Chapter 20 The Market...
Da Ni gripped Mi Ya's hand tightly, her heart pounding in her throat.
Miya herself was also startled, and her legs went weak as she leaned against the grass by the roadside.
She patted her heart, which felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, took a deep breath, and listened to the pounding of her heart in her ears, her mind buzzing.
"Miya, are you alright?" Dani tried to open her eyes wide, trying to see the figure that was covered by darkness.
Miya took a deep breath, waved her hand, and said, "It's nothing, my legs are just a little weak."
As she spoke, she patted her weak legs and tried her best to straighten her body.
Upon hearing this, Da Ni's heart, which hadn't yet settled back into her stomach, jumped again. "Can you still leave? Or should we go another time?"
"No need, no need, I can still walk, just be careful."
Miya has been preparing for today's market for who knows how long, and she's almost at the bottom of the mountain, so how could she give up so easily?
With the help of Da Ni's arm, she lifted her foot and walked down again.
Knowing she couldn't persuade her otherwise, Da Ni could only slow down to prevent another accident.
At the same time, she also felt a little guilty. She should not have kept chatting with Miya last night, which led to her staying up late.
Miya just doesn't know anything about money, right? Why don't you just have her stay by your side at the market and buy things together?
Feeling annoyed, Dani walked carefully alongside Miya.
The moment their feet landed firmly at the foot of the mountain, their hearts slowed their beating.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Miya noticed someone carrying a torch and was shocked by her own foolishness.
If you don't want to waste batteries, you can use fire.
Before long, the people from the family compound who were heading to the market had all gathered and were walking towards their destination in a lively atmosphere.
Miya and Liu Limei's family walked behind, following the crowd and moving forward.
This time, they went to the market on foot. Liu Limei made an exception and brought along her eldest child, who always acted like a spoiled child at home. Of course, she couldn't leave Erni alone at home.
At first, the older child was excitedly chattering away, but as the walk went on and on, he simply didn't have the energy to talk anymore.
Gazing at the sky where a sliver of light had just appeared, he braced himself on his knees and asked breathlessly:
"Mom, when will we get to the market? I'm exhausted."
Upon hearing the sound, Miya and the others all looked towards the little figure pinned to the ground behind them.
Among them, Liu Limei's lips twitched involuntarily, and she sneered, "You should have said you wouldn't have come. If you're tired, you can walk by yourself. If you keep nagging, I won't take you with me next time I go out."
The extremely threatening words frightened the eldest child so much that he quickly stood up straight. He had been hoping to brag to his friends after returning home from this trip, and he couldn't accept that he would never have such an opportunity again.
"I'm not tired, and I'm sure I'm not tired either!"
If she didn't pause to catch her breath while speaking, Miya would definitely believe her.
She glanced at Sister Liu with surprise, remained silent, and subconsciously observed everything here that contradicted her memory, trying to learn and imitate it.
As expected, Da Wa didn't complain about being tired for the rest of the journey, and no one helped him.
As dawn broke, Miya and her friends finally arrived at their destination.
Looking at the exceptionally bustling market, the residents of the family compound couldn't help but cheer.
Jiang Yu, who was leading the group, turned around and shouted to the team, "Ladies, the meeting time for returning this afternoon is 3 p.m., so be on time!"
"Also, everyone must not leave the market area and stay here. This is a border area and a region inhabited by ethnic minorities. Outsiders may encounter unknown dangers, so please be careful."
Before he finished speaking, the crowd scattered and rushed toward their chosen targets.
The most popular stalls were naturally the meat stalls at the market. Many people were tempted when they heard about it last time, and now that it was right in front of them, how could they resist?
Meat was also one of Liu Limei's targets. She followed the crowd and used the same skills she had at the supply and marketing cooperative back in her hometown to grab things and rush forward with Miya.
Miya hadn't even reacted yet; all she remembered was seeing strips of black, gray, and green fabric in front of her.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw bright red wild boar meat and the butcher's exceptionally bright clothing patterns and styles.
The villager selling meat shouted at the top of his lungs, "Where do you want? How much?"
Liu Limei, quick as a flash, pointed to the fattest piece of wild boar meat and said through gritted teeth:
"Here, three catties, please. Oh, and sell me the large intestine too."
"OK!"
The villagers were surprised that people would be scrambling to buy pig intestines. Seeing that Liu Limei had bought so much meat, they simply rounded down the price.
Liu Limei excitedly took the meat she wanted and nudged Miya awake with her elbow, "Miya, hurry up and buy it."
Miya instinctively chose the same part as everyone else, the fattest part, to take home and press for oil.
"Two and a half jin, give me two yuan and fifty cents." The villagers used their hands as rulers to measure the exact weight.
Miya's money-counting skills, honed from staying up all night, came in handy. She skillfully pulled out two yuan and fifty cents and handed them to the butcher.
"Give!"
Cash on delivery.
When Miya squeezed through the crowd carrying the meat, her mind was still a little blank.
When she came to her senses, she looked at the meat in her hand and thought: It feels so good to spend money on myself for the first time.
Beside her, the eldest child was excitedly circling around the meat his mother was carrying, a hint of moisture glistening at the corners of his mouth.
Erni glanced disdainfully at her filthy younger brother, then immediately pointed to the stall where her mother wanted to buy something and said:
"Mom, the chicks you want to buy are over there."
Upon hearing the word "chicken chicks," Miya immediately looked in the direction Erni was pointing, her mind filled with images of raising chickens at home.
She really wasn't used to not having chickens at home.
Not only do we lose the signal to know the time, but we also have to spend money to buy eggs. It's painful to even think about it.
Liu Limei noticed Miya's interested gaze and immediately led her people toward the stall selling chicks.
"Hey folks, how much are the chicks?"
The villager smiled kindly and held up two fingers, "Two cents each."
Upon hearing this, Liu Limei and Miya frowned in unison; the price was not low.
But seeing that the chicks in front of her were quite healthy, Liu Limei frowned and skillfully began to bargain.
"Two cents is too expensive. A pound of eggs is only five cents. You're selling this chick for two cents. Can you make it cheaper?"
"How can you calculate it like that?"
The villager selling the chicks was unhappy and immediately retorted:
"There are losses when hatching eggs, not to mention that an old hen can sell for four or five yuan."
"You said it yourself, it's an old hen. How long does it take to raise a chick into an old hen?"
"Then how much do you want?" The villager took a step back.
"One and a half cents each."
"No, 18 cents."
"Fifteen cents."
...
Miya listened intently, her mouth practically dry. In the end, they agreed on a price of 16 cents per animal, based on a purchase of ten animals per household.
She looked at Sister Liu with shining eyes and spent an extra penny to buy the bamboo basket containing the chicks as well.
Carrying the chirping chicks in her hand, Miya's steps became much lighter. She looked at Sister Liu with envy, "Sister-in-law, you're really amazing!"
Liu Limei waved her hand dismissively and said, "What's this? It cost a penny more than I expected."
If her mother's smile hadn't been so exaggerated, Erni would have truly believed that her mother genuinely thought that way.
Looking at Miya's sincere praise and her mother's smile that revealed her toothy teeth, she felt that although the two were far apart in age, they were surprisingly well-matched.
After buying the chicks, the two continued walking.
Along the way, Miya brought the basket, shuttle, soup spoon, etc. that she wanted...
Since it's something our family needs, we'll get it all.
After buying her necessities, Miya turned her attention to food. Many stalls were filled with fresh wild vegetables, but she recognized less than one or two out of ten of them.
Now she is not only amazed by the strange clothes people wear at the market, but also very curious about the food.
Miya squatted down and pointed to a bunch of wild vegetables made up of tender shoots, "Comrade, what kind of vegetable is this?"
The villagers could tell at a glance that Miya was from out of town, and they began to introduce her with great enthusiasm:
"Little girl, this is a local specialty called stinky vegetable."
As soon as the name was mentioned, Miya quickly withdrew her hand and hid behind her with Dani.
"Hahaha!" The villagers burst into laughter at the two men's antics, and quickly explained, "Don't let the name fool you, it tastes amazing. Chop it up and stir-fry it with eggs, and it'll be fragrant and tender."
Upon hearing the explanation, Miya and Dani slowly straightened up and continued listening to the stall owner's introduction.
"And this broom flower is also delicious when stir-fried with eggs. This is banana core, prickly ash shoots, houttuynia cordata... you can try them all."
Before seeing it with her own eyes, Miya would never have imagined that so many wild vegetables on the mountain could be eaten.
Not only her, but Da Ni also had her eyes opened.
She originally thought that compared to Miya, she already knew a lot of wild vegetables.
But compared to the locals in Mianning today, she's just a child at best.
She recognized many of the wild vegetables and buds on the stall from her mountain home, but gritted her teeth and picked out the broom flower, which she had never seen before, intending to buy it and try it at home.
The stall owner wasn't angry that the two had stayed so long and only bought a bowl of goldenrod, and smiled as he saw them off.
Miya carefully placed the wild vegetables she bought into her basket to prevent them from being crushed.
He turned around and searched for traces of Liu Limei and the other two.
Aunt Liu couldn't be found, but the big kid standing motionless in front of a stall was clearly visible.
Miya and Dani walked towards Dawa with a puzzled look in their eyes. Dani gently patted Dawa's shoulder and asked, "What are you doing here all by yourself? Where's Mom?"
The eldest child turned around excitedly, hurriedly wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, took a deep breath, and pointed at the charcoal fire on the stall.
"Hey sis, look! Roast pork rice noodles."
Da Ni was tempted by the aroma of roasted pork, but years of restraint made it impossible for her to tell from her expression.
"Where's Mom? You're all alone here. What if she gets kidnapped?"
Faced with her older sister's questioning, the eldest child showed no remorse and pointed to the stall behind her, saying:
"Mom is buying cloth behind you."
Da Ni and Mi Ya turned around and immediately spotted Liu Limei, who was squeezed in the crowd with Er Ni. Her enthusiasm for buying fabric was no less than when she had just been fighting for meat.
When Miya saw the fabrics on the stall, her eyes lit up.
The fabrics on the stall were clearly the styles favored by locals, with intricate and exquisite patterns, which were far more attractive than the dull black, gray, and green fabrics sold in department stores.
If it weren't for the fact that her third brother bought her some fabric at the department store last time, Miya would have wanted to go up and grab a piece or two as well.
The three stood quietly behind and watched until Liu Limei and Erni triumphantly broke free from the crowd.
Liu Limei saw Miya and the other two and proudly showed off the red fabric that covered most of the area in her hand.
"Look, you can't even buy this red fabric at the supply and marketing cooperative, but you can't believe it's available at the market. These days, if a girl can wear a red dress when she goes out, she'll have a lot of confidence in her husband's family."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
