Actually, housewives who frequently buy groceries and meat can roughly gauge the weight of a bunch of Tianxiang Green; it should be close to a pound.
But, as Chiang Xiao said, those who come early get to pick first, so perhaps they can select some that’s over a pound, right?
The slightly leaner auntie didn’t speak and had already started picking.
The slightly plumper auntie, however, rolled her eyes and couldn’t help but ask, "This kind of thing, I’ve heard it’s all over the countryside by the roadside, wild and free, costs nothing! Selling a bunch for two yuan and twenty cents, isn’t that too expensive? How about ten cents?"
I’ve never seen someone haggle half off a bunch of wild veggies!
Chiang Xiao rolled her eyes internally, but kept a sweet smile on her face, "Sister-in-law is both right and wrong. There’s plenty of Tianxiang Green in the countryside, but our lives there are quite tight. Although it grows in the wild, it has many benefits and is in high demand in the countryside. We barely have enough to eat at home, let alone surplus to sell. So, I had to search for these up the mountains, which involves climbing for an hour and then carrying them back, cutting and tying them before dawn to bring them here to sell. It’s a lot of work. If I were to sell them for just ten cents, it wouldn’t be worth the effort."
The people nearby, hearing how articulate and reasonable she was, became curious and found her quite convincing, and a few more gathered around.
"This young girl is really clever and smart, and the Tianxiang Green is pretty good too. I’ll buy a bunch."
"I’ll buy two bunches and send some to my daughter’s place to try."
Immediately, more people gathered around, and the auntie who questioned earlier became anxious. She could not haggle with Chiang Xiao anymore and quickly squatted down to pick.
Those who chose first certainly got more value; the later ones would definitely get less!
Chiang Xiao’s initial thoughts were indeed correct.
The market economy was just getting started, and there were still few traders. The usual farmers’ market was mainly for selling those staple items, with few outliers.
Tianxiang Green might be common, but while the countryside had it, the town did not, and the country folks themselves didn’t have enough to eat, let alone any to sell.
So, the bunches she brought sold out in less than ten minutes.
Holding a stack of Mao notes in her hand that totaled up to just two yuan and twenty cents, Chiang Xiao felt a mix of joy and amusement.
Having seen a time when one could easily spend a hundred yuan in the blink of an eye and still not get much, two yuan and twenty cents felt somewhat unreal to her.
However, money was potent now. She couldn’t underestimate these two yuan and twenty cents; it could buy her quite a few sheets of painting paper.
"Young girl, will you come tomorrow?" an old woman at the side grabbed her. She had also wanted to buy some Tianxiang Green, but there were too many people, and she couldn’t squeeze through. By the time she got there, everything was sold out.
Her son had tasted this in the countryside before and occasionally talked about it; she wanted to buy some to satisfy her son’s appetite.
Chiang Xiao paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "Old auntie, I have school, so I probably won’t make it. But my grandfather will bring some to sell at the market later today; if you want to buy, you can look for us at the market later."
Although saying this might expose that she had indeed sold Tianxiang Green herself, Chiang Xiao felt that she could simply avoid this old woman later, and as long as she didn’t speak to her in front of her grandfather, it would be fine.
"I won’t go to the market; my old body can’t handle the hustle and bustle, but my husband will go. I’ll tell him to find you guys to buy some later."
That would work out best!
Chiang Xiao stuffed the Mao notes into her pocket and hurriedly ran off to the bigger market.
Chiang Songhai’s routine for visiting the big market was almost always the same: get up at five o’clock, tidy up a bit, then follow the village’s ox cart over, usually arriving around seven.