Chapter 51: Egg Exchange/Thank You Gift

Qian Xiaolan ignored the rest of Wenxuan’s message and listed two hundred pounds of each seafood variety for him to sell and see how it went. Wenxuan received the items and still thought it was too little. He sent another long message, rambling on and on. Qian Xiaolan ignored him. Su Yi-rou’s message came just then. She glanced at it and started preparing the goods. Su Yi-rou first listed a large bag of gold and jade ornaments for her, then asked Qian Xiaolan to prepare a thousand pounds each of miscellaneous grains, rice, and flour. For the rest, she asked Qian Xiaolan to choose some meat and seafood for her.

Qian Xiaolan naturally didn’t mind. The customer paid first, and she was straightforward. She kept listing items for her. Thinking about Su Yi-rou’s difficult life in the apocalypse, she thoughtfully chose fish with less bones and more meat for her. She also gave her a generous amount of miscellaneous grains. If Xiao Qi hadn’t sent a warning, she would have listed more food. Of course, it was fine for people like Wenxuan to take the goods first and pay later. With Xiao Qi there, Wenxuan couldn’t run away.

Since Xiao Qi’s consciousness had awakened, he had been checking every transaction, afraid that she would give too much or the other party would give too little.

Just as she finished the transaction, Wenxuan came back. In just over an hour, he had sold all the seafood. Qian Xiaolan was truly impressed. Even the top salesman could only look up to him. She kept some for herself and traded the rest to Wenxuan. He happily accepted it and started preparing goods of equal value for Qian Xiaolan. Of course, Xiao Qi decided what was of equal value. Qian Xiaolan only had a vague concept. She couldn’t tell if it was more or less.

Thinking about the dampness by the sea, Qian Xiaolan specifically asked Wenxuan to buy a few sets of scraping boards and bamboo cups for cupping. She also bought some dehumidifying medicine. In addition, she asked Wenxuan to buy her a set of diving gear. Now that she was by the sea, she had to find a chance to go diving.

After all the transactions were completed, Qian Xiaolan exited the space and realized it was already four o’clock. She had to host a dinner tomorrow, and her dishes weren’t ready yet. She quickly picked up her basket, took some money, and went to the village to ask around.

To her surprise, everyone’s attitude towards her was incredibly good. She chatted with a few aunties, confused, and finally understood. It turned out that her saving the child last night and treating Xiuxiu this morning had spread throughout the village. Their island was quite remote, and there was only a clinic in the military camp, but it didn’t treat ordinary people like them. So, if they got sick, they would just endure it as best they could, only going to the big island to see a doctor when they couldn’t bear it anymore. Now that a young wife who knew medicine had finally come to the village, they were hoping that it would be more convenient to see a doctor in the future. So, how could their attitude not be good?

Qian Xiaolan didn’t expect that just a little show of her skills would make her a respected figure in the village. She asked an auntie where she could exchange some eggs, and the woman pointed her in the right direction.

“Little Qian, if you want to exchange eggs, go down this road on the left, all the way to the end. The house with seaweed and dried fish drying in the yard is Wang Auntie’s house. She’s been saving her eggs and hasn’t eaten any.”

Qian Xiaolan thanked the auntie and followed her directions to the house with the dried seafood. The gate wasn’t closed. Qian Xiaolan knocked on the door and called out, “Is anyone home?”

“Hey, I’m here. Who is it?” Someone called out from inside the house, then came out. When she saw Qian Xiaolan, she laughed before she even spoke, “Hahaha, it’s you, little wife! What brings you here?”

It was the auntie who had said that Qian Xiaolan looked like her when she was young.

Qian Xiaolan was also surprised to see her, “So this is your house, Auntie. I came to exchange some eggs. Do you have any?”

Wang Auntie laughed again, “Yes, yes. I just saved thirty eggs. How many do you want?”

Qian Xiaolan said, “If it’s okay, can you exchange them all with me?”

Wang Auntie waved her hand generously, “Why not?”

Perhaps because Wang Auntie fed her chickens well, the eggs were all evenly sized. Qian Xiaolan paid five cents for each egg. Thirty eggs cost one yuan and fifty cents. Wang Auntie was beaming with joy. She said with a smile, “Little wife, I won’t lie to you. Others come to exchange eggs for four cents each. You gave me an extra cent. I’m making a good deal. Here, I won’t take your money. I’ll give you something else.”

She went into the house and came out a moment later, carrying two mesh bags. “Little wife, this bag is some dried fish I sun-dried myself. Take it back and fry it with some oil, or add some ginger, vinegar, and steam it directly. It’s delicious.”

“This bag is dried seaweed. Whenever you want to eat it, just take a piece, soak it in water, and use it for soup or stir-fry it with some chili peppers.”

Qian Xiaolan took the two large mesh bags. She wanted to pay again, but Wang Auntie refused to take it. She didn’t want to leave without taking anything, so she took two large handfuls of fruit candies and two Great White Rabbit candies and placed them on the table in Wang Auntie’s house. Then, she picked up her things and ran away.

As she was approaching her house, she saw a group of people standing by her door. She went over curiously and recognized them as the mother and son from last night and their family. They were carrying things, presumably to thank her. Qian Xiaolan opened the gate and invited them in.

The child immediately knelt down in front of her, “Thank you, Auntie, for saving my life.”

Qian Xiaolan was startled. She quickly helped him up, “We don’t do that anymore. Get up.”

“Girl, we’re truly grateful to you! You not only saved my son’s life, but you also saved our whole family. We’ve been married for so many years, and we only have Doudou, our son. If something had happened to him, our whole family wouldn’t have been able to live.” The woman’s in-laws also wiped away tears.

The family cried for a while, then wiped away their tears and spoke to Qian Xiaolan awkwardly. The woman’s husband’s family name was Jiang. The two elderly people were her in-laws. Doudou’s father had gone out to sea and hadn’t returned. The two old people were only in their fifties, but they were hunched over, and their faces looked like they were in their sixties or seventies. The woman’s mother-in-law held Qian Xiaolan’s hand, her hand trembling, and she kept saying thank you.

Qian Xiaolan could tell from their appearance that their family was not well-off, but they still brought her a large sea bass, two pounds of eggs, and a pound of brown sugar. She didn’t want to accept these things, but seeing their grateful, nervous, and expectant looks, she still took them. However, before they left, Qian Xiaolan gave them a gift in return. A pound of chicken cake, a pound of noodles, and a dozen Great White Rabbit candies.

The Jiang family refused to accept it, but Qian Xiaolan said, “I accept your gratitude. These are for the child to eat. If you don’t accept them, it means you think what I gave is too little.” She said this and went back into the house to get another pound of chicken cake, pretending to put it in their mesh bag. When the Jiang family saw this, they immediately picked up their things and ran away. Qian Xiaolan watched them go and couldn’t help but smile.

Later, Qian Xiaolan heard from Wang Yufeng that Jiang’s wife’s in-laws had originally had three daughters and two sons, but none of them survived. Some had fallen into the sea and couldn’t be saved because there was no one to watch over them when their father went out to sea. Others had died from illness or had grown up and gone out to sea and encountered natural disasters. Out of six children, only Jiang’s wife’s husband had grown up, married, and had a child. No wonder the Jiang family was so grateful to her.

Qian Xiaolan was preparing dinner when Gao Hongjun and Gao Changzheng, the two brothers, came home from school. They brought her a lot of firewood.