Although chili peppers are expensive, Niu Da is very generous. If you buy 20 coins worth of chili peppers, he will give you a bunch of amaranth for free; if you buy 100 coins worth of chili peppers, he will give you a large cabbage for free.
One white cabbage costs one coin.
"Can I get a free radish if I buy 20 coins' worth of chili peppers?" someone asked.
Radishes, though not a rare commodity, are known as "little ginseng," so they are not cheap. They are more expensive than cabbages, which cost one coin each, while radishes cost two coins per pound.
This huge radish must weigh at least three pounds. With twenty coins for chili peppers, I can't afford to give away a radish worth six coins.
"Grandpa, I can't afford to give you this away. How about this, if you don't like amaranth, but you really want to buy it, I'll give you a bunch of rapeseed for free!" Niu Dadao said.
The old man's face immediately turned cold, and he reached out to rummage through the radishes on the beef stall, saying:
"Radishes aren't anything rare. To be so stingy in business is really something!"
Niu Da quickly pulled the old man aside. He was angry, but not wanting to offend his customer, he still spoke politely:
"Sir, I really can't afford to give you this as a gift. How about this: if you buy 150 coins worth of chili peppers, I'll give you a large radish as a gift. What do you think?"
The old man said, rather unreasonably:
"I only have twenty coins, not a single coin more! Take it or leave it!"
The surrounding customers pointed and whispered, "This old man is so unreasonable! Twenty coins for that big radish? How is that possible!"
Niu Da said politely, "I really can't afford to give this away! If you don't want to buy it, that's fine too!"
The old man angrily threw down the chili peppers and left. Niu Da didn't bother getting angry with such an unreasonable customer, nor did he want to do business with him.
"Boss, how much are your watermelons?" A girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old came up and asked. She was wearing a pink jacquard dress and had a little rouge on her face. Although she didn't have any servants, she seemed to come from a well-off family.
"These are ten coins a pound. Our watermelons are incredibly sweet. Girl, do you want one? If you do, I'll kill one for you to try!" Niu Dadao said.
"Yes, yes!"
The little girl didn't know how to bargain, but Niu Da didn't raise her price either. He killed one and used his dagger to scoop out a little bit for the little girl to taste.
"It's so sweet! I want this watermelon! But it's inconvenient to carry it like this, how am I going to get home?" the little girl said hesitantly.
Niu Da took out a burlap sack and said, "We have sacks!" It was made of burlap by Chen Yu, which was cheaper than coarse cloth.
The little girl said, "I'll pick out some more green vegetables," and Niu Da handed her a small burlap bag.
Several more people came to buy watermelons; they looked like servants from a wealthy family. "Boss, are the watermelons sweet?"
A little girl who was picking out vegetables nearby said, "Their watermelons are so sweet!" She also put a few white radishes into the bag and bought a few eggs.
Upon hearing the little girl's words, the servants who had come out to buy things said:
"May I try some?"
Niu Da was already cutting up a watermelon and said with a smile, "Of course! Please have a taste!"
The foreman took a bite and said, "Hmm, it's sweet, really delicious! I'll take all of these watermelons!" "Oh, you sell chili peppers here too? I'll take all of these, red and green!"
The foreman also picked out a few cabbages and seven or eight radishes, and bought sixty eggs.
Niu Dadao: "I won't charge you for those cabbages. I'll also give you a few eggs as a token of my respect. If you come here again next time you're out, it would be my honor!"
"This kid knows how to do business! Haha!" The manager laughed as he handed over the money.
Niu Da took the several strings of copper coins in his hand, weighed them in his hand, counted them, and confirmed that the amount was correct.
"Take care, sir!"
There were ten watermelons in total. The little girl bought one earlier. Her watermelon weighed seven jin (3.5 catties) and cost seventy wen (0.5 yuan) each.
The other nine watermelons all weighed eight jin (approximately 4 catties), were large and sweet, and cost 720 wen (approximately 310-300 coins). There were about ten people who had previously bought small amounts of chili peppers, either one or two liang (approximately 50-60 grams) or two or three qian (approximately 10-15 grams).
The manager bought four catties of chili peppers for four hundred coins.
The four cabbages were a free gift and didn't cost any money.
I bought sixty eggs and got twelve free, which cost me one hundred and twenty coins. I still have eighteen eggs left.
White radishes cost three coins per kilogram. The manager bought twelve, each weighing exactly one kilogram, for a total of thirty-six coins.
The total was 622 coins, plus 123 coins in loose change, making a total of 745 coins.
"Niu Da, is this all the eggs you have? Do you have any more at home?" Aunt Zhou asked as she came out to buy eggs.
"Yes, yes! We wholesale chicken and goose eggs! I'll bring them to you tomorrow! You can buy these first! We also sell chili peppers and watermelons, but we didn't bring enough today. Do you want them? If you do, I'll deliver them to you tomorrow!" Niu Dadao said.
"You also sell chili peppers and watermelons?" Aunt Zhou asked. "Oh my, those are rare items! How many do you have?"
"There are about thirty large watermelons and about twenty small ones that haven't grown up yet. There are also about two rows of chili peppers, weighing about twenty or thirty pounds!" Niu Dadao said.
Aunt Zhou said, "Alright, tomorrow you pick twenty watermelons and a dozen catties of chili peppers and send them to Jia Dafu's house!"
Niu Da quickly handed her a bag, then touched the white radishes, cabbages, and tomatoes, and said:
"Give me ten pounds of these tomatoes, five large cabbages, and ten of your radishes that are this big!"
"Okay!"
Niu Da quickly loaded it.
Aunt Zhou said:
"Your family's life is getting better and better; you've even started growing tomatoes, something so rare! Can I have two of these sweet potatoes? I'll take them to cook for my little grandson!"
“If you want it, how could I refuse? We also raise a few pigs at home. I just hope you can have some mercy and think of Niu Da during the holidays. That would be my blessing!” Niu Da said casually.
"How can we wait until the New Year? To tell you the truth, our master and young master will be going to the capital after the Mid-Autumn Festival. At that time, all these shops and properties in Jiangzhou will be sold, and we servants will naturally have to go with them!" "As for me, I can't help with anything else, but if you want to buy a shop or something, I can help you arrange it!"
Niu Da had considered buying a shop, but which shop in the county town would be willing to sell? Upon hearing this news, Niu Da was overjoyed.
"I'll have to trouble you then, sister!"
With that, Aunt Zhou paid the bill.
Tomatoes and peppers cost the same price: a thousand coins for tomatoes, plus eighteen eggs, and ten radishes as a bonus—it's nothing.
Niu Da packed up his stall and went home.
Little Fu Bao seemed to know that Niu Da had made money today. She waved her little hands wildly, opened her big eyes, and smiled as she rolled over on the bed, trying to climb off.
Old Mrs. Zhong saw it as soon as she came back into the house after using the toilet. She quickly picked up Xiao Fubao and said, "Oh my, my little baby has woken up from his nap!"
"Wife, mother, I'm back!" Niu Dadao greeted him as soon as he returned, taking Xiao Fubao in his arms and poking her with his stubble. "Let Daddy smell if our little Fubao stinks! Haha!"
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