Chapter 41: Chapter 41 Selling River Snails
Xuexue glanced at the surroundings, knowing they had covered half of the distance and it was now too late to turn back, and she might even get a beating from Old Lady Mo if they did.
“Mother, we’ve already walked halfway. It’s too late to go back now, let’s just forget it. You should just focus on going to the market with me. If we earn some silver and give it to Grandmother, she might be so happy that she’ll overlook the fact you didn’t cook breakfast today.”
Old Lady Mo was a sharp-tongued, snobbish person who bullied Madam Xie because her family was poor and she hadn’t given birth to a son. Given any excuse, not scolding or beating her was just out of the question.
Xuexue deliberately said this to ease Madam Xie’s heart, hoping to take her to the town to relax a little instead of always staying at home, slaving away for those ungrateful people.
Madam Xie thought it made sense, and with a nervous heart, she picked up her load again and continued walking, worrying aloud, “Chuner is all by herself at home, I don’t know if she has had anything to eat. If only we knew, we should have brought her with us.”
Chuner was usually timid and didn’t dare to go to the main hall to eat when Xuexue and her mother were not home.
“Wait a bit, once we’ve earned some silver, we’ll bring her back some pork lard cakes. Chuner loves those.”
Hearing Xuexue say this, Madam Xie perked up. Usually, Xiuzhi would eat pork lard cakes in front of Chuner to tease her but wouldn’t give her any.
Seeing her little daughter gaze longingly and swallow hard, Madam Xie felt heartbroken but helpless, as she didn’t have a penny to her name and couldn’t even afford a single pork lard cake.
Now that Xuexue mentioned bringing pork lard cakes back for Chuner after earning some silver, how could she not be happy?
By the time they got to the town, it was nearly noon, and because it was market day, the streets were bustling with people coming and going.
Since they arrived later, all the good spots had already been taken. After searching for a while, they finally found a spot in a corner.
“Mother, let’s set up here.”
Madam Xie set down the load from her shoulders and, together with Xuexue, started to arrange their goods. It was winter and the river snails and clams they had cooked in the morning had turned ice-cold.
Luckily, Xuexue was smart and well-prepared, taking a few pieces of firewood from the basket Madam Xie had carried, and casually built two stoves with rocks, one for the river snails and another for the clams.
Soon, the firewood was burning, and a delightful aroma began to waft through the air.
“What is that delicious smell?” asked a lady buying jewelry at the next stall, sniffing hard.
“Auntie, it’s our river snails. Would you like to try some?” Xuexue had just reheated the river snails and hadn’t started calling out to passersby yet, but when she heard the lady next to her, she turned around and said with a beaming smile.
“River snails? Hmm, no thanks, no thanks. They’re not tasty, you chew on sand as soon as you eat them,” the lady said, pulling a face and shaking her head vigorously.
“You can try them before you buy. Plus, they’re not expensive—just two wen of money for a serving,” Xuexue said, scooping up a few river snails from the heated plate and offering them to the lady.
The lady hesitated, wary of being tricked by Xuexue, and said shrewdly, “Little girl, it’s your word. I can try before I buy, and if they’re not tasty, I won’t buy them.”
“Don’t worry, it’s free to try.”
The lady had rushed to set up her stall early in the morning and hadn’t even had breakfast. Now that it was nearly noon, she was so hungry she could feel her stomach clenching, and the aroma was too tempting to resist. She reached out, took a river snail, and sucked on it firmly, chewed for a bit, and her eyes suddenly widened. After finishing one, she eagerly reached out to grab a second one.