Huo Tingzhou looked up and saw a middle-aged man in his forties squatting in the alley.
In front of the man was a bamboo basket containing several yellowish-green, thorny objects.
There was also a sign next to it that read: Southern durian, fragrant and sweet, (1.5 yuan each).
At this time, there were many people coming and going in the alley, and most people would subconsciously glance at this thing when they saw it.
He then quickened his pace, covered his nose, and walked away.
Jiang Si, however, seemed frozen in place.
Of course she knew it was a durian, and this wasn't just any Golden Pillow durian, but Black Thorn.
Jiang Si was a little surprised, as she used to avoid durians whenever she saw them.
This time, instead of feeling nauseous or uncomfortable, I was actually... drawn in by the strong, overpowering aroma.
Before Huo Tingzhou could speak, Jiang Si had already pulled him over.
The closer he got, the more pungent the indescribable smell became, and Huo Tingzhou subconsciously frowned.
But seeing his wife's accepting expression, he was momentarily dazed.
Especially after hearing Jiang Si say, "I want to eat this..."
Huo Tingzhou was speechless for a moment, and after a long while he managed to squeeze out a few words, "This thing smells bad, is it edible?"
"I can eat it." As she said this, Jiang Si inexplicably swallowed.
Thinking that this thing is rarely seen in China, he said, "I heard that this is the king of fruits from Southeast Asia. I ate it twice when I was in Shanghai before. The taste is the same as 'Lao Da Chang' cream ice cream."
"That's right, that's right, this came from Southeast Asia."
Seeing that Jiang Si was interested, the man selling durians quickly chimed in.
Unfortunately, I'm not good with words, and after struggling for a long time, I could only manage to utter this one sentence.
He had never eaten ice cream and didn't know what it tasted like.
But his inherent simplicity led him to immediately open a durian after hearing what Jiang Si said.
"Here, have a taste. If it's not fragrant or sweet, it's free." The man said, gesturing for her to take a large piece.
Just then, an elderly woman carrying a vegetable basket came into the alley.
Seeing this, the old lady pouted unhappily.
"What's wrong with you? Didn't I tell you yesterday?"
"If you want to sell this stinky stuff, go somewhere else. Why are you here again today?"
"Auntie, I'll be leaving in a bit," the man said awkwardly.
"No, we have to leave now!"
After the old woman finished speaking, she glanced at Jiang Si and said, "Young comrade, don't listen to this person. He says things like 'if it's not fragrant or sweet, it's free.' This stuff tastes terrible."
"And what he's selling is really expensive, it costs one dollar and fifty cents each!"
At this time, first-class pork only sells for 80 cents a pound, but he dares to charge such a high price for a durian; it's simply robbery.
Jiang Si didn't say anything, but the old man selling vegetables next to her couldn't stand it anymore.
“Comrade, you didn’t say that when you ate there yesterday. Besides, the price is clearly written on the sign.”
"You ate it yourself and thought it was too expensive, so you didn't buy it. You even insisted on cutting the price in half."
"You kick someone out just because they won't sell to you? How can you do that?"
The old woman blushed with embarrassment and quickly tried to explain, "I can't read, how was I supposed to know this junk was so expensive?"
Perhaps feeling embarrassed, she turned and glared at the middle-aged man, speaking fiercely.
"Are you leaving or not? If not, I'll call the inspection team over right now."
Upon hearing this, the man's face turned pale. "Auntie, I'll leave right away."
The atmosphere of infighting in the South is not as serious as in the North, but if someone really reports it, the inspection team still has to take action.
During the Lunar New Year, men don't want to cause trouble.
As soon as he finished speaking, he put the bamboo basket on his back.
The object was heavy, and the man was a little unsteady when he stood up, but luckily Huo Tingzhou helped him out.
Once the man regained his balance, Jiang Si noticed that his left leg was completely empty.
"Girl, here, take this and eat it."
The man cut the durian in half and handed one half to Jiang Si.
The other half was handed to the old man who had spoken up earlier.
Upon seeing this, the old woman was so angry that her chest heaved.
But nobody cared.
The old man who had spoken up for him didn't respond, but frowned and said, "I don't like eating this stuff."
He wasn't just being polite; he genuinely didn't like it!
Jiang Si didn't take it; she glanced at the bamboo basket behind the man.
"Uncle, how much is this basket of yours?"
The man subconsciously assumed she wanted to buy one.
“I wove this basket myself. If you want to buy it, turn left after you exit this alley.”
"There are people selling them over there. These sizes cost about 80 cents each."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Jiang Si said, "I'll take all the durians in this basket, no matter how many there are."
The man paused for a moment, then quickly waved his hand in realization.
"No, no, eating too much of this can cause internal heat."
"Besides, this basket of durians is almost ripe. You can't possibly eat all of these at once."
"It's okay, we can finish it," Jiang Si said.
She had heard others say before that durian is either 0 times or countless times.
Besides, there are four people in the family, so they can definitely finish it.
Finally, under Jiang Si's insistence, the man had no choice but to agree.
I counted them, and there were a total of 9 durians, including the one that was opened.
The man said, "If it's eight, this basket is free."
"Thank you, uncle."
Jiang Si didn't try to persuade him and just paid the money directly.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
