"How much is one blind box?" The girl in blue asked again when Jiang Ling didn't answer.
"Ten taels of silver each. Since you're the first customer, I'll give you one free if you buy two!" Jiang Ling said calmly.
"Ten taels??" Everyone gasped upon hearing this number, then their eyes, which had been fixed on Jiang Ling and the girl in blue, kept darting around with expressions of amusement.
Jiang Ling wasn't worried at all. Judging from the girl's attire, she had already guessed that the girl was most likely the daughter of a wealthy merchant or a prince.
"Shuangshuang, give me my purse!" the girl in blue said, glancing at the maid beside her.
The young maidservant, looking worried, whispered a reminder: "Miss, Miss, please don't lie! Shouldn't we report this to the master?"
Hearing the maid's reminder, the girl in blue's face turned cold. She glared at the maid beside her with frosty eyes and scolded, "What, do I need to ask you about spending money now?"
After saying that, she snatched the money pouch from the maid's hand, and the girl in blue quickly took out twenty taels of silver from the pouch and placed it in Jiang Ling's hand. Then she pointed to a blind box on the far right and a blind box in the middle and said, "I want this one and that one!"
Jiang Ling deftly handed the blind box to the girl in blue and reminded her, "Buy two get one free, I can give you another one!"
The girl in blue glanced at all the blind boxes, pointed to the one closest to Jiang Ling, and said, "Let's take this one!"
Jiang Ling smiled and handed over the blind box, adding, "Miss, the mystery of opening a blind box is what matters. Our promotional material also states that once opened, it cannot be returned or exchanged!"
“I know!” The girl in blue didn’t even glance at Jiang Ling as she spoke; her eyes were fixed on the three blind boxes in her hand.
"Shuangshuang, you hold these for me!" The girl in blue shoved the remaining two blind boxes into the hands of the maid, then carefully began to tear open the wrapping paper of the first blind box.
"My God, really... really porcelain?"
"Hey, isn't this the porcelain piece that the little girl wanted earlier?"
"Boss! I...I want one too!"
A pale pink teacup appeared in the girl's hand. The teacup was exquisitely crafted, with beautiful patterns that were even more stunning than those depicted on the promotional leaflet. Everyone who saw the teacup gasped in astonishment.
The purple-clad girl, who had been waiting to gloat, turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Encouraged by the light pink teacup, the girl in blue quickly disassembled the second and third teacups.
The girl in blue had good luck; she unearthed a teacup, a teapot, and a porcelain plate. Each piece of porcelain was unique and exquisitely crafted.
"Boss, what's this?" the girl in blue asked, holding up a card from the blind box.
"The large number on top is the batch number, and the small number is the serial number. There are twenty different styles of porcelain in this batch. After you collect them all, bring these twenty paper tickets to me, and you can exchange them for a pearl! Of course, if you draw the rarest style, you can also exchange it for the pearl immediately!" As she spoke, Jiang Ling opened her palm, revealing a pure white pearl. She had secretly bought this pearl from the mall not long ago.
The pearl shone softly in the crowd, its perfectly round shape flawless.
Everyone stared in amazement at the pearl in Jiang Ling's hand, even the girl in blue was stunned for a few seconds.
Of course, what they didn't know was that in the modern 21st century, things that are hard to find are already mass-produced. A string of pearls of this quality would only cost around 100 yuan on Taobao.
"Really...really?" the girl in blue asked, slightly shocked.
"Of course, this is business, not a one-off deal. Why would I lie to you?" Jiang Ling said with a smile as she put the pearl into her bosom.
"Boss! This... one!"
"Boss... that!"
"Don't try to take it! I'm in front of you..."
Jiang Ling's blind box stall became lively, with some quick-thinking people already taking out money and stuffing it into Jiang Ling's hand, quickly choosing their favorite blind boxes.
In an instant, all eyes in the entire market were focused on Jiang Ling.
"Boss, why is there nothing written on this ticket?" A young woman holding a child asked suspiciously, holding up the blank ticket with a blank expression.
Jiang Ling took out a pearl from her bosom and said with a beaming smile, "Congratulations! This is the rarest design in our batch. This pearl is yours!"
The young woman now held a blue-and-white plum vase with a flat mouth, short neck, full shoulders, and a distinctly tapering lower body. The vase's body was grayish-white, dense, and hard; the glaze was white with a bluish tinge, smooth and rounded, a magnificent sight, crystal clear and lustrous.
Before the young woman could understand what was happening, a pearl appeared in her hand. She stared at Jiang Ling in disbelief for a long time before asking, "Really? Is it really mine?"
"Of course, I still have business to do, how could I go back on my word!" Jiang Ling said nonchalantly.
The young woman was both surprised and delighted. It took her a long time to leave Jiang Ling's stall. After seeing the young woman's plum vase, everyone's purchasing power increased even more. In a short while, this batch of porcelain blind boxes was sold out.
When Jiang Ling closed her stall, many people still came to inquire about the blind boxes, but all they received was that they were sold out, so they had to leave disappointed.
"Big sister, big sister, don't go yet!" A man's voice blocked Jiang Ling's path.
Jiang Ling looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man of about thirty years old, wearing a dark blue robe, running up from behind, panting.
"Sorry, the blind boxes are sold out!" Jiang Ling used her prepared excuse to reject the man.
"No, no, I'm not here for blind boxes!" Realizing his explanation might be problematic, the man quickly added, "I... I meant I wanted to do some business with you, how about it?"
Jiang Ling frowned and began to scrutinize the man. The man seemed worried that Jiang Ling might mistake him for a bad person, so he quickly continued to explain, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Su Shunhe. I'm from Qingzhou. I'm here in Yecheng to do business. When you were selling blind boxes earlier, I was actually observing them. They look novel and are very attractive, so I'd like to buy a batch from you in bulk. I plan to sell them in Qingzhou and Shengjing!"
Jiang Ling initially didn't want to respond to the man's request, but the shampoo in his hand caught her eye. She glanced at the restaurant next door and said to the man, "Meeting is fate, let's eat and chat!"
The man had no idea what Jiang Ling was up to, and assuming she had agreed to his request, he quickly smiled and said, "Sure, sure! This meal is on me, big sister. Whatever you want to eat is on me!"
...
Inside the restaurant, Jiang Ling looked at the shampoo in the man's hand and asked, "Mr. Su, what is that thing in your hand? It looks very strange!"
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