The three people kept walking forward in the direction of the crowd.
Yan Jie said coldly, "Xi-mei, your things have filled a whole snakeskin bag. I'll take it back for you first."
Jiang Hexi squatted in front of the bamboo handicraft stall, picking and choosing, and said without turning her head:
"After you buy the herbs and foot bath tub, pack everything up and take it back with you."
Where is the herbal medicine seller?
Jiang Hexi sensed his impatience, turned to look at him, and soothed him, saying:
"I'll stop when we get to the herbalist's stall. Shopping is all about an immersive experience, so don't rush me."
Yan Jie persisted, "Just tell me where that stall is."
What do you want to do?
"You'll end up there eventually anyway."
Yan Jie argued vehemently, “I’ll just wait at that finish line. There’s no need for me to wander around the streets with a tattered snakeskin bag.”
Upon hearing this straightforward, masculine remark, Chai Fei looked at Yan Jie in disbelief and shock, and said:
"King Yan, no wonder you don't have a girlfriend."
Jiang Hexi asked again and again, "Are you really going to wait for me in front of that herb stall?"
Yan Jie gave her a look of absolute certainty. "That's right, I'll be waiting for you right there."
Jiang Hexi got up from the bamboo weaving stall and led him forward, heading straight for the herbal medicine vendor's stall.
Yan Jie, carrying the snakeskin bag in one hand, followed her all the way to one of the noisiest stalls in the market, and then stopped abruptly.
The loudspeaker continuously broadcasted shouts:
"Free of charge! We have kudzu root, motherwort, honeysuckle, and snake stone grass all in stock. Areca flower, agrimony, mistletoe, and violet are only available here. Our family's traditional liniment cures all kinds of bruises and sprains. Don't miss it!"
Yan Jie was so shocked by the rough hawking that he almost lost his mind.
Chai Fei almost laughed herself to death, barely clinging to life, and leaned against the supermarket's glass door, laughing so hard her stomach hurt.
Jiang Hexi raised her chin, pointed to the herbal medicine stall in front of her, and said in a serious tone:
"Look, this is the herbalist. Stand next to him and wait patiently."
Seeing that she was about to leave, Yan Jie grabbed her arm and forcibly pulled her back.
Before he could say anything, he saw her laughing so hard she nearly fell over in front of him, and he was instantly furious.
"Why is this old man making such noise in the market? How can his ears stand it?"
"The herbalist is hard of hearing; he doesn't react to this sound."
Yan Jie remarked sarcastically, "I suspect his ears were deafened by this loudspeaker."
Chai Fei's abs, which had just relaxed, were tickled again by this remark, causing her to laugh so hard they started to ache.
Seeing him put down the snakeskin bag and walk a few steps to the stall to turn off the loudspeaker, Jiang Hexi quickly stopped him, saying:
"You can't just turn off this loudspeaker. If you anger the old man, he'll go around hitting people with his shoe sole."
"You saw him?"
"The village chief said so. You can try it if you don't believe me."
Yan Jie glanced at the old man with gray hair and beard, and seeing him sitting motionless on the low stool, he managed to convince himself that it was better to avoid trouble and didn't turn off the loudspeaker.
He urged, "Hurry up and buy the herbs, I'll take them back for you."
Jiang Hexi nodded in agreement, and the first thing she did upon arriving at the stall was to turn off the herbalist's loudspeaker.
She shouted at the top of her lungs in a broken dialect:
"Buy herbal drops, don't hit me!"
The old herbalist looked at her with a smile, as if he understood what she said, and did not pull out his shoe to hit her.
Yan Jie was once again stunned by her outrageous actions. He was so angry that he couldn't exhale, and his blood vessels were congested. His hands and feet became numb and swollen on the spot.
Chai Fei laughed so hard he almost died, clutching his stomach and squatting on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
[Yan Wang looks exactly like my husband when we go shopping together—completely utterly dejected.]
[The King of Hell's Shopping Mantra: You wander around aimlessly by yourself while I wait for you at the finish line—that's practically terminal chauvinism.]
[Gossip Girl is truly unique! Xi Mei completely outsmarted Yan Wang, it's hilarious! Hahahaha!]
[When Xi Mei was trying to persuade Yan Wang not to turn off the loudspeaker, she looked so sincere, but the first thing she did when she got to the stall was to turn it off because she thought it was too noisy! Such a double standard is hilarious!]
Jiang Hexi followed the ancestral foot-soaking recipe given by the village chief, squatting in front of the stall picking out herbs.
Each herb had a name tag attached to it. She followed the tags one by one, grabbed an appropriate amount of herbs, weighed them, packed them into a plastic bag, and then went to grab the next herb.
The old man sat on a low stool, letting her have the freedom to buy whatever she wanted from herbal remedies.
After Jiang Hexi packed the bags of herbs into a snakeskin bag, she took the prescription to settle the bill with the old man.
Before she could figure it out, the old man called out to her:
"Twenty-seven yuan and eighty cents!"
Yan Jie and Chai Fei both looked at the old man in surprise.
Jiang Hexi took out thirty yuan and readily stuffed it into the old man's hand, saying, "Keep the change."
The old man happily put the money into his pocket and sat down on the low stool without moving.
Jiang Hexi turned on the loudspeaker again and led the group outside.
Chai Fei asked, puzzled, "Why is the old man selling herbs all by himself? Where are his family?"
“His son is very busy raising chickens in the mountains and doesn’t have time to come and watch the stall. Whenever there’s a market day in town, he asks the old man to come and watch the stall. Everyone around is a familiar villager, and no one dares to bully the old man.”
Jiang Hexi seemed to remember something and reminded them again:
"The village chief said that unless you buy something, you can't just turn off the vendor's loudspeaker. Otherwise, not only will the vendor hit you with a shoe, but the villagers around who don't know any better will also come over with carrying poles to help beat you."
Yan Jie's expression darkened even more after she specifically reminded him.
Chai Fei sighed, "It seems that you can't just go to the town market whenever you want; you need someone you know to take you there."
Jiang Hexi led the two to a general store in a deep alley and bought two foot bath tubs.
On her way back, she passed an old noodle shop. The aroma made her legs feel rooted to the spot and she couldn't move.
"Hey gossip lady, what kind of beef noodles is this? It costs 25 yuan a bowl. I want to go in and see what's going on."
"Didn't you run out of money? Where would you get the money to buy noodles?" Chai Fei laughed at her.
"Don't you still have money?"
"I only have thirty yuan left, not enough to buy you a bowl of beef noodles."
Standing in the bustling market, Jiang Hexi turned to look at Yan Jie, her clear eyes brimming with tenderness. She smiled brightly and said:
"Your Highness, please treat us to a meal."
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