Chapter 73 The Long Journey of the First Pot of Gold
Qingtian County is not big. There are only two grain stores, a salt shop and a sauce factory near the city center, all on the same street.
Gu Xixi randomly walked into the first Liaoji Grain Store.
Shopkeeper Liao stood up and asked with a smile, "What do you want to buy, young lady?"
"I have new summer wheat and newly harvested corn, both of which are of the best quality."
Gu Xixi took out a small cloth bag and placed it on the counter. "Is your corn better than these?"
Shopkeeper Liao thought Gu Xixi was here to disrupt the situation, so he glared at her before picking up the bag with an unhappy look on his face.
"What is this..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw the corn in the bag. His eyes widened. He quickly poured the corn onto the table and spread it out with his palms.
Then he pinched a few grains and stuffed them into his mouth and smashed them.
Shopkeeper Liao's expression became serious, "Girl, where did you get this stuff from?"
"I've been running a shop here for half my life. The corn in the Dongling Village is the best. It's golden in color, and when you cook porridge, there's a layer of rice oil and a strong rice aroma. What about yours..."
Gu Xixi smiled and said, "Is it better than the corn from Dongling Village you mentioned?"
Shopkeeper Liao glanced at her again and reluctantly told her the truth, "Yes...it will get a little better."
Gu Xixi asked, "Are you interested in doing this business with me?"
Shopkeeper Liao was originally unhappy because he had "lost a step", but when he heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and a smile appeared on his lips. "Hey, girl, are you here to sell grain? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"How much do you want to sell it for? Are they all the same quality?"
Gu Xixi said, "Same, 300 kilograms."
"The goods are right outside the door. As long as the price is agreed, you can inspect them at any time."
Shopkeeper Liao rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "It's a pity that I just bought the goods yesterday. The quality is not much worse than yours. But I see that you are a young girl, and it's not easy to move things. Three hundred kilograms is not too much, so I'll take it."
He raised five fingers and said, "According to the market price, I will buy it at four cents per pound. I will pay five cents."
Previously, a rat plague started from the west, and many villages, including Dongling Village, suffered poor corn harvests or even total failure.
The price of fresh corn of the season has tripled, and other food prices have also increased by half.
Such good corn was rare in the past, and it is even harder to buy nowadays even if you have money.
Especially for those wealthy families in the city, people from their homes have come to the grain store several times to say that this year's corn is mediocre, and is there no better one?
Just when Shopkeeper Liao was worrying about not being able to satisfy his old customers, premium corn was delivered to him.
As the saying goes, rare goods are valuable. Three hundred kilograms is enough for him to make a small fortune, even if he doesn't make a fortune.
However, things did not go as smoothly as Manager Liao had expected.
Gu Xixi glanced at the corn displayed in a prominent place in the store. There was a price tag on it: six cents.
She turned her gaze back calmly and said, "The corn you put in the front is partially white in color and has a white core. Not only is it of ordinary quality, but it must be mixed with last year's old corn, right?"
Shopkeeper Liao looked in the direction he was looking and smiled reluctantly, "Every businessman has his own way. Other grain stores are just like me. They see through things but don't say anything."
Gu Xixi put the scattered corn on the table back into the cloth bag and said, "I don't care how you want to sell your goods, but ordinary rice mixed with old rice is sold for seven cents."
"I bought pure, high-quality rice in season, and you only gave me four cents."
She tied the bag tightly and held it in her hand, looking up at Shopkeeper Liao, "I'm afraid that's not how business is done."
"Goodbye."
Shopkeeper Liao gritted his teeth and watched Gu Xixi walk towards the door.
Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and tried to persuade her to stay, "Miss, please stay. If you are not satisfied with the price, why don't you sit down and discuss it."
"Who wants to discuss this with you!" Before Gu Xixi could open her mouth, a child's voice spoke first.
She looked in the direction of the sound and asked in surprise, "Shi Tou! Why are you here?"
After not seeing each other for a long time, the wound on Shi Tou's face has healed and he looks more lively than before.
"I was just out for a stroll, and when I saw you go into the grain store, I followed you."
Shopkeeper Liao also knew Shitou and curled his lips and said, "Who do you think he is? If you don't want to buy grain, get out. I'm talking business with someone."
He smiled and said to Gu Xixi, "This kid's parents are gone. He is just a street urchin who has nothing to do and wanders around all day."
When Shitou heard people mention his parents, he no longer avoided the topic as he used to.
He puffed out his chest and said, "Who said I had nothing to do and was wandering around? I'm taking care of my family's nursery."
"It's you." He looked at Shopkeeper Liao, smiled slyly, then stood on tiptoe and said to Gu Xixi:
"Sister Xixi, I'm just telling you, I saw Boss Liao harvesting corn a few days ago."
"He gives two cents a pound for old rice and three cents for new rice."
The sound was not loud, but loud enough for Gu Xixi and Boss Liao to hear.
Seeing Boss Liao’s expression as if he had swallowed a fly, he wanted to say something.
Gu Xixi took Shitou's hand and said, "Let's go and ask other families."
Shopkeeper Liao got anxious when he heard this. Another store? Isn't that his mortal enemy, old rival?
Absolutely not!!
He took a big step forward and said, "I was wrong just now. I want all your rice. One pound... seven cents, ma'am. Seven cents is fine, right?"
Gu Xixi turned around and said, "Deal."
While the grain store clerk was unloading and weighing the goods, Mu Nanzhao sat in front of the car waiting.
He saw Gu Xixi and Shitou walking hand in hand and couldn't help but frown. "Zhang Minglei, how old are you? Why are you still letting a woman hold your hand?"
Shitou rolled his eyes unconvincedly, "So what?"
"Sister Xixi loves me, and I just like Sister Xixi."
Like? Mu Nanzhao sneered and said, "Yes, I almost forgot that you are only six years old. It is still a long way to go before you grow up to be a man and stand on your own. It is normal that you don't understand the inappropriateness of sex."
Shi Tou felt that he was being looked down upon, so he let go of Gu Xixi's hand, put his hands on his hips and confronted Mu Nanzhao.
"Who said I'm still too early? I can take care of the nursery and myself. I'm a grown man now!"
Gu Xixi just thought that the bickering between these two people was very childish and couldn't bear to watch it.
She stuffed two hundred yuan into Mu Nanzhao's pocket first, "For safety reasons, please hold it for me for the time being."
Gu Xixi put the remaining one hundred coins into a small cloth bag.
She smiled and said to Shitou, "Thank you for helping me just now."
"Wait for me to find a pharmacy and sell the yams in the car, then we can go eat something delicious."
Shitou patted his chest and said, "Sister Xixi, I know a drugstore with very honest people. Come with me."
Following the stone path, we found a pharmacy at the intersection.
The price was indeed reasonable, twelve cents per pound for one hundred pounds of yam.
The owner of the medicine shop repeatedly praised Gu Xixi's yam, saying that it was not only of excellent quality but also had the dirt cleaned very well.
Unlike some people who would like to add a few more layers of mud to weigh it down.
The shopkeeper personally saw Gu Xixi off and told her to buy as many yams as she could send him next time.
Gu Xixi smiled and said, "There is none this year, let's wait until next year."
After leaving the pharmacy, Shitou felt for some reason heavy-hearted and hesitated to speak.
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