"Let’s start with this much!" Shen Mianmian repressed the joy in her heart, appearing especially calm. That’s the nature of business, after all. If you seem too eager, it’s hard to negotiate the price down.
Gao Changchun couldn’t wait to ask, "So, when do you want them, and how much per jin?"
Lu Dagang was also happy but calmer than her, "Where are your parents?"
What business could a little girl take care of? If the little girl likes it, but the adults don’t approve, wouldn’t they have celebrated for nothing?
Reminded by Lu Dagang, Gao Changchun came to her senses and asked with concern, "Right! Little girl, can you really make decisions regarding buying stuff?"
What could a teenager possibly do?
There were so many winter melons; even if bought, they couldn’t be carried away.
"My parents are busy and don’t have time to come purchase these things," Shen Mianmian said earnestly, the very picture of a little adult, "They made things clear to me: normally, winter melons cost half a penny for two jin, and the price goes up only during the New Year. But we’re buying in bulk, so we can’t use the New Year’s prices. It has to be the same as before, half a penny for two jin."
Shen Mianmian conveyed her idea in the manner of passing on a message from adults.
Her meaning was clear: if you want to sell, it can only be at the price of half a penny for two jin. The adults aren’t here, so there’s no one to haggle with her.
"Still half a penny for two jin?"
Gao Changchun seemed a bit disappointed with the low price but was secretly delighted. Growing winter melons costs nothing; they don’t need much care. Just plant a few seeds by the doorway, and many melons would grow.
At the market, they sold for half a penny for two jin, and that included the cost of a stall. Selling from home while doing nothing was certainly not a loss for her.
"Auntie, the market is selling them for half a penny per jin now. The price she is offering is indeed not high. It’s better to keep them for our own consumption. Let me take her to another house to check," Lu Siyuan applied some cunning, and started to walk away, pulling Shen Mianmian with him.
"Hey..." Gao Changchun panicked and quickly grabbed hold of her nephew, "How much can our family eat? Just keep a couple, we’ve been eating winter melons for half a month and are already sick of them."
"Auntie, have you really decided to sell?" Lu Siyuan posed as though warning her against regretting it later.
"Sell, sell, sell," Gao Changchun said hastily, afraid they might leave, "Little girl, let me tell you, our winter melons are grown with farm manure that I personally spread. They’re particularly tasty. If you run out and want more, come to us!"
"Of course, Auntie," Shen Mianmian sweetly replied, delighting Gao Changchun.
Seeing the deal was about to be struck, Lu Dagang started to play the good guy, "Half a penny for two jin is too cheap, it hardly covers the costs. If it wasn’t your classmate buying, we wouldn’t think of selling at all."
With a smile, Shen Mianmian chimed in, "No wonder Siyuan always praises Uncle and Auntie in front of me. Hearing we needed winter melons, he thought of you first. You truly are the best." Who doesn’t know how to play the nice guy?
Lu Dagang and Zhang Changchun were utterly charmed by Shen Mianmian’s reference to them as Uncle and Auntie, their already small eyes squinting into thin slits with glee.
Lu Siyuan, standing to the side, wore a look of contempt. This little girl’s mouth was as sweet as honey, sweet enough to kill a person. When they saw him, they never smiled as happily as they were now.
If only she sweet-talked Li Qiumei that way, she wouldn’t be disliked by her to such a degree. Read complete versıon only at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥
This time he realized that Shen Mianmian was someone who wouldn’t do something for nothing. For matters that brought no benefit to her, she was lazier than anyone. But when there was a gain to be had, she was like a little jar of honey, sickeningly sweet.