Chapter 111 Selling Vegetables, Selling Vegetables, Strength, Chive Boxes
A few days after the rain shower, the spinach in the vegetable garden began to dominate.
At this time, the spinach is just ripe and not yet a deep dark green. It tastes tender and doesn't have the obvious fibrous texture of older spinach.
Tender spinach can be used to make spinach and egg drop soup, or simply washed and dipped in sauce. Mature spinach, however, can only be blanched and then served as a cold dish. But blanched spinach with cooked glass noodles, peanuts, and a dressing of aged vinegar and chili oil makes a delicious and unique dish.
Lai and Neil spent the afternoon picking in the field, and they picked a large basket of spinach, half a basket of lettuce, a small half basket of cilantro, and quite a few bok choy and endive.
The potato vines in the vegetable garden are growing well and should flower soon.
The green beans are growing fast; they've already climbed quite high up the trellis, but the leaves aren't very lush yet.
Compared to green beans, cucumbers are among the fastest growing crops. Small cucumbers have already sprouted under the bright yellow cucumber flowers, and they should be ready to eat in about a week.
There was also fennel that Lai had casually sprinkled in the corner, which had grown to be twenty or thirty centimeters tall, just the right amount to make fennel dumplings.
However, compared to fennel dumplings, Lai wants to cut the transplanted chives first and make chive boxes. Otherwise, the chives won't be as tender after they flower.
After a busy day filled with sweat, I simply washed some vegetables, pulled some noodles, and cooked a vegetarian hot pot with hot pot broth for dinner.
The combination of hand-pulled noodles and hot pot broth gives ordinary noodles a unique flavor. The hot pot flavor is fully infused into the noodles, making them both fragrant and spicy.
They were also hungry from working, so the two brothers ate heartily.
"Go to bed early, you have to get up early tomorrow."
"OK."
As dawn broke, accompanied by the faint light, Lai and Neil carried the prepared baskets of vegetables onto the truck bed.
"Go back inside and get two more clothes; it's quite chilly in the early morning."
"good."
After putting on thick clothes, Lai placed the half-lit candle inside the lampshade, opened the door, and rushed off to catch the train.
The small mountain village was quiet in the early morning, pitch black as if it had entered another world, with only the swishing sound of wheels rubbing against the road.
Are you scared?
Ray asked Neil.
"I'm not afraid!"
The morning wind was a bit strong, so Neil wrapped himself up tightly and huddled in the corner of the truck bed.
"There are blankets in the car, cover yourself up."
"good."
The two quickly left the village, and the mule cart entered a long dirt road. They passed through the barren mountains inhabited by goblins, went through a dark tunnel, and traveled a long stretch of dirt road.
The mule cart finally began to move on the stone road, and the cargo bed was no longer bumpy. They were almost at town.
The sky was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, and it would soon be fully bright.
Lai arrived a bit late; the morning market by the city gate had already closed, but cartloads of vegetables were still being transported out. People from town could be seen pushing carts full of fresh vegetables back home.
This market, located near the city gate, became the main place where Lai would sell vegetables in large quantities.
Whether it's restaurants within the city, the homes of minor nobles, or vegetable merchants from nearby towns, they all gather here every morning to select the freshest vegetables picked by the farmers from the fields.
The prices are much cheaper than selling vegetables at a market, but you buy tens or hundreds of pounds at a time, so it's all about volume, not price.
If you have vegetables that haven't officially hit the market yet, meaning they're already ripe in people's gardens, you can easily sell them for a good price.
This was exactly what Ray wanted.
Lai glanced at the stall a few times, then paid and entered the city. He rented a decent stall at the market for silver coins and neatly arranged baskets of vegetables on the counter.
"Lay?"
"Mu, what's wrong?"
"I felt like you from a distance, I never thought it was really you."
Mu smiled broadly.
"This year, my family planted a lot of vegetables, and I transported them to the market to sell and earn some living expenses."
"That's what Lei explained," Rye said.
"That's great, then we can see each other more often."
"yes."
"By the way, thank you for the vegetables you sent last time, they were very sweet and delicious."
"Don't be shy, I'll save some for you later."
"Okay, I'll save some good meat for you too."
The two exchanged a knowing smile.
The little bear cub, Li, caught up at some point and pounced on Mu's lap.
Mu immediately became alert, only relaxing his guard after realizing it was his own unfortunate child. He grabbed the bear cub by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up, instantly rendering it powerless to resist.
"Remember to come find me after you've sold your vegetables; I'll be right where I was before."
"good."
Shepherd led the bear cub back, and the cub would occasionally wiggle its little paws in protest.
"Brother, Li is so cute, but he's a little naughty."
"He is a bit mischievous, but it's a good thing that children are lively."
The market quickly filled up with people, all of whom had gotten up early to buy fresh vegetables. They had a keen eye for bargains and were excellent at haggling, but they were definitely savvy at managing their finances.
How much is your spinach?
"A middle-aged woman wearing a headscarf asked."
"A bundle of twenty-five copper coins."
Lai's spinach had already been cut at the roots and cleaned. It looked excellent, and there was a generous amount in a bunch. At twenty-five copper coins, it wasn't much, and the price was absolutely reasonable.
The aunt couldn't find fault with it for a moment, and couldn't find an excuse to ask Lai to lower the price further. She had her eye on this spinach, but felt that buying it all at once would be a waste.
Seeing the woman's dilemma, Lai offered her a few sprigs of cilantro.
"Auntie, since you bought this vegetable, I'll give you a few sprigs of cilantro too, so you can make a soup when you get home."
The woman was satisfied this time and paid the money readily.
Neil was deeply impressed by Ray's sales methods and once again felt incredibly proud to have such a brother.
As business opened and more and more people gathered at the small market, Lai's stall sold better and better.
The old method: Lai sells vegetables, and Neil collects the money.
The small wooden box containing the money seemed to be firmly welded to Neil's body; he would never let it out of his sight for even a second.
After the first wave of people dispersed, Lai had sold a small portion of his vegetables. Taking a short break, he saw Li wandering aimlessly through the crowd, now in the form of a human child, barefoot and walking his little bird down the street.
"..."
This was the second time Ray had seen Li wandering aimlessly in the street. Ray thought to himself how crudely the orcs took care of their children, and carried Li back to his stall.
"You can't run around like that anymore, what if you get kidnapped by bad guys!"
Lai let Li sit on his lap, washed his feet with the boiled water he had brought, and then took off his coat and wrapped Li in it.
Li let Lai do whatever she wanted, without crying or making a fuss, and even liked to hug Lai's chest.
"Wow, this child is so cute! Is he your child, young man?"
The older child was holding the younger one, and the two good-looking girls leaning against each other created an adorable scene that charmed women of all ages on the street. They all gathered around to chat.
"No, it belongs to a friend."
They didn't care whose child it was; they just thought it was very pleasing to the eye.
While hawking his vegetables, Lai attracted customers who came over to chat or simply to watch, and most bought some. This stunt resulted in a considerable sale and a substantial profit.
Neil's lips were dry from doing the calculations, and when he finally had a moment to spare, he looked at the little bear cub sitting in Lai's arms with a bitter taste in his mouth.
I felt a little envious, but not much.
Neil subtly pursed his lips.
You're a big kid yourself, why are you still trying to compete with your older brother for his attention? He's the younger brother, you should give in to him.
Neil tried to reassure himself.
When Lai was carrying Li and the vegetables to the stall, he hadn't noticed that the bear cub had already run away.
After buying the meat, Lai couldn't help but offer a few words of advice. After all, the child is the pillar of the family, and if he were to be taken away by someone with malicious intent, it would be very difficult to find him again.
Mu earnestly admitted his mistake.
He was so confident in his sense of smell that he could wander around the market with such ease.
He had memorized the bear cub's scent so well that he could easily find it as long as it remained in the town.
He did not defend himself; there were indeed things he did not do well enough.
"Are you still selling vegetables here recently?"
Shepherd asked Laiyi.
"Perhaps."
"Several of the Gulu Beasts I keep at home have given birth to babies again. I plan to kill one of them, cut off its parts, to taste it before deciding whether to do the same for the newborn babies. I'll bring you some meat to try then."
"Okay, you set the time. I'll come to sell vegetables that day."
"Would you be okay with it in ten days?"
"Can."
After agreeing on a time, Lai returned to the stall with the meat. Neil sat on a stool, looking seriously at the basket and the small money box, as if he had received some very important task.
"The meat is bought, let's go back."
"good!"
On the way back, Neil yawned incessantly, so sleepy that tears streamed down his face. He tightly hugged the small wooden box, wrapped in his clothes, to his chest. Accompanied by the swaying mule cart, he finally fell asleep.
"Wake up, Neil, we're home."
"Uh-huh."
Neil got out of the car, his steps faltering and he almost fell, but Ray caught him quickly.
"Be careful, go back inside and take a nap, then come down for lunch when you wake up."
"Um."
Neil nodded and stuffed the small wooden box, along with the clothes, into Ray's arms.
At noon, Lai made chive boxes using bird eggs laid by his own red rockbird and fresh chives.
Bird eggs laid by your own birds are definitely better than those bought from the store; the yolks are a bright yellow, and the scrambled eggs cooked with them turn a golden yellow.
Lai had already prepared the dough. The freshly fried quail eggs couldn't be used immediately; they needed to cool. He set the quail eggs aside and began processing the chives.
After washing and chopping the chives, mix in a little cooking oil to lock in their moisture. However, be careful not to add salt at this point, as this will ruin the effect of adding the oil.
The scrambled eggs had cooled down, so Lai chopped them into smaller pieces. She then added them directly to the bowl of chives, along with various seasonings, and stirred. Once mixed, they were ready to be used as filling.
From a bowl of chive and egg filling, Lai could make at least twenty or thirty chive boxes.
Preparing the buns was time-consuming, and baking them was also a waste of time. Lai also made a spinach soup. It was past lunchtime before Lai and Neil finally got to eat a hot meal.
The chive pancakes were a bit too salty, but they were just right when paired with spinach soup.
Knock knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Enter!"
Lai thought it was Lamb, but it was Timur who opened the door.
He was giving away the proceeds from delivering the triangular hoe and aluminum pot to Lai Yi when he unexpectedly ran into the two of them having dinner.
"Come in quickly and try my newly made chive pancakes."
Neil quickly brought over clean bowls and chopsticks, and thoughtfully served Timothy a large bowl of soup.
After learning the origin of the glass lamp and various new tools in the house, Neil developed a very strong respect for this skillful dwarf.
Temuji sniffed; the smell of the chive boxes was a pungent aroma. It was the first time he had smelled it, and it was very different from the smell of roasted meat.
Unable to resist the temptation of the delicious food, Temuqi washed his hands and sat down at the table.
"Have one and try it."
Lai used serving chopsticks to pick one up for him.
Temuqi took a big bite and ate half of the chive pancake.
"Why is there grass inside?"
"It's not grass, it's a vegetable called chives. It has a rather unique flavor."
Temuqi was a typical carnivore, but the leek boxes contained many bird eggs, some of which were fried in oil from the Gulu beast. Although he was somewhat disgusted by the "grass" inside, he still ate more than a dozen without stopping.
Taste buds don't lie; he really liked the food.
After finishing his meal, Temuji remembered his business and handed the money to Laiyi.
"This is my recent earnings, a total of twenty-four silver coins. Please keep it safe."
"Okay. Hey."
Lei called out to Temuji, who was about to go home, and gestured for him to come outside to talk.
The two stood under the pepper tree, talking quietly.
Lai seemed to be asking Temuji something, and then received his answer. He then asked Temuji another question, and after a long pause, Lai said something else before Temuji nodded in agreement.
Finally, Lei saw Temuji off, a pleased smile on his face.
"Brother, you're back? I thought you and Uncle Temuqi had gone out."
"No, we just discussed some things."
"Oh, brother, I've cleaned the table. Can we start counting the money now?"
"good."
Ray took out the ledger and started counting the money with Neil. Stacks of coins jingled as they fell into the small wooden box.
Neil Chase, Ray's Record.
The scene of the two brothers counting money eventually became one of Neil's happiest childhood memories.
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Author's Note: Time to get to the plot! The everyday life is coming to an end. Please fasten your seatbelts and get ready to depart!
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