Make a fortune
He Yingchun and her mother were talking about how delicious the pancakes were when they heard a familiar voice.
"Mom, Yingchun!" Someone patted the two of them. He Yingchun turned around and looked at the person in surprise, "Li Bin?"
Mum turned around as well and asked happily, "Li Bin?"
"Where have you been during this time? Why haven't I seen you?" He Yingchun asked. Wen Jingzhao only said that Li Bin went to the military camp and did not elaborate on other matters.
Li Bin looked around at the endless stream of vendors, big and small, and people, and whispered, "This is not the place to talk. Let's go over there."
On the other side, Huo Saner looked around for a while and said to Xiao Zhuo, "Let's go! Let's go closer and take a look." Huo Saner and Xiao Zhuo walked over there. The crowd surged and it took the two of them a long time to squeeze over.
"Hey pancakes! Hot pancakes fresh out of the oven!" There was only a man who wanted to buy pancakes. He surrounded a few customers selling pancakes and enthusiastically asked two of them if they wanted to buy some.
“No, no, no!”
"Hey, he was here just now, how come he's gone?" Xiao Zhuo turned around and didn't see anyone. He scratched his head and said, "Maybe I saw it wrongly?"
The two of them looked around but couldn't find anyone. Huo Saner gave Xiao Zhuo a slap on the face and said, "Look, kid! Are you craving that spicy hot pot?"
"The spicy hot pot that day was really delicious, but we couldn't make it taste like that even when we followed the recipe." Huo Saner shook his head. "What a pity that a fire killed such a good chef."
"Let's go! Hurry up and go over there to take a look. We finally have some free time, but we've wasted time." The two of them walked away.
Li Bin took his mother and He Yingchun to a small teahouse. There were not many people there and it was quite quiet.
"Give me a pot of scented tea and two plates of snacks."
"Okay!"
It seemed that Li Bin was very familiar with this place. The waiter asked skillfully, "Same as usual?" and he nodded.
Li Bin whispered, "The young master originally wanted me to fake my own death to escape, so that I could escape slavery and then marry, have children, and live an ordinary life."
"But after all I've been through, how can I still live an ordinary life..." He sighed, "I'm now under the command of Lord Ma. Although Lord Ma is harsh, he treats his soldiers well..."
"Sir! Your tea! Please enjoy!"
The waiter brought tea and poured it for the three of them, and he stopped talking.
He Yingchun looked at Li Bin. He was wearing a gray cloth shirt, simple clothes, and looked clean. His face had more flesh than before.
She looked like she was doing well. She smiled and said, "A few days ago, we were wondering where you lived. We just happened to run into you today. It's good to know that you are doing well!"
Li Bin also smiled. "Yeah! The young master told me that you were out. I was thinking about when to go see you! Come and try it. The snacks here are delicious."
"Okay! Let's try it." Out of habit, He Yingchun looked around the small teahouse as soon as she came in.
The teahouse isn't large, with wooden tables and chairs, no fancy decorations. There are some calligraphy and paintings on the walls, giving it a simple and elegant feel. There's a small second floor with bookshelves housing a collection of books, and the upper floors are probably for scholars to enjoy tea. The ground floor is more spacious, offering a place for merchants and tourists to rest, or to come in and chat over tea after a long day of shopping.
He Yingchun nodded, finding it quite interesting.
The tea is just ordinary jasmine tea, which should have sugar in it. It is fresh and refreshing, with a light floral fragrance, sweet and soft, and very warm and comfortable.
Two small plates of pastries, a stack of plum blossom pastries and a stack of walnut pastries, they look a bit rough.
He Yingchun picked up the plum blossom pastry and took a bite. It was crispy and melted easily, but not soft enough, and too sweet. She got tired of it after eating one. Then she took a bite of the walnut pastry. It was crispy, crunchy and sweet, but still too sweet. The pastry was a bit dry, which was easy to choke on.
He Yingchun drank tea again and said, "Not bad."
My mother was more straightforward, "It's not as delicious as you make it."
Li Bin also ate a walnut biscuit and smiled, "There are so few people who can catch up with her. I live in the military camp now, and what I miss most is your excellent cooking skills."
Although the taste is average, considering the price, it is affordable. He Yingchun has gained an understanding of the prices here.
He Yingchun thought that everyone here drinks tea, so it would be feasible to open a teahouse in the future, but he didn't have the capital now, so the most he could do was set up a small food stall.
He Yingchun asked Li Bin, "What do you usually like to eat when you go out?"
"For me, I drink tea and eat dim sum at the teahouse, or go to the noodle shop up ahead for noodles. They're cheap and the portions are huge."
He thought, "Other people would go out to eat a good meal after receiving the money. They would usually go to that noodle shop, or buy some pancakes. I eat too many pancakes, so I don't buy them very often." When he was in exile, he ate pancakes every day and felt sick of it.
He Yingchun nodded. Maybe because it was cold, people here liked to eat noodles. Once the steaming hot noodles were served, they would slurp down a bowl of them. That was a full meal. Drinking tea and eating snacks was just afternoon tea.
After talking for a while, Li Bin was the first to say that they had to leave quickly. The time they could leave the military camp was limited. He Yingchun quickly said, "Okay, come to my house for dinner during the Lantern Festival in a few days!"
"No problem! You guys continue shopping, I'm leaving first." Li Bin walked away quickly.
He Yingchun and her mother didn't finish their snacks, so they drank up their tea and packed up the snacks, saying, "We'll have them as snacks when we get home."
So many people!
It was fine in the morning when they just came out, but now people are hiding. It's not as prosperous as the capital, but this is a small town, it's so cold that people can freeze to death. People who go to the market don't care about that. It only comes once or twice a year, so they all come out to join in the fun.
"It's quite lively here." Mom is tall, and at a glance, she can see that the stalls on the entire street sell a wide variety of food, toys, and daily necessities.
After eating and drinking their fill, the two of them strolled from one end of the street to the other. Because this was the border, there were actually merchants from other countries here. They had big beards, slightly curly hair, deep eyes, and spoke in a half-fluent Sheng Dynasty dialect. "Look! Take a look! Spices, gems, beautiful gems, exotic animals, rare and precious animals! Come and see!"
Rare and exotic animals? He Yingchun leaned over to take a look. The bearded man lifted the curtain and inside the cage was a white puppy with a black mark on its forehead. It looked a bit cool, but because it was still a little puppy, even with its teeth bared, it didn't look very intimidating.
The same little white dog brought back unbearable memories, and He Yingchun took a step back.
"Tsk, I said it was some rare and exotic animal, it's just a puppy!" A man waved his hand and walked to another stall.
"Stop, stop! Watch this!" The bearded man picked up an iron ring, lit it, opened the cage, held the rope with one hand, and let the dog go through the fire ring.
People around stopped to look, it was quite interesting.
"Go!" The dog did not move.
"Go!" The dog dodged backwards.
"Go away!!!" The bearded man got angry and pretended to hit it, so the dog hid in the cage.
"cut."
People didn't see any fun and waited for a long time, but the dog didn't come out.
"No fun, there's a circus over there!!"
"Where's the juggling?"
"No way! Let's go! Go check it out!!!"
People were attracted by the circus, and the bearded man slapped the cage angrily.
Originally thinking that he could sell this little thing for a good price this time, the bearded man pulled the dog out with a rope, tightened the rope around its neck, and hung the dog in mid-air.
He Yingchun couldn't bear it, "What are you doing!"
"What's it got to do with you!!" the bearded man cursed, and then said a bunch of nonsense. The rope was getting closer and closer. The puppy seemed to know that he was going to die, and tears came out of his black eyes.
"I bought it! I bought this dog!" He Yingchun jumped up angrily, "Let it go!"
The bearded man understood the word "buy" and said decisively, "Two taels!"
"You are stealing money!" Mom shouted.
He Yingchun gritted his teeth. Two taels is 2000 wen. You know, one tael of silver can buy 30 kilograms of rice.
"200 wen."
The bearded man angrily put the dog into the cage and covered it with a red cloth.
She said, "This little thing doesn't know how to do anything. We buy it just for fun. Everyone has a hard time getting enough to eat, so no one wants to buy this little thing."
"One or two taels." The bearded man thought for a moment and pointed with one finger.
"300 coins. I guess you didn't spend any money on this dog when you came here? You made a net profit of 300 coins, so you didn't lose anything!" It was obvious that the bearded man didn't spend any money on it when he saw that he treated the dog carelessly.
"800 wen! No less!" The bearded man waved his hand, "If you don't have it, leave!"
"Okay, if you don't want to sell it, then forget it!" He Yingchun pulled her mother and pretended to leave.
"Hey! 500 Wen, it can't be any less! I've already lost money." The bearded man said hurriedly when he saw the two of them walking away.
He Yingchun came back and said, "I won't say much to you. 350 Wen, I don't want the cage or anything."
The bearded man was still hesitating, so He Yingchun added, "It looks so frail, it won't live long. If you don't sell it to me, it'll just become a waste. 350 wen is really not a small amount, it's all I have. If you ask for more, I won't have any left."
The bearded man stamped his foot and said, "Alright! I'm really losing out by giving you 350 coins!"
He carried the puppy out, but the puppy tried to hide and almost fell to the ground. He Yingchun didn't dare to hold it, so his mother took it.
"I don't have enough money. I'll go back and get some. Please wait here for me."
"Okay, okay." The bearded man waved his hands speechlessly. Mom and the puppy waited here first, and He Yingchun ran back to get the money.
The puppy snuggled in its mother's arms, being incredibly well-behaved. He Yingchun was afraid that something had happened, so she ran back frantically, her back soaked with sweat.
She took the money and ran quickly to the bearded man. Her throat was sore from running and she had digested all the food she had just eaten. With trembling hands, she gave the money to the bearded man.
"Tsk, what a loss! What a loss!" Seeing her like this, the bearded man felt that he should have asked for more. However, he had picked up the dog, so it wasn't a loss at all. He hummed happily, "Come on! Take a look! Take a look!!"
The puppy stared at He Yingchun with its black eyes, which were clear and seemed to be able to speak. The black mark on its head was very eye-catching. It gently wagged its tail, as if expressing joy.
"Let's go!" Fortunately, although the bearded man was not a good person, he still had some integrity as a businessman. He Yingchun pulled her mother and left quickly. The price went from 2 taels to 350 wen, which made her excited just thinking about it.
Both sides felt they had struck it rich.
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