Chapter 41 The Zhang Family's Business

Two days later, the sky finally cleared up, and the market became lively again.

"Haa~"

Fan Xiaoxiao yawned listlessly, her body limp as she followed behind Uncle Wang, pushing the cart.

"Girl, what's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Another yawn escaped Fan Xiaoxiao's lips, and this time, tears welled up in her eyes. When Uncle Wang asked her a question, she seemed a little confused, but Aunt Wang, standing nearby, answered with a smile.

"This girl, after the Ji family delivered the map yesterday... she kept pestering Xiaobao's mother to tell her about the new map last night. The two of them talked and listened, and Xiaobao was involved too. They didn't go to sleep until late at night. No wonder she was so tired."

After hearing the reason, Uncle Wang shook his head helplessly and laughed, "No wonder I didn't see Xiao Bao when I went out this morning. I guess he couldn't get up."

While listening to Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang's conversation with one ear, Fan Xiaoxiao's mind was still vaguely recalling the places that Madam Fan had pointed out to her the night before.

It turns out that the ancient town they are currently in is roughly located in modern-day Yunnan Province. Meanwhile, Wang Da Niang's maternal home, Jingchuan, is in Sichuan.

Fortunately, both places are located on the border, so the journey shouldn't be too far. However, the Tianshan Mountains they were going to visit later were in the Changbai Mountain area, which was quite a long way off.

If they really wait until the caravan arrives two months later, they'll probably encounter drought on the way. No way! Fan Xiaoxiao clenched her fist secretly, steeling her resolve, thinking to herself that the plan had to be brought forward.

Just as she was engrossed in figuring out how to indirectly reach Tianshan, Aunt Wang's exclamation pulled her back to reality.

"Hey! Those shameless bastards! Just a few days ago they wouldn't let us set up our stalls! Look at them! Ha! They just drove us away and now they're selling braised pork offal themselves!"

Fan Xiaoxiao looked up at the sound and immediately sneered. It turned out that the Zhang couple had set up a pot next to the meat stall, and they were simmering braised pork in it. But the smell was different from the fragrant one that Fan Xiaoxiao made; instead, it had an indescribable aroma.

The Zhang couple obviously saw the three members of the Fan family pushing the cart. Zhang immediately slammed the pot lid shut, put her hands on her hips, and started shouting, "Oh! Who do we have here! Aren't these the Fan family members? Pushing a cart today, perhaps you couldn't make a living and have to go to the street to pick up things that people don't want?"

The sarcasm and disdain in her words caused passersby to stop and peer at them, eagerly anticipating a spectacle. Granny Wang spat at Zhang, her eyes narrowed, and coldly retorted, "We're not like you, so openly taking what others don't want! Don't you know the meaning of shame?"

"Ha, we're shameless? We're just selling our own waste, what's it to you!"

Aunt Wang's face changed several times, but before she could say anything more, Fan Xiaoxiao stepped forward and looked at Zhang Shi with a smile, saying, "It has nothing to do with us. Boss Zhang selling offal is offal, but you absolutely can't say it's our braised pork. Otherwise, it really will be like what Auntie said, turning into a beggar taking what others don't want?"

Zhang, who had originally planned to simply call out "Braised Offal" when she started hawking her wares, felt a tickle of unease when she heard the veiled meaning in Fan Xiaoxiao's words—that shameless hussy! She actually dared to be so sharp-tongued and disrespectful! Ha! It's just the name of "Braised Offal"! She really treats it like a treasure!

"Ha! Then Miss Fan, rest assured! What we bought here is our own offal! It has absolutely nothing to do with your so-called braised offal! Besides, what, do you mean to say that all boiled offal in the world is the same as your braised offal? That would be truly shameless of you!"

"you!"

Aunt Wang's face flushed red with anger at these words, and she rolled up her sleeves, ready to teach Zhang a lesson. Fan Xiaoxiao raised her arm to stop Aunt Wang, and continued to speak to Zhang with her usual smiling face: "Yes, what you bought is just for boiling offal. Remember, when you're selling it, don't call it the wrong thing!"

After saying this, Fan Xiaoxiao pulled Aunt Wang and Uncle Wang away from the meat stall, leaving Zhang Shi, her face turning red and then pale, grinding her teeth in anger. Passersby scanned their stall, their eyes filled with disdain after hearing the young woman's words. Zhang Shi, feeling like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, immediately slammed the pot lid off and yelled at the person, "What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen someone selling boiled offal before?!"

The pedestrian, who also had a temper, immediately snorted and said, "I've never seen anyone so shameless!"

"Hey you!"

Zhang the butcher, who had been watching this unfold for a while, quickly pulled his wife back before she could continue her tirade, whispering, "Hey! Honey! Business is more important!"

Upon hearing this, the curse Zhang was about to utter stopped mid-sentence. She glanced at the group of onlookers waiting for a good show, gritted her teeth, and put the pot lid aside. After rolling her eyes at the group, she earnestly began hawking the offal from the pot.

"Selling boiled offal! Boiled offal!"

"Hey, Zhang family, you've started selling boiled offal today too?"

A familiar-looking stall owner walked over and clicked his tongue twice as he looked at the pot of boiled offal at Zhang's stall. Seeing someone come to inquire about buying, Zhang was overjoyed and immediately picked up a bowl, saying to the man, "Yes! I'm the only one in town selling boiled offal now! Other stalls are sold out! How about a serving?"

Upon hearing Zhang's words, the stall owner clicked his tongue repeatedly. He had eaten the braised pork offal made by the Fan family before, so he naturally knew what it tasted like. Looking at Zhang's pot of things, a dark, unrecognizable mess, he hesitated for a moment.

Seeing that the man remained silent, Zhang sneered inwardly. Glancing at the expressions of the surrounding onlookers, she gritted her teeth and continued smiling at the stall owner, "A bowl now costs only two coins! It's a great deal! I'll even give you half a steamed bun for free!"

Upon hearing the price, the stall owner's eyes lit up. He thought to himself, "This is even a copper coin cheaper than the Fan family's!" Without further hesitation, he took out two copper coins and handed them to Zhang, saying, "Then I'll have a bowl!"

"Okay!"

After receiving the money, Zhang wiped her hands haphazardly on her apron, then used her long chopsticks to stir the pot for a while before scooping out a sausage, cutting off a small section and putting it in a bowl. Next, she scooped half a steamed bun from the soup and put it in the bowl as well. After pouring the broth over it, she handed it to the stall owner who was waiting in front of the stall.

"Give!"

(End of this chapter)