That evening, Chen Chunhua had originally wanted to go with Lin Guoqing, as she needed to bring a bucket of fresh fish. She was busy butchering chickens and had no time to make fish balls, so she could only sell live fish.
But Lin Guoqing couldn't bear to let his wife stay up two nights in a row, so he said he wouldn't go to buy food today and would take the fish and chicken to Guanqian Lane. He placed the fish bucket filled with water in the basket at a tricky angle to prevent the water from spilling out.
He set off with a chicken in his left hand and a mushroom basket in his right hand, with a bowl of solidified chicken blood in the basket.
When Lao Shi saw his chicken, he almost burst out laughing.
"Your wife was really able to clean it up and bring it here?"
"Of course!" Lin Guoqing carefully put down the basket behind him and checked to see if the fish inside were still safe. "Brother Shi, do you have any meat tickets today? Leave five pounds for me later."
"Wow! You used to buy it by one pound, but today you want five pounds? Have you made a fortune? What's going on? Is there someone in your family taking the college entrance examination too?" Lao Shi was shocked for a moment, then looked at his chicken and thought, you already have chicken, why do you have to go around the corner to buy pork.
"Hey! My family is full of people, young and old, so who would take the college entrance exam? My mom saw us killing a chicken and thought it was for the family, but she said it was ordered by a customer. I was so sad!
To comfort her, my wife said she would make braised pork for her today. This is also her own hard-earned money. Look, this bucket of fish was all caught by my mother!
Lao Shi stretched his head over to take a look. Wow! It was a bucket full of fresh fish! He gave a thumbs up and said, "Your old lady is really amazing!"
After so long, everyone knows a little about each other's family background when chatting. Although Liang Shengdi sometimes sounds unreliable, most of the time Lao Shi still envies Lin Guoqing for having a healthy mother who can even help out a lot at home.
"Hey, Xiaolin, can you leave me a fish later? It doesn't have to be too big, just a little bit will do. I'll consider it as payment for the ticket."
The price of a pound of meat ticket is about the same as the price of a pound of meat, 70 cents. Lin Guoqing sells fish to others for 80 cents a pound, but he will definitely give Lao Shi a discount when selling it to him. It is exactly the same as the ticket price.
Lin Guoqing was very happy to hear this. This was really the money the old lady earned from her own meat. "Okay, I'll leave one for you. I'll fish it out for you when we leave."
Every now and then, the business that opens is done by their own people who set up stalls in Guanqian Lane, trading things with each other. Lin Guoqing has gotten used to it.
More and more people started to come to buy food. Many people looked at the white chicken wrapped in paper by Lin Guoqing in surprise.
Someone immediately asked, "Are you cleaning the chicken? How much do you sell it for?"
Lin Guoqing waved his hand and said, "Someone ordered this yesterday and it's unavailable."
The visitor felt very sorry, but then received a new message, "Can I still order chicken in advance? Are they all cleaned like this? How much is one pound?"
Lin Guoqing lifted the cloth covering the basket beside him and showed her the chicken blood in the bowl. "One dollar and five cents a pound. Except for the chicken feathers, it's all here."
The woman was very tempted. Her family had workers and lived in an apartment building. If she wanted to buy a chicken to eat, the most troublesome thing would be to kill the chicken and plucking its feathers. Some neighbors couldn't stand the well-being of their family and would stand in the corridor and shout that the chicken was smelly and there were chicken feathers all over the floor.
If I could just clean everything up and bring it to her, it would save me so much trouble! Even if the price is a few cents more than a live chicken, it's still a good deal!
She was about to say, "I'll order one too," when she heard someone behind her whisper,
"Everything has been cleaned up. We can't see whether the chicken is healthy when it's alive. Is your chicken dead or sick?"
Lin Guoqing rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about, sister? I set up a stall here with my wife every day. You all see it. This is not a one-time business!"
He picked up the chicken and showed it to them, "Look at this chicken of mine. I killed it just before dinner! The skin is white with a hint of pink, and it's very fresh. It's an old hen that I raise at home for laying eggs. It's over two years old. Look at the meat and the fat. It's so yellow! It's almost glistening!"
As long as it's a dead chicken, no matter how it died, the blood won't come out! The skin will be dark red or bluish-purple, and the meat will be dark and gloomy! I have a bowl of blood right here!"
Lin Guoqing rummaged through the chickens and pointed at the bowl of chicken blood. "You know where this is. How can anyone live peacefully with live chickens clucking? We didn't intend to sell chickens in the first place. We only brought them here because they insisted. Now you open your mouth and question our character!"
He felt insulted and was so angry that he put down the chicken and waved his hand to drive the man away.
"I'm only giving one to an old customer. By the time she comes to pick it up, it'll be gone. You can buy it or not. Don't blame me. If you don't want to buy, don't stand here."
Several people who were buying vegetables nearby, including Lao Shi, looked at the old woman who had just questioned her, and their expressions were not very good.
Lin Guoqing and his wife had been selling vegetables here for over six months. They were both sweet-talkers, had a guaranteed high quality, and were incredibly popular. When he lost his temper, everyone sided with him. Including the woman who had been interested in him, who, after glaring at the old woman, returned with an apologetic smile.
"Don't be angry, Xiaolin! I believe in you! Can you help me get one too? Is your wife coming tomorrow? Ask her to bring one for me!"
"Yes, Xiaolin, this old lady is obviously new here and doesn't know anyone! Do you have any chickens at home? Kill one and bring it to me!" Several sisters-in-law came over, some were old customers, and some were new customers who came in the past two days.
Lin Guoqing did not agree immediately, but took a while to negotiate. Just then, a customer who had ordered chicken arrived, and was a little puzzled to see so many people surrounding Lin Guoqing's stall.
Lin Guoqing then brought the chicken to her to demonstrate his sincerity and the quality assurance. He added, "Sister, there's only one. If you want to buy more chickens, you should go to the supply and marketing cooperative. At least you can see live chickens there."
It wasn't the first time the elder sister had eaten chicken. Seeing what Lin Guoqing showed her, she knew the chicken was very good! She thought she would wait for half a month to buy another one after finishing this one, but then she heard that sentence.
This made the eldest sister anxious, "Xiao Lin, what are you talking about! How can the supply and marketing cooperative have two-and-a-half-year-old hens? They've been processed for me. Don't listen to other people's nonsense, I believe you! Hey, you still have some mushrooms today, right? Give me a... two pounds too! I'll go back and make chicken soup with you!"
The chicken and chicken blood weighed a total of four and a half pounds, plus two pounds of mushrooms, for a total of six yuan and ninety-one cents. Lin Guoqing collected the money in public.
The eldest sister specifically asked for an extra pound of mushrooms, saying that she believed in the character of Lin Guoqing and his wife, and that she would not sell to anyone who doubted them. Anyway, she had to do business here!
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