Shen Mianmian and others had been busy until after four in the afternoon. After cleaning the shop, they went to eat at a noodle house, and only then did Lu Siyuan and Dajun head home.
Almost all of the three carts of vegetables had sold out. Shen Mianmian did the accounts and found that the day’s sales totaled more than three hundred, quite a bit higher than expected.
Xiaocui and Dajun were happy to see the business doing well. Although they had been working hard all day, neither of them felt it was too hard.
In the countryside, farming was not as easy as here, and although Shen Mianmian and Lu Siyuan were young, they were generous. Just like now, after a busy day, they took the two out for a meal.
Dajun had worked in other places before but never saw bosses as generous as these.
After a long day, Shen Mianmian and Xiaocui got home, cleaned up, and fell asleep quickly because they had to set up their goods for sale. They got up at five, and soon after they arrived at the shop, Lu Siyuan and Dajun joined them.
The group displayed all the vegetables on the shelves. Lu Siyuan went out to buy some soy milk, buns, and fried dough sticks for breakfast. After eating, Dajun hurried back to fetch more vegetables. The shop started to see a steady stream of customers, and the foot traffic was no less than the day before.
By around seven, the old lady who had reserved the hen still had not appeared. Meanwhile, others inquired about the price of the hen, and upon learning it was reserved, they did not say much. Check latest chapters at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥
At seven-thirty, Lu Siyuan looked at the hen at the entrance for a while and said, "That old lady from yesterday might be just empty talk and not coming after all. Should we sell the hen?"
If it didn’t sell today, they would have to keep it in the shop overnight. The smell of chicken droppings is awful. By tomorrow, the shop would reek of it, which would turn away customers coming to buy vegetables.
Shen Mianmian, who was organizing the change, glanced at the hen and thought for a moment, then said, "Let’s wait a bit longer! The old lady from yesterday didn’t seem to be just talking. Maybe something has delayed her."
Live chickens won’t spoil. Whether sold a day earlier or a day later, it’s no big deal. But if the person really was delayed and then comes to find the chicken gone, they would think they hadn’t bothered to bring the chicken at all.
For such a small matter, Lu Siyuan was very willing to listen to Shen Mianmian. Just as he was about to nod in agreement, a woman in her mid-teens approached and eyed the hen, asking,
"Young man, how much are you selling this old hen for?"
Lu Siyuan quoted the price and then explained, "Auntie, this chicken has been reserved by someone else who will be coming to pick it up shortly. If you want one, I can bring another one for you this afternoon. All our chickens are authentic old hens that have been fed for a long time, very nourishing for women in confinement."
It’s hot weather, and ordinary people do not drink old hen soup, only women in confinement do, which led Lu Siyuan to guess that maybe her daughter or daughter-in-law had a baby and needed the soup.
The woman was already keen on this old hen, and hearing that it was raised in a rural household made her even more tempted.
"Young man, could you let me have this chicken first? After all, the person who reserved it hasn’t come to pick it up, and you can bring her another one this afternoon, can’t you? That way, you get to close two deals at once."
"Auntie, that’s not really appropriate. We operate with integrity. If we promise someone something in advance, it would be untrustworthy to break our word over one deal, making the person come here for nothing. If you really want one, I can bring you two to choose from this afternoon, guaranteed to be as good as this one. You must live nearby, so it’s just a matter of making another trip."