"Half a jin?" An Ping said with a mix of doubt and belief, "You must be joking. They all look about the same size. How can you be so sure it’s exactly half a jin?"
"Weigh it and see," Qin Jian said confidently.
An Ping took the tomato and placed it on the scale, and sure enough, the dial pointed steadily, not off by the slightest bit.
"Brother-in-law, you’re impressive!"
For three jins of tomatoes, An Hao quickly quoted the price, and the elder sister, after purchasing the tomatoes, took an extra glance at Qin Jian and casually complimented, "The older ones are indeed more efficient at work, and also quite handsome."
Listening to Qin being praised made An Hao very delighted inside.
An Ping was not pleased, "I’m not too shabby either, big sister. You can’t just see him and not me, right?"
"You?" The elder sister chuckled and walked away.
What followed in the vegetable selling was a dramatic change.
Every time An Ping was about to weigh the vegetables, Qin Jian would gauge them with his hand and accurately declare the weight, which, when An Ping weighed, turned out to be precisely that number, not even half a liang off.
With this method, a significant amount of time was saved. The customers stopped weighing their purchases themselves and, seeing the military uniform Qin Jian wore, they all firmly believed that he would not deceive them.
So, one by one, a long line formed in front of Qin Jian, while An Ping, who was initially in charge of weighing, was now relegated to odd jobs.
An Ping was practically astonished, "Brother-in-law, how in the world do you do it?"
Without even lifting his head, Qin Jian leisurely uttered two words from his mouth, "Talent!"
"I..." Why was he feeling so irked?
Qin Jian’s dashing appearance and adept movements attracted a group of elder aunties who surrounded him in awe, inquiring about his personal life, "Young man, how old are you? Do you have a significant other?"
"Young man, my daughter is eighteen this year, working at a clothing factory in town. She’s pretty and virtuous. Auntie thinks you’re quite a catch. Why don’t you meet her?"
An Hao listened on the side, unable to refrain from teasing him with a laugh, "Chief of staff, your love prospects are really thriving! Imagine the anxiety of being married to you."
Qin Jian turned his head to look at An Hao, and the smile in his eyes gradually rippled out, "Are you jealous?"
"Humph," An Hao pouted.
The couple flirted while buying vegetables, and even though the weather was cold, their hearts felt warm and cozy.
Many people wanted to introduce Qin Jian to potential mates. With a faint smile, he said, "I already have a wife. She’s beautiful, has a wonderful temperament, and is the most captivating woman I’ve ever met."
"Oh, my! Young man, I didn’t see that coming. You’re quite the charmer," they exclaimed.
The aunties who wanted to matchmake their daughters realized there was no chance and left.
People then shifted their attention to An Hao, who, with her delicate and endearing looks, became the target of their matchmaking enthusiasm, "Girl, you look so young, you probably don’t have a partner, do you? Consider my son!"
An Hao became the new center of attention.
Unable to cope with the overwhelming eagerness of the people, she walked over to Qin Jian and affectionately hooked her arm around his, declaring, "I’m already married. I’m married to him!"
"Oh, look at this commotion. Let’s not mess around with matchmaking here. Let’s hurry on, others are waiting to buy vegetables," they said.
After a busy afternoon, as the sky darkened, they finally sold all the vegetables.
An Hao counted the thick stack of bills in her hand, a smile spreading across her face, "We sold quite a lot. The business is really good. These off-season vegetables are quite popular. I think, since the greenhouse has been so successful over the past half year, we should expand the planting next year. We need to try breaking into the market, and can’t rely just on selling any longer. What do you think, An Ping?"
Turning her head, An Hao then realized An Ping had disappeared at some point.