Chapter 42 Adapting to Local Conditions
a certain place in Xishi
"Have you heard? Today someone was selling those potted plants in the bustling city center, and he sold four for thirty taels of silver."
Thirty taels? You think you're some sucker who'll just sit there and let anyone rip you off?
"I'd be a fool to lie to you. All the stall owners over there saw it."
"Thirty taels, how much would I have to sell to earn that? That woman got it with just a few words."
"You so-called idiot, do you really think that woman is all about looks? She can go toe-to-toe with Chen Yanwang, and as for those strawberries, do you really have the ability to get your hands on those rare things? You might be able to get your hands on those ordinary fruit tree potted plants, maybe you can swindle some money, that would be a good deal."
"I'm completely confused by this. What exactly is a bonsai?"
"It's like burying a fruit tree that's a little over a meter tall and bearing fruit in a ceramic pot; that's what you call a potted plant."
Upon hearing this, Lin Dagen's heart skipped a beat. "Could the potted plant sellers be two women, one burly and fierce-looking, and the other pretty and charming, enough to steal your heart with just one glance?"
"Lin Dagen, you're quite something. You know so much, yet you pretend it all to be true."
With a few snickers, Lin Dagen wandered around like a ghost for a few minutes, then suddenly slapped his thigh, "Damn it, I've lost a lot of money."
Sixty fruit trees and pottery jars cost only thirteen taels of silver. With a different shell, they can be sold for five taels each. If he had known they could be sold for so many times the price, why would he have sold them cheaply? Wouldn't it have been better to sell them himself?
The more Lin Dagen thought about it, the more suffocated he felt. He tossed and turned in bed, while his simple-minded son slept like a log. Lin Dagen suddenly stood up, kicked Lin Xiaohu, and groped his way out the door in the dark.
He was determined to make money off this opportunity right under his nose.
The next day, Lin Zhaozhao went to sell potted plants as usual. When she pushed her cart to the bustling market, she found that the spot where they had set up their stall the day before had been taken by someone else. They were selling the same potted plants as them, but compared to theirs, the fruit on the trees was far inferior in both appearance and quality.
Lin Zhaozhao didn't take it to heart. In later generations, potted plants were even being sold as flowers, so she was just adapting to local conditions and learning from them.
Moreover, many people saw the price she sold yesterday for potted plants. Five taels of silver for a fruit tree potted plant is equivalent to ten or half a month's salary for others, or even a month or two. Who wouldn't be tempted and envious?
Pushing slowly and finding a way in, Lin Zhaozhao finally found the most secluded spot, and there were three or four fruit tree bonsai vendors around her.
Lin Zhaozhao remained calm, moving the potted plants out one by one, hanging up signs, without shouting or looking around, and simply sitting down on a small stool.
Compared to yesterday, there was an extra table. Those watching the two sisters saw them magically produce steamed buns, pies, and fruit from the cart and eat them as if no one else was around.
The petite woman ate a normal amount and stopped when she was full, while the burly man, not having enough food, went to buy a bowl of noodles and a scallion chicken.
The aroma of scallion oil chicken wafted from one end to the other.
After eating and drinking her fill, Lin Yangyang washed her hands and started munching on a peach, making a crunching sound that drew frequent glances from the surrounding vendors.
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