were cushioned with thick, soft grass, ensuring that each mushroom wouldn’t be bumped or damaged.
“Let me pick some,” Liu Qiniang started selecting mushrooms.
Li Xi had been observing the young vendor from earlier. He had delicate features and a tenacious quality in his expression that showed a desire to improve himself.
To be setting up a stall at this age, and seeming so experienced at it, how impressive!
The young man had clearly noticed the little girl with his customer watching him. He glanced back at her and smiled.
Li Xi smiled back, not at all flustered at being caught observing someone.
Liu Qiniang was selecting mushrooms at this stall, picking through them and finding that every mushroom was excellent. She also noticed that there weren’t too many delicious mushrooms, probably about three jin or so, which their family should be able to finish.
So she decided to stop selecting: “I’ll take all these mushrooms. Please weigh them.”
“Alright, madam, you’re a straightforward person. I see you didn’t bring anything to carry them in, so I’ll give you this basket!” It was only at this moment that the young man truly showed a hint of joy.
As he spoke, the young man took out the mushrooms to weigh them. Indeed, it was three jin.
After weighing, he carefully put the mushrooms back in the basket for Liu Qiniang.
With the transaction complete, both parties were very satisfied.
Liu Qiniang then took Li Xi to buy a prepared spirit chicken at the market before returning to the spirit chicken chick vendor’s stall with all their purchases. The vendor was indeed still there.
They had to be, after all, Liu Qiniang hadn’t paid them for the spirit chicken chicks yet.
After returning home, the spirit chicken chick vendor received the spirit pearls from Liu Qiniang and left jubilantly.