Chapter 653: A Trip to the Small Market

Liu Chuxue did not know that someone wanted to scheme against her.

Not far from the hospital, there was a small market where villagers from nearby villages would bring their own farm and sideline products every morning to exchange for supplies; yesterday, while cooking at the patient's stove, she had heard other family members mention this.

To create a cover, she went there early in the morning, also wanting to see if there was anything she needed.

She did not expect that after walking around, she would see tree seedlings displayed on someone's stall: "Comrade, what kind of tree seedlings are these?"

The man smiled and said, "These are plum tree seedlings; one is a Camel Yellow Plum, and the remaining two are Great Red Robe Plums; they are sweet and sour, and the fruit is very delicious."

While speaking, he kept rubbing his hands, his eyes full of expectation.

Liu Chuxue already wanted them, and seeing his gesture, she asked, "How do I exchange for them?"

Hearing that there was a chance, the man said, "Using tickets is fine, or giving money is also fine; it depends on what is convenient for you."

Lowering his voice slightly, he asked, "How much money for one tree?"

She did not have many tickets on her, so paying with money was more suitable.

The man, somewhat nervous, held up two fingers: "Is this acceptable?"

To be honest, Liu Chuxue did not understand, so she tried asking, "Two yuan?"

The man waved his hands and shook his head: "No, no, two jiao for one tree."

He then added, "If you want all three, five jiao is enough."

Seeing the man was honest, Liu Chuxue turned to look at other things on the stall; this look revealed that beside the plum trees, there were several pieces of Polygonum root and rhizome, which looked freshly dug up not long ago, greatly surprising her; looking further to the side, she saw some licorice, scutellaria, and bupleurum laid out there, all freshly dug not long ago.

Thinking she could plant them in the space, where the pool water would support them, she had no worry about them not surviving; she pointed at what she wanted: "I want these too; how much in total?"

The man was even happier now: "Just eight jiao in total is enough."

Seeing that Liu Chuxue was not holding anything to carry things in, he took out a thorn branch basket from behind him: "You can put these medicinal herbs in the basket; otherwise, it will be hard for you to carry them."

Liu Chuxue naturally could not take the man's basket for free; she directly handed over one yuan: "The extra two jiao is for your basket."

The man obviously did not expect Liu Chuxue to say this and hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "The basket was woven by myself; it is not worth much money; take it and use it."

While speaking, he reached into his pocket to take out money, preparing to give Liu Chuxue change.

Liu Chuxue squatted down, putting the few medicinal herbs she wanted into the basket: "No need for change; weaving it oneself also requires cutting thorn branches and takes time to weave; besides, I do indeed need a basket to use."

After finishing speaking, she carried the basket in one hand and lifted the three tree seedlings with the other, smiling as she left the stall.

The man's eyes were full of gratitude: "Thank you, big sister."

The space had everything; coming here was merely going through the motions; after walking around and finding nothing needed, plus having to make breakfast, she turned and headed toward the hospital.

Passing through a narrow alley between houses, seeing no one ahead or behind, she slipped inside, put the things in her hands into the space, and exchanged some flour, eggs, and vegetables into the basket.

Only then did she quickly head toward the hospital.

Yesterday, she had noticed that there was actually a small steel plate over at the canteen; after asking, she learned that the canteen staff sometimes used it to cook special meals for themselves, making flatbreads.

She planned to make lumpy soup and egg-vegetable flatbreads this morning.

Because she arrived early, there were not many people at the patient's stove yet.

After going next door and explaining the situation, the people at the canteen told her to go get it herself.