025 Going to the Market
Around four in the morning, lights began to light up in Shanghe Village.
Today is the biweekly fair in town.
While Gao Qinghe was still sleeping, his family had already gotten up and were packing and preparing.
All the dried sweet potato vermicelli were divided into ten-jin handfuls, tied with cloth strips, and put into clean fertilizer woven bags.
Huang Ying planted two mu of sweet potato fields last year and harvested more than 1,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes in the autumn.
The leftovers are left for home consumption, and a thousand kilograms of sweet potatoes are made into sweet potato starch.
I have been busy for more than two months since the beginning of the year, and have dried 210 kilograms of sweet potato vermicelli.
The dry vermicelli is so bulky that it took four woven bags to fit it all.
Gao Qingmiao was very enthusiastic about carrying the load, but he didn't know how to use the strength in his shoulders, and he hissed as soon as he started to pick it up.
Huang Ying gave him some instructions, and after adjusting for a while, he was barely able to carry it.
As for Huang Ying, when she was eighteen years old, she dared to go to the construction site with her two stepsbrothers from the Zheng family to help people carry bricks and secretly earn pocket money.
A hundred-pound burden is easy for her.
Old Mrs. Tian collected a basket of country eggs, forty in total.
Each one was wiped clean with a dry towel. They were so small that they could be held in one hand and looked round and plump.
After packing up the things and putting them in the yard, the family members woke Gao Qinghe up after breakfast was ready.
The family sat together, ate a simple sweet potato rice porridge and then set off.
Although Gao Chongyi does not work in the fields, he has lived in the countryside for so many years that he has long become half a rural person.
He carried the burden better than his son. The father and son each took charge of a load of sweet potatoes and walked in front.
Huang Ying walked behind with the eggs in her hand, and helped her husband and son to hold on to them to prevent them from accidentally breaking her sweet potato vermicelli.
Gao Qinghe took her grandmother's arm and followed behind with sleepy eyes.
When we arrived at the village entrance, we found that they were quite late.
There is only one bus into the city in the morning, and it will turn into the town when it encounters the market.
In order to attend the market, villagers from all over the country come out, and they may not be able to catch the morning bus.
This is also the reason why the villagers get up before dawn to prepare.
If you can't get on the bus, you'll have to walk for an hour to get to town.
The villagers who didn't bring any goods had already left in groups.
Those who stayed behind were like Gao Qinghe's family, who brought things to sell in town.
Many people in the village grow sweet potatoes, and making sweet potato vermicelli has been a common practice in previous years.
However, everyone's life is getting better and better now, and most people sell the sweet potatoes directly.
Only a few diligent people, or those whose families are extremely poor, have the patience to make sweet potatoes into vermicelli.
Gao Qinghe yawned and looked at the foggy mountains surrounding the village, feeling as if he were in a dream.
There was a sudden commotion in the queue waiting for the bus.
Everyone enthusiastically shouted the same name, "Secretary Zhou."
Gao Qinghe, who was leaning lazily on his grandmother's shoulder, tilted his head to look.
It was Zhou Zhenghua and his elder brother and sister-in-law.
The brother and sister-in-law each carried a heavy load of sweet potato vermicelli. Zhou Zhenghua walked in front of them empty-handed, specially coming to see him off.
The villagers greeted him warmly, and Zhou Zhenghua responded and asked everyone to help take care of his sister-in-law.
After giving his instructions, he left.
He left and went to take a look at Gao Qinghe.
Gao Qinghe drooped his head and buried it in his grandmother's shoulder.
A loose and messy braid hung behind her head, and because of the owner's movements, it swung to her chest, covering most of her face.
All you can see is a pink and white cheek under the naughty hair.
Zhou Zhenghua felt that he must be mentally ill, because he felt that she was like a lazy and clingy white cat with three long cat hairs at the corners of her mouth, which made him feel itchy.
He got up early in the morning to send his brother and sister-in-law off, saying it was a high-sounding excuse, but actually he just wanted to see if she was there too.
But when he really saw her, he didn't want her to know that he came just to see her.
So, against his true feelings, he turned around and walked away.
This caused the villagers to look at Mrs. Zhou with curiosity.
A few days ago, I stood at the stone bridge waiting for the girl from the Gao family to come back.
You just turned a blind eye today and didn’t even say hello?
Mrs. Zhou shook her head and told everyone not to guess blindly as it was nothing.
It was not until the crowded shuttle bus arrived late that the villagers stopped gossiping.
Gao Chongyi sent all his family members into the car and gave Gao Qingmiao loud instructions.
"Take good care of grandma and sister. Remember to check and don't forget anything when you get off the bus!"
Gao Qingmiao was squeezed so hard that he could only stand sideways. He tried to shout out, "I know!"
Today is the first day of school, so Gao Chongyi cannot go to the market with them.
He watched the bus go away before turning around and heading towards the school.
After more than twenty minutes of crowded driving, we arrived at the town.
It was just after seven in the morning, but all the shops along the town's streets were already open.
A breakfast stall was also set up, and customers came in waves, keeping the boss busy.
The town consists of only one long street, where villagers who go to the market gather.
There are people selling vegetables and medicine, as well as clothes, various farm tools, and aluminum pots and pans.
The most eye-catching thing was the vendors who came from the county in pickup trucks and vans.
The car is their stall, with baskets of trendy snacks, biscuits, candies, and fashionable sneakers.
The needs of everyone from young to old can be taken care of.
The largest number of people gathered in front of the car stall.
The children were greedy and cried for candy. The adults were reluctant to spend money but were too embarrassed to scold them in front of so many people, so they just bought them some.
Young boys, like Gao Qingmiao, can't walk when they see colorful fashion and sneakers.
Gao Qinghe twisted his ears before pulling him away.
There is a small sweet potato noodle factory in the town, and they collect sweet potato vermicelli from all the villages.
After walking through the long street, I saw the "Mo Family Sweet Potato Noodle Shop" where many people were already queuing up to weigh their food.
The family of four split into two groups.
Gao Qinghe and her grandmother found a stall in a busy area of the market to sell eggs.
Huang Ying and Gao Qingmiao queued up at the sweet potato noodle shop to be weighed.
Gao Qinghe was lucky. They arrived early and hadn't seen any other shops selling local eggs.
As soon as Mrs. Tian opened the basket full of eggs, someone came up to ask the price.
"Twenty cents each."
The buyer shook his head and said it was too expensive and asked for a lower price.
Mrs. Tian was embarrassed, "Everyone is at this price, it's really not worth it."
When the buyer saw that there was no room for bargaining, he wanted to leave.
Gao Qinghe hurriedly shouted, "Sister, the price is indeed high, but I feel very close to you as soon as I see you, just like my own sister. So, if you buy a lot, I will give you one for free if you buy ten."
Seeing that the other party stopped again, Gao Qinghe quickly took two and handed them to her.
"They are all eggs laid by hens raised at home. Don't be fooled by their small size, but they taste absolutely authentic. They are especially delicious whether boiled or fried."
"If you take the whole basket, I can still give my sister a little less."
The buyers felt pleased when they saw Gao Qinghe's smiling face.
Seeing her looking at him expectantly, he calculated the price in his mind and thought that buy ten get one free was indeed a good deal.
He squatted down again and asked tentatively, "How much less can I save if I buy one basket?"
Gao Qinghe lowered her voice and said, "Seven dollars and twenty cents. I'll only give you this price, sister. Don't tell anyone else, or I'll have trouble doing business."
"Okay, sister, you're so straightforward. I'll take them all."
Gao Qinghe was delighted: "I'll pack everything up for my sister right away."
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