Chapter 46
Nan Tao glanced at the oversized woven bag in her hand and wondered, "The bag is so big and it's full. There must be a lot of waste inside."
Afraid the lady boss wouldn't believe her, Nan Tao even opened the woven bag to reveal the plastic bottles, cans, and cardboard boxes inside. "Look, it's quite heavy. There's a lot of stuff."
The proprietress's eyes were filled with impatience. "I'm telling you, how come you don't understand what I'm saying? You're only selling these for a hundred or so yuan at most, not even enough to cover the cost of sorting my garbage. Go away, get out of my way."
Nan Tao was delighted at first; a hundred yuan was the minimum she could earn for the task. But then, hearing the boss's wife's tone, as if she was chasing a beggar, she felt unhappy and considered quitting. But she had toiled all afternoon, collecting scrap and sweeping up the garbage. If she gave up due to such a minor difficulty, not only would her entire afternoon's efforts have been wasted, but she and her son would also have to go hungry that night.
After trying hard to brainwash herself, Nan Tao patted her cheeks and forced a fake smile. "Boss, you can't be so harsh. I see plastic bottles, cans, and cardboard boxes piled up at your door, which means you're collecting them. My supplies are a little less, but they're still sellable. We're in business, don't you think we're making too much money?"
The proprietress looked Nan Tao up and down and said, "You are quite good at talking."
Nan Tao: "What do you mean, boss lady?"
The lady boss said: "It's too little, too little. Go pick up another bag and I'll collect it."
Nan Tao: "Aren't you embarrassing me? The sun has already set, where can I get another bag of waste?"
The boss lady said: "This is your business, it has nothing to do with me."
Nan Tao took a deep breath and tried to suppress herself from getting angry. Anger would make her look ugly. The worst that could happen was that the mission would be in vain and she would go hungry at night. She just didn't believe that she couldn't handle this lady boss.
Just as Nan Tao was thinking about how to persuade the proprietress, a woman in her sixties walked in with a snakeskin bag in her hand.
The eldest sister smiled and said, "Boss, you have guests here."
The proprietress hurried forward to greet him, "What kind of customer are you? You're here to sell your scrap."
The elder sister handed the snakeskin bag to the proprietress: "Please weigh it for me and tell me how much it can be sold for."
The boss lady said: "The price is the same as before. You put it on the ground on the scale."
Not long after the eldest sister put the things away, the boss lady calculated the price.
"Sixty-eight yuan and eighty cents, I'll scan your code"
The eldest sister smiled and said, "Okay."
Nan Tao frowned. This older sister had much less stuff than she did, so why did the boss lady accept it all? She must be targeting her on purpose.
"Boss lady, can you help me check how much these are worth?"
The boss lady said: "Why are you so stubborn? I told you I won't charge you. Don't get in the way."
Nan Tao: "This elder sister has so much less than me, and you accepted it all, why not mine?"
The lady boss said: "She is an old customer of mine. She often comes to me to sell her scrap. How can she be like you? Stop making trouble here. I won't accept yours. Go somewhere else."
Nan Tao pretended to be aggrieved, her watery almond eyes making people feel sympathy: "Madam, other places are too far away, and it's almost dark. It's too late for you to ask me to go elsewhere. I'm in urgent need of money. Please be kind and take it. You won't lose anything. At most you can give me a lower price."
The proprietress remained indifferent.
The eldest sister felt soft-hearted after hearing this and smiled at Nan Tao, "Don't worry, I'll help you talk it over." Then she said to the proprietress, "These mother and son must be short of money. It doesn't matter whose garbage you collect. When you run a business, don't refuse to make money just because it's too little. What will happen if no one comes to your shop anymore? Money accumulates little by little."
The boss lady was so embarrassed by what she said that she usually did not accept garbage worth less than 100 yuan. This lady was very prestigious in the nearby community and knew many old men. She accepted the garbage even though the lady had little to sell. The main purpose was to curry favor with the lady so that she could help promote her.
Fearing that this would leave a negative impression in front of the elder sister and affect her future business, the boss lady reluctantly agreed, "Okay, for the sake of the elder sister, I'll take yours this time."
Nan Tao was happy and quickly thanked her elder sister.
The eldest sister waved her hand and took the money handed over by the boss lady. "You're welcome. It's just a small favor."
Nan Tao placed the bag on the spot where her elder sister had weighed it and asked, "Boss, how much is it?"
The proprietress calculated, "Eighty-two, scan the code."
Nan Tao frowned: "That's not right, mine is obviously much heavier than the one my elder sister just had, why is it only this much?"
The proprietress raised her eyelids and said with a forced smile, "It's up to you to sell it or not."
Nan Tao: "I can sell these for at least 100, but you only gave me 82, which is a bit too little. People shouldn't be so unscrupulous in doing business."
The lady boss slammed the calculator on the table. "I can accept it because of your kindness. If you don't like it, just get out and don't disturb my business here."
Nan Tao pursed her lips, her bright almond eyes were stained with thick ink that could not be dissolved. Even a clay figure has some personality, let alone her. If it was not for completing the mission, who would be willing to suffer this grievance.
Nan Tao sneered: "I think the elder sister has just walked away. Maybe I can catch up with her and chat with her now."
The proprietress' eyes widened, "You...!"
Nan Tao smiled and said, "What do you mean by 'I'? I'm not selling it anymore. Come on, son, let's go talk to Big Sister. Maybe we can make Big Sister happy and ask her to come over to sell it. Then the price will be much higher than this."
As she spoke, Nan Tao grabbed the woven bag in one hand and walked away holding Yu Ze's hand with the other.
The proprietress stamped her feet in anger and quickly called out, "Alright, alright, I can't stand you anymore. Don't leave. Let's talk it over."
Nan Tao knew when to stop, turned around, and looked at the proprietress with a smile: "Isn't that right? If we have something to discuss, we can discuss it. Why do we have to make things unhappy?"
The proprietress glared at Nan Tao fiercely and said aggrievedly, "Tell me, how much is it?"
Nan Tao: "I am a very honest person and never do anything shady. Give me the normal price and don't try to take advantage of me. It's not easy for me to pick up these scraps. I worked hard all afternoon. If you give me an unfair price, I will spread the word around here and let the neighbors see how your family does business and bullies others."
The proprietress's face turned pale and blue at the ridicule. "I'm afraid of you. The total is one hundred and three dollars and sixty cents."
Nan Tao was happy in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She said calmly, "Really?"
The boss lady said: "I swear to God, I didn't deduct a penny from you."
Nan Tao chuckled: "Who said eighty-two just now?"
The proprietress's face flushed red, and she said aggrievedly: "Okay, take out your phone and I'll scan your code."
Nan Tao had a headache. The production team had confiscated their phones to prevent them from cheating. "I don't have a phone. Give me cash."
The proprietress said: "What era is this? You don't even have a cell phone? Are you that poor? No wonder you brought your son out to pick up trash."
Nan Tao: "...Just give me cash anyway."
The proprietress was so angry that she quickly sent the man away to avoid having a stroke. She opened the drawer and took out some change.
After counting the money in her hand, she found that she didn't have enough change. The boss lady frowned so hard that she could kill a fly. "There's not enough money. I'll go to the supermarket next door to change some money. You guys wait here for me."
As he was speaking, another person came in from outside.
The boss lady called out, "Son, you're back. Help me change some money at the supermarket next door."
"Are you sick? I just got back and I'm exhausted. If you want to go, go by yourself. Don't call me."
Nan Tao looked up. The boy who was talking was not tall, only reaching her neck, but he was very fat, four times as wide as her. He had dyed yellow hair and looked like a gangster. What's more, he was ugly, with fat all over his face, and his facial features were squeezed so that they were invisible.
The boss lady was not angry at all. She looked at her son with a doting face, "Did you just get back from school? How is school going recently? Is the teacher treating you well? You kid, you didn't even let your mother visit your school."
The boy said impatiently, "Why are you going? You're a rag seller and you're embarrassing me." After saying that, he slammed the door.
The proprietress looked embarrassed and explained to Nan Tao, "My son isn't usually like this. He's very filial. I guess it's because school just started these past few days and he hasn't been getting along well with his classmates. Let me tell you, my son's grades are excellent. He was always among the top students in his grade in junior high school. This high school entrance exam brought honor to our Wang family. He was admitted to the best high school in our county, County No. 1 High School. All our relatives are so envious of our son. He's brought honor to our family."
After hearing this, Nan Tao couldn't quite believe it. The little rascal looked so different from the others, and it didn't look like he had good grades. She looked at the smiling boss lady, but she didn't know what to say. What if the boss lady's son really had good grades?
Just as she was thinking about it, Nan Tao suddenly heard her son's inner voice and her eyes widened.
[Tongtong, you said her son was a poor student? His test scores, rankings, and admission letter were all fake?]
[He also cheated her mother out of her money and spent all her tuition and living expenses before returning?]
[What? Her son still...]
After listening to this, Nan Tao looked at the proprietress with sympathy.
[It's so pitiful. Seeing the boss lady so smug, it's hard to say that her son is a poor student.]
If I had a son like that, I'd be pissing off blood. He'd forge an admission letter, pretending to be admitted to high school, and then defraud the tuition and living expenses, only returning when all the money was gone.
[This is such a bad character. I despise him for selling junk and cheating him out of his money.]
When netizens who were watching the live broadcast saw the comments "Have you eaten melon today?", they all spoke out.
[Oh my god, is this true?]
Earlier I was mad for Taozi and wanted to give the boss lady a slap in the face, but now I feel good. Her son, who she was so proud of as a top student, turned out to be a poor student. Hahaha.
Like mother, like son. Wasn't she too harsh on Taozi just now?
[Don't you all wonder "Have you eaten melon today?"]
[I doubted it, but it's just that I've experienced it so many times that my face is swollen from being slapped. The facts show that the saying "Have you eaten melon today?" is true.]
"Have you eaten melon today?" is too scary. Why does this person know everything? Is he a devil?
[You don't have to be that scared. The country is advocating science these days. Don't believe in superstition.]
What's there to be afraid of? I saw this fat, yellow-haired guy earlier. I could tell from his face that he was a poor student.
Nan Tao didn't realize that her complaints had once again sparked a heated discussion on the Internet. She was still looking at the proprietress with sympathy, shaking her head.
The lady boss's scalp tingled and her hair stood on end when she was stared at. "Why are you looking at me?"
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