Chapter 17: Chapter 17 Organic Vegetables Chapter 17: Chapter 17 Organic Vegetables Mei Mengzhen smiled, “Don’t worry about making money, you just need to stay with your sister.”
The two dragged the cart towards their home. Fortunately, they lived on the first floor and even had a big courtyard, so they didn’t need to carry things upstairs.
After entering the yard, Mei Mengzhen first settled her brother, and then she went out to “buy vegetables.”
There was no way around it; her younger brother was too little, and children are uncontrollable. What if he saw something and spoke carelessly? Besides, she hadn’t planned to tell anyone about the space, so naturally, she had to keep it a secret from her brother as well.
Mei Mengzhen pulled the cart to a place not far from home. Only when she saw there was no one around did she put the cabbage and white radishes into the two baskets she had just bought.
Why these two vegetables? Besides being unwilling to accept it, she was still unwilling. How could the vegetables she “hard-earned” from her space sell for just one yuan?
She couldn’t control the Spatial Mall, but could she not control the Vegetable Market?
After arranging the vegetables, she planned to return home.
It was easy to come, but not so easy to go back. Even with the cart, two full baskets of vegetables took her half the effort. If it were the past, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to move them, but she had been drinking plenty of Spiritual Spring Water, which indeed had a strengthening effect. Despite some effort, she managed to pull the cart back within about ten minutes. The moment she entered the house, Mei Mengchen ran over and hugged her thigh tightly.
Mei Mengzhen stopped the cart and looked down at the little one clinging to her leg, asking, “What’s wrong? Are you scared of being alone?”
Mei Mengchen didn’t answer, twisting and turning. Mei Mengzhen was puzzled but soon realized the child might be afraid she would abandon him and leave him at home. She quickly said, “Sister said she would come back after getting the vegetables, and look, I’ve brought the vegetables back.”
Mei Mengchen just hummed, his face smiling but he didn’t say much. He let go of Mei Mengzhen and turned to look at the vegetables she had brought back.
One storage basket with the cart was almost as tall as him. With two baskets piled together, full of vegetables, Mei Mengchen couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow, so many veggies. Sister, are we going to eat these for lunch?”
Mei Mengzhen wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t soon after. Why did she have to cook again, or rather, why was it mealtime already?
She glanced at the time; it was approaching but not quite lunchtime. However, it was the perfect time to start preparing it.
She gave a stiff smile and said, “Chenchen, how about we keep lunch simple and just stir-fry some cabbage hearts, and then cabbage leaves too?”
Mei Mengchen naturally had no complaints, “I’ll listen to sister; I’m not picky.”
But Mei Mengzhen wasn’t so heartless to feed them both such a plain meal. So, while cooking, she steamed a big bowl of eggs with water, naturally using Spiritual Spring Water.
The siblings enjoyed their two dishes and egg for lunch. After eating, they each put on a hat, dragged the cart, and left through the front door.
She expected the cart to be heavy, but the more she pulled it, the heavier it got, which she hadn’t anticipated, never having done heavy labor before. Mei Mengchen saw her struggling and pulled with all his might to help her.
Although it hardly made a difference, it filled her soul with satisfaction. Still, Mei Mengzhen was afraid he would overexert himself and get hurt, “Be careful, don’t get injured, okay? We’ll be there soon.”
Mei Mengchen agreed verbally, but he didn’t skimp on the effort.
When they finally brought the cart to the Market, it felt like they had used up half a life. Then they drank a cup of Spiritual Spring Water and suddenly felt full of vitality again.
With their spirits lifted, so came the strength. Mei Mengzhen asked her brother to step aside and then started to shift the cabbages from the top basket down, one by one, an exceedingly strenuous process. But fortunately, she made it.
This was a good start for the siblings.
They arranged the vegetables and took out the small stools they had brought from home to start tending their stall.
However, in the midday heat of summer, who would buy vegetables outside?
Moreover, with no air conditioning or shade, they attracted even fewer people.
Even with her life’s experience, Mei Mengzhen hadn’t expected the Market to be so empty at noon. But they had come out and surely wouldn’t just return home. Besides, it wasn’t easy to bring the vegetables here, and it would be even harder to take them back. These vegetables must all be sold before they could leave.
This goal wasn’t set too high, yet there was simply no one at the Market. She opened an umbrella to shade her brother and laid him on her lap, “There’s nobody here now, take a nap first. I’ll wake you up when people come.”
It was incredibly hot at noon in midsummer, but after lunch and some activity, Mei Mengchen’s eyes were already drooping. He couldn’t resist Mei Mengzhen’s suggestion and fell asleep as soon as he leaned on her leg.
Mei Mengzhen held the umbrella in one hand and fanned her brother with the other, while sweat dripped down her forehead. In reality, other stalls were the same; everyone was toiling equally. Thinking like this, she didn’t feel so bad anymore.
Actually, the vegetables Mei Mengzhen brought to the Market were quite different from those available there.
Her vegetables were all uniformly sized, not to mention clean, without a single insect bite; they looked bright from a distance.
Even though there weren’t many passersby, the spectacle drew the attention of nearby vendors.
The lady from the stall next to her had been examining Mei Mengzhen’s vegetables for a while and, after her brother fell asleep, finally asked in a low voice, “Kid, how come your vegetables are so well-grown?”
Kid?
Mei Mengzhen was stunned for quite a while before realizing the lady was addressing her. It had been a long time since anyone had called her a kid, and this brought her a wave of nostalgia.
Feeling young again was quite nice. She promptly replied, “Big sister, the vegetables I’m selling are organic, specially cultivated, that’s why they look so good.”
Organic? Cultivated?
These days, that seemed a bit fanciful, but the vegetables did look appealing. The lady went along with that and asked, “They do look pretty good. So how much are you selling them for?”
“I’m selling by the piece; one cabbage is 10 yuan, and one radish is also 10 yuan.”
The price seemed to shock the lady across from her, who exclaimed, “What? Kid, that’s way too expensive! This is the Market; nobody will buy it if the vegetables are too pricey. Listen to me, lower your prices if you want to sell. Otherwise, you’ll have to haul them back the way you brought them.”
The lady’s words were loud enough to wake up the brother who was resting on her leg.
Mei Mengchen rubbed his eyes, looked bewilderedly at Mei Mengzhen, then glanced around, seeming to recall where they were.