"This pound of sweet potatoes costs thirty coins a pound?" Qin Xiaoniang asked incredulously.
The vendor looked her up and down, then replied impatiently, "This is the cheapest sweet potato I have. What do you know, you're from out of town? Our sweet potatoes are the sweetest. Buy them or not? If not, go away."
Song He'er hated these arrogant peddlers the most. Seeing his rude remarks, she immediately got off the boat and pulled Qin Xiaoniang away.
"Hey, what kind of sweet potato is it? I'd like to see if your sweet potatoes are bigger than others, or if they taste better, or if eating them will make you immortal?"
The vendor stared at her incredulously. "Where did this wild girl come from? Go away! My sweet potatoes are the sweetest!"
"The sweetest? Who tasted it? Cook one for us to try, or you're lying!"
The vendor smirked, looking at Song He'er with a defiant glint in his eyes. "Why should I cook one for you? You bunch of penniless out-of-towners, I don't want to serve you. Go cool off somewhere else!"
Zhang Xiue, who was watching from the side, couldn't resist any longer. She picked up a sweet potato and stuffed it into the vendor's mouth, almost poking a hole in her cheek.
"Eat your sweet potato and shut your stinky mouth."
"Waaaaah~" The vendor almost choked to death, and it took a lot of effort to get the sweet potato out of his mouth.
"You lot! Pay me back for my sweet potatoes!"
Looking at his swollen, red lips, Song He'er couldn't help but laugh, "You want me to compensate you with sweet potatoes? Did we take your sweet potatoes?"
"This! You've ruined it!" the vendor shouted, holding the sweet potato he had just pulled out of his mouth.
Zhang Xiu'e crossed her arms and looked him up and down. "You ate the sweet potato yourself, why should we compensate you?"
Upon hearing this, the vendor's face turned ashen with anger. He was now like a mute swallowing bitter herbs, unable to express his suffering and forced to accept his fate.
"Get out of here! Knowing you guys is my bad luck! Get lost!"
"Watch your mouth, or I'll make you eat another raw sweet potato!"
Zhang Xiu'e scared him, and sure enough, he dared not speak again.
The group smiled and went to other stalls.
There are quite a few vendors at the dock, selling all kinds of vegetables, rice, flour, and cooking oil.
Song He'er didn't fancy anything else, but instead took a liking to a vegetable cart run by an old man.
The vehicle was old and worn, but it was enough to carry some things, and there was a little donkey on the front that looked very lively. If they bought it, it would be a good means of transportation for them on their journey!
Zhang Xiue was only focused on asking about the prices of the vegetables and didn't pay much attention to it.
"Boss, how much is this spinach per pound? And this eggplant too."
The old man selling vegetables looked weak and sick. "Eggplant is eight coins a pound, spinach is five coins a pound."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiue nodded repeatedly, "The prices here are good, young lady, let's buy some!"
Qin Xiaoniang nodded, and the teacher and Zhang Xiue picked out the vegetables from the cart.
Besides these, there's winter melon, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, red beans, sweet potato noodles, and most importantly, watermelon!
Song He'er quietly walked up to Qin Xiaoniang and Zhang Xiu'e and whispered in their ears, "Mother, we've bought quite a lot of vegetables, and we can't carry them anyway. Why don't we buy this cart too? Let's take it all and see how much it costs. I guess it'll only be four or five strings of cash."
Qin Xiaoniang hesitated for a moment, "Two strings of cash, I don't think that's enough. There are so many vegetables on this cart, at least a hundred catties. Besides, why would anyone sell their cart!"
Song He'er smiled and said, "I have my own way. Mother, you wait here while I call the old man aside to discuss it."
Qin Xiaoniang glanced at the cart full of fruits and vegetables and agreed to Song He'er's idea.
The vendors nearby were all shouting more enthusiastically than the last, vying for business.
Song He'er found a quiet place and called the old man selling vegetables over.
"Grandpa, I have something I'd like to discuss with you!"
The sickly old man coughed twice. "Hey young lady, what's wrong? I have to watch this stall, otherwise those unscrupulous vendors next door will come and steal my vegetables again!"
Song He'er was somewhat surprised, "They're stealing vegetables? In broad daylight, everyone's doing their own business, why would they steal vegetables?"
The old man shook his head helplessly. "To be honest, the family you just asked about is the local tyrant. He can sell for whatever price he wants, and he takes his anger out on us if he's not happy with anything! Sigh!"
Seeing that his health wasn't very good, Song He'er knew that he must have been bullied a lot.
"Girl, girl! What's wrong? Tell me quickly, I have to go back."
Song He'er walked to the old man's side and whispered to him, "Grandpa, I see you're getting old, and this business isn't easy for you. I'd like to trade something with you."
Upon hearing this, the old man was quite surprised. "What are you going to exchange it for? What could an old man like me possibly have to exchange?"
"Hmm, I see your car is quite old. Can I trade it for yours with money?"
"Donkey cart???"
Song He'er nodded.
The old man immediately burst out laughing, "Young lady, what's so special about my old car? To be honest, I built it myself over the years, it's not worth much!"
"Grandpa, I don't just want your cart, I also want... the donkey in front of your cart..."
The old man stroked his gray beard and asked, "Are you in business? Do you need transportation?"
Song He'er nodded in agreement. "Yes! We originally had a car, but after entering the desert, the car couldn't move, so we switched to two camels. But to get a boat, we sold one of them. Now we have to take the main road, and the children are still young. Without a car, we really have no way out..."
The old man was kind-hearted, and after hearing what Song He'er said, he understood the general idea.
"Alright, take it or leave it for whatever price you're willing to pay, but you have to buy all the vegetables in this truck, otherwise I won't be able to sell them without the truck."
Song He'er smiled, "That's fine, um... how about I give you this?"
As she spoke, Song He'er quietly took out a silver ingot worth about ten taels from her bosom and handed it to the old man.
"This... is a bit too much. Here's some change for you."
"No need. I see you're not feeling well. Just go get the medicine. Besides, donkeys aren't cheap, and you'll have to spend time and money on travel to buy them. We're the ones who are making a profit."
The old man was a little embarrassed, but just as he was about to say something, Song He'er interrupted him again.
"When you see my stepmother, just tell her that I spent four strings of cash to buy your car. Don't say anything more. She's never managed a household before and always thinks that buying things doesn't cost much."
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