How could Su Qingluan take it for free? Besides, there were so many people in the family, and if each person got one pear, that would be five pears, and that would last for more than one day...

Su Qingluan smiled and said, "Since this young man calls me 'Shopkeeper,' you know I'm in charge of a shop. Business people are particular about not shortchanging on weight, right?" She half-jokingly added, "In that case, we still have to clearly mark the price. If the food doesn't taste good, I can openly come to you and ask for your help!"

The young man smiled and said, "I guarantee you'll want to eat a second pear after eating it! It's so sweet and crispy, it'll break into eight pieces if you drop it on the ground!"

"Since the pears are so delicious, it's only natural to pay the full price. Of course, if you don't tell me, I'll just give you whatever you want. I won't be responsible if you pay less!" He threw out a piece of silver and said, "I want five pears. I'll come back for more after I've eaten them. Do you go to town every day, little brother?"

The young man looked at the finger-sized object thrown out by Su Qingluan. He didn't know what it was, so he subconsciously caught it in his hand and found that it was a piece of silver. This small piece could be exchanged for at least a hundred copper coins. The young man was shocked and said, "Oh, this is too much! It can buy half a basket!"

Although fruits were generally more expensive than vegetables, pears were not a rare commodity, costing only three or four copper coins. With Su Qingluan's small amount of change, she could buy at least thirty pears.

Su Qingluan smiled and said, "Then consider it as an advance payment. I'll take five today. If they taste good, I'll come back for more tomorrow!"

The two pushed and shoved for a while, until Su Qingluan said, "You don't have to take advantage of others if you pay the original price, and it's also reasonable to ask someone for help if it's not tasty enough." Only then did the young man give in and accepted the change. Then Su Qingluan bent down and began to pick.

Seeing this, the young man quickly put down his shoulder pole, allowing Su Qingluan to pick more conveniently. Su Qingluan looked up curiously again: "Young man, do you recognize me?"

"I recognize you!" The young man glanced at Su Qingluan, blushed and scratched his head embarrassedly, "My sister and mother both worked for you, and they made a lot of money some time ago!" He said two names.

Su Qingluan realized that these were the leader of the third group and her daughter.

"So you two are a family." Su Qingluan said with a smile, "My family is hiring again recently, and the deadline is tomorrow morning. If your family still wants to make money, you're welcome to sign up!"

"Hey, my family just saw the job posting last night. Please put them on the list!" The young man quickly agreed and pointed to the pile of pears that Su Qingluan was sorting. "Hey, Shopkeeper Su, pick the one over there. Yes, the one next to you. That pear must be delicious and ripe!"

"Okay, I trust your judgment." Su Qingluan lifted the hem of her clothes, picked up the pear, and stood up straight. "If it doesn't taste good, I'll come find you tomorrow—after all, your mother and sister are in my hands!"

The young man knew Su Qingluan was joking, so he patted his chest and said with a smile, "The pears on my hill have been ripening for the past half month. I'll pick some and sell them in town. I pass by here every day. If you don't like them, just come and get them!"

After saying this, he picked up his shoulder pole again and disappeared into the morning mist that gradually dissipated as the sun rose.

Su Qingluan turned around with a bunch of pears in her arms and met Yang who was smiling.

"Mom, what are you doing here quietly?" She was so frightened when she turned around that she almost dropped all the pears she had bought.

Yang craned her neck to look in the direction the young man had left. "Isn't that Ah Shun from Old Li's family? You two seemed so happy chatting that I almost felt embarrassed to interrupt."

Su Qingluan looked at her mother's expression and knew that she was thinking the wrong thing: "Mother, I just bought pears, and he just asked his mother and sister to come to me to register and apply for the job tomorrow."

Yang responded with "yeah" on the surface, but it was obvious that she didn't believe it.

Su Qingluan was an orphan in her previous life, and her adoptive master and his wife passed away before she went to college. Later, she became seriously ill, so she had never experienced the so-called "pressure to get married" treatment.

However, in this era when girls, especially rural girls, generally get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen, or even thirteen or fourteen, a girl like Su Qingluan who is about to turn fourteen is already "of the right age".

So now, any young man who appears around her will be consciously or unconsciously considered by Yang as a candidate for marriage.

Su Qingluan went from "shocking me for a year" at the beginning to now being accustomed to it.

Fortunately, after spending some time together, Su Qingluan realized that although Yang was very keen on "finding someone to marry her off", she did not want to arrange a blind marriage as she had imagined, and would always ask for her opinion.

If Su Qingluan could give a more reasonable reason, generally speaking, Su Guangfu and Yang could be considered as relatively open-minded parents who were willing to listen to opinions in this era.

What's more, ever since she borrowed a bunch of books on law from Mu Xingzhi and learned that women in this era had no independent inheritance rights and only "dowry" could barely be considered personal property, Su Qingluan understood that even for the sake of interests, she had better get married.

After all, although giving birth is a hurdle, there are many ways to avoid it, right? Otherwise, why not find someone who can't...

After thinking about various unreliable methods for a while, Su Qingluan focused her attention on the present - wash the pear, cut off a "lid", dig out the core, add a little rock sugar, two small dates, and a few wolfberries, then put the "lid" in place and steam it.

The pot of water used to steam the cabbage rolls was still hot, so it boiled quickly.

Steamed pears can clear the lungs and relieve dryness, and are a great tonic in autumn. Now, the family members all cough at night. Su Qingluan thought about letting the family members eat more steamed pears. At the same time, she thought about discussing with the doctor from Huichuntang when she went to the town to get medicine today whether to add some licorice to relieve the cough of the family members. Otherwise, they will not get a good rest at night, which will really affect the recovery process.

But before going to get the medicine, I have to go to Mu Xingzhi's place to teach a sketching class today.

Before leaving, Su Qingluan ate her portion of steamed pears—it was just as sweet and delicious as Li Ashun had said, and the rest of the family praised it highly. Su Qingluan decided to buy an extra portion tomorrow.

While thinking about it, he did not forget to pick up the piece of paper that he had carefully placed on the bedside table, and turned to go to Mu Xingzhi's home.