The other young ladies who had been with Ma Xiaonan all liked the samples after trying them and each asked for a few snacks. Surprisingly, spicy strips had become the one item that almost everyone wanted to get their hands on.
Lin Yuan couldn’t help but feel amazed, remembering that they had sold two large shelves of spicy strips that morning alone, and now in the kitchen, Uncle Wang and the others were frantically making more. Indeed, this snack that suited both young and old had always been universally cherished throughout history.
Seeing everyone reaching for their purses, eager to buy the items from Rice Flower Fragrance, Jin Lingling and Meng Chunyan’s faces immediately darkened with displeasure.
A young lady who was good at reading the room noticed their unhappy expressions, coughed, and said timidly, "I, I just remembered, I haven’t been well these past few days, the doctor said I shouldn’t eat anything too sweet or too spicy. I, I better not buy anything."
When Ma Xiaonan heard her say that, she immediately pointed at the rose cake on the other side and said earnestly, "Sister, if your throat is not well, you shouldn’t eat osmanthus cake or spicy strips. This, this rose cake, I just tried it, it isn’t sweet at all and it has a fragrance, it’s especially delicious. Sister, why don’t you try this? There’s a twenty percent discount today, if you come back tomorrow, it definitely won’t be this price, so it’s a good deal to buy today."
While Ma Xiaonan was still kindly recommending the cake, the young lady looked embarrassed, glanced secretly at Jin Lingling and Meng Chunyan, and shook her head, declining the goodwill, "No, I’ll wait until my throat is completely better before I buy. After all, Rice Flower Fragrance is right here, it’s not going anywhere. There will be plenty of opportunities to buy snacks later."
Ma Xiaonan wanted to say more but heaved a sigh after hearing such a response, "Ah, all of you live in town, so coming to Rice Flower Fragrance later on will certainly be convenient. But not for me, I have to go home this afternoon. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come again."
Under normal circumstances, the astute Jin Lingling would certainly have warmly taken her hand and invited her to visit again. But at this moment, all she wanted was for this silly Ma Xiaonan, who only knew about eating, to quickly leave her sight!
However, she didn’t voice these thoughts out loud; after all, the Jin family’s upbringing did not allow her to be so impolite.
But Meng Chunyan was different. Having been spoiled by her parents and brothers from a young age, she often spoke without thinking and sneered, "Haven’t your family been quite wealthy these past few years? Just have your dad arrange a carriage for you, it’s not a big deal and won’t cost much silver!"
Ma Xiaonan, with her back turned, didn’t see the disdain and continued to mutter to herself, "But my dad is strict with me, he doesn’t allow me to go out often. He says there are too many bad people outside, and I get fooled too easily."
Lin Yuan touched her nose; this girl’s father was indeed perceptive. Although she was slightly older than herself, she really didn’t have a clue. While such a person is very simple and makes a good friend, she truly worried others—going out alone, it was easy to be taken advantage of.
The young lady who had just lied about her sore throat, however, took a great liking to Ma Xiaonan. She walked over and gently took her hand, saying sincerely, "Xiaonan, whenever I’m free, I’ll send you an invitation to visit my home. You like the delicacies of the town, right? Next time, cough cough, when my throat is better, I’ll take you to eat something delicious, okay?"
Of course, Ma Xiaonan was delighted at the promise of good food. She clapped her hands energetically and ran over to the shelf with popcorn, asking Liuzi to pack up half a pound for her.