Chapter 20: Old Classmate at the Wet Market

Chapter 20: Old Classmate at the Wet Market

People have a natural tendency to follow the crowd.

When a group of seasoned wet market shoppers surrounds a small stall to compete for goods, the number of people crowding around only continues to grow.

Song Tan felt the constant pinging of QR code payments while her hands worked non-stop to pack vegetables.

One person wanted wild scallions, another wanted shepherd's purse, and someone else wanted Malantou...

Fortunately, she was a cultivator with sharp eyes and quick hands; otherwise, encountering this scene during her very first time selling vegetables would have surely resulted in people taking advantage of the chaos.

Beside her, Qiaoqiao was happily pulling plastic bags, shaking them open, and handing them to his sister, having the time of his life.

He didn't understand the ins and outs of business, but opening bags was truly fun!

"Qiaoqiao, give a shout. Say the shepherd's purse is sold out."

"Oh."

He obediently put down the bag, stood up straight, and cupped his hands around his mouth: "Shepherd's purse—sold out!"

As soon as he shouted, those behind him who hadn't bought any became even more dissatisfied: "How is it gone already? I was waiting to make dumplings!"

Some were still unwilling to give up and tried to push to the front—if there were no fish, shrimp would do!

Meanwhile, customers further away heard it and thought—What? People are selling shepherd's purse these days? Where? It's already sold out?

Oh, that shepherd's purse must be good! I have to go check it out and find the stall so I can get there early tomorrow!

As the sun rose, the crowd in front of the small stall grew larger and larger. At this moment, Qiaoqiao said dejectedly

"Sister, we're out of bags."

By now, the customers didn't care about bags anymore.

"It's fine! I have bags. Quick, give me that bunch—the one next to it! I've scanned your code!"

"I have change—here, two bunches, forty yuan."

Qiaoqiao happily took the money and announced loudly: "Received!"

Oh, what a sweet little boy. He looked so silly and endearing that the aunties' movements became even more gentle.

Then, Qiaoqiao let out another shout: "Wild scallions—also sold out!"

Next came the Malantou.

Then the purslane...

By the time only three bunches of watercress were left, the stall finally quieted down.

Song Tan breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Qiaoqiao, she saw him staring at a child blowing bubbles ahead, looking at her with expectant eyes.

Song Tan smiled: "Good boy, Qiaoqiao, you were a huge help today! Come, let me see how much we earned."

Qiaoqiao quickly emptied all the money from his pockets. It was a messy pile of small bills and coins, totaling over eight hundred yuan. It seemed more people still carried cash at the wet market.

"Not bad, not bad!"

Song Tan generously gave him twenty yuan: "Take this. Don't wander too far. Buy whatever you like around here." With her spiritual energy helping her keep an eye on him, she felt a bit more at ease.

Otherwise, it would indeed be very dangerous for a simple child like him to wander alone.

Receiving such a large sum of money, Qiaoqiao's heart was pounding.

He usually ran errands for the family, but this was the first time he had received so much money just for buying snacks!

In truth, he wasn't very good at arithmetic, and there were no children his age in the village, so he lacked social experience.

But since Song Tan had brought him out, she clearly intended to train him. She let him have the twenty yuan to spend as he pleased. Back in his hometown, the village convenience store had pitifully few snacks, let alone toys.

"But if the money isn't enough, you can't keep going, and you aren't allowed to wander far."

The riverside had vegetable sellers in the morning and people seeking shade in the evening, so there were naturally things for children to buy.

Qiaoqiao's eyes darted from colorful pinwheels to bubble machines, and then to the spicy strips being eaten by other children...

He found himself instantly unable to move his feet.

...

Song Tan checked her mobile payments—76 bunches of vegetables sold, with three bunches of watercress remaining.

860 yuan in cash, and exactly 600 yuan in mobile payments.

It seemed she hadn't been cheated today. Satisfied!

She checked the QR code group from earlier—regrettably, while the aunties were experts at picking vegetables, they were awkward and resistant to scanning codes to join a group. There were only 15 people in the group so far.

However, it was a good start!

Song Tan adjusted the group settings and posted an announcement

"Thank you all for supporting this morning's wild vegetables. If they aren't delicious, I guarantee a refund! Please rest assured. Also, I will notify the group before every sale, so please don't miss out..."

Before she could hit send, an incredulous voice sounded beside her: "Song Tan?"

Song Tan looked up to see a young woman clinging to a man's arm, staring at her in surprise.

Song Tan searched her memory for a long time before recognizing the person: "Wu Qianqian?"

Her high school classmate.

"That's right!" Wu Qianqian looked at her outfit—an old down jacket, sneakers, long hair tied simply with a black hair tie, and a bare face.

Although her skin was fine and flawless, and her features grew more pleasant and beautiful the more one looked at her...

But what did that matter?

Look at her—in front of her was a large, empty basket containing only a few vegetable leaves, some dirt, and three bunches of some unknown green vegetable.

Clearly, it was what was left over from selling vegetables!

Deep disbelief and sympathy appeared in Wu Qianqian's eyes: "I heard you were working in Ningcheng? Why are you selling vegetables at a wet market now?"

Back in school, Song Tan had been delicate and beautiful, and very gentle; many boys in class had been very kind to her.

Wu Qianqian, on the other hand, had been a "little chili pepper" personality, scolding everyone and looking down on someone like Song Tan.

Later, Wu Qianqian went to junior college and met her current boyfriend, the man beside her.

Now that he had come to visit her home, Wu Qianqian had intended to show him around, which was why she had brought him to the wet market for a stroll.

She hadn't expected such a "surprise"—running into an old classmate.

Song Tan smiled faintly: "Yeah, the pressure in the provincial capital was too much, so I just came back to my hometown to be with my parents. Do you want to buy some wild vegetables? The watercress was just picked yesterday; it's delicious when tossed in a salad."

Her frankness actually left Wu Qianqian momentarily speechless. However, the boyfriend beside her looked seriously at the vegetables in the basket: "These are wild vegetables? How do you eat them? Are they good?"

Before Song Tan could answer, Qiaoqiao returned joyfully with a colorful pinwheel. Seeing someone wanting to buy vegetables, he became even more enthusiastic: "Delicious! Super delicious! Qiaoqiao eats three big bowls all by himself!"

To him, no matter what it was, it fell under the category of "delicious," just like shepherd's purse dumplings.

With his innocent eyes and a smile like a child's, the pity on Wu Qianqian's face became even more obvious: "Oh right, you mentioned in school that you had a younger brother whose brain wasn't quite—"

Before she could finish, the boyfriend beside her gave a cough. Wu Qianqian quickly shut her mouth and gave an embarrassed smile.

Then, she cautiously picked up the straw rope binding the watercress with her fingers and lifted it to inspect

"It hasn't been easy for you. I've heard that in rural areas, there's often a preference for boys over girls... Ah, what I mean is, I'll take all these vegetables."

Song Tan didn't mind.

People with a sense of condescending pity were everywhere; they were often just looking for a sense of superiority and didn't necessarily have malicious intent.

Besides, having cultivated for hundreds of years, she had long since become indifferent to such things.

Thus, she treated Wu Qianqian's boyfriend simply as a customer

"There's no need to buy three bunches. Watercress is a wild vegetable after all; if you've never had it, you might not know how to cook it properly."

"If you just want to try something new, one bunch is enough. When you get home, fry it with Sichuan pepper oil, use some chili sauce, soy sauce, salt, and vinegar, blanch it in water, and toss it..."

The boyfriend beside Wu Qianqian listened intently, even feeling a bit hungry

"Alright then, we'll take one bunch to try—how much is it?"