Chapter 38: Street Market, Chubby Baby, Big Customer...
Lai got up early to roast chestnuts and left them open in a basket.
After putting everything he needed in the car, Ray woke Neil from his sleep.
The two quickly finished their breakfast, and while other houses were just beginning to smoke from their chimneys, they had already set off on the main road to town.
After passing through the tunnel, Neil called out to Ray.
"Brother, brother, look over there!"
"What's wrong?"
Lai did not stop the mule cart and continued on his way.
“There are goblins watching us from the mountains over there.”
Lai glanced at them quickly; they weren't Iru, but two goblins he'd never seen before.
"It's okay, don't worry about them."
Ray cracked his whip lightly, and the mule cart began to accelerate.
No more mountain roads, the journey was smooth, and the two arrived in town quickly, saving at least two or three hours compared to before.
Lai paid the toll for two people, stored the mule cart at the parking area, and carried all the goods by hand to the market on the east side. It was the same market where he had sold the golden pears last time.
He arrived early this time and managed to rent a good spot, along with two stools.
Lai lined three identical baskets on the ground, lined them with canvas, and then poured chestnuts, pine nuts, and dried dates on top, piling them into three small, towering heaps.
"Besides the quality of the goods, how they are displayed is also very important when selling products."
As Ray arranged the items, he taught Neil.
Neil said he learned something new.
If that's not intuitive enough, Lai peeled open the chestnuts and laid them out on the surface for the guests to see, and also tore the dried dates in half and placed them on top.
There weren't many people around, so Lai missed the morning market.
But there are two more waves of foot traffic before lunch and dinner, so he's not worried about not being able to sell his goods.
"Selling roasted chestnuts, roasted pine nuts, and dried dates!"
Lai cleared his throat and started calling out, attracting passersby to turn around and look at him frequently, but he didn't feel embarrassed at all.
Making money is nothing to be ashamed of.
Whenever a customer stops at the stall, Lai will offer them a nut to try.
How much are your roasted chestnuts?
A young lady asked.
Her clothes were clean, and the style was more modern than others.
"Twenty copper coins a pound."
"Twenty pieces? That's way too expensive!"
She was somewhat surprised.
"No, my beautiful lady. I added a lot of syrup when I roasted these chestnuts. The price may sound expensive, but a pound of chestnuts can fill a small bag."
"You can also buy half a pound of roasted chestnuts to try first. If you like them, you can come back and buy more from me."
Lei gave her a polite smile and calmly introduced the product to her.
"Then I'll start with ten copper coins."
She said hesitantly.
Leillisou weighed out half a pound of roasted chestnuts, put them in a paper bag, and handed them to her.
"I have some pine nuts here, would you like to try some?"
"No, no."
She knew that pine nuts would be more expensive, so she didn't plan to buy them and therefore didn't want to try them.
"It's okay, trying a few won't cause any harm."
Ray gave her some pine nuts, and she thanked him profusely.
"I'll help you spread the word to others."
"Thank you very much."
He earned ten copper coins from the sale and put them into the money box.
A little while later, an older woman arrived, leading a little boy.
The children's mouths watered as they looked at the roasted chestnuts, and Lai, being very perceptive, handed them two chestnuts.
"Your chestnuts are good, sweet and mealy."
Lai thought to himself that chestnuts were already quite sweet, and when they were roasted, an extra pound of syrup was added to the ten pounds of sugar-roasted chestnuts, so how could they not be sweet?
"These chestnuts were freshly roasted this morning. Auntie, you should buy some for your grandson as a snack. They're delicious and healthy."
The woman was a little reluctant to spend the money, but looking at her little grandson, she gritted her teeth and bought a pound of chestnuts anyway.
"It's packed in two bags; there's also a child at home."
"good."
While packing roasted chestnuts, Lai tried to sell them to the older woman.
"I also have some freshly picked chestnuts this year, only fifteen copper coins a pound. You can buy some to stew with meat, or they're delicious steamed. Would you like to take another look?"
"Let me take a look."
Lei opened the small bag, revealing the chestnuts inside.
Fearing that he might bring too much at once and not be able to sell it, Lai only brought a small bag of repackaged goods.
The aunt picked up the chestnuts and examined them. They were large, plump, and without any wormholes, and even cheaper than the ones sold in the store. She thought it was worth buying some to take home and eat.
"Then pack me two more pounds of chestnuts."
"Okay."
Lai packed the money and handed it to the old woman, also giving her a handful of dried dates. The old woman left satisfied. Fifty more copper coins appeared in the money box.
In one morning, Lei sold a total of four pounds of roasted chestnuts, fifteen pounds of raw chestnuts, and ten pounds of dried dates.
Pine nuts were sold for sixty copper coins a pound, but no one bought them. Rye gritted his teeth and sold them for fifty-five copper coins a pound, finally selling half a pound.
At noon, Ray gave Neil some money, and they bought two sausages and two pieces of rye bread to eat.
The area where the stalls were set up had some shade, so they weren't exposed to much direct sunlight.
It's easy to feel sleepy in the afternoon, so Lai spread a canvas on the ground and let Neil lean against the stool to take a short nap.
By the afternoon, the market had gradually become more crowded.
Lai's business improved somewhat, but he still didn't sell many pine nuts.
"eat!"
A chubby little baby walked up to Lai's stall. He was naked except for a small shirt on his upper body.
Ray looked around but didn't see his family.
"Little friend, where are your mom and dad?"
Ray tried to get something out of the little boy, but he just sucked on his fingers and didn't answer his question.
Helpless, Ray picked up the child to keep him from running around and waited for his parents to come looking for him.
After peeling a roasted chestnut again, Lai held the chestnut and continued to ask the little child questions.
"Little friend, what are your parents' names? Tell me and you'll get some chestnuts."
"Eat! Eat!"
When the little boy reached for the chestnut, Ray noticed two round little ears hidden in his dark brown hair.
Ah, it's a little orc.
The little boy struggled quite a bit, so Lai stopped asking him questions and simply handed him the chestnut.
"Brother, what should we do if such a small child runs away?"
"It must be a kid from one of the families near the market who ran away. Let's keep an eye on him for now; his family will come looking for him."
Lai bounced the little baby around and felt that he was quite heavy.
"Your child is so cute! The dried dates look good, how much are they?"
Ray wanted to correct him, but then thought better of it.
"Twenty copper coins per pound."
"Then weigh me two pounds."
Since Ray was temporarily tied up, Neil quickly packed two pounds of dried dates for him.
"Come back often after you've had your meal. We also sell fresh chestnuts here."
Neil greeted them generously and skillfully, which pleased Ray.
It gives me the illusion that my son has grown up.
"Power! Power!"
Lai heard the shouts from afar, and carrying the baby, she walked out of the stall and waved to the big man Mu.
"Mu, over here!"
Mu rushed over, took the baby from Lai Yi's arms, and gently patted his bottom twice, making the flesh on his bottom jiggle.
"That'll teach you to run around like that!"
She pouted, her big eyes brimming with tears, looking at her father with a look that seemed about to fall.
"Food, I'm hungry, boohoo."
Li could no longer hold on and burst into tears in her father's arms. Mu was heartbroken and rushed to comfort her.
After crying for a while, he finally stopped crying and wiped away his tears with sobs.
"Thank you, Ray, for looking after Li."
It turns out that the naked little baby was the greedy little bear cub from before.
"You're welcome, it was nothing. But if I may ask, why don't you leave the child at home to look after him?"
The mum's stall was very busy, so she shouldn't have brought her child along; it was irresponsible. Lei was a little puzzled.
"Li's mother was a human, and she has passed away."
The shepherd explained briefly.
"Excuse me."
"It's okay, a lot of people ask that."
Mu took the initiative to defuse the awkward situation for Lai.
"You're selling things here too? These chestnuts and pine nuts are really good."
"I picked these from the mountain the day before yesterday. I picked too many and am selling them."
Lei explained.
"Weigh out three pounds of chestnuts for me, Li seems to like them."
"good."
Ray weighed out three pounds of roasted chestnuts for Mu and took the silver coins Mu handed him. Neil gave Mu the change in a paper bag.
Lai grabbed a handful of pine nuts and gave them to Mu, asking him to peel them for the children. Unexpectedly, Li quickly grabbed a few and stuffed them into his mouth.
"Spit it out! Don't choke!"
"Lai said anxiously, but Mu shook his head calmly."
"It's fine."
With a snap, he forcefully bit open the pine nut shell, ate the fragrant pine kernel inside, and happily shook his head.
Ray then noticed that Li looked only one or two years old, but his teeth were already fully grown in. His four small canine teeth, one on top and one on the bottom, looked quite sharp.
"The teeth of the orc cubs grow quickly and are very strong."
The shepherd explained.
"Are you going to buy meat again today? I'll save you a good piece."
"want."
"I'll be going now, the stall can't be left unattended."
"good."
Mu turned and left with Li in his arms, while the little baby looked longingly at Lai Yi's... stall.
Not long after the orc father and son left, the number of people started to increase.
Lai sold dozens of pounds of chestnuts, and only the bottom of the twenty pounds of dried dates remained.
There was a slight commotion in the crowd, with other vendors eagerly crowding towards the spot. Lai was too busy to notice. It wasn't until the familiar family crest appeared before him that Lai realized his "patron" had arrived.
How much are the pine nuts?
"Butler Claire asked."
"Sixty copper coins a pound, genuine wild pine nuts roasted by ourselves, please have a taste."
Ray grabbed a handful and gave it to him. Claire's servant immediately stepped forward, took the handful, peeled off several pieces, placed them on a handkerchief, and handed them to him.
"It tastes good. How much do you have left?"
Lei silently calculated, taking into account what he kept and what he sold.
"About twenty-five pounds left."
"Weigh them all and wrap them up. The young masters and ladies like to eat them."
Rye said it was good, and there were twenty-six pounds of pine nuts in total. He put them all back into the cloth bag and handed them to the servant behind him.
"What's this?"
Claire pointed to the chestnuts, which were roasted until they were shiny and oily.
"Try some roasted chestnuts."
Claire tasted the chestnuts again. The chestnut meat was sweet and had a smooth, creamy texture.
But Lai's stall only had a little roasted chestnut left, not enough for the family to eat even if they bought some.
Claire thought about it and decided to buy them all with her own money.
"Pack them into three bags. Then weigh out fifteen pounds of chestnuts."
"Okay."
"Make some more roasted chestnuts tomorrow."
"good!"
After losing Claire, a major customer, Rye's stall was practically empty.
This deal netted a profit of nineteen silver coins, which made others very envious.
There were only a few dried dates and about ten pounds of chestnuts left on the stall.
Lai sold out completely, even giving some away. His first day selling nuts was a great start.
This business can continue.
Leie pondered to himself, packed up his stall, and took Neil shopping.
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Author's note: Fatty didn't expect that he had oversimplified things.
These shameless humans actually returned! Over time, they've picked at least half of their pine cones.
Fatty was furious, and the consequences were dire. It decided to take revenge on these humans.
Whenever it sees humans passing by, it throws several large pine cones on their heads.
However, things did not go as planned.
Instead of groaning in pain, these humans cheerfully stuffed the pine cones it had thrown down into their pockets.
Shameless! Despicable! Bastard!
Fatty was squeaking and shouting in the pine tree.
But those wretched humans pointed at it and said, "Look how fat that squirrel is!"
She has a perfectly normal figure!
Fatty got even angrier, but there was nothing he could do. He could only gather more squirrels to launch a revenge attack.
The days when Fatty would eat half and throw the other half away are finally over.
Waaah...
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