Perhaps because Su Qingluan was very "good-tempered", the shrimp seller felt less guilty about asking for an exorbitant price.
After hearing Su Qingluan's statement that she wanted to buy all the shrimps, the man weighed both the shrimps and the thin-mouthed bamboo jars they were placed in. Together they weighed about six pounds.
Someone nearby joked, "Hey, Hu Laoliu, you're being too dishonest! You're clearly trying to rip us off! There's still water in that jar, so the shrimps can only weigh about two pounds, right?"
Hu Laoliu, however, was determined to act like a scoundrel to the extreme: "Humph, the things are mine, I can sell them however I want! If she has the guts, she shouldn't buy them!"
Su Qingluan was so angry that she laughed. She originally thought that even if it was a little expensive, she was really greedy. Catching shrimps was really a time-consuming and laborious job. She was too lazy to do it herself, and was often so busy that she forgot to ask others to catch them. She thought she would just hold her nose and accept it.
As a result, Hu Laoliu not only became more demanding, but when he saw that Su Qingluan really turned around and didn't intend to buy it, he grabbed her wrist and said, "I've weighed it for you, you can't refuse to buy it!"
Su Qingluan quickly took in the surroundings. This place was near the edge of town, far from the bustling area. As a result, the pedestrians were often in a hurry and didn't know each other well.
Therefore, although there were a few people who stopped to watch and verbally condemned Hu Laoliu's behavior of overcharging customers, it was just a condemnation. Hu Laoliu, who was a half-rogue, naturally did not feel any pain from such verbal condemnation.
Everyone had no relationship with Su Qingluan, so they didn't want to get into trouble. Even when Hu Laoliu made things difficult for Su Qingluan, no one came out to stop him.
Moreover, although this place is close to the edge of the town, it is still some distance away from the city gate guarded by guards. It is an awkward position that is not connected to either side, so Su Qingluan gave up the idea of shouting for help to call the city guards over.
After taking stock of her current situation, Su Qingluan realized that it was not a wise choice to confront the scoundrel in front of her head-on. Moreover, she had to hurry back to prepare the herbs for her family. Otherwise, if she delayed taking the medicine in time, it would not be good for the disease.
Thinking this way, Su Qingluan decided to admit defeat and took out a piece of silver, about three or four hundred coins. The other party weighed it in his hand and stuffed it directly into his waist, not giving Su Qingluan any chance to bargain or get change.
Su Qingluan realized that there was no point in saying more and turned to leave.
Before leaving, she glanced at him again and asked, "Your name is Hu Laoliu?"
Hu Laoliu was immersed in the pride of having slaughtered a fat sheep. Seeing Su Qingluan's unclear expression, he thought she was holding back her anger and looking for revenge. He asked disdainfully, "So what? The deal is done, do you still want your money back? I'm telling you, these fresh shrimps are sold and cannot be returned!"
Su Qingluan said nothing and turned away.
On the way from Lefeng Town to Huaxi Village, Su Qingluan met more and more acquaintances. Occasionally, when she ran into someone she knew well, such as the people she had worked overtime with day and night for a few days, someone would come up to her and say hello - after all, they would be working together again starting tomorrow.
Since they were chatting, the things in Su Qingluan's hands were naturally ready-made topics of conversation.
The herbal medicine bags were tied together in a bunch, and anyone could tell at a glance. Besides, everyone in the village had more or less heard that everyone in the Su family, except Su Qingluan, had fallen ill with a cold.
However, the bamboo jar was not transparent and there was a layer of waterproof oil paper inside, so some people were curious about what was inside.
"Oh, these are the river shrimps I bought in town. They're fresh." Su Qingluan said, sighing deliberately. "Although the shrimps are fresh, I'm not happy with how I bought them!"
As she spoke, she told the villagers she knew how she had been forced to buy and sell.
Hu Laoliu's family actually also does some small business. Although there are occasional cases of pressure on customers to buy or sell goods, this old man is a shrewd old man who knows how to judge people and what they want to do for them, so he can still do business.
However, Su Qingluan's words were different. She had already left people with the impression that "what she said was what it was" after the last time, so when Su Qingluan said this time, many people recalled the vague rumors.
"I've heard that more than once!"
"I've heard that too. It's true that Hu Laoliu's scale is always inaccurate!"
"And Shopkeeper Su is saying so now, so he must be right!"
So, on the way from the town to Huaxi Village, many people learned that the eldest lady of the Su family was forced to buy and sell by Hu Laoliu from the village, and was asked to pay an exorbitant price, which was very high!
Su Qingluan saw that her goal had been achieved, and she also knew that too much is as bad as too little, so she only explained the matter in detail once when there were relatively more people around, and then she didn't say anything else and went straight home.
At this time, Hu Laoliu didn't know what he had lost by taking advantage of Su Qingluan, a little girl who had no one to help her.
The next day, something even more regretful happened to him, but at this moment, Hu Laoer was still immersed in the excitement and pride of having met a sucker, and had no idea what was to come next.
As for Su Qingluan, she was not as angry about being "slaughtered" as she had shown in front of everyone before.
The most important point, of course, was that with the Su family's current abilities, especially her own, these few hundred copper coins meant nothing to her. Therefore, even though she was a little unhappy, she wouldn't be depressed all the time - after all, the shrimps were still lively and fresh.
Most importantly, she knew that Hu Laoliu’s “bad luck” had just begun - it was still unknown who the real “sucker” was.
Humming a tuneless little song, Su Qingluan soaked the herbs into four small clay pots for boiling medicine, added clean water just enough to reach the edge of the pot, and waited for the dry herbs to fully absorb the water and the water level to drop. Su Qingluan then added some clean water to prevent the bottom from getting sticky.
At this time, Yang was about to enter the kitchen from outside. Seeing Su Qingluan curled up in a small ball like a small animal in the corner, soaking herbs, she stopped her steps and greeted with a smile, "Daya, are you back?"
Su Qingluan turned around: "Well, I just came back and bought some shrimp. I was thinking of making something different tonight!"
"I saw it!" Yang said with a smile, "Your father and I will change the water in the basket later. It should be enough to keep the shrimps fresh until evening. You can go and rest for now. Your father and I will take care of the medicine."
Su Qingluan had been running around for most of the day and had to cook in the evening, so she thought about it and turned around and decided to lie down on her bed for a while.
At this time, Yang's voice came from behind: "I almost forgot! Your uncle Li next door got some autumn white peaches, but they are crispy and sweet! I left two big ones for you and put them in there. Don't let your brothers and sisters see them, they only have one!" When she said the second half, Yang obviously lowered her voice so that the two younger ones would not hear it, and she also winked at Su Qingluan.
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