Chapter 10: Selling Vegetables

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, they found the ox cart they had agreed upon the night before and loaded their carrying poles onto it.

"Ancheng, who else hasn't arrived yet?" Aunt Meilian asked, walking to the front of the cart after helping Mei Xue load her goods.

He Ancheng was the village chief’s youngest grandson, about the same age as her own son, only fourteen or fifteen years old.

"Auntie, you're here! Come on in and sit in the back. My third sister-in-law is still missing, but she’ll be here any second." He Ancheng gestured for Aunt Meilian to step into the shed where the ox was kept.

But since Mei Xue was still outside, Aunt Meilian wouldn't go in. "Never mind, Xiao Xue is still out here, so we’ll just sit on the cart. Your third sister-in-law is almost here, right?"

"Yeah, look, she's crossing the creek right now." He Ancheng had sharp eyes; even in the dim, drizzly light, he could clearly make out the person in the distance.

Aunt Meilian took a look. "Alright then, we won't go into the shed."

Once He Ancheng’s third sister-in-law arrived, they pulled out of the stable.

Since everyone was carrying heavy loads, the cart could only hold so much. Plus, with the rain, He Ancheng’s family didn't feel comfortable letting him haul too many people and too much cargo.

They were afraid of accidents.

Along the way, everyone wore straw rain capes, braving the rain to head toward town.

It took about two hours to reach the town. The sky had fully brightened, but because of the rain, everyone on the street was wearing rain capes or holding umbrellas.

Because they arrived late, the better stalls had already been taken by the townspeople and those who had arrived earlier.

Aunt Meilian walked in front with her carrying pole, looking everywhere for an empty spot to set up her stall.

Mei Xue followed not far behind. She couldn't help it; this was her first time selling at a market, and she didn't know how things worked.

She had no choice but to follow Aunt Meilian.

They walked all the way to the end of the street before finding an empty spot. It wasn't very big—only enough for one person’s stall.

Aunt Meilian, perhaps anxious, walked over without a second thought and set down her load.

With a smile on her face, she prepared to take her goods out.

Only then did she notice Mei Xue standing in front of her stall, and she realized that she hadn't come alone today.

"Xiao Xue, why don't we share this spot?" There clearly wasn't enough room for Mei Xue to set up elsewhere.

Seeing Aunt Meilian’s embarrassed expression, Mei Xue felt a bit awkward herself, but she was someone who had seen the world.

"Forget it, Aunt Meilian, you set up here. I’ll go look somewhere else." The big market day was when villagers from all around the town came out to sell their goods.

If you wanted a good spot, you really had to get up early to claim it.

If you came late, there was no place to set up.

At the very least, there was no room left in the vegetable section.

"There’s no space outside, you won't find anywhere else to set up. Just stay here." Aunt Meilian reached out to grab Mei Xue’s carrying pole.

Mei Xue, with her strength, wouldn't let Aunt Meilian take it. She turned slightly and said, "It’s fine. Once I’m done selling, I’ll come find you at the parking spot." With that, Mei Xue walked away.

Aunt Meilian felt a bit guilty, but she couldn't stop Mei Xue.

She could only call out after her, telling her to let her know once she found a spot.

Mei Xue acknowledged her and disappeared into the crowd.

The town was quite large, with roads extending in all directions, and the bustling crowd made it very lively.

The rain began to let up, and Mei Xue started to feel a bit anxious.

In the end, she had no choice but to go to the area where meat was sold. She saw quite a few empty spots there, though they were surrounded by meat vendors.

With no other options, Mei Xue found the same boss from last time and set her load down next to him.

The boss had sharp eyes. As soon as Mei Xue set her load down and looked up, he recognized her.

"Young lady, it’s you! Why are you bringing vegetables here to sell?" It wasn't easy to sell vegetables in this section.

The boss didn't say the last part out loud, but his expression made his meaning clear.

"Hello, Boss. The rain was too heavy today, so I was slow getting out. There was no space left in the vegetable section, so I had to find an empty spot here and see how much I can sell."

Mei Xue smiled at the pork vendor.

Just then, the pork vendor’s wife walked out from the shed. "What’s going on?" She asked, assuming the girl had come to sell vegetables to them.

The boss immediately explained to his wife, as if afraid she might misunderstand.

It seemed the two of them had a very good relationship.

After hearing the explanation, the vendor’s wife smiled. "Young lady, it’s hard to sell vegetables here. Everyone is used to buying them over there. Do you want to go back and look again?" The vendor’s wife advised kindly.

Mei Xue shook her head. "Thank you, Boss and Madam, but there really isn't any space left over there. I had a hard time finding this spot, so I’ll just sell what I can."

She wasn't the original owner of this body, so she didn't place much importance on selling these vegetables. Of course, even if she were the original, she wouldn't have been any better than Mei Xue.

The vendor’s wife looked at the vegetables in the girl’s load; they looked quite good.

"These are early corn, right? Are they all husked? Are they full of milk?" The vendor’s wife was clearly an expert and knew a lot about corn.

Mei Xue smiled and took a cob out of her load. "Madam, have a taste." People in the countryside were used to biting into raw corn to see if it was sweet.

The boss wasn't a city dweller either; he had climbed his way up from the village to establish himself here.

Without any pretense, he took it and bit into it. When the sweet juice burst in his mouth, he was delighted. "Good stuff! Young lady, give me ten cobs. My mother-in-law loves these."

Mei Xue smiled—business had arrived.

"Alright, I’ll pick out some big ones for you." Mei Xue moved quickly, rummaging through the pile and selecting ten cobs from the dozens.

She didn't use her own scale; she just placed them on the pork cutting board. "Boss, could you weigh these for me? My scale weights are still buried at the bottom."

It was more reassuring to use his scale. The pork vendor arranged the corn on the scale pan, lifted it, and slid the weight back.

He stopped only when the scale tipped high and stayed there.

"Six jin and two liang, a solid weight." Perhaps out of habit, the boss’s hand was very steady.

"Let's just call it six jin. Madam, you can just give me one yuan and twenty cents." Before she left, her grandmother had told Mei Xue the price.

Early corn was considered a rarity, so she could sell it for twenty cents a jin, though she had sold a few batches already.

At most, after the next big market day, there wouldn't be any early corn left to sell, because by then, every household’s corn would be full of milk and ready to eat.

Hearing the price of twenty cents a jin, the vendor’s wife frowned, thinking it was expensive. But she knew it was a rare item, so the price was acceptable.

She counted out one yuan and twenty cents from her stall and placed it in Mei Xue’s hand. "Here, count it."

Mei Xue took the money and glanced at it. Why count it? She just put it straight into her pocket. "Thank you, Madam."

Mei Xue was naturally protective of her food and didn't know about the custom of giving "extras" when selling things. Once the money was collected and the corn was handed over, she began to organize her vegetables.

There weren't many vegetables today; she had just picked a load of chili peppers, corn, and some amaranth and eggplants.

Altogether, it was only about forty or fifty jin.