Fortunately, the two children didn't run around; they just tugged at their parents' clothes and followed them.
Seeing the children's mournful eyes, Fu Wan quickly tried to make amends.
"Haha, sorry. I'll buy it for you right away."
"Boss, give me two more... no, six!"
"Alright!"
The owner of the candied hawthorn stall grinned from ear to ear.
His candied hawthorns weren't cheap; each one cost 15 cents. Fu Wan bought eight at once, clearing out all the candied hawthorns that had been made on his table.
She suddenly held seven candied hawthorns in her hand, and passersby stopped to watch. "Are these candied hawthorns really that good? Why is this girl buying so many?"
The children nearby became even more noisy, all wanting their parents to buy them candied hawthorns. Soon, a crowd gathered in front of the candied hawthorn stall, much to the delight of the stall owner.
Fu Wan's eight candied hawthorns cost a total of one yuan and twenty cents. When Fu Wan took out her money, the shopkeeper waved his hand and shouted to her, "Miss, just give me one yuan."
They rounded down the price for her.
Fu Wan nodded happily. This shopkeeper was quite good at handling things. After all, two cents wasn't two cents; it could buy half a pound of meat.
Fu Ming and Fu Liang, who were following behind, didn't expect to get a share, so they didn't stand on ceremony and took the candied hawthorns and started eating.
However, after finishing his candied hawthorn, Fu Liang went and bought another one and put it in his pocket. When Fu Wan saw this, she winked at Fu Ming.
Look at them, how quick-witted they are!
Fu Ming, belatedly realizing what was happening, nudged Fu Liang with his elbow just as he was about to laugh at him, when he suddenly understood.
Yes, Fu Liang buys gifts for his girlfriend, so he can buy things for his wife too!
Now he lost his appetite for the candied hawthorns and his eyes scanned the stall like a scanner, searching for a suitable gift.
Fu Wan stopped paying attention to Fu Ming. After all, she had already given him a hint; whether he could understand it or not depended on his own emotional intelligence.
She led Fu Ling forward for quite a while. The stalls along the way all sold seafood. After all, it was a county town by the sea, so how could the market be without seafood?
Fu Wan looked around carefully. There were mostly crabs, as well as some octopuses and shrimp. There were some fish, mostly common sea bass and flounder, but they were all half-dead, probably because of the cold weather.
There were quite a few people buying seafood. The conversations between the fishmongers and others reached her ears, and Fu Wan reflexively compared the prices with those of Fu San, finding that Fu San's prices were quite fair.
Sea bass was 60 cents a pound, opium fish was 50 cents, and there was an anglerfish lying on the ground belly up. Someone wanted to buy it and was bargaining the price down to 20 cents a pound.
Looking at it this way, it's still worthwhile to sell all the fish to Fu San. If they were sent to the county town, it would be a waste of manpower and resources, and we would have to sit in the market for most of the day, which would be exhausting.
"Ah Wan, look what that is?"
Qin Anning gently patted Fu Wan's arm, and Fu Wan looked in the direction she pointed, and was immediately surprised.
"That's... a deer?"
The place Qin Anning pointed to was about ten meters away from them. There stood a burly, middle-aged man wearing a worn-out cotton-padded jacket with several conspicuous patches, a hat made of some kind of fur, and half a deer lying at his feet.
Hunting wasn't banned back then, but anyone who could catch a deer in the dead of winter was truly skilled.
Venison is nourishing, especially in such cold weather. If you buy some venison and stew a pot, you'll feel warm all over after eating it.
"Let's go take a look!"
After saying that, she turned around and called out to Fu Ming and Fu Liang. After they came over, they walked together towards the venison stall.
The venison seller was Huang Tiejun from Qingshui Village. He was feeling annoyed because it was almost noon and he still had half of the venison left unsold. Should he lower the price?
But he had already planned it out before he left. The money from selling the venison would be just enough to pay for the bricks to build a house for his son. If the price was low, he would have to go back to the mountains to try his luck before the Lunar New Year.
While he was still struggling with this, he reflexively reached for the homemade cigarettes in his pocket.
"Comrade, how much is this venison?"
Huang Tiejun withdrew his hand from the cigarette and quickly replied, "Two... fifty cents a pound. Comrade, this is a deer I just hunted this morning. Feel it, the meat is still warm."
Two dollars and fifty cents?
Fu Ming and Fu Liang gasped in shock. Damn, that's really expensive!
Fu Wan had guessed that venison wouldn't be cheap, but she didn't expect it to be so much more expensive than pork.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Hunting in the dead of winter is not easy. Pork is targeted at ordinary people, but venison is not. If you don't have money, you wouldn't dare to buy this stuff to eat.
Despite finding the price too high, Fu Ming and Fu Liang couldn't resist reaching out and touching the piece of venison.
"Wan, it really is hot!"
Hearing this, Huang Tiejun couldn't help but feel a little smug. He had been guarding the forest for most of the night and finally managed to kill the deer at dawn.
Unfortunately, the tractor in the village was too cold to start, so he had to drive the oxcart to the county town himself. Luckily, he was clever and used his tattered cotton-padded coat to keep the venison warm before it got cold.
Thinking of this, he felt a little annoyed. He arrived in the county town a little late, and there weren't many rich people left. He stood there for more than half an hour before he had barely sold a small portion of the goods.
These young people in front of me look neatly dressed, but I wonder if they're willing to give it up.
Well, we'll sell whatever we can. If all else fails, he'll take the venison to the nearby factory residential area this afternoon and ask around!
With that in mind, he began to vigorously promote his venison.
"Comrade, look at this venison, the meat is very firm. Buying it in the middle of winter, whether you stir-fry or stew it, it will definitely nourish your body."
"Oh my, are these two kids yours? Venison is good for kids; it'll help them grow taller next year!"
"Alright, stop talking, brother. How much venison do you have in this half? I'll take it all."
"Okay, I'll take them all... Huh? You want them all?"
Happiness came so suddenly that Huang Tiejun's eyes widened in disbelief, and he thought there was something wrong with his ears.
Fu Liang, who was standing next to him, wanted to say something, but Fu Ming stopped him.
Fu Ming could guess what he wanted to say; he simply felt that Fu Wan had bought too much.
But is it really that much? This half deer weighs at most thirty-odd pounds. When the time comes, Fu Liang's family will get some, his uncle Ye Jianguo will give some, his own family will have to keep some, and Fu San might even want some.
Venison is a rare find, so let Fu Wan buy it if she wants; it's not like she can't afford it.
To be honest, if they weren't siblings, Fu Ming was thinking exactly what Fu Wan was thinking.
Seeing that they weren't joking, Huang Tiejun quickly and efficiently picked up the remaining half of the deer and weighed it.
"Hey, look, thirty-six pounds and eight ounces! How about it, is it okay?"
Fu Wan nodded, then prepared to take out her money. Thirty-six jin and eight liang, which was exactly ninety-two yuan.
"Ah Wan, what are you buying? It costs so much money!"
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