Translator: 549690339
First, she took out the money to buy, “Qingyue, I want two pairs of scissors, one for my own use and one for an old friend.” She handed Su Qingyue twenty-four copper coins.
Qingyue smiled and accepted, “Alright…”
“Twelve cents is twelve cents, I’ll buy two pairs as well.” Qian Zhang gritted her teeth and took out the money too.
“Wife of the Xiao Family, I want to buy needle and thread…”
“I want to buy embroidered handkerchiefs…”
“I want to buy a few wooden toys for my son to play with…”
Everyone eagerly took out money to buy goods, those who hadn’t brought money also hurried back home or borrowed money on the spot to buy, Su Qingyue rapidly sold her two baskets of goods.
Xiao Yuchuan watched his wife sell the goods from the side, noting her excellent sales and persuasion skills — it was as if she was even better at talking than him. He couldn’t help but look at his wife with new admiration.
In no time at all, almost all the goods were sold, only five scraps of cloth were left.
“These five scraps of cloth are sold for one cent altogether, usually they cost one cent each, it’s great to take home for mending clothes or making a purse.” Su Qingyue pretended to look pained, “I’ve suffered a loss here. Whoever wants them just take them.”
“That’s too cheap!” A few women wanted to buy them immediately, but Qian Zhang pulled out the copper coins the fastest, so Su Qingyue took the money and handed them over to her.
Seeing that everyone was about to leave with their purchases, Su Qingyue spoke up again, “I have half a jin of beef in my kitchen, I heard my second brother say that it’s thirteen cents per jindzn in town, this half jin I’ll also sell at a loss, for six cents. There’s also a skinned Five-step Snake and a rabbit, does anyone want them?”
Qian Zhang was the wife of the rich Qian Duotian family in the village, always looking for bargains, “How about selling beef for five cents?”
“I’ll buy it for six cents…” Wang Adou stuffed the money into Su Qingyue’s hand.
Qingyue smiled, “Then it’s sold to… you.” She didn’t know the man’s name.
Qian Zhang was annoyed, ‘Wang Adou, what’s the matter, do you have to compete with me for half a jin of beef too?”
Only then did Su Qingyue learn that the man’s name was Adou.
“It’s been a while since my family has had any meat, a half jin of beef can satisfy us.” Wang Adou laughed, “You can buy the rabbit.”
Xiao Yuchuan quickly added, “That rabbit is quite fat, and already cleaned, we’ll weigh it.”
The rabbit was soon bought by someone as well.
“Wife of the Xiao Family, do you have anything else to sell? Anything we can use, just sell it for a bit cheaper.” Qian Zhang thought for a moment, “Can you sell your family’s rice?”
“Yes.” She nodded, “Everything that can be sold will be sold. My family still has more than half a tub of brown rice, my second brother bought it for five cents per jin in town, he carried it all the way back from town, I’ll sell it for the same price — five cents per jin.”
There were several families in attendance who didn’t have enough rice to eat, in a short time, all the rice was sold as well.
As for food, there were still a dozen sweet potatoes and a few wild vegetables in the kitchen that no one wanted to buy. Everyone usually had their own sweet potatoes, and they could pick wild vegetables on the mountain, so they wouldn’t waste money on these.
Aunt Zhang’s family was well-off, so she asked, “Su Qingyue, how much are you selling the snake your second brother caught?”
She went inside to ask her second brother about the price and then came out to say, “Ordinary snakes in town sell for eighty cents per jin, while Five-step Snakes sell for one hundred cents. But the bigger the snake, the higher the price, this poisonous snake is worth one hundred and fifty cents per jin.”
“That’s so expensive…” Everyone shook their heads, “We can’t afford that as farmers for just one meal…”
“Of course it’s expensive if you eat it as a dish.” Su Qingyue said, “This snake is not meant for cooking, it’s for medicinal use. It’s good for treating acne, fading freckles, dark spots, pimples….”