Chapter 21: Sold for 30 Yuan

Xu Jiaojiao couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief after realizing she hadn’t bumped into anyone.

The woman’s drastically different attitude before and after, how could Qin Shuo not notice?

Just a moment ago, she was wiping his sweat.

Now, she was avoiding him like the plague.

This stark contrast made Qin Shuo frown again.

After the dizziness subsided, Xu Jiaojiao carefully examined the ginseng in her hands.

The roots weren’t particularly developed, but they were long.

No wonder she felt dizzy when she stood up.

Xu Jiaojiao estimated she had been digging for over an hour.

Thankfully, the soil here was loose, otherwise, she wouldn’t know how long it would have taken.

Suddenly, something occurred to her, and Xu Jiaojiao looked at Qin Shuo with a hint of suspicion.

“I dug this ginseng.”

She looked determined not to hand it over.

She was too poor, her clothes were in tatters.

Without any other source of income, she didn’t want to give this up.

Qin Shuo didn’t say anything, but he glanced at the ginseng in her hand.

He saw the woman hiding the ginseng behind her, as if afraid he would snatch it away.

Their eyes met, one filled with apprehension, the other with suspicion.

There was absolutely no trust between them, not even the kind you’d expect from strangers.

Lost in her focus on hiding the ginseng, Xu Jiaojiao forgot that the man in front of her was the target she was supposed to conquer.

Her impulsive nature, if the system was still around, would probably have scared it to death.

“I, I’ll give you five yuan at most,” Xu Jiaojiao said, her face pained.

This ginseng, she didn’t know if it could even fetch thirty yuan.

Qin Shuo: …

“I don’t want five yuan.”

Huh?!

Did he want half of it?

Shameless! So shameless!

Meeting those accusing eyes, Qin Shuo fell silent again.

“Sell me the ginseng.”

…

Something felt off.

But hearing him say he wanted to buy it, Xu Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up.

Based on her mental valuation, she added 10 yuan and held up four fingers.

“This price.”

“Four hundred?” The man raised an eyebrow, looking as if she had dared to ask for an outrageous price.

Xu Jiaojiao: …

Xu Jiaojiao was speechless. Was this guy going to be scammed every time he bought something?

She had intended to ask for 40 yuan and let him counteroffer, but he had actually increased it by 10 times!

For a moment, Xu Jiaojiao was tempted. If she couldn’t sell it for 400 yuan, 100 would be good too.

But looking at his limp, she somehow didn’t want to raise the price anymore.

“This is about 50 years old, thirty yuan for you. Pay first, then I’ll give you the ginseng.”

Hearing this, Qin Shuo realized his misunderstanding.

But he didn’t show it on his face, simply nodding.

“Alright.”

They agreed on the price, and a happy smile bloomed on Xu Jiaojiao’s face.

Another 30 yuan, she now had thirty-five.

How should she spend it?

While mentally planning her trip to the county, she put the ginseng in her backpack.

It was full of herbs, and Xu Jiaojiao bundled the ginseng with them.

From the outside, you couldn’t tell the difference.

Once that was done, Xu Jiaojiao didn’t plan to linger, she shouldered her backpack and headed back.

She hadn’t walked far when Xu Jiaojiao suddenly realized something.

They were married, right?

Selling ginseng to him, it felt like money going from her left hand to her right.

But this thought was fleeting, and Xu Jiaojiao chuckled to herself.

They were simply strangers under the same roof.

Selling ginseng to him, she felt no guilt whatsoever.

When she returned to the tea garden, it was already time to start work.

Ding Xiujing had returned, and the three children came back with her.

Except they all looked a little absent-minded.

Even Ding Xiujing seemed eager to finish work.

But she still held back, turning to the children and saying, “Go gather firewood quickly, your dad will carry it down when we’re done.”

Hearing this, the children seemed to perk up.

They headed back towards the mountain, looking as if they wanted to find more treasures.

But Xu Jiaojiao thought those treasures would be hard to come by.

Finding some mushrooms would be good enough.

She didn’t bother with them though, she was a little distracted herself.

Thinking about those thirty yuan, she couldn’t stay put.

She wanted to rush to the county and buy two vests.

Finally, when work was done, she saw the three little ones coming back, looking dejected.

It was clear they hadn’t found anything.

“Third Aunt… I picked some wild berries, you can try them.”

Dani held a bunch of berries in her hands, looking at her cautiously.

As if afraid she wouldn’t like them.

Seeing her like this, how could Xu Jiaojiao refuse?

She quickly reached out to take them. “Thank you, Dani.”

She lowered her head to look, only to find small, purplish-black berries in her palm.

From memory, Xu Jiaojiao knew this was a wild eggplant.

It was very juicy and sweet, children loved to pick and eat them.

Xu Jiaojiao took a few and put them in her mouth, biting lightly. The sweet juice burst in her mouth.

For her, who hadn’t eaten any fruit in two days, it was an indescribable satisfaction.

“They’re really delicious, I like them a lot.”

Being affirmed, Dani’s face flushed red, and she gave a shy smile.

Suddenly, something came to mind, and Xu Jiaojiao carefully asked Dani.

“Did you give some to your mom?”

Although she didn’t like Liu Zhaodi’s preference for sons over daughters, this was her daughter after all.

If she could change Liu Zhaodi’s attitude towards her daughter, then they would have a better life.

Hearing this, Dani’s eyes, which had been sparkling, dimmed again.

“My mom… she doesn’t like to eat them.” Erni said in a small voice.

As if afraid of being overheard.

Seeing their expressions, how could Xu Jiaojiao not understand what was going on?

She could imagine the two of them, once filled with joy, wanting to share their beloved wild berries with Liu Zhaodi.

But they were probably scolded again.

Sighing, Xu Jiaojiao rubbed Erni’s head.

“Third Aunt likes them, next time I’ll go pick them with you.”

“Okay!” The two sisters answered in unison, their faces full of excitement.

“Xu Jiaojiao，hurry up, let’s go.”

Ding Xiujing had already packed up, a bundle of firewood on her shoulder, calling out to her.

She was in a hurry.

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Xu Jiaojiao packed the herbs she had left under the tree into her backpack.

In these days, if someone had a headache or a stomachache at home, they would also go up the mountain to pick some herbs and boil them for a soak.

As for whether it worked or not, that was unknown.

Anyway, asking them to spend money to see a doctor was like asking them to die.

Unless they were really uncomfortable, they would just bear it themselves.

For chronic conditions like rheumatism, headaches, and cramps, they were happy to use home remedies they had heard about.

Therefore, the herbs she had left under the tree, no one would take them.

Once the herbs were packed, she shouldered her backpack and followed the others down the mountain.

The rest of the firewood had already been carried down by the men.

This small amount was picked up later by the three children.

They had walked a short distance when Xu Jiaojiao switched with Ding Xiujing to carry the firewood.

They had just descended the mountain, not far down, when they encountered a few people.