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The next day, Liu Fang got up before dawn. She wanted to quietly crawl out of bed, as Fu Man'er had been thinking about going to the market all night.

But it was too early, and looking at her sleeping face, Liu Fang couldn't bear to wake her up.

She just didn't expect that Fu Man'er, who was sleeping, would hold onto her clothes so tightly, and now that she had just gotten up, she woke up.

"Mother." Fu Man'er called out groggily as she struggled to open her eyes. She knew she loved to sleep in, so she came up with a way to get herself up early.

Liu Fang watched her slowly crawl out of bed and hugged her tenderly. "Man'er, it's too early. Sleep a little longer. I'll take you to the market later."

No child doesn't want to go to the market, but going so early is too much of a hassle for them.

Fu Man'er shook her head, wrapped her arms around Liu Fang's neck, and rubbed her little head against her shoulder. "No, I want to go sell bamboo shoots with my second uncle and make money."

Yesterday, after learning from Liu Fang that he could stay in the Xu family without worry, the little guy was so excited that he insisted on going out to help earn money.

Liu Fang felt touched to hear that such a young child could earn money, but she didn't take it to heart.

Now that the person was awake, Liu Fang had no choice but to take her out, since her mother-in-law had agreed to take her out yesterday.

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She had just left when the second wife got up. "Sister-in-law, there's not much to do this morning, you don't need to get up so early, sleep a little longer."

Ma Hong yawned and walked towards the kitchen. She had said last night that she could manage on her own.

Liu Fang also walked towards the kitchen, saying, "With more people, things will get done faster. After they leave, we can sleep a little longer."

Today, the people going to town were Grandma Xu, Xu Genzhu, Xu Yi, and Fu Man'er. The three of them quickly got ready. Xu Genzhu pushed a cart, which was covered with a full load of bamboo shoots under a rag.

Xu Yi carried a bamboo basket on his back, while Grandma Xu carried a basket filled with mushrooms.

"Mother, we're leaving." Fu Man'er, dressed in a round and plump outfit, was led by Xu Yi and waved back to Liu Fang as they walked.

Liu Fang saw them off to the door, saying, "Hey, be careful on your way. Yi'er, take care of your sister."

"Alright, with this old woman here, you can rest assured." Old Mrs. Xu picked up Fu Man'er and walked straight outside.

Liu Fang awkwardly looked away, and Ma Hong blinked her sore eyes. "Sister-in-law, go back to sleep for a while." It's still a while before dawn.

Even so, there were still many people on the road heading to the town. Dashi Village is not far from the market, but it takes almost an hour to walk there.

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After Fu Man'er tossed and turned in her sleep a few times, she was finally awakened by a commotion.

"Wow, this is the market!" Fu Man'er, nestled in Xu Yi's arms, looked around restlessly. The steaming bamboo steamers, the strange and wonderful things on the stalls, the crowds coming and going—she couldn't get enough of looking at them.

Xu Yi disdainfully pressed down on her wriggling body. Although he hadn't been to the town many times, he had at least been before, and he no longer had the same curiosity he once had.

"Genzhu, we need to choose a good location." When Grandma Xu and the others arrived at the market, it was just dawn, and there weren't many vendors.

"Oh, Mother, let's go to the street corner." Xu Genzhu was a peddler who traveled from street to street, and he knew the importance of location.

The market has two street corners, and it's good to be at either one. Xu Genzhu quickened his pace and soon arrived at the street corner.

There were already quite a few vendors there. Xu Genzhu found an empty spot and put his cart in, but it was very crowded. He couldn't find a suitable spot right now, so he had to make do with what he had.

After finding a suitable location, the Xu family began to organize the mushrooms and bamboo shoots.

"Wow, your bamboo shoots are so big! Did you grow them yourself?" A woman carrying a basket asked as soon as the cloth covering them was lifted.

"The color of homegrown produce can't be this good. They're all dug up from the mountains. Two coins a pound." Xu Genzhu stepped forward to greet them. Although he had previously sold some small household items, he knew that some people in town were particular about quality.

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Homegrown food just doesn't taste as good as wild food from the mountains.

The woman was clearly somewhat skeptical. She came to the market early every day just to buy the freshest batch of vegetables, as the men in her family were very picky eaters.

She had seen wild bamboo shoots several times, but she had never seen any so thick. Although the ones she grew herself were a bit thicker, the taste was far inferior.

"Auntie, it was dug up from the mountain," Fu Man'er said, standing next to the cart and craning her neck.

The woman looked down and saw a small baby on the ground. The baby was quite beautiful, and she felt like teasing it.

"Really? Tell me, how did you dig this up?" This child is too young to go up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots; asking her would probably be too difficult for her.

Who knew that Fu Man'er, gesturing wildly and muttering to herself, actually explained how to dig bamboo shoots and how to carry them down.

"Haha, this little one is very clever." At some point, several people nearby stopped and watched Fu Man'er gesturing.

Fu Man'er, praised for her intelligence, beamed with joy, her large eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

Xu Genzhu picked the baby up and put him on the stroller. A bunch of bamboo shoots and a baby looked quite harmonious.

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"Selling bamboo shoots! Fresh, wild bamboo shoots!" A few people were pushing their carts in front of Xu Genzhu, who, fearing that passersby wouldn't see them, simply started shouting.

"These are really wild bamboo shoots! Give me one," someone said.

Xu Genzhu quickly weighed the item, which was set high on the scale. "Brother, it's three jin and two liang. Let's call it three jin, six coins."

After rounding down the price, the man readily paid, took the bamboo shoots, and left.

After the first person bought one, others followed suit, buying one or two at a time. The woman who had asked the question at the beginning also picked out two.

The bamboo shoots from the Xu family were indeed very appealing, and the mushrooms in the bamboo basket next to them, though picked yesterday, still looked very fresh, attracting many buyers.

Xu Genzhu selected the scales, Xu Laotai was in charge of collecting and giving change, and Xu Yi assisted from the side. Everyone was busy, but Fu Man'er felt that she was idle.

She couldn't do any of these chores, so she simply sat cross-legged on the car and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Bamboo shoots, wild bamboo shoots, they're so delicious!"

Xu Genzhu's shouts varied in pitch and were quite long; she remembered them and picked out the important ones to repeat.

The little girl's voice was childish and unclear, but her loud voice attracted quite a few people to come and see what this "Master's Bamboo Shoots" was all about.

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"Man'er, stop shouting, or your voice will go hoarse." After a flurry of activity, Xu Genzhu couldn't stop smiling. Seeing his little niece still working so hard, he stopped her.

After calling for a while, Fu Man'er's mouth was indeed a little dry. She pursed her lips and looked at Xu Yi expectantly.