Chapter 10: Public Opinion

“Old brother always loves to joke around. Fuyun Restaurant is such a large establishment. They have a fixed group of suppliers for their food and meat. It’s unlikely they would casually buy fish from outside,” Jiang Youcheng waved his hands repeatedly.

However, Song Jingyun scratched his head, thought for a while, and said to Jiang Mixia, “Why not give it a try?”

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Mixia agreed, “Alright.”

They were trying to make the best of a bad situation. Selling the fish would be ideal, but if it didn’t work out, it wouldn’t be a big deal. They could always come back to sell the fish later.

They informed Jiang Youcheng, and then Jiang Mixia, carrying the fish basket, led Song Jingyun to Fuyun Restaurant.

The man selling live chickens widened his eyes, grinned at Jiang Youcheng, and said, “I told a joke, and your son-in-law took it seriously. Does he really think Fuyun Restaurant lacks fish?”

“If you put it that way, I’m starting to think there’s something off about this son-in-law of yours. He’s been here for so long, not saying a word or making any arrangements, leaving all the work to your daughter,” he continued.

“Could it be that your son-in-law isn’t very bright? Is he a bit of a simpleton?”

“I remember your daughter wasn’t very sharp in the past. Now that she’s married, she’s improved, and her husband has become a simpleton? It seems your family is destined to be with simpletons.”

“What are you saying? Maybe he’s got some good luck being simple-minded. Perhaps Fuyun Restaurant is indeed in need of fish and will buy them all,” someone chimed in.

“In my opinion, the sun rose from the east today…”

Laughter erupted among the crowd.

Those who came to the market were there to sell their goods. The agricultural products from rural households were limited, and it was often said that those in the same trade were like enemies. Moreover, in this case, Jiang Youcheng had more than one “enemy.”

His baskets were of high quality and reasonably priced, always selling quickly. Even those who weren’t in direct competition with him couldn’t help but feel envious. Jiang Youcheng was honest and generally faultless, so seizing upon any possible fault was naturally irresistible.

Furthermore, rural folks, with their idle time, often enjoyed discussing the affairs of others as a form of entertainment.

If you took offense, others would retort, “It’s just a joke. Can’t even take a jest,” effectively shutting down any objections. If you didn’t take offense…

It was truly grating!

Jiang Youcheng understood the situation but was visibly upset. He was bursting with frustration but lacked the ability to argue. All he could do was sit there with a sullen expression, glancing toward Fuyun Restaurant.

I really hope that today, by some stroke of luck, Fuyun Restaurant truly needs fish and buys all the fish from the children. That would shut up all those troublemakers!

Just as Jiang Youcheng was seething with frustration, Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun returned.

“Look, the young couple who went to sell fish at Fuyun Restaurant is back!” someone called out, winking suggestively.

“Hey, tell us, how much did you sell them for?” another person chimed in, joining the teasing.

The barbed remarks were evident, and given Jiang Youcheng’s displeased expression and the delicate atmosphere, Jiang Mixia could almost guess what had happened.

“Dad.”

Excitedly, Jiang Mixia continued, “We’ve had such great luck today. Fuyun Restaurant happened to be buying fish. They said a regular customer had ordered a lot of crispy fish, and they needed it early tomorrow morning. After collecting all the fish at the market, they still didn’t have enough. They were just worrying when we happened to arrive with our fish.”

“Fuyun Restaurant said our fish were well-prepared, a good size, and arrived just in time. They paid us a good price, a hundred coins. That’s quite a lot, considering that on a regular day, this basket of fish would fetch at most eighty or ninety coins.”

“Speaking of which, today’s success is all thanks to Jingyun. If he hadn’t suggested trying, I wouldn’t have thought of it. I was hesitant at first, but I figured, why not give it a shot? It’s better than sitting there doing nothing. Turns out, trying was a good decision. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have stumbled upon this stroke of luck,” Jiang Mixia spoke loudly, her face beaming with a nearly infectious smile.

She was genuinely overjoyed.

Originally just a trial, she had been anxious and had even prepared herself for rejection. She never expected Fuyun Restaurant to be so pleasantly surprised. They seemed as though they had found a treasure.

After all, with the regular customer’s order of crispy fish, making money was secondary. The crucial aspect was delivering on time; otherwise, it could damage their reputation, affecting their future business.

Jiang Mixia understood Fuyun Restaurant’s perspective.

As her words landed, a silence fell over the surroundings. Everyone’s expressions turned sour.

Not only sour, but they also felt a pang of jealousy.

They had just been mocking her son-in-law, laughing at the haphazard attempt to sell fish at Fuyun Restaurant. Unexpectedly, they had sold the fish, and at a high price!

Now, the tables had turned, and they wished they could find a hole to crawl into.

Seeing the others instantly turning into quails, Jiang Youcheng’s mood soared. “See, my daughter and son-in-law really are capable.”

“Indeed, not everyone has such good fortune,” Jiang Mixia laughed as brightly as the sun in the sky. “Gentlemen, don’t you agree?”

“That seems to be the case…”

The ones who had been teasing just moments ago now looked sheepish, awkwardly chuckling and offering vague responses, unable to meet Jiang Mixia’s eyes.

They were utterly embarrassed.

“Dad, we’ve sold the baskets. We’ll go to buy the  meat later,” Jiang Mixia said with a smile. “We’ll have braised pork for lunch.”

“With the pork belly, we’ll have plenty of braised pork for lunch,” Jiang Youcheng assured, patting his chest. “Especially you, Jingyun, you must eat more. This success is thanks to you.”

It was thanks to Song Jingyun’s caught fish and his suggestion to sell the fish at Fuyun Restaurant that they had obtained such a good price. He deserved to be treated well.

Song Jingyun scratched his ear, “It was just luck, I suppose.”

Luck…

The corners of the mouths of those present twitched once again.

They, too, wished for such luck.

In no time, the remaining three baskets were sold.

Carrying the basket that had previously held the fish, Jiang Youcheng led Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun to the butcher’s shop.

“We’re closing up early today. We’ll be the first to leave. We feel a bit embarrassed…” Jiang Mixia blinked as she said this, leaving these words behind as they departed.

Was that something a person would say?

The people present felt like clutching their hearts, their faces turning green.

One of them furrowed his brow, looking at the smooth little stool he had been polishing in front of him. “It’s truly strange today. It’s almost noon, and the market is about to close, yet this stool hasn’t been sold.”

“Indeed, usually all the live chickens would have been sold by now. Today, only two were sold, and they were the smallest roosters,” the man selling live chickens also added.