Chapter 57
Before returning to the county, Ji Wanmei remembered to buy some vegetables and meat.
She tried the Sichuan restaurant today and thought the shredded pork with garlic sauce and boiled sliced pork were quite delicious, and the recipes didn't seem difficult to make.
She then took Luo Chunyan to the market to buy some meat, but at this time of year, there was no fresh or good cuts of tenderloin left.
The two spent a long time choosing pork at the stall. Ji Wanmei took a liking to a piece of lean foreleg meat hanging on one of the stalls. She would use it instead of tenderloin, cutting it into slices and shreds. She would coat it with more sweet potato starch before cooking to make it soft enough, which should be fine.
Luo Chunyan couldn't help but sigh as she watched Ji Wanmei carefully selecting vegetables and meat.
I wonder what kind of man will be good enough for her best friend in the future?
Ji Wanmei is knowledgeable, educated, beautiful, and well-born. She is also very talented and versatile. Even when it comes to being a virtuous housewife, she is second to none.
The man who will be able to marry Ji Wanmei in the future must have accumulated eight lifetimes of good fortune.
Luo Chunyan smiled and sighed for a while, then casually bought two bunches of vegetables that were on a buy-one-get-one-free deal.
If the harvested vegetables are not sold on the same day, they will basically not be fresh the next day if left overnight.
Therefore, many times, the families of factory workers would rather choose to stop by the market after getting off work at six o'clock to buy some discounted vegetables and cook them at home.
It's economical, convenient, and saves money.
Luo Chunyan's family often does the same thing. Her parents usually don't go grocery shopping in the morning because vegetables are more expensive in the morning than in the afternoon. Anyway, since they don't have a refrigerator, the vegetables will just sit there all day, so they might as well buy discounted vegetables in the evening.
Ji Wanmei saw that Luo Chunyan had chosen two bunches of celery that weren't very fresh, but she didn't say anything. The key point of the evening's discounted vegetables was that they were cheap; the money that could only buy one bunch of vegetables in the morning could buy one bunch in the afternoon and get one free.
However, Ji Wanmei's family had a refrigerator because her father was a self-proclaimed chef who paid great attention to food. As soon as the refrigerator was released, Ji Xingguo rushed to buy one.
Since we have a refrigerator, there's no need to skimp on the cost; fresh vegetables always taste better.
However, when making boiled sliced pork, you still need some vegetables as a topping, placed at the bottom of the soup.
Ji Wanmei recalled what side dishes were included in the boiled pork slices she had for lunch. They were mostly bean sprouts, cucumbers, and dried bean curd.
Fortunately, these things were all durable and could be stored longer than leafy greens, so Ji Wanmei went to the vegetable stall and bought a little of everything.
When buying vegetables, the old lady selling cucumbers saw that Ji Wanmei was such a delicate and gentle girl that she didn't seem to come to the market often and didn't know which family's young lady she was. So when she put Ji Wanmei on the scale, she deliberately weighed her off by three ounces.
But at that moment, Luo Chunyan noticed it with her sharp eyes.
Throughout the market, every vegetable vendor was quite enthusiastic and easygoing in their business dealings, except for this fat old lady who always tried to rip off customers. Whenever she saw someone with money or from out of town, she would secretly cheat them when weighing the produce, easily making an extra cent or two.
Ji Wanmei didn't notice, probably because of her personality; even if she did, she wouldn't care too much.
But who is Luo Chunyan? Would she allow others to take advantage of her friend even slightly?
No way!
As soon as she saw the plump old woman secretly weighing the cucumbers, Luo Chunyan immediately stepped forward, rolled up her sleeves, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Hey old lady, what's wrong with you! Are you taking advantage of us because we can't read scales? Look for yourself, my friend bought two cucumbers from you, which clearly weighed only two jin and seven liang, but you insisted on charging us three liang!"
When the vegetable vendor saw Luo Chunyan yelling, her face also turned a little ugly. She put her hands on her hips and retorted, "Young lady, what nonsense are you talking about? We have clearly marked prices here, and we're fair to everyone, young and old. Which eye of yours saw me weighing the vegetables?"
Ji Wanmei hadn't paid much attention before, but it was only now that she realized the old lady across from her who was weighing her had indeed shortchanged her.
However, cucumbers only cost two cents a pound to begin with, so even if you charge her three pounds, it would only be six cents.
Ji Wanmei wasn't going to argue, but Luo Chunyan refused to back down and immediately started arguing with her.
Ji Wanmei naturally sided with Luo Chunyan, staring calmly at the vegetable-selling woman and saying, "Take another closer look?"
That old lady has been selling vegetables at this market for over ten years. She always does it this way. The neighbors know her character and at most gossip about her privately. But many customers, even if they are tricked into buying her vegetables, sometimes don't even know. They are all working people rushing to and from get off work and don't pay attention to a penny or two.
But today, she happened to run into Luo Chunyan, a kind-hearted woman.
Luo Chunyan said, "You won't admit it, huh? I advise you, just say it's what it is. If you dare to cheat us by even an ounce, I'll immediately report you to the market manager for disrupting market order and deliberately extorting customers. Then you'll have to think about whether your vegetable stall will even be able to stay afloat!"
As soon as she said this, people in the market all turned to look at her. With more onlookers, the arrogant and tough vegetable vendor, who had been so assertive, softened her tone, fearing that things would escalate and become difficult to handle.
She never expected that the girl she thought was easy to manipulate would be so clever.
The old woman quickly said, "Oh dear, it's all my fault. I was seeing things for a moment and misread it. It's two jin and seven liang!"
This time, Luo Chunyan didn't expose her. Instead, she smiled and picked up two cucumbers from the stall, put them in the scale, and said, "This time you're not mistaken. These four cucumbers are indeed two jin and seven liang."
The old lady buying groceries froze.
If the claim of being able to use a mascot doesn't work, then she'll just have to waste two cucumbers on the deal.
"Alright, alright, take it." The old lady waving her hand, only took the money for two jin and seven liang, and gave away two cucumbers for free. She just wanted to get rid of these two quick-witted girls as soon as possible.
Otherwise, if the market administrator sees her, she won't be able to continue her vegetable vendor business.
After leaving the market, Luo Chunyan looked at the two cucumbers she had gotten for free, raised an eyebrow at Ji Wanmei triumphantly, and said, "See, this is how you deal with people who are greedy for small gains, so they won't dare to do it again next time. I wonder how many scales she's cheated with this method, and she's not afraid of being punished for doing too many bad things in the future."
Ji Wanmei smiled as she looked at Luo Chunyan. When she got fierce, no one could match her.
Moreover, when her friends encounter problems, Luo Chunyan is truly fearless and dares to roll up her sleeves and rush in!
Such a rare quality is the willingness to go to great lengths for a friend.
That's why Ji Wanmei insisted on partnering with Luo Chunyan to open a store.
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