Chapter 22: Trouble Has Been Stirred Up

  "Brother Liu, you're a bit late today." The shopkeeper smiled and nodded his head in greeting, scanning the group until he spotted Zhi Xiao, then waved him over with a smile. Without waiting for Liu Jian to respond, he continued talking on his own.

  "Liu Ge, you've kept me waiting! Today our shop won't be opening." Xiao Er looked very excited, with a joyful expression that couldn't be hidden, and his body was still swaying back and forth.

  "Why?" Liu Jian was puzzled and looked towards the front. This large store stood on this golden land, but the rent was not cheap.

  The little boy smiled and replied, "It's like this, the prefecture's family is having a hairpinning ceremony for their daughter today. Our store has recently become famous because of the wild vegetable feast you sent over, and the flavor is great too. The old master of the prefecture also heard about it, so he invited everyone from our store to help with the cooking today to add some festivity to his daughter's hairpinning ceremony. The shopkeeper specifically told me to wait here for the wild vegetables you're sending."

  Today I went to help in the kitchen, including him, there is a reward that can be taken, he was somewhat anxious.

  "I see." Liu Jian wasn't worried that the wild vegetables wouldn't sell, as several restaurants had already taken notice of Wang's store selling them this season and were eager to get in on it. Every time he came to deliver the vegetables, someone would specifically come over to negotiate with him.

  Wang's wild vegetables were even sold for one or two silver coins per dish, and due to the limited quantity, many people who wanted to eat them couldn't get any. Wang's shop became even more famous, and recently it has become a must-visit place for wealthy and powerful people in the city.

  Today, no business was done, it's definitely because the county magistrate gave more money, and also because of the county magistrate's status, who doesn't want to get some benefits from him. Zhi Xiao thought about it afterwards.

  "Alright, you go get the money, we still have business to attend to." Liu Jian said with a squint, he and this shopkeeper had become quite familiar over the past half month. As long as Wang Zhuang was willing to accept it, he was also willing to continue doing business with him. Moreover, Wang Zhuang was not a bad person, after all, he was the first one who appreciated the wild vegetables brought by Zhao Xiaobao.

  "Alright, I'll go get the money from the accountant for you." He said as he turned around to head back.

  Liu Jian woke up and called him back, putting five large pumpkins in the wild vegetable basket again.

  "These are left for the shopkeeper and her daughter to taste, and thank her for the embroidery work she did for my daughter." Liu Jian always had to praise a few words.

  "What is this?" The young man turned around, curiously sizing up the several sturdy pumpkins inside, brought one to his nose and sniffed, it smelled quite good, a very tempting aroma. His mouth began to water. From time to time, he would also glance at the bamboo basket full of pumpkins behind Liu Jian. The implication was obvious.

  Liu Jian shook his head and handed him a few more, which he stuffed into his bosom. "This is for you, so don't be greedy anymore. The rest I'm going to sell for money, or else there won't be any left."

  Knowing that he heard a burst of laughter, this father still has a sense of maintaining his own interests, and is not as stupid as she thought, some silly, others say what is what, all sent out.

  "Hehe." Xiao Er blushed and thanked him, then ran back to get the money. Actually, he was also satisfied, as there were only five of them in the shop, and now he had a lot in his pocket. Later, he would give one to the accountant inside, and still have plenty left over.

  ……

  Crowds of people surged through the streets, and Liu Jian led his family in the cold wind that had been blowing for a while at the Cold Wind Pass.

  Lan Niang's face was slightly stern, and she wasn't very happy. "You kids go drink a bowl of hot oil tea first, warm up your bodies, be careful not to catch a cold." She turned her head and glared at Liu Jian again.

  Liu Jian looked pitifully at the crowd, today's catch of a few fish was all in vain, but not one pumpkin had been sold. Lan Niang brought her child and everyone was originally excited, now it's good that not one has been sold, isn't this a blow to his confidence? It's not his fault that he doesn't know how to do business, if people don't come to buy, how can he be blamed?

  "It's okay, daughter, don't worry." Zhi Xiao saw that there were quite a few people here, but not many came up to ask about buying, and at most they just took a curious glance before leaving.

  Looked at his father sitting on the oxcart waiting for someone to come and ask him questions, that won't do.

  Erni and Mutian no longer had the momentum they had when they first arrived, hanging their heads in shame, their confidence completely gone.

  "If you don't make a big deal out of it, just cut off half and let others try some. Now nobody knows what this is, it's hard to get them to pay for it." Zhi Xiao also only knew this trick, she hadn't encountered or thought about such a situation before, there was a gap between this and reality.

  "What's going on?" Lan Niang was somewhat embarrassed, with so many people around, she couldn't bring herself to say it, and when she looked at her father, he shook his head too.

  It's really something, these two parents have already set up a stall outside, what else can't they do with their faces? Besides, it's not embarrassing, just opening one's mouth.

  This cruel reality also hit her positivity, originally she was thinking of relying on pumpkin to make the first bucket of gold, now it seems that these people don't know what pumpkin is, bear with the pain, let them taste it before buying, people all have curiosity, and the people here should not be an exception.

  "Come buy, come buy, sweet potatoes, fragrant and delicious sweet potatoes, you can try before you buy!"

  Lan Niang was startled by this sudden shout, and even took a step back. She thought to herself, "This girl is really bold, not bad at all. Although she's always getting into fights, it seems her courage has been trained."

  Lan Niang didn't know that the knowledgeable one wasn't the original, but rather a substitute who had been observing her from afar since crossing over. In order to blend in with this somewhat unorthodox knowledgeable one, she secretly asked Lan Niang about the original knowledgeable one's habits, and it took great effort to do so, not something that could be accomplished overnight. Only by getting close to the original knowledgeable one's nature would she avoid arousing suspicion.

  Lan Niang took a deep breath and shouted along, not forgetting to urge Liu Jian, who was standing stupidly beside her.

  As it turned out, this effect was quite good, and soon someone came forward to ask questions. Only then did Lingshan put down the stone in her heart and caught her breath.

  Whether it's modern people or ancient people, they are all realistic. As soon as they hear that there is a trial taste, at first, one or two people come to explore the road. After a while, some people eat and nod their heads, muttering that it tastes good.

  The people behind swarmed up, and some even had a cheering flavor, but they all came for the calabaza of this family.

  However, several stall owners who often operated at the periphery of their stalls were deeply shocked when they saw this scene.

  Some were jealous, some occasionally complained a few words, making them feel resentful and angry. Their business was all snatched away by this family.

  They were old customers who often made purchases at their stall, and they were also curious and sizing them up at first, but then one by one they took out their money to buy, and even rushed to take out their money, for fear of being snatched away if they were late. How could this make them feel comfortable?

  Then there were a few who were usually bold and sneaked up together, after saying something to each other, someone came forward, first looking at Lingshan and Liu Jian with three children, planning to start with the small ones.

  Several stall owners exchanged a glance and squeezed through the crowd together.