Chapter 24: 24 Refund the Money

Chapter 24: 24. Refund

With the car purchased, the wild vegetables were growing frantically again, almost as if they were growing straight into Wulan's heart. She felt like she wanted to go out and sell them every single day.

But Song Tan refused.

Being the only one in the family with a driver's license, Wulan ended up holding it in until the third day, by which time the truck bed was loaded with a full 170 jin of vegetables!

Song Tan was speechless just looking at it.

"Mom, after we finish selling this batch, let the wild vegetables rest for a couple of days too." Even spiritual energy-induced growth shouldn't be pushed this hard; they weren't even being given a chance to rest.

Thinking about the land she had nearly scraped clean, Wulan gave a dry cough. "Gas is expensive. You know, a trip has to at least break even."

After a moment's thought, she added an instruction: "At noon today, I'm taking people to your grandfather's house to inoculate the mushroom spores. Your dad is finding someone to go up the mountain to set the nets. When you guys come back at noon, go straight to your grandfather's house for lunch."

"Got it!" Song Tan started the car. "Qiaoqiao, let's go!"

Qiaoqiao happily climbed into the passenger seat and, under Song Tan's guidance, fastened his seatbelt. He looked around curiously. "Sister, is this our car?"

"It is!" Song Tan coaxed him while driving. "Isn't it very grand? Qiaoqiao has been so good and sensible these past few days, so Sister is specially taking you for a car ride!"

Perhaps because her experience as a corporate worker was deeply ingrained, she accidentally painted a grand vision for her six-year-old brother

"Work a little harder, Qiaoqiao. Once Sister earns enough money, I'll buy you a special learning tablet so you can watch Peppa Pig wherever you go."

After saying this and hearing Qiaoqiao's cheers in the car, Song Tan fell silent herself.

*Well, it turns out she was the capitalist after all.*

...

Song Tan arrived at the vegetable market again.

Fearing a parking ticket, she intentionally parked a bit further away. Come to think of it, cultivators really lacked prestige... She decided not to move from there and instead set up her stall right under the car.

By this time, the aunties who had been wandering around the market for half an hour were already impatient.

No one expected these wild vegetables to be this delicious!

Last time, when Song Tan first arrived, combined with the unit price of 20 yuan, most people only bought about four or five jin, and some only took a single handful.

Who knew the taste would be so good? Once a plate of wild vegetables hit the table, it would be finished in two or three bites, leaving nothing for the other dishes...

Everyone applied an ill-timed line of ancient poetry

"Having seen the vast ocean, one can no longer find beauty in mere water; having seen the clouds of Mount Wu, all other clouds are but mist."

That was exactly the feeling!

After eating these fresh, tender wild vegetables, eating anything else felt like eating grass—not only was it hard to swallow, but it actually made them miss the vegetables even more.

Song Tan hadn't come at all yesterday, and everyone's hearts were breaking with anticipation. Early this morning, even the most calculating aunties had three to five hundred yuan tucked in their pockets.

Thus, in a remote corner of the vegetable market, a group of aunties had already spotted them with pinpoint accuracy, even before Song Tan could send a notification in the group chat!

To be fair, you couldn't find a more handsome pair of siblings in the entire market! They were so eye-catching!

Everyone swarmed forward. This time, they didn't even bother picking through the greens: "Shepherd's purse! Give me five jin of shepherd's purse!"

"Wild onions! I want three bunches. I'm going home to make wild onion and pork buns!"

"Watercress! Oh, this is so refreshing when stewed in soup!"

"Malantou—"

"Give me two more bunches of purslane! Add two more, I'm making steamed buns!"

It was as if they had caught a massive clearance sale; the crowd was ecstatic, and hands were desperately thrusting banknotes forward. Qiaoqiao couldn't keep up!

He was so anxious he was almost crying: "Slow! Slow! Qiaoqiao can't count anymore!"

He couldn't actually do math, but Song Tan would tell him how much money to collect, which he recognized; he was just a bit slow.

Surprisingly, with that tearful cry, the raiding army calmed down instantly.

The fashionable red-haired auntie leading the pack looked at him affectionately. "Alright, sweetie, don't worry. We'll line up!"

With that, she quickly took the chance to stand first in line.

Before long, a small queue had formed. Since there was no weighing involved, the efficiency was very high. Every auntie left with bags stuffed to the brim, fearing they wouldn't be able to get any next time.

Song Tan looked at the two remaining crates of vegetables in the truck bed and thought that the selling speed today might even be faster than the day before!

*You can actually see people queuing up to fight for vegetables at a market?*

People nearby slowly gathered around. Seeing the aunties ahead smiling brightly and handing over hundreds of yuan without a second thought, they muttered, "Do vegetable sellers use shills now?"

An auntie in line ahead of him turned around, saw a young man, and immediately gave a haughty snort, looking displeased

"Oh, it's not enough that young people these days can't cook, they don't even know how to pick vegetables anymore."

When it was her turn, she spoke loudly: "Give me the remaining four jin of shepherd's purse! Three jin of purslane... and three jin of watercress too!"

Then she said with a smile, "Young lady, when will you be back next time?"

Song Tan was helpless—spiritual energy-induced growth shouldn't be this exaggerated, right?

"In three days. I'll notify the group then."

The young man behind her was even more surprised—vegetable markets use group chats for notifications now?

As the auntie ahead left carrying heavy plastic bags, Song Tan looked at this young new customer and smiled kindly. "What would you like?"

The man craned his neck to look—he didn't recognize a single one.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Just... that thing that looks like an onion."

Qiaoqiao burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Brother, this is called wild onion. It's delicious in buns, stewed with fish, or stir-fried with eggs!"

The young man felt a bit embarrassed, but looking at Qiaoqiao's bright, innocent eyes, his heart softened instantly—

*[Even though being laughed at is embarrassing... he called me brother!]*

So he immediately stopped being angry and instead asked, "Then how do you make the buns?"

Now it was Qiaoqiao's turn to get stuck.

He said pitifully, "Sorry, Qiaoqiao doesn't know how. Qiaoqiao only knows how to eat."

"Why don't you join the group? My sister says once you join, you'll know. There are many people who know how to cook."

Since his brother said so!

The young man decisively scanned the QR code and looked at the group members—

[Vast Sea and Sky] [Gentle Heart] [Tea Charm] [Just Be Happy]...

Well, the age demographic was very obvious.

Just then, a slightly acerbic voice came from behind

"Young lady, the wild vegetables I bought from you the day before yesterday were old, bitter, and not tasty. Didn't you say you'd give me a refund?"

"But you said I had to bring the vegetables back, and I can't do that. By the time you mentioned it in the group, my family had already finished eating them. We can't let food go to waste, right?"

"You decide: either replace them with two bunches of vegetables or give me my money back."

The young man froze, looking at the wild onions in his hand—they were fresh, tender, and juicy with a strong aroma. They didn't look old at all.

The girl selling the vegetables had a fair, clear, and flawless face, and her smile was kind and sweet

"Is that so? Auntie, what is your group name? I remember you bought a bunch of Malantou, right? That was twenty yuan."

A flash of triumph appeared in the auntie's eyes. "You have a good memory, girl... What's a group name? My name is—hey, hey, hey! Why did you remove me from the group?!"

"I was going to buy a few more jin of shepherd's purse in a moment!"

The young man nearby let out a "pfft" of laughter—removed? She was clearly kicked out.

Besides, if they were really bad, why would she come back to be tricked again?

***

*Going out for a nucleic acid test, I realized my shorts were on inside out while waiting in line.*

*Tried to pull my shirt down to cover up, pretending everything was natural.*

*That's three updates for today, that's all!*

(End of Chapter)