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Of course, she didn’t actually pinch the eyes, but Yao Jiu eagerly watched the people coming and going, hoping that someone with a discerning eye would come and buy her vegetables.

Unfortunately, the regular customers who came by took one look and instinctively shook their heads before walking away.

These were all people who frequented the market. Previously, Yao Jiu’s vegetable business was good because people believed her vegetables were fresh and pesticide-free. But now, where did this problem come from? How could the vegetables grow so perfectly?

They must have been treated with pesticides!

Yao Jiu waited and waited. She had brought a lot of vegetables today—small bok choy from each family had ripened, and a few tomato plants had also turned red, so she gathered a basket full and brought them down. She also had several dozen pounds of green onions and ten pounds of leeks.

With so many vegetables, it would be troublesome if they didn’t sell.

Gradually, a few people bought the green onions and leeks, but the bok choy, which was in the largest quantity, remained stacked like a mountain—over a hundred pounds.

As the sun rose higher and the temperature started to climb, Yao Jiu could only dejectedly say, “Forget it, let’s cut the price.”

Lin You comforted her, “If we cut the price, we cut the price. Our vegetables are so good, we’ll definitely have repeat customers.”

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to go down the mountain to sell, but once they factored in transportation costs, the vegetables wouldn’t have much competitiveness once they reached the bottom of the mountain.

Just as the two of them were feeling troubled, Yao Yun rushed over. This morning, Duoduo had an upset stomach, which had delayed Yao Yun’s time.

Seeing Yao Yun’s tricycle, Yao Jiu couldn’t care about their previous disagreements and waved her hand to call out, “Sister Yao Yun!”

Yao Yun braked to a stop, “Are you here to sell vegetables?”

Lin You replied, “Yes, Sister Yao Yun, do you remember what I said before? The vegetables from our village are all harvested. Because they’ve been fertilized well, we have a lot of vegetables this time. Look at how fresh they are! They’re not much different from the ones I grow.”

Lin You blinked hard, and Yao Yun immediately understood.

She answered straightforwardly, “Then give me thirty pounds of bok choy, and also five pounds of tomatoes.”

Since she couldn’t buy Lin You’s vegetables, most vegetables at the market were the same, so it was better to give Yao Jiu some face.

With a wave of her hand, Yao Yun bought a third of the vegetables from the stall, which made Yao Jiu breathe a sigh of relief. At least she had recouped some money.

Lin You reassured her, “You’ve taken the first step. Don’t worry too much. Trust me, Yao Yun will definitely come back tomorrow.”

She had already tasted the vegetables grown by the villagers. They were slightly inferior to hers but still very good. It was clear that the difference came from the magical cow dung.

Yao Jiu looked at Lin You with a bit of envy, “Your mindset is really good.”

Previously, Lin You had carried such a heavy burden and never complained in front of her. But she herself, having spent so much time in her hometown, felt anxious and uneasy about even the smallest changes.

Yao Jiu hesitated, “Youyou, do you think… I’m lacking ambition?”

Lin You was confused, “What do you need ambition for? I don’t have any ambition either. You see me every day, all I do is lie around.”

Yao Jiu said, “But you’re amazing! Not only are you great at acting, but you’re also good at live streaming. And you cook so well. You’re like this, and Bo Chuan is the same… But as for me, I feel like I’m still the same as when I was in high school. I haven’t made any progress.”

Lin You cupped Yao Jiu’s face and squished it into a round shape, making it look a bit funny.

Yao Jiu: “……”

Lin You chuckled, “Xiao Jiu, you’re too cute! How do you expect to have ambition?”

Yao Jiu: “…I… I don’t know.”

Lin You let go of her hand and started petting the cat in her arms, “Then don’t worry about it. Xiao Jiu, you’re amazing. You’re so enthusiastic, helping so many people in the village sell vegetables, going to town meetings to spread information, and your dad takes good care of you at home… It doesn’t always mean you have to make a career to have ambition. If you really want to do something, there will always be opportunities. But until those opportunities come, selling vegetables is fine.”

Yao Jiu: “…But we haven’t sold the vegetables.”

“Don’t be too impatient. Tomorrow will definitely be better!”

“…Lin You, can cats eat chocolate?”

“No, they shouldn’t.”

“Your furball is sneaking some…”

The two of them, flustered as they pried open the cat’s mouth to check, couldn’t care less about discussing ambition anymore. Once they saw the cat was fine, they started scolding it. The tabby cat stubbornly argued, and for a moment, it was just as lively as the other stalls.

After waiting a bit more and realizing the vegetables weren’t selling, Yao Jiu decided to lower the price by a third and sold everything to a vegetable vendor.

The two were about to go have beef soup when they noticed a seller of sesame salt had arrived at the morning market.

It was a small pickup truck, not big, with a machine in the back, and various baskets filled with dried chili peppers, roasted peanuts, white sesame, black sesame…

A woman with dark skin and an accent from another region called out, “Come, come, freshly made sesame salt! You can add your own ingredients. It’s fragrant and spicy, perfect with steamed buns or noodles!”

The rich aroma of the sesame and peanuts lingered, and a crowd gathered around the truck.

Lin You immediately became interested. She picked a few types of chili peppers and asked the woman to add some roasted sesame, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and salt.

The machine squeezed out fine particles. The sesame, peanuts, and sunflower seeds released their oils as they were pressed, making the chili particles shiny with oil. The powdery bits went through the machine, warm to the touch, and the spicy aroma blew through the air.

Lin You and Yao Jiu bought two hot white flour flatbreads right then and there. They filled them with two large spoonfuls of freshly made sesame salt. As the steam rose, the sesame salt became even more fragrant.

The oiliness, saltiness, and spiciness matched the main dish perfectly. After a few bites, when they got a little choked up, they followed it with a sweet sip of soy milk.

Yao Jiu: “Youyou, let’s have skewers for dinner?”

The sesame salt made a great dry dip with its own unique flavor.

Lin You: “Sure, let’s go buy some skewers later.”

The two of them, with an unstoppable appetite for food, had no idea that the vegetables from Lianhua Village were about to stir up quite a commotion in the county.

In Xinhua Road, Jingshui County, a new vegetable shop had opened after the New Year.

As the fifth vegetable shop on this street, the shop owner had chosen a good location. The small shop, named “Zhang Ji Vegetable Shop,” was located across from Yulan Community, just a short walk across the street.

Although there was another vegetable shop just a few dozen steps away, Zhang Ji still attracted the most customers.

The small vegetable shop was run by a husband-and-wife duo. The shop was only 20 square meters. The shopkeeper’s wife, Sun Ling, stood behind the counter, waiting to collect money from customers. Her phone occasionally rang with sounds of “Shunzi” and “Don’t” from a game of “^[1]“Fight the Landlord” (Chinese: 斗地主, Dòu Dìzhǔ) is a popular Chinese card game that is commonly played online or in person. It is typically played by three players, where one … Continue readingFight the Landlord.”

The husband, Zhang Ming, was busy unloading vegetables and stocking the shop with his brother-in-law, Sun Qing.

“Be careful!”

Zhang Ming had a bit of disdain for his brother-in-law. Sun Qing, who was in his twenties, had failed to continue his education and couldn’t handle hard labor, so his parents, unable to bear seeing him stay home every day, had handed him over to his sister to manage.

But after two months of having him around, Zhang Ming found himself becoming increasingly dissatisfied with him.

His wife, Sun Ling, always said that Sun Qing was clever. Back when he was in school, the teachers praised him for being quick-witted and able to handle things, so she had him help with the vegetable procurement.

For small vegetable shops like theirs, the daily demand for various vegetables wasn’t much, so there wasn’t much room for bargaining. To make money, it was all about one word: hard work.

They had to wake up at three or four in the morning to go to the wholesale market and grab the latest batch of vegetables. Sometimes they couldn’t buy enough, so they would share with other vendors. If they found a good source, they’d buy more to stock up. Occasionally, they’d buy leftover goods from others. While those vegetables might not be as fresh, they weren’t bad, just a little less presentable. They’d clean them up and sell them, still making a decent profit.

There was no choice, with more and more vegetable shops opening, competition was fierce. If they priced too high, customers would go elsewhere. Zhang Ming knew that the money they earned in their shop was all through hard work.

When his wife said that Sun Qing was clever, Zhang Ming observed him for a few days and tried to let him handle the purchasing. But what did Sun Qing do?

He took the money and returned with a bunch of leftover goods from other vendors!

The vegetable leaves were torn and damaged, tomatoes had bruises, and some fruits even had mold on them…

The money, however, was spent cleanly.

Zhang Ming wanted to ask him if he’d pocketed the money from the vegetables, but his wife quickly defended him. She kept saying that the market people were deceitful and tricked her brother. She even blamed Zhang Ming for not teaching him properly.

Zhang Ming was furious, but being at a loss for words, he didn’t want to argue, so he kept quiet.

Since that incident, he became more cautious, and whenever he could go himself, he made sure Sun Qing didn’t.

After two months, the vegetable shop was barely running smoothly.

However, today wasn’t going well. Zhang Ming had some matters to attend to in the morning, and they had sold out of baby bok choy without having time to restock. So, he had to ask his brother-in-law to go buy another batch.

He didn’t know what kind of surprise this batch of vegetables would bring…

Zhang Ming felt a bit tired.

After Sun Qing finished unloading the goods, he casually lit a cigarette, “Brother-in-law, how’s the stuff I got today?”

Zhang Ming hadn’t looked carefully earlier, but hearing his question, he felt a sinking feeling in his chest and quickly went to inspect the baby bok choy he had bought.

“This is the best-looking stuff I saw at the market. I just bought it all. Also, I got some tomatoes, spring onions, and chives. The tomatoes look pretty good too, so I bought them all. It’s just a little expensive… But it looks good, definitely gonna sell well!”

Zhang Ming’s heart sank.

Forget about the tomatoes, the baby bok choy was clearly treated with chemicals!

While treated vegetables aren’t unsellable, with the rise of the internet, people are more critical of those using additives and harsh treatments. Customers often ask if the vegetables are treated, especially those with kids at home.

Zhang Ming didn’t expect his brother-in-law to be so foolish as to buy so much treated baby bok choy!

Sun Qing was still boasting, and his sister leaned in to see it, praising him for doing a good job.

“How much did you pay for it? Should I have your brother-in-law set the price?”

Sun Qing raised two fingers, “I paid 1.2 yuan per jin. Don’t think it’s too expensive, there’s a reason why it’s more expensive.”

In reality, he had bought it cheaply for just 0.6 yuan per jin. But who would complain about saving money? With only 3,500 yuan a month working for his brother-in-law, he had no choice but to do this.

Zhang Ming: “Recently, the price of baby bok choy hasn’t been higher than 0.7 yuan per jin. Where did you find this source at 1.2 yuan?”

Sun Qing awkwardly twisted his neck: “It was at the agricultural market.”

In reality, he had encountered a street vendor on the road, who seemed to have just come down from Xianxia Mountain.

Zhang Ming was about to ask more, but his wife already shot him a glare.

“What are you asking for? Xiao Qing finally found good vegetables. Hurry up and write down the price!”

Zhang Ming took the cardboard used for writing prices and wrote 1.5 yuan, then hesitated and crossed it out.

In the end, he wrote 1.29 yuan.

Forget it, just treat it as a special offer for today.