Chapter 9 Selling Wild Vegetables

  Just then, while Zhi Xiao was talking to Qiao, the little waiter from the restaurant kept peeking over and glancing this way until he saw Zhi Xiao give two bundles of vegetables to someone without even asking for money. He then hastily turned around and went back to tell the boss.

  Wang the shopkeeper couldn't help but frown, he originally didn't believe that this little girl could deliver the fresh vegetables. He sneaked a glance at Liu, who was sitting in a chair drinking tea to pass the time, and found him to be very patient, having sat there since morning without moving, just waiting for her arrival.

  The little servant rushed in to say that the girl was giving wild vegetables to people on the street, and Liu finally couldn't sit still. He hastily ran to the door and looked out.

  Wang Zhanggui shook his head and got annoyed just by looking at him.

  No choice, with some resentment, glared at this ignorant Liu Yuanwai, who was a good-for-nothing and loved to join in on lively scenes. However, this old man was indeed pleasant to get along with, straightforward and generous, often treating three or five friends to meals at his own restaurant when business was slow, showing some sense of justice.

  Wang Zhanggui thought of this and didn't look at the person who liked to do good deeds with such disapproval. He also hurriedly followed up to take a look. In fact, this girl had clearly promised to deliver it to him, but she really wasn't keeping her promise.

  As soon as she saw them from afar, they were smiling and carrying two bundles of wild vegetables. Three fish swam up to her and said that, to be honest, she had never done this kind of business before. She was very excited since last night, just like in a dream. If she could make this deal today, then she wouldn't have to worry about living for a while.

  When she saw the three people in front of her, she was still a little nervous in her heart. If this deal couldn't be made, what would she do? So for now, all she could do was smile foolishly and look at the three people in front of her, not knowing how to start or which sentence to say first.

  "Hehe……" Xiang first smiled foolishly, then nervously said: "Boss Wang, I, I brought the dishes, take a look." Zhi Xiao held up the wild vegetables in his hand and moved them in front of Boss Wang's face, opening his mouth with some embarrassment, accompanied by a silly smile staring at him without blinking.

  "Oh." Wang Zhuang had already seen the two bunches of unfamiliar green leafy vegetables in her hands when she ran up to him.

  Wang Zhanggui furrowed his brow, stroking his goatee, and gazed at the maid with a somewhat excited expression. He lowered his head to carefully examine the dishes in her hands, then frowned and asked, "What dish is this? It seems I've never seen it before?"

  "These are shepherd's purse and mugwort, both belong to the wild vegetable category, not commonly eaten in the city, only found in rural areas along the roadside grass, so they are not common."

  King Wang was taken aback, his eyes wide with surprise: "Isn't this just wild grass? No way, we can't sell wild grass to customers for them to eat." He shook his somewhat chubby head, although the store wasn't doing much business, but this kind of thing was absolutely not to be done. How could he let the signboard fall into his own hands? How could he mess around with a little girl? King Wang's face turned stern, with a hint of anger, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared straight at her flushed face.

  Knowing that the shopkeeper disagreed, he looked bitter, but also somewhat less constrained than when he first arrived, and looked up at Wang with a calm expression:

  "Shopkeeper, I'm not selling it to you, just giving you some to try. You can't make it, but I can make it for you to eat, and it's very delicious. This dish is not only a vegetable, but also a kind of Chinese medicine, most suitable for people who don't have fresh vegetables in winter. It can regulate the body's functions. This type of vegetable is also called 'protect life grass', with health benefits such as tonifying the spleen and promoting diuresis. And it doesn't have any bitter taste like traditional Chinese medicine, it's very refreshing to eat. You don't believe me? Try some!"

  Knowing that one sentence was enough, he looked at Wang Zhuang with eager eyes.

  。

  "Really? This is a herb, and it can be eaten as a dish? This is actually a very good dish!" The officer picked up the wild vegetables in Zhi Xiao's hand, put them under his nose to smell, and was greeted by a refreshing fragrance. He liked it very much, and used his elbow to nudge the shopkeeper beside him, winking at him to take it away for now.

  Wang Zhanggui reluctantly swept his eyes over the wild vegetables she was talking about, which were actually just weeds, and opened his mouth weakly to say: "Alright, let's go in and do it first."

  He secretly took another glance at Liu Yuanwai, who was also too enthusiastic. Anyway, if the flavor is not good and no one eats it, he thought that he wouldn't have to say anything more, and this Liu Yuanwai would also not be able to say anything else, so he himself wouldn't suffer any loss either.

  Wang Zhanggui thought for a moment, secretly thinking to himself.

  Zhī xiǎo jìn le chú fáng, gēn chú shī jiǎn dān de shuō le yí xià, chú shī wēi wēi diǎn le yí xià tóu, jiù kāi shǐ cāo liàn qǐ lái, bù xiāo yí huì gōng fū, liǎng dào cài jiā liǎng wǎn hún tiáo jiù shàng zhuō le.

  Liu Yuan stared at the bowl in front of him, where a dozen or so dumplings made from wild vegetables were placed. The old chef Li was still busy adding some fragrant oil to the white porcelain bowl and sprinkling some scallions on top. He stood beside Liu Yuan, nodding his head repeatedly, indicating for him to take a bite and try it out. It seemed that Chef Li had already tasted the flavor beforehand.

  This rascal is secretly complaining.

  Liu Yuanwai suddenly felt his appetite open up, and he began to salivate. He immediately picked up a spoon and took a bite, savoring it slowly. His eyes lit up brightly, and he nodded from time to time, urging Wang Zhanggui to hurry up and try some too.

  The people in the know and the shopkeeper on the side were somewhat anxious, staring at him tightly.

  Liu Yuenwai swallowed and then raised his head to say: "Delicious, delicious! This doesn't have any bitter taste of medicinal herbs at all. There's a refreshing fragrance in my mouth. This is the most delicious wonton I've ever had. Although wontons are a staple food in the south, I often eat them at home too. We have a chef from Jiangnan at home, but he's never made anything that tastes like this." After finishing speaking, he lowered his head and quickly started eating one by one.

  Knowing that he said so, he also put down his heart, secretly took his eyes to peek at the shopkeeper, and most importantly, this person is still in his heart.

  Zhī xiǎo was extremely nervous, staring intently at Wang Zhuanggui. Seeing him scoop up one with a spoon and put it in his mouth, savoring it slowly, then suddenly raise his head in extreme surprise, Zhī xiǎo secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  Wang Zhuanggui savored the meat filling of the wontons in his mouth, which had a fresher and more delicious taste than ordinary vegetables, with a clear and smooth texture. Especially in winter, it was even more precious to be able to eat such vegetables.

  Wang the shopkeeper had also been in this line for some years, and he secretly thought that if this were to be pushed out, it would definitely bring in a lot of business and attract many customers. He was a businessman, and old Li, who had followed him all these years, couldn't help but nod his head in praise, knowing the pros and cons of the matter.

  Put down the spoon, looked at the little girl in red with a sincere face, "Little girl, leave all your future to me, name a price, I'll take it." Watching this excited little servant after hearing his words, he also knew that this matter was settled, and she wouldn't disagree either. This is a mutually willing outcome for both parties.

  It seems that this little girl in front of him has indeed brought him such a rare opportunity, and it is indeed a rare business opportunity. He thought to himself, perhaps the shop left by his ancestors will not fall down in his hands after all. Wang Zhuang thought to himself secretly.

  Business has been tough lately, rich people love to try new things and like to go to newly opened stores to taste the flavor. If it's good, they'll stay there for a long time. As a result, business in this store is getting less and less prosperous.

  Knowing and listening made him very happy, and his hanging heart was completely put down at once.

  "You set the price and it's fine with me, whatever you give is okay." Knowing that they plan to cooperate with this boss for a long time, they don't rush to open their mouth.

  Besides, after hearing what the boss said now, knowing is already very satisfying. Thinking that yesterday she was still worried about five cents, today it seems that there will be money coming in and life doesn't have to worry for the time being, how can one not be happy?

  "All right, we'll do it this way. Before the vegetables go on sale, for these two months, I'll give you 50 cents per catty for each vegetable. How about that? After two months, we'll calculate at 20 cents per catty. Isn't that a good deal?" Manager Wang emphasized.

  She nodded her head, knowing the value of it. One copper coin for one meat bun, secretly calculating that if she could produce four catties a day, she would have two hundred copper coins in a day, which was not a small amount of money. How many days' worth of meat buns would she need to eat to finish this much money?

  Knowing that she had promised, now without anyone urging her from behind, she went back to find out if there were any other places on the mountain. If not, she would have to find a patch of wild vegetables for him, perhaps there were many such patches of wild vegetables. The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, feeling like jumping up.

  She suppressed her excitement, pursing her lips to prevent herself from showing too much emotion in front of them. Now she just wanted to hurry home, "Boss, I'll take my leave first, I still need to go to the market to get rid of these three fish," she said as she hastily and excitedly walked out.

  "Oh, bring it here and let me take a look. If it's good, I'll come help you buy it." He walked up and picked up three fish, "This is a carp, it's relatively docile, so it's easier to catch. These few are actually still considered small fish, usually this kind of fish can grow to over 30-40 pounds, and they grow fast too."

  Wang now no longer had the impatience he had when they first met, and carefully explained the fish to her.

  It suddenly dawned on her that it was a carp, mainly feeding on floating plants and almost everything else.

  "That's good, if you want it, I'll sell it all to you, how much will you give?"

  "According to the purchase price in our store, four cents per catty, it's estimated to be around five catties. I'll give you thirty cents, and add another twenty cents, which is for the wild vegetables, okay?" Wang Zhuangju, although a businessman, didn't want to take advantage of a little girl.

  "Alright, alright." Fifty yuan is not a small amount, I'll think about it and maybe go buy something to bring back home later, or add some more next time.

  Wang came to the counter, counted out fifty coins for her, and knew that it was a worry. This is not good to take, turning over the whole body without a pocket. The ancient money is really inconvenient to carry. "Shopkeeper, find me a rope."

  "Alright." As she spoke, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly. This method wasn't unprecedented, it's just that for a delicate girl like her, it wouldn't be pretty. She handed over a hemp rope, "Come tomorrow, I'll give you an embroidered pouch made by my daughter."

  Wang Zhanggui's eight-year-old daughter had just started learning embroidery, and the most she embroidered were small purses. She liked to give them away whenever she met someone, but unfortunately, her embroidery was not very commendable.

  "Thanks." Knowing is not knowing, having a wallet to buy things will be much more convenient.

  "Hurry back home and give the money to your parents, let them help you save it, don't lose it."

  "I live alone."

  "What." He sighed, "No wonder the world is like this." Otherwise, who would sell vegetables with their daughter? Looking at her shoes again, they were worn out and exposed her toes. He could probably guess a thing or two about her situation.

  Shaking his head, he couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic towards her.