After everyone had discussed it, they started pulling the cart toward the county town.
However, their clothes were too tattered, and although they couldn't tell they were criminals, people often mistook them for beggars who had fled from other places, so many bosses were unwilling to do business with them.
Song He'er hated this kind of snobbishness the most. She looked at dozens of stores but didn't buy from any of them.
Seeing that it was getting late, Qin Xiaoniang didn't want everyone to travel back and forth in the county town, so she had to say, "We need to find a place to rest. Why don't we come back tomorrow?"
Chunrao and Chundi were also feeling tired after pulling the cart for a while and wanted to find a place to rest.
Song He'er breathed a sigh of relief and agreed with their statement.
Because he was short of money and afraid of being watched by county officials nearby, he chose to rest in a secluded, dilapidated temple.
Zhang Xiue lit a torch, drew water from the well, and started cooking millet porridge. However, this was the last of the millet.
Chun Di took out cucumbers and gave one to each person.
"This cucumber is more nutritious when eaten raw than when it's cooked."
"How about we stir-fry some cucumber and eggs for the children?" Qin Xiaoniang said with heartache.
Nianjie was very sensible and knew that eggs were hard to come by and couldn't be eaten every meal, so she had to refuse: "I like to eat raw cucumbers."
Hua Hua chimed in, "I also like eating raw cucumbers."
Seeing how sensible the children were, Song He'er felt very gratified. She took some eggs, washed them, and put them in the pot to cook with the millet porridge.
"Each of us will get a cucumber and an egg. Tomorrow we'll go to town and use the money from selling fish to buy ten chickens. Each chicken will lay one egg a day, so we can each have an egg every two days!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu'e immediately stood up and agreed: "He'er's idea is good. We still have about nine strings of cash left from selling the fish. If we buy ten chickens and spend another string, we can still keep the rest. It's not like we've wasted our money!"
“Then tomorrow we’ll split up. Third Aunt, you go buy chickens, and I’ll go buy cloth for us. Madam Tian, Madam Zhou, and the two aunts will stay where they are and take care of the rest of us.”
"good."
"It's getting late, let's go to sleep."
After saying this, everyone leaned against the Buddha statue and drifted off to sleep...
The next morning, Song He'er put on the straw hat that Qin Xiaoniang had woven for her and went to the county town with Zhang Xiu'e.
The same few shops were still selling fabric on the street. Song He'er ignored them and stopped a small business owner selling fabric scraps.
The man was not tall, probably only about 1.6 meters, but he had a very kind face. When he saw Song He'er, he smiled and asked carefully, "Is there anything I can help you with, young lady?"
"Shopkeeper, do you sell fabrics?"
"Girl, what are you saying? I sell fabric. If I don't do fabric business, am I supposed to do steamed bun business?"
Song He'er smiled and said, "I need enough fabric for twenty people!"
The man was clearly taken aback and asked Song He'er again for confirmation: "Twenty people?"
"Yes, just tell me the price and size. I don't care about the price, as long as the goods are good." Song He'er deliberately raised her voice so that those who fawned over the powerful and looked down on the weak could hear.
"Then please come to my humble abode, young lady. I will cut out the measurements and give them to you."
"good."
Such a large deal made the owner of the silk shop next door extremely envious.
Just as Song He'er was about to leave with the small vendor, the owner of a silk shop ran out after her, smiling and saying, "Miss, why don't you come and take a look at my shop? My fabrics are truly of the highest quality!"
Song He'er knew him; this was the same snob she had seen yesterday.
"Boss, you're really forgetful. I was in your shop yesterday, and I remember you didn't want to do business with me. What? Have you changed your mind?"
The shop owner chuckled, seemingly trying to cover it up: "Look at my memory! I was just joking with you yesterday. Who would pass up such a big business opportunity?"
Seeing his increasingly attentive manner, the nearby vendors grew impatient and directly retorted, "Boss Zou! What do you mean by this? Are you trying to steal my business in broad daylight?"
"Hey, you little pockmarked guy, who are you talking to? This is my freedom. The young lady can do business with whomever she wants. What's it to you?"
Song He'er sneered, interrupting their conversation, and then turned her cold gaze to Boss Zou: "I'm sorry, I don't want to do business with you."
The silk shop owner was so angry that his face turned blue and purple. When he realized that reasoning with him wouldn't work, he decided to resort to violence.
"Little girl, you probably don't know how powerful I am..."
Seeing that he was about to make a move, the small vendors nearby immediately shielded Song He'er behind them, saying, "Although Shanyang is not under the emperor's nose, aren't you afraid that I will take you to the authorities for your arrogance?"
"Take it to the authorities?" Boss Zou suddenly laughed, a very sarcastic laugh. "I'm the big boss in the silk industry in Shanyang County. Whoever buys from whom, and how much, has to give me their approval. Who do you think you are?"
"you?"
"Scared? If you know what's good for you, get out of my way and stop getting in my way!"
The small vendors had no way to deal with him, so they could only pretend nothing had happened and stop talking back.
Seeing that the small vendor was intimidated, Boss Zou walked over to Song He'er and asked with a half-smile, "Want to do business with me?"
Song He'er thought for a moment that fighting him in public would definitely attract a lot of attention and might even alert Qin Xiaoniang and the others...
Why not go with the flow and strike at the heart of the problem?
Ha! Isn't her silk shop rich? Let's see if she doesn't empty his entire warehouse and bankrupt this arrogant bastard!
"Since Mr. Zou is so sincere, then I have no choice but to accept your offer. However, I have a request."
"What are your requirements?" Boss Zou asked.
"You have to let me see your warehouse. I want the real stuff, not the leftover stock that people have cut up."
Boss Zou didn't think much about it. As long as there was money to be made, he would do anything. Besides, it was just a small matter of taking people to check the warehouse, so he agreed without even thinking about it.
"Yes, no problem, please."
Song He'er smiled, turned around, took out one hundred coins, and handed them to the small vendor. "This is my apology to you."
"Young lady, this..."
"Take it. It's not easy to make a sale after working from sunrise to sunset. I went back on my word, so this is compensation for you."
After saying that, Song Heren went to Mr. Zou's silk shop with him.
Zou's Silk Shop is the largest silk shop in the entire Shanyang City, employing no fewer than dozens of workers. Logically, such a shop shouldn't lack business. Why then is it choosing to snatch Song He'er's business from a small vendor today?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
