Chapter 233: 233. The Green Vegetables in Rice Noodle_1 Chapter 233: 233. The Green Vegetables in Rice Noodle_1 Dr. Xiaozhang clutched his wallet, now so despondent he was on the verge of tears.
With his meager savings of seventeen thousand, he couldn’t even scrounge up a decent offering of tea leaves – how could he even consider showing up at Jingjing’s place?
But there was no other way!
A pound of tea leaves, two bottles of honey, and only five thousand left, probably not even enough to cover next month’s living expenses and mortgage.
Song Tan held up a squished, yet not too damaged, pound of bok choy, her smile not at all cunning, “Dr. Zhang, do you want this bok choy?”
Zhang Yuan gave her a glance, and finally confirmed, “For free?”
Seeing Song Tan nod, he replied vehemently, “Yes!”
Turning around, he squeezed the bunch of greens and ducked into the alley, walked a few steps, and handed it to the rice noodle stall owner:
“Boss, a bowl of rice noodles, with a serving of greens.”
The two exchanged glances.
The owner, with a complex expression, took the bok choy from him, “Young man, you know how to live.”
“I’ve been selling rice noodles here for decades. Back in the day, everyone was short on cash; if someone wanted to add an egg, they’d bring their own from home.”
“Who knew that these days, when life is better, there’d still be folks bringing their own greens – Young man, your greens are unprepared and unwashed. If you want them added in, it’ll cost you two yuan for the service fee.”
“I should say it upfront, I’m not a crook. If you bring your own eggs, I won’t charge you.”
Two yuan was almost enough to buy a bunch of bok choy!
Dr. Zhang Yuan felt the sting of poverty, but he couldn’t very well give away the bok choy now. Gritting his teeth, he declared:
He thought to himself: My bok choy costs twenty, mind you!
The owner worked quickly, ripping off the straw string from around the bok choy and nonchalantly snapping off the bruised outer leaves without a speck of distress.
Then he grabbed the stem, gave it a fierce twist, and a series of crisp snaps later, the bok choy had been neatly beheaded.
Watching these actions made Dr. Xiaozhang’s eyelids twitch, but he managed to hold back any protest.
Afterward, the owner gently rinsed the leaves in a basin set aside for water – the already clean bok choy looked even fresher.
This thought briefly crossed the owner’s mind before he tossed them into the pot.
The hot water slowly softened the bright green leaves, releasing the bok choy’s unique, rich, and crisp freshness into the air, adding a distinct flavor to his savory rice noodles…
Zhang Yuan rubbed his stomach, finally feeling a hint of consolation.
By now, a crowd had gathered around the stall. Everyone stared at the bok choy in the pot: “Boss, add as much greens for me too.”
“I want some too! It smells so delicious.”
Now it was the owner’s turn to be stunned.
He quickly served the greens and rice noodles to the waiting Zhang Yuan, then explained, “This isn’t my bok choy, it’s something he brought himself. My bok choy is –”
To prevent his reputation from tanking, he preemptively tanked it himself.
He grabbed a handful of the pre-prepared greens, swished them a few times in the water, and then lifted them out.
The greens were still vividly green, and the white stems were still the same stems, but the distinctive crisp and refreshing aroma of the vegetables was completely absent.
The shop owner, resignedly: “Do you still… want it now?”
The contrast was so striking that everyone instantly lost their appetite. However, just as they were about to refuse, Zhang Yuan casually stirred his steaming rice noodles with his chopsticks, causing the greens within to tumble around.
What more was there to say? This was practically forcing you to eat rice noodles at knifepoint!
Grudgingly, the group said: “We want it!”
Four people sat around a simple square table, three staring deep into their bowls with great enmity, while only Zhang Yuan slurped happily, feeling less pained about the money he had just spent.
Just then, a large spoon suddenly reached in front of him, with a poached egg atop it.
He jumped in surprise and looked up to see the shop owner with a chrysanthemum-like smile:
“Brother, I just want to ask where you bought this cabbage?”
Though it was just a poached egg, Zhang Yuan felt contented. He pointed toward the corner of the alley: “Turn left at the front, there’s an empty pick-up truck–that’s where they sell the vegetables.”
The shop owner quickly handed the spoon to his wife, and then dashed toward the alleyway.
Following behind him were a few customers, cautiously holding their bowls of rice noodles–this cabbage tasted so good, buying an extra couple of pounds to take home couldn’t be a mistake, right?
Meanwhile, at the market.
Zhang Yanping had not yet returned from delivering goods with his cart, so Song Tan and Qiaoqiao stacked up the few empty baskets by the roadside and put away the stools.
Looking at the honey and tea leaves piled on the backseat–
Ah, selling vegetables was so hectic that there was no time at all to promote their new peach blossom honey…
As they were pondering this, several people suddenly stood in front of them: “Hello, is this where the cabbage is sold?”
Song Tan didn’t even raise her head: “You’re late, it’s gone.”
It’s barely past eight, and the vegetables are sold out? That doesn’t seem like much supply.
The shop owner was about to speak when he saw Zhang Yanping approaching from afar, returning with a stack of empty baskets:
“Tantan, the patients are asking when we’ll come again. We brought too little vegetables today, next time we can bring two thousand pounds.”
Song Tan couldn’t help feeling gloomy: “Brother Yanping, how much can my pickup even hold?”
Its max payload is only fifteen hundred pounds and considering their combined weight, having one thousand pounds was already pushing it.
Zhang Yanping also felt regretful: It’s like sitting on Treasure Mountain but not being able to pick up the money. How frustrating!
But fortunately, they had seen Ning City’s vast market potential. Selling out one thousand pounds of cabbage equaled to twenty thousand yuan in their hands that morning!
He brightened up instantly: “Tantan, if it’s not enough, then I’ll just buy another pick-up and drive it myself. I reckon we can sell another thousand pounds!”
Listen to that, listen to that!
Does that sound like human talk?
This is a residential market, not a wholesale vegetable base. How delicious must these cabbages be to sell out so quickly?
Now, barely past eight, the market was in its bustling prime. One thousand pounds of vegetables was not enough?
The rice noodle shop owner stood nearby, incredulous yet understanding, as the green vegetables truly smelled exceptional. But missing out on them, he felt extremely frustrated: “Miss, do you come here to sell vegetables every day?”
Qiaoqiao quickly shook her head, loudly saying: “No, no! We were just passing by on our way to the amusement park, so we decided to sell some vegetables.”
The vendors who had been sitting dismally with their three-and-a-half yuan per pound cabbages, unable to sell them, let out a collective sigh of relief.
It’s good they don’t come every day; otherwise, they might as well just pack up and leave.