You know, Chinese people love to join in the fun. Originally, when He Ying set up her stall, passersby just looked on. But after the old lady and the woman in blue bought some, everyone wanted to see what it was. There were also small samples that Qian Duoduo had broken into pieces for tasting. Following the principle that who wouldn't eat something for free? Everyone tried a piece, and as a result, they all bought a small flower basket. One woman who looked to be in her twenties even bought three small flower baskets in a row, which was incredibly generous.
Before long, the small jar of red berries in front of Jin Jinxiu was sold out. He Ying was also excited to collect the money. The two of them put the jar behind them and opened another jar, which contained wild crabapples, which had also been boiled in beet juice and were placed in a small flower basket. Although they were not as pretty as the red berries, they were plentiful.
Some people came after hearing the news, wanting to buy red berries, but when they saw a bunch of wild apples, they hesitated and asked if there were any red berries left. When they learned that there were none, they asked if they would come again tomorrow.
Jin Jinxiu immediately looked at He Ying. All the red berries at home had been sold, and these wild crabapples were brought back by Qian Gui.
He Ying said, "The red berries will be ready in a few days, but the wild crabapples we have now are also good. They're also cooked in sugar water, so you can have one."
The man must have heard that they offer free samples here. He took one and started eating. Although the hawthorns weren't very big, they tasted pretty good, and they were a decent snack. He nodded and said, "Give me one first. When will you have more hawthorns?"
He Ying said, "We're not from the commune, so we need letters of introduction to come here, which is quite inconvenient. We only come once every seven days."
The man nodded and said, "Okay, I'll come in 7 days."
He Ying said, "Okay, how many do you want? I'll save some for you. You know our red berries sell well."
Upon hearing this, the man immediately said, "Three, no, four."
He Ying nodded and said, "Okay, I'll save some for you later. We usually sell until after lunch, so just don't forget. If you don't come then, we'll sell what we saved, since we can't take it back with us."
The man nodded, took the hawthorns, and left.
Once someone gets started, things become much easier, and soon all the wild crabapples were sold out. An old lady buying eggs nearby was extremely envious, as hers was also a hot commodity, but no one was paying attention to her.
Qian Duoduo looked at the old lady's basket, thought for a moment, and asked, "Auntie, what are you selling?"
The old lady knew that this little girl was clever, seeing that the business had started with her quick wit and sales pitch, so she smiled and said, "Eggs."
Qian Duoduo's eyes lit up: "How much is it?"
The old woman said, "Five cents each."
Qian Duoduo's eyes immediately dimmed, and her little face looked aggrieved. Even the little braids on her head seemed to droop. The old lady's heart skipped a beat. Was she too tall?
He Ying naturally saw Qian Duoduo chatting with the egg seller, but she was busy packing up her things with Jin Jinxiu, preparing to leave.
Qian Duoduo thought for a moment and said, "Auntie, could you lower the price a bit? Five cents is too expensive. If it's three for ten cents, I'll ask my mom to buy me a few."
The old woman thought about it for a moment and decided it was fine, so she nodded and asked, "How many do you want?"
Qian Duoduo stood up and walked to He Ying's side, saying, "Auntie, could you give me 50 cents?"
He Ying didn't ask any more questions and took 50 cents back to the old lady: "Grandma, give me 50 cents."
The old lady did the math: 3 for 1 mao, how many would that be for 5 mao?
Qian Duoduo looked at the old lady frowning as she counted on her fingers and said, "15 eggs, ma'am."
The old woman was taken aback; this little girl had calculated so quickly. But she still said, "I only have 12 eggs."
Qian Duoduo gave the old lady 40 cents, and the old lady pushed the egg basket towards Qian Duoduo: "I've put straw in here, you can put some more straw in so the eggs won't break."
Qian Duoduo immediately smiled upon hearing this: "Thank you, Auntie. You're so thoughtful. I hadn't even considered that."
The old woman, pleased with the praise, immediately helped Jin Jinxiu lay out the straw and carefully placed the eggs. This made He Ying, who couldn't help, smile; the little girl had such a sweet tongue.
He Ying, along with Jin Jinxiu and Qian Duoduo, returned to the oxcart with willow baskets on their backs. They found the oxcart still there, but the people were gone. They put the willow baskets on the oxcart and sat on the steps next to it, looking at things and basking in the sun.
When Old Xu returned, he saw the mother and her two children chatting and laughing, and said, "You guys came back quickly."
He Ying said, "We were planning to buy some things, but we don't have any tickets! Sigh!"
Old Xu nodded in deep agreement: "It's so good in the city. You have a job, money, and ration coupons. Unlike us, we can't eat well, and we can't dress well." Thinking of the group of educated youth who came this year and complained about her oxcart being dilapidated, she thought, "Hmph, I won't be giving you rides anymore."
When Old Mrs. Liu returned, she saw that everyone on the oxcart had already come back, and Old Man Xu had taken the reins and was ready to go back. She immediately climbed onto the cart, muttering, "I haven't even come back yet, and I'm already driving the oxcart away."
They all live in the same village, so everyone knows each other's character. You can't give Old Mrs. Liu any face, otherwise she'll take advantage of you and you'll be the one who loses face in the end. So Old Xu didn't pay any attention to her at all. He watched her sit down and then started moving the oxcart forward. Old Mrs. Liu had only just squatted down and hadn't even settled properly when the oxcart started moving, and she suddenly sat on it. It was a hard, dry spot without any straw, and it hurt so much that she grimaced and cursed under her breath, but she didn't dare to say it out loud.
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