The third woman stopped and asked curiously:
"Is this an egg?"
Qiu Yan looked up and smiled, "Auntie, these are wild eggs. They're all fresh. If you like them, I'll sell them to you cheaply."
Wild eggs are small but rare. Unlike the countryside, many people in the county town are wealthy and buy food for novelty.
If villagers bring their own eggs to the village entrance to sell, they get one coin each, but now that she's in the county town, the price is naturally higher.
Qiu Yan had already inquired with Ye Shi on the donkey cart that eggs in the county were selling for two coins each, and the cheaper ones were three coins for two.
Seeing that the woman remained standing still, seemingly somewhat tempted, she spoke again.
“Auntie, the nutritional value of one wild egg is equivalent to that of ten domestic eggs. It’s only found in our mountain village. I’ll give you two coins each. If you can take them all at once, fifteen eggs will cost thirty coins in total, but I’ll give you twenty-eight coins.”
The woman was a little confused by what Qiu Yan said. Such small eggs, and two coins each, what a rip-off!
She shook her head and left.
When the fourth woman heard Qiu Yan's selling price, she did a quick mental calculation.
"How much would it cost if I bought ten?"
Qiu Yan remained calm and composed, replying, "Ten for you, nineteen coins each."
"Could you make it any cheaper? I'll take them all for twenty-five coins." The woman in front of her looked like a cook from a wealthy family. She had been tempted after hearing Qiu Yan's earlier comment that wild eggs were ten times more nutritious than domestic eggs.
“Auntie, I’ve come all this way, so how about this, twenty-seven coins, that’s the lowest I can go.”
Qiu Yan is desperately short of money; even a single penny is useful to her now.
It's not easy to find a buyer, so if this woman doesn't agree, she'll have no choice but to compromise.
But as she wished, the woman stopped haggling and promptly took out twenty-seven copper coins and handed them to Qiu Yan.
"It's sold already?" Qiu Xu and Qiu Ling'er were stunned for a long time. Several other vendors around them were also looking at Qiu Yan. This beggar girl looked delicate and frail, but they didn't expect her to be so eloquent when it came to selling things.
Many girls like her are timid and shy around people, afraid to look up, let alone show their faces in public.
"Sister, where are we going now?" Qiu Xu looked at the copper coins and thought his sister was simply amazing.
Even if he were to sell eggs, he wouldn't be able to sell any even if he set them up for a whole day.
Qiu Yan glanced at the sky. "Let's go to the clinic first, then to the general store to buy some things, and then meet up with Aunt Ye and the others."
Upon hearing that his sister was going to the clinic, Qiu Xu quickly waved his hand to stop her. This money was hard-earned by his sister, and he didn't want to waste the copper coins because of him.
Qiu Yan smiled but didn't say anything more.
Seeing that Qiu Yan had sold all the eggs so quickly, while she herself couldn't sell a single handkerchief, Qian Shi, who was far away, couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
She placed the handkerchiefs among a pile of vegetables, so of course they weren't selling well.
As Qiu Yan and her two companions passed by, she couldn't help but ask, "Qiu Yan, how much did you sell your wild eggs for?"
However, all that remained for her was silence and cold indifference.
The streets in the market are bustling from morning till night. After passing through the market, the streets ahead are mostly lined with storefronts, but there are also some small stalls.
For example, you can smell the aroma from meat stalls, pastry shops, noodle stalls... even from a distance.
Qiu Ling'er's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the peddler selling sugar figurines. Being sensible and obedient, she only secretly sucked her fingers.
Children who are in the process of losing their baby teeth should not eat sugary foods.
It was still early, so Qiu Yan took the two of them to the clinic first.
At the entrance of the clinic, Qiu Yan practically dragged Qiu Xu inside.
Qiu Yan was worried that his wound would get infected. In ancient times, there were no anti-inflammatory drugs, and even a minor injury could be as good as losing half of one's life.
The three men's shabby appearance drew gasps from the clinic's clerk, who stared at the cloth strip on Qiu Xu's head. "How did you get that?"
Qiu Xu replied truthfully, "I accidentally bumped into something."
"Please wait here for a moment, I will go and fetch the doctor." After the servant went inside, a middle-aged doctor came out shortly afterward.
He removed the cloth strip from Qiu Xu's head and examined him carefully.
Fortunately, the wound was no longer a serious problem, and the doctor simply applied some herbal medicine.
The doctor was still very ethical and only charged them eight coins for the medicine.
This made Qiu Xu feel quite distressed.
After leaving the clinic, Qiu Yan wandered around and got a general idea of the location.
Baiyang County has a main street running north-south through the center, with many streets and alleys, but it is still a small county town and not very big.
During their journey, the three came to a general store, which had everything imaginable: pots and pans, brooms, baskets, needles and thread, grains and seeds... It was quite well-stocked.
Qiu Yan felt she lacked everything at home and wished she could bring the entire shop back with her.
She pointed to the most inconspicuous iron pot in the corner, thinking of the two stoves, one big and one small, in the old courtyard.
The iron pot is made of pig iron, and is only about the size of three bowls. Its surface is rough and uneven, and some even have cracks.
"Hey sir, how much is this iron pot?"
The grocer was taken aback at first. He thought the three people had come to beg for food, but it turned out they had come to buy things.
"Those forty coins."
This price... Qiu Yan now, plus the three coins she swindled from Yang yesterday, only has twenty copper coins left in her pocket.
"What about this one?" Qiu Yan pointed to another one.
"If you want it, I'll give it to you forty coins, even if it's forty-three."
"..."
In the end, Qiu Yan only bought a few wooden bowls.
After the three turned and left, the grocery store clerk watched their retreating figures with a forced smile, unable to bring himself to say, "Come again next time."
This girl is incredibly shrewd; even if she did it ten more times, she wouldn't make any money herself.
With the last three coins, Qiu Yan took the two of them to a grain and oil shop and bought a pound of cornmeal.
After spending all the money, Qiu Yan grabbed her younger brother and sister-in-law and headed towards Caoshikou.
Just before I arrived, it was almost noon, and the Ye couple had just arrived as well. On the donkey cart were the fabrics that the Ye family had just bought.
As soon as they met, Ye asked them how the wild eggs were selling.
Qiu Yan spoke the truth, which drew praise from Madam Ye. "It's really good that your first time selling things went so smoothly."
Having never run a business before, Ye couldn't help but feel a bit more admiration for Qiu Yan.
Qiu Dayong and his wife, who were on the oxcart, kept their eyes fixed on the city gate. When they saw the Li family's donkey cart coming, Qiu Dayong said to a woman in brocade clothes next to him, "How is it? Is my niece any good-looking?"
The old woman in brocade first nodded, then shook her head, "He does have a decent appearance, but he's too thin."
Mrs. Qian quickly replied, "It's okay to be a little thin; you'll gain weight with time."
The old woman in brocade glanced coldly at Madam Qian, "No, no, a girl like that doesn't look like she'll have a good life."
After she finished speaking, she simply tilted her head back and walked away.
Qiu Dayong and Qian both looked dejected; a perfectly good business deal had just fallen through.
If Qiu Yan knew Qiu Dayong's plans, he probably wouldn't be able to find work tomorrow.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
