While fetching water, he met Liu Maocai. "Uncle, do you think I could raise a few?"
"Why did you suddenly decide to raise sheep? They don't sell for much money, and nobody wants to buy them. Besides, how much food would they need to eat?"
“If I work hard and cut more grass, the bran left over from milling should be enough. I don’t want to raise pigs.”
"Alright then. Today is market day in Zhanggezhuang. I'll have your third aunt go with you in a bit. If they don't have it at the market, I'll take you to Dawancun to buy it."
"Alright then, I'll go home and wait for my third aunt." With that, he picked up the water and left.
Liu Maocai also carried water back home. "Mom, you and Hongmei go to the market in Zhanggezhuang later. This girl wants to buy a sheep."
"Raising sheep? That's fine, it saves more grain than raising pigs. It's just that you don't make as much money. Seriously, I'm sure I'll run into Zhang Hongqi if I go to Zhanggezhuang today. I never expected him to be that kind of person."
"You don't care what kind of person he is, just ignore him. He won't dare to do anything."
"Yeah, why would I be afraid of him? Then I'll just leave."
"Go ahead, take plenty of money with you, and make up for any shortfall in Hongmei's money."
"Okay, I'll take more." Li Cuihua quickly changed her clothes and went out.
Liu Daya wanted to go too, but looking at her father, she didn't dare to speak. Honestly, Er Ya went to school today; it's so unfair! Why can't she go? Going to school is so nice; she doesn't have to do any chores. Just thinking about all the work to do at home makes her angry.
Li Cuihua and Zhang Hongmei walked along the road. Li Cuihua said, “Hongmei, I’m an expert at buying sheep. I used to herd sheep when I was a child, while my brothers worked in the fields. When you’re a girl, you have the most leisure time. Your parents dote on you and your brothers spoil you. Once a girl gets married, she immediately becomes busy. She has to take care of her elderly parents and young children.”
"My third uncle has been quite good to you, hasn't he?"
"It's good, but it's not as worry-free as when I was a girl. That's why I say girls and women should value themselves equally."
"That's selfishness?"
"No, it's about treasuring yourself from the bottom of your heart. I only realized this at this age."
"What Auntie said makes a lot of sense."
“Come on, I’m not kidding you. Your mother is gone, and you’re still young, so I’ll tell you more.” The two chatted for a while until they arrived at Zhanggezhuang. It was the off-season for farming, so there were a lot of people coming to the market, but few actually bought anything; they were just there for the leisurely market.
"Hongmei, stay close to me. There are a lot of people here, and we don't want to run into any disgusting people."
"Okay, Auntie, I won't get lost. Is there anything you want to buy?"
"I don't really need to buy anything, I'll just look around. Maybe I'll remember what I need at home."
Zhang Hongmei hadn't been to a market in a long time. In her previous life, her mother had only taken her there when she was in preschool. Once she started school, she refused to go anymore.
There's really not much to see at the market this time of year. The grains are mostly coarse grains, there's no meat at all, but they do sell roosters and eggs.
"Auntie, how much are these eggs?"
"Eggs are five cents each. Do you want to buy some?"
"Yes, I want to buy eggs not only to eat, but also to ask you to help me hatch chicks."
"Sure. Buy it if you want. I'll hatch a few more for you when the old hen starts brooding in the spring."
"Excuse me, ma'am, how much are the eggs?"
"Five cents each. They're all freshly picked, they look so fresh."
Zhang Hongmei leaned closer and asked, "Auntie, how many are in this basket?"
There are thirty.
"If I take them all, can you give me a discount?"
"It will cost a lot of money; the family is waiting to buy salt."
Li Cuihua squatted down and picked up all the eggs into her basket; there were exactly thirty.
Zhang Hongmei handed over one yuan and fifty cents, picked up her basket, and followed Li Cuihua.
They walked all the way to the other end of the market before they saw a sheep for sale; a mother sheep had five lambs with her. Zhang Hongmei tugged at Li Cuihua's sleeve.
Li Cuihua stepped forward and asked, "Brother, how much is this sheep?"
"Are you really serious about buying this, sister?"
"If I weren't sincere, would I be joking with you?"
"If you're serious about buying a big sheep, I'll give you twenty; a small sheep, five dollars."
"Why don't you just rob me? How can it be this expensive? Even when the crops are plump and fat, it's not this price. I don't think you're really serious about selling." After saying that, he turned to leave.
"Hey lady, don't go! Business is about negotiation. You're leaving without even haggling? Tell me, how much are you going to offer?"
"Big lamb is fifteen pieces, small lamb is three pieces." Li Cuihua cut off a third of the pieces in one go.
"No, no, the price is too low, we can't sell it."
“If you don’t sell, there are plenty of others who will. There aren’t many buyers for this stuff.” He reached out and pulled Zhang Hongmei away.
"Big sister, big sister, come back, let's discuss this again."
"No room for negotiation, I have a fixed price."
The middle-aged man selling sheep smacked his lips, walked around the sheep once, and said, "Okay, I'll sell it to you. Pay me."
Li Cuihua walked back triumphantly and looked at the six sheep one by one. "I'll just buy one big sheep and one small sheep."
"Sister, how can you do this? You have to buy them all at this price. Otherwise, I really can't sell them."
"Who buys this much? Who can afford to feed it?"
Zhang Hongmei secretly tugged at Li Cuihua's sleeve and whispered, "Third Aunt, let's buy them all. I can afford to feed them. I'll just cut more grass. Let's buy them all."
Li Cuihua really didn't want to buy so many, but since they said so, she decided to buy them. At worst, she could ask Er Ya and the others to help her cut the grass later.
"It'll cost thirty yuan if you buy all of this, that's way too expensive."
"It's not expensive. The adult sheep can be bred in the spring, and they can give birth to lambs in five months. The lambs can also be bred in another six months. How many lambs will there be? How much will they sell for?"
"Then why don't you save the money to support yourself and buy things?"
"I just can't afford to raise them anymore."
"You know you can't afford to support them? All you do is make empty promises."
Zhang Hongmei truly witnessed Li Cuihua's prowess; every word this woman said made her back down. She was truly formidable.
"Okay, brother, I'll buy them all and not spend any more money, but you have to take them back to me. My family is from Liujiatun. It's just my mother and me coming here, and the sheep will be born with us. What if we can't get them back?"
"Okay, as long as you don't steal any money, I'll send it back to you."
"We can only give you the money when we get home. Do you trust us?"
The middle-aged man hesitated, "Can't you just give me half first? And then give me the other half when we get home?"
"Fine, look how scared you are. Is it really necessary to refuse to pay?"
Zhang Hongmei handed the sheep seller fifteen yuan and hurried home. There wasn't much to buy at the market; it was just the same few things, and she already had them all.
Before they even left the market, Zhang Hongmei saw another egg vendor and wanted to buy some more. Li Cuihua felt sorry for her, thinking she was just craving them and told her to go ahead and buy them; they weren't things she didn't need. At least she could eat them, right?
This time there were more than last time, fifty in total. Seeing that they wanted to buy them all, the seller sold them the basket for five cents. They've got eighty eggs today.
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