Chapter 16
They came very early from home and walked to town. After selling the eggs, it was just past 9 o'clock. The early bird gets the worm. It's usually hard to grab lard, but now there's still plenty.
At this time, most cooking oil used was lard. Naturally, Gu Family was no exception.
"How do you sell this lard?" Thinking that there was not much oil left at home, Luo Ge wanted to buy some more.
"15 wen per catty, no bargaining, all fresh."
The boss at this stall was a bearded, sturdy man who looked very overbearing and fierce. But the price he gave was a full 3 or 4 wen cheaper than the pork stall at the other end.
Hearing this price, Wang Sister-In-Law looked at her silently, then silently looked at the other stall with a kind-looking old couple selling pork. People can't judge others by their appearances.
"Please weigh two catties for me. Also give me two pork bones." The little ones were at the age of growing bodies suitable for drinking more bone broth to grow taller.
One catty of lard could be fried into half a catty or more of oil. Buying two catties of lard was just right, enough to last quite a while.
"Okay, the bones and meat won't be much, I'll count it as 5 wen for you. Do you want some meat?" Seeing that Luo Ge was not stingy, he asked another sentence.
"How much?"
"The fattier meat is 18 wen, the pure lean meat is 15 wen."
At this time, people generally liked to eat fatty meat and didn't like bony lean meat, because fatty meat had more oil and moisture.
"Give me one catty."
But Luo Ge was the kind who didn't like fatty meat, so she bought pure lean meat.
"Two catties of lard, one catty of meat, plus bones, 50 wen in total."
Luo Ge briskly settled the bill and put the things in her own carrying basket.
"I also want two catties of lard." After Luo Ge bought it, Wang Sister-In-Law also hurriedly said.
"Okay."
It was a good bargain, but Wang Sister-In-Law had a bitter face all the way, looking very upset.
"Sister-In-Law, what's wrong with you?" After walking for a while, Luo Ge really couldn't stand it anymore and asked.
Wang Sister-In-Law looked at her bitterly, poked at her heart, "I feel pain here."
"???"
"The old couple at the end looked kind. Buying more, they would also give people one or two wen change. They looked good, so I usually buy from them."
As she spoke, she felt even more heartache. The prices at that family were generally 2-3 wen more expensive than the one just now. The one or two wen change they gave back was just a small part of the money pit.
Thinking of how she had been buying meat from that family all these years, she felt a pain in her heart.
This lard was only 15 wen. When she often went to that family, they mostly sold it to her for 20 wen per catty, using the excuse of low stock.
Her heart really hurt...
Just now, she even wanted Luo Ge to go to that family. Seeing her go to that fierce big man, she was about to say something to her. After all, the big man really didn't look like a good person.
Luo Ge: "Cough cough...don't judge a book by its cover. Let's not buy from them anymore."
Apart from this, she didn't know what else to say. The money pit couldn't be gotten back.
She had also chosen the big man based on her intuition earlier. If she only looked at the surface, she would probably have been pitted like Wang Sister-In-Law.
"Alas, that's how it is. No! I still have to go gossip about it stealthily for two rounds. I can't be pitted for nothing." Saying that, Wang Sister-In-Law did it. She was optimistic by nature. Coming to sell eggs every day, she also knew a lot of people. Going to gossip for two sentences was no problem.
But it didn't seem too good to bring Luo Ge to badmouth others behind their backs, and she couldn't lead the daughter-in-law of the Jin family astray, teaching her to gossip behind people's backs.
"Didn't you say you wanted to buy seeds? You go ahead, I'll wait for you at the city gate after catching up with some people." So she decided to send Luo Ge away.
"But...wouldn't that be inappropriate?" Ruining someone's livelihood was like taking someone's life. She was worried that Wang Sister-in-Law would get into trouble.
But Wang Sister-in-Law said she had already considered this, "I won't say it outright. I'll just show off that I bought this lard cheaply today. What's wrong with that?"
Hearing this, Luo Ge raised her eyebrows silently and gave Wang Sister-in-Law a thumbs up.
"Sister can handle things, don't worry." Luo Ge made a gesture that Wang Sister-In-Law didn't really understand, but she figured it was praising her and patted her chest with a laugh.
"Go on then, be careful yourself."
"Go, go. Sister-in-law will wait for you at the city gate later."
"Okay."
After separating from Wang Sister-in-Law, Luo Ge first went to the seed shop to buy some common napa cabbage seeds at this time.
Then she came out of the shop and used her carrying basket to hide her as she took out various vegetable seeds from her space. And put them together with the seeds she just bought.
With her hand in the carrying basket, no one could notice her actions. Taking the seeds out of space only took a few seconds.
She wanted to plant quite a variety of vegetables at the time, so she bought back some seeds of each kind.
After getting the seeds, she first found a safe place with no one around and took out a basket of eggs.
Then she went to the street where they had set up their stall earlier. Seeing that the two young men were still there, Luo Ge walked over directly.
"Do you buy eggs?"
After a simple look, she found that the things they collected were quite mixed, including wild fruits and vegetables, and dry goods from the villages.
But it didn't seem like they had eggs. She wasn't sure if they wanted them.
Zhao Daming and Zhao Erming heard the voice and turned to look. Seeing a pretty girl, they couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
"We buy them." Then they came back to their senses, somewhat embarrassed to respond. But their expressions were still somewhat puzzled.
Because eggs were not hard to sell, and people generally couldn’t gather many to sell, so they usually couldn’t get eggs.
They usually collected some little mountain stuff, that’s all. They didn't sell in town. They came early every day to collect some things, then went to the county town to sell.
The prices in the county town could be higher by two or three wen per egg. They could also earn some travel money.
"Then see what you think of my eggs here."
Luo Ge said as she put down her carrying basket, lifted the coarse cloth on it to reveal the neatly arranged eggs inside.
Afraid they might crack, she didn't take out too many, just a few dozen in one layer, with some hay stuffed in between.
She had just counted, no less than 260 in total.
(I checked that a box of eggs is about 320, 60 small eggs is a little over 6 catties. 260 eggs is less than 30 catties. The carrying basket can hold them and she can carry them. Bigger ones of 7-8 per catty, so many eggs, also less than 40 catties, can also be held and carried. Don't nitpick, nitpicking means you're right.)
"The size is not small and they are not cracked. Miss how much do you want to sell them for?" Zhao Daming looked and asked aloud, and didn't trace back to ask where she got the eggs from.
"Our village is very far from town and it’s inconvenient to come. These eggs are all from fellow villagers in the village who asked me to help sell them. This is my first time here, so you can make me an offer."
Hearing this, the two brothers revealed a look of realization. They glanced at each other and held up two fingers at Luo Ge.
"Two wen." This was the normal price. As commoners, they knew earning money was not easy. They didn't cheat people either. They had connections in the county town to sell for 5 wen apiece and could make some money.
"Okay, I counted 260 eggs when I came. You can count some."
Seeing that they didn't cheat or show embarrassment, Luo Ge directly agreed. For the first transaction, counting clearly was the best.
"Deal." The two brothers were also quick. Seeing that the deal was settled with Luo Ge, they started counting.
They were also afraid of not counting clearly and causing trouble later. It was not malicious, as they had experienced this situation before.
They had been doing this business for half a year. There were also village women who came regularly.
As people came more often and got familiar, it became easier to relax. There was once an elderly lady who, since everyone was acquainted, they assumed she wouldn't cheat them. She stated a number and they didn't bother to count.
Who would've thought that when they did count afterwards, it turned out to be less by quite a bit. When they talked to the elderly lady about it, she denied keeping accounts and even falsely accused them of deliberately calculating less to scam money.
She threw fits and rolled on the ground until finally they had no choice but to swallow the loss, but it also taught them a lesson.
"The amount is correct. I'll pay you the silver," seeing the amount was right, Zhao Daming immediately paid Luo Ge in silver.
Two hundred and sixty eggs at two coins each, earned a total of five hundred and twenty coins.
As she felt the copper coins passed to her, Luo Ge couldn't help the corners of her mouth curving up. This was the first sum of money she earned since coming to this different world, making it exceptionally meaningful.
Seeing her wearing that sweet smile, one's face would feel somewhat hot. Zhao Daming awkwardly scratched his head.
"I still have some chickens and ducks. Do you buy them too?"
"My husband told me to bring them here to sell. I don't know who would buy such things. If you want them, I'll sell them together to you."
Luo Ge paid no attention whatsoever to his reaction. Chickens and ducks were seldom sold, so she directly pulled Gu Jinchen out.
The one in charge letting it be sold probably meant the family needed money.
Hearing that the young lady already had a husband, the slight interest Zhao Daming just rose instantly died off.
"We buy them. Bring them over to weigh," chickens and ducks were rarely sold. Other than hunters occasionally selling some wild chickens, almost no one else would sell them, so the price was higher.
"Alright."
Hearing that, Luo Ge shouldered her small basket, turned around, and went to the concealed alley to take three chickens and two ducks out.
She didn't plan on mainly selling these. She just wanted to try whether the chickens and ducks from the farm would automatically replenish like the other things.
The three chickens were all a little over three pounds each. The two ducks were heavier at over five pounds together.
She eventually earned over three hundred coins. Added to the eggs, she made over eight hundred coins total.
"I'll probably bring eggs to town again sometime. I'll come find you again then, alright?" she made sure to say before leaving.
"You can. We come here every morning, but don't stay long. We basically leave a little after the third quarter past daybreak. If you come, remember to come early."
"Got it."
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