In summer, it gets light early. Before six o'clock, it's already bright, and the market is bustling with people. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares, arguing, and haggling fill the air.
Besides elderly people who can't sleep and get up early to buy groceries, housewives who want to buy fresh vegetables, there are also construction workers who have to rush to the construction site.
The economy has developed rapidly in recent years, and many projects of all sizes have been launched in the city. With more projects, there are not enough workers to go around, so the wages offered are higher, attracting many strong men and women from the town to work on the construction sites.
Those with technical skills earn more, around 200-300 yuan a day. Those without technical skills but with strength earn less, but still around 100-200 yuan. Those without technical skills or strength can find a master to be their apprentice and earn around 80 yuan.
The town isn't far from the construction site; it takes about half an hour to get there. No matter how good the accommodations and food are on the construction site, they can't compare to home. Everyone chooses to go home and cook for themselves whenever possible.
These people would go to the market early in the morning to buy vegetables and leave them at home, then go home after work in the evening to cook and eat.
"Your eggplants look fresh, you didn't use pesticides on them, did you?" A burly woman wearing a dirty hard hat squatted in front of Xu An's stall, running a thick finger across the piles of vegetables: "How much per pound?"
"Eggplant and tomatoes are 2.5 yuan each, green peppers are 2 yuan each, and bitter melon is 3 yuan each. These are all grown by ourselves for our own consumption. We only bring the extras to the market to sell. You're lucky to have come here today. Once this batch is finished, they'll be gone in a few days."
Xu An understood that the man wasn't saying this because he disliked the food; it was just a bargaining tactic.
In business, harmony brings wealth; there's no need to be confrontational from the start. He quoted the vegetable prices in a few words and then offered some explanation.
To reassure the woman, Xu An picked up a smaller tomato, wiped it casually on his clothes, and put it in his mouth. He took a bite, and the juice burst out, some of it dripping down his arm and onto the ground.
"Look at these tomatoes, they're juicy and sweet. Do you smell them? Do they smell like real tomatoes? These are tomatoes grown in our own fields, unlike those big, pretty tomatoes in the supermarket that have no flavor at all. Once you leave this place, it won't be easy to buy tomatoes like these again."
The woman in the safety helmet had initially intended to find fault with the product to lower the price, but she was confused by Xu An's series of words. Looking at the tomato that Xu An had bitten open, which did indeed exude a rich aroma, she was immediately tempted.
Xu An continued to promote other vegetables to the woman wearing a safety helmet.
"Look at this eggplant, the flowers underneath haven't even finished blooming yet, it's so tender. Yesterday I used this eggplant to make minced meat eggplant, and my two four-year-olds ate two big bowls of rice with it."
"Minced meat and eggplant?"
Upon hearing the woman in the safety helmet's question, Xu An couldn't help but slap his forehead.
Stir-frying eggplant uses a lot of oil, so eggplant is mostly steamed here, and stir-fried is less common. Dishes like eggplant with minced meat that require a lot of oil are usually only seen in restaurants; ordinary people don't know how to make them at home.
Xu An immediately and enthusiastically explained to the woman in the safety helmet how to make minced meat and eggplant, which attracted several listeners who nodded as they listened, clearly taking it all in.
After Xu An finished speaking, a person behind the woman in the safety helmet reached out and grabbed an eggplant and a few green peppers, clearly wanting to try the minced meat eggplant recipe that Xu An had described.
There were only three eggplants on the stall, and I could see that quite a few people behind me were tempted to buy some.
The woman in the safety helmet considered it in her mind. The price wasn't expensive, and the shop owner had even arranged how to prepare it. It wouldn't be right not to buy it now.
Before anyone else could reach out, the woman in the hard hat picked up the remaining two eggplants and handed them to Xu An, gesturing for him to weigh them. She added sharply, "If this way of cooking isn't good, I'll ask you for a refund tomorrow."
Xu An was delighted to hear this and said with a smile, "If it's delicious, I'll buy more next time I come across it."
The group of three or five people attracted others to come over. Seeing that someone had bought some, the others thought the vegetables looked good and that they needed some too, so they also bought some from Xu An.
Xu An was very eloquent, and the woman in the safety helmet, who originally only wanted to buy an eggplant, ended up buying not only two eggplants, but also a pound of green peppers and two pounds of tomatoes.
One pound of tomatoes can be used to make scrambled eggs, and another pound can be eaten as fruit.
The eldest sister alone bought a third of the vegetables, and the rest were sold out quickly as everyone took a little.
Xu Guoqiang watched in disbelief. Xu An had only set up the stall for less than twenty minutes and had already cleared it all out. This kid was really something.
The two people standing at the back wanted to buy some after hearing Xu An's recipe for minced meat and eggplant. Unexpectedly, the stall sold out in no time, so they were about to look elsewhere when Xu An called them back.
"This is my second uncle from the same clan. He's a well-known expert farmer in the village. Look how fresh and juicy his vegetables are!"
Under Xu An's strong sales pitch, the two men, who had intended to leave, each took a bag of cabbage and some other vegetables from Xu Guoqiang's stall.
After the two people who had bought groceries left, Xu Guoqiang thanked Xu An, who waved his hand repeatedly.
"It was just a small thing, nothing at all. Everyone in the village has helped me a lot."
As he spoke, Xu An rolled up the red, white, and blue rolls and put them into the basket: "Second Uncle, I'm thinking of going to the market for a walk. Could you watch this basket for me? I'll be back in a bit."
"Okay, go ahead."
Xu An had just helped him attract customers, so helping him watch the baskets was no big deal, and Xu Guoqiang immediately agreed.
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