In the end, Xu Yi took Fu Man'er to sell the fish. Old Mrs. Xu wanted to go with her, but Xu Yi didn't allow it. He wanted to try it on his own.
It was right at the village entrance, not far away. After giving a few more instructions, Grandma Xu went to attend to her own business.
Just outside the village entrance is a wide official road, where horse-drawn carriages pass by from time to time. Fu Man'er sits on a stone, propping her chin up as she watches the horses trotting by.
Although he had already sold things in town before, Xu Yi was still a little reserved. Despite the constant stream of pedestrians on the road, he couldn't bring himself to start calling out his wares.
He felt as if something was choking him, preventing him from making a sound, which frustrated him greatly. He had been out for quite a while, and there was no one to ask him anything.
He made a solemn promise to his grandmother before leaving home that he would definitely sell the fish. It would be too embarrassing to bring the fish back untouched.
Fu Man'er had seen enough of the official road, so she turned halfway around, turned her face toward the village, and, imitating a fish, pouted and blew bubbles.
Fu Man'er finally managed to get a bubble on her lip, and just as she was about to show it to Xu Yi, the bubble disappeared as soon as she opened her mouth. After doing this several times, Fu Man'er gave up and decided to just watch the fish blow bubbles instead.
"Little boy, how much are the fish?" A middle-aged man passing by on the official road asked.
"Twenty coins each." This price was set by Old Mrs. Xu. Fish at the market sell for six coins per pound, easily costing more than ten coins. These fish she caught were quite heavy, each weighing five or six pounds. Fearing that they would be difficult to sell if they were too expensive, she set the price at twenty coins each.
The middle-aged man bent down and looked into the bucket. "Twenty coins is too expensive. Make it cheaper, I'll buy one for ten coins."
The outrageous price made Xu Yi a little angry. "Uncle, this fish is a big one, weighing five or six pounds. Twenty coins is already very cheap. Ten coins is really not acceptable."
He couldn't be too harsh in his tone, thinking that the customer was there to buy something.
"Hey kid, this isn't some fish from the market. You'd be lucky to get ten coins, what are you thinking of getting twenty?" Seeing Xu Yi wouldn't budge, the man's face darkened, and he made a move to leave. "Will you sell it or not? If not, I'm leaving!"
"Not for sale!" Fu Man'er ran to Xu Yi's side and shouted.
“Yes, we won’t sell it. Uncle, go to the market in town and buy ten coins’ worth of fish.” Xu Yi was a little conflicted, but he immediately became firm after hearing Fu Man’er’s words.
"You little brat, let's see when you'll be able to sell yourself." The middle-aged man was taken aback, glared at them, and then left.
“It can be sold,” Fu Man’er shouted to him, but her voice was too soft and he didn’t hear her.
Although the fish didn't sell, Xu Yi felt less nervous after this incident. He cleared his throat and started shouting, "Fish for sale! Fish for sale! Big, fat fish!"
At first, I felt embarrassed and awkward when I called out, but after a few times, I became thick-skinned and shameless.
"How much is this fish?" A carriage stopped in front of Xu Yi and his group, and the man sitting on the carriage shaft asked.
Xu Yi quickly replied, "Twenty coins per piece, at least five catties per piece, all fished out of the river." At this time, families with horse-drawn carriages were quite well-fed, so Xu Yi's answer was very comprehensive.
The man jumped off the cart shaft. Xu Yi noticed that he was very strong, a bit like a big guy, with several scars on his face, making him look rather fierce.
Xu Yi steadied himself and took a step forward, trying to block Fu Man'er, afraid that the little girl would be frightened.
To everyone's surprise, Fu Man'er was not afraid at all. She ran out from behind Xu Yi and said to the man who was bending down to look at the fish, "Uncle, big fish, only twenty coins a piece."
The man looked up and saw a little girl. He suddenly laughed, his scars contorting into a grotesque grimace, his white teeth making him look even more frightening. "Aren't you afraid of me?"
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Many children call him "Mom" or "Grandma" when they see him like this. He might respond a couple of times if they call him "Grandpa," but what good is calling him "Mom"?
Fu Man'er flashed him a bright white smile and said, "Don't be afraid."
"No fun," the man thought, his forced smile immediately crumbling the moment he saw that she hadn't even blinked.
Xu Yi quickly said, "Uncle, fresh fish, would you like one? It's very cheap."
The man stood up. "Wait, let my wife take a look." He only remembered his wife mentioning that she wanted to eat fish, but whether the fish would be good or not was up to her.
After the carriage curtain was pulled back, a slender woman was helped down. "Oh, are they two children selling fish?"
With a woman by his side, the man seemed even more robust. "Wife, what do you think of this fish?"
"Pretty auntie, our fish are very good." Fu Man'er's sweet words made the woman just smile with her lips pursed. Seeing that the fish were so plump and delicious, she immediately asked the man to buy them.
"What two good children. I wish our children could be like them, able to walk and move around." The woman stood beside Fu Man'er, watching Xu Yi deftly wrap the fish in lotus leaves, a hint of worry on her face.
Fu Man'er reached out and tugged at her skirt. "Pretty auntie, what's wrong?"
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The woman bent down and touched Fu Man'er's face, saying softly, "Auntie was just thinking about some things." The child was too young to understand what she meant.
"Oh." Fu Man'er nodded. "It's alright. Auntie should smile. She looks even prettier when she smiles."
So that's why she's always grinning from ear to ear? Xu Yi thought to himself upon hearing this.
After the fish was loaded and the man paid, he helped the woman into the carriage. The woman lifted the curtain slightly and looked back. The older child was playing with the little girl until they were out of sight, then she lowered the curtain.
Fu Man'er was overjoyed to have sold a fish for a penny less. She clung to Xu Yi, played with him for a while, and laughed until tears welled up in her eyes before finally stopping.
"Brother Er Gou, isn't that Xu Yi?" A few teenagers walked towards the village entrance, and one of them spotted Xu Yi's figure.
"Where is he?" Chen Ergou was energized as soon as he heard Xu Yi's name. He looked ahead and saw that it really was Xu Yi. "Damn it, I'm going to settle accounts with him." The group walked over aggressively.
"Xu Yi, you bastard, you ruined my life and you still have the nerve to laugh here," Chen Ergou shouted as he walked.
Fu Man'er looked back and saw, ah, a big dog.
"Brother, it's him, the big dog who stole my big mushroom!" Fu Man'er pointed at Chen Er Gou, who was getting closer and closer, and began to complain.
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Chen Ergou was full of arrogance, and Xu Yi's eyes also turned fierce. He had snatched Man'er's big mushroom and hadn't even had a chance to settle accounts with him yet, but this guy had delivered himself to their doorstep.
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