Chapter 1005

40 jin of rice had almost made the rice-puffing machine smoke, and by the time the market dispersed in the evening, a group of people was still guarding the machine!

Not just the grandpa squad, but also several children from Xiaosong Village, their faces chapped from the winter, their cheeks dark red, holding their ground and refusing to leave.

Even more determined than them were the contemporary netizens.

Throughout the afternoon, Qiaoqiao's job of holding the bags was constantly taken over by others, so he held his phone and took everyone to tour the entire market, only returning here at the end.

By now, the netizens who had grabbed the chance to buy rice puffs were already full, and those who hadn't were already numb with craving—

So what if they aren't selling? What's so strange about that? In the past, nine times out of ten, whatever they looked at wasn't for sale!

They were all mature fans and should learn to restrain themselves.

o(╥﹏╥)o

As the night gradually surged and the sunset's afterglow disappeared from the horizon, the rumbling machine finally stopped working.

Bag after bag of rice puffs filled the plastic bags to the brim, which were then tied tight and placed on the side of the road, while Qiaoqiao was settling the bill with the stall owner—

"My usual rate, if you bring your own rice, is 5 yuan for labor per bag, but look, the bags you brought today are so big, I'd definitely lose money if I charged 5 yuan."

The man in the husband-and-wife team spoke with a sincere face, as if he truly wasn't making a single cent.

The wife also chimed in: "Exactly! Look, your bags are filled more than three times what I originally had—but since you made so many, we won't charge you extra, let's say 12 yuan per bag for labor."

The couple coordinated perfectly, pointing at the still-hot machine: "Look, we worked all afternoon, the machine is almost broken."

Qiaoqiao looked into the distance and acknowledged that their bags were indeed quite large, with a total of 45 bags made.

But...

The curious baby blinked his eyes and asked curiously:

"If I didn't do it today, wouldn't other customers have broken the machine? Your machine hasn't stopped since I got here!"

Ah, this.

Look, why do business people always nitpick words? The boss mumbled:

"Forget it, forget it, we're all neighbors, let's just say ten yuan, we're really not making money! Think about how much my labor is worth for the whole afternoon!"

Qiaoqiao calculated and immediately frowned—that was nine days of his living expenses! He had no money left!

So he followed up by saying: "But our rice is good, it's especially fragrant and attractive, many people said they'd look for you next market day..."

He also said quite unskillfully: "You, you haven't paid the advertising fee yet!"

The boss frowned, realizing the boy in front of him wasn't easy to fool. He had thought his thinking was simple, but his logic for bargaining wasn't simple at all!

At this moment, he had to say again: "Yes, look, your rice is so good, I didn't waste any... the two of us stood here all afternoon, earning 200 yuan each, it's all hard-earned money..."

Thinking about the wages of the uncles and aunts at home, two hundred yuan didn't seem—

"Wrong!"

Qiaoqiao put his hands on his hips and said vigilantly: "My mom said your rice puffing is three yuan a bag, and when you first asked, you wanted 12! Boss, you are so black-hearted, my bag isn't four times the size!"

He said angrily: "I'll open the bag right now and count how many pieces are inside for you!"

"And your job is to puff rice, why are you saying you're tired to raise the price on me!"

Boss:...

Why be so serious about normal bargaining? Why did he really open the bag—

"Fine, fine, fine!" The boss compromised: "Then what price do you say!"

Qiaoqiao became proud—he really knew how to bargain now!

So he confidently lifted his head: "Eight yuan, just consider it as bringing me a bag."

The boss looked at the row by the car, his expression becoming difficult.

Finally, the couple calculated: "Fine! 360 yuan! You come to me next time you need rice puffed! Here, I'll give you another phone number, call me later and I can come to your place to do it."

When collecting the money, he thought for a moment and still instructed:

"That, little brother, the next market day is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, if you have time, try to bring the rice over! I'll give you a cheaper rate..."

Not to mention anything else, he didn't know how many people had asked for his number this afternoon; the boy in front of him might be silly, but the rice he brought was truly good!

Just look at the fragrance, and the few kids outside who refused to leave, and you'd know!

And this 360 yuan, he had only earned 116 all morning today!

A big client, truly a big client!

Qiaoqiao shook his head: "No more market! We're going to slaughter a pig on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, tomorrow is the sixth, we have to start preparing!"

Frying dough twists, frying crispy leaves, popcorn.

Also need to prepare pots, bowls, and ladles.

Choose the place to slaughter the pig... ah, and the pigs.

Qiaoqiao was so reluctant! But... but the pigs were raised at home just to be eaten.

He had to hold back his sour nose, looked at Song Tan sitting in the car scrolling through her phone, and then recovered—

Sister said, she wouldn't let them feel any pain, she would definitely be able to do it!

Although it was a bit sad to eat the piggies, pork was also really delicious!

The boss and his wife were stunned for a moment, then pleasantly surprised: "What? Your family is slaughtering a pig? Is the pork for sale?!"

In this day and age, the government doesn't allow people to raise pigs at home, and in the countryside, they have to buy pork if they want to eat it! Pigs raised on that kind of good grain are hard to buy in the countryside.

If anyone were to sell it secretly, many people from the city would come that very day.

Hearing someone talk about slaughtering a pig, the couple became excited immediately. If they could get a definite answer from Qiaoqiao, they could call their relatives tonight.

Qiaoqiao was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "No, not for sale, it's not even enough for ourselves."

He gestured: "I'm having a class reunion, so many people are coming, the pig will be eaten up all at once."

Huh?

The couple looked at each other, calculating in their hearts—

A class reunion, at least thirty or fifty people, right?

How much meat can one pig produce?

Sigh! No chance.

The bosses packed up the car, and Qiaoqiao finally packed up his things. Everyone carried two light bags into the truck bed, all feeling satisfied.

Not only were they satisfied with eating in the afternoon, but the old men also returned fully loaded. Although they were still being held back, they had bought many miscellaneous things, and they had taken many videos and photos.

Hey! It made those old guys in the Imperial Capital so envious... Hahahahaha!

But there was no help for it, who told them to be strong and healthy enough to endure long-distance travel!

Now that the sky had darkened, the sound of unknown birds began to ring out in the pitch-black forest.

And as everyone sat in the car, they finally felt the exhaustion.

Before leaving, Qiaoqiao went back to open a bag, counted the few children watching by the road, and then gave each of them one.

"I remember giving you some this afternoon, is my family's rice puff that delicious?!"

He giggled, making the few dark-skinned children beside him laugh along.

And Old Zhu and the others looked through the car window, unable to help but curl up the corners of their mouths.