Chapter 73: After a Long Wait, the First Fortune

Qing Tian County town is not large; near the city center there are only two grain shops, one salt store, and one soy sauce workshop, all on the same street.

Gu Xixi randomly walked into Liao's grain shop.

Shopkeeper Liao stood up, smiling, and asked, "Miss, what would you like to buy?"

"I have new wheat from summer, and freshly harvested millet, both of the best quality."

Gu Xixi took out a small cloth bag and placed it on the counter, asking, "Is your millet better than these?"

Shopkeeper Liao thought Gu Xixi had come to cause trouble, glared at her, then reluctantly picked up the bag with a displeased expression.

"What is this…"

Before he finished speaking, he saw the millet in the bag, his eyes widened, and he hurriedly poured the millet onto the countertop, gently rubbing it with his palm to spread it out.

Then he pinched a few grains, put them in his mouth, and chewed them thoughtfully.

Shopkeeper Liao's expression turned serious: "Miss, where did you get this goods?"

"I've been running this shop for half a lifetime; the millet from Dongling Village nearby is the best—golden in color, when cooked into porridge it yields a layer of rice oil, with a rich millet aroma. Yours…"

Gu Xixi smiled and said, "Better than the Dongling Village millet you mentioned?"

Shopkeeper Liao glanced at her again, reluctantly speaking the truth: "Yes… it could be a bit better."

Gu Xixi asked, "Would you be interested in doing this deal with me?"

Shopkeeper Liao had been unhappy about being one step behind, but hearing this, his eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his lips: "Hey, miss, you're here to sell grain? Why didn't you say so earlier."

"How much do you want to sell? Is the quality all the same?"

Gu Xixi said, "The same, three hundred catties."

"The goods are right outside; as soon as we agree on the price, you can inspect them anytime."

Shopkeeper Liao's eyes shifted as he smiled: "It's a pity I just took in stock yesterday; its quality isn't much worse than yours. But I see you're a young lady, moving things isn't easy. Three hundred catties isn't too much, so I'll take it."

He held up five fingers: "According to market price, I purchase at four wen per catty; I'll offer five wen."

Earlier, a rat plague broke out in the west, including Dongling Village, causing many villages' millet harvests to be poor or even total failures.

The price of this season's fresh millet has doubled, and other grains have also risen by half.

Such good millet was already rare before; now it's hard to buy even with money.

Especially those prominent families in town have already come to the grain shop several times, saying this year's millet is mediocre and asking if there isn't anything better.

Shopkeeper Liao was worrying about how to satisfy his regular customers when top-quality millet was delivered right before his eyes.

As the saying goes, rare goods can be hoarded; three hundred catties may not bring a huge profit, but it's enough for him to make a small fortune.

However, things did not go as smoothly as Shopkeeper Liao had hoped.

Gu Xixi glanced at the millet displayed prominently in the shop, with a price tag showing six wen.

She turned her gaze back without changing expression and said, "The millet you have placed at the front—some grains are whitened, with white hearts; it's not just ordinary quality, but you've also mixed in last year's old stock, haven't you?"

Shopkeeper Liao followed her gaze, forcing a smile: "Merchants each have their own ways; other grain shops are the same as mine—seeing through but not speaking out."

Gu Xixi gathered the scattered millet on the counter back into the cloth bag, saying, "You can sell your goods however you like, I won't interfere, but mixing ordinary rice with old stock and selling it for seven wen…"

"I'm offering pure, top-quality current-season millet, and you only give me four wen."

She tightened the mouth of the cloth bag, held it in her hand, lifted her gaze to Shopkeeper Liao, and said, "Business probably shouldn't be done this way."

"Farewell."

Shopkeeper Liao gritted his teeth watching Gu Xixi walk toward the door.

Finally unable to restrain himself, he called out to stop her: "Miss, wait a moment; if you're dissatisfied with the price, why not sit down and we can discuss it properly."

"Who wants to negotiate with you!" Before Gu Xixi could speak, a child's voice interrupted her.

She followed the sound and exclaimed delightedly, "Shitou! What are you doing here?"

It had been a while since they last met; Shitou's facial injury had healed, and he looked even more lively than before.

"I just came out for a casual stroll; seeing you enter the grain shop, I followed you."

Shopkeeper Liao also knew Shitou, pursing his lips: "I thought it was someone else; you're not buying grain and just going out, while I'm discussing business with someone."

He smiled at Gu Xixi and said, "This child has no parents; he's just a street loafer, idling around all day with nothing to do."

When people mentioned his parents, Shitou no longer avoided the topic as he used to.

He puffed out his chest and said, "Who says I have nothing to do and just wander around? I'm in charge of my family's nursery."

"Then again, it's you." He sized up Shopkeeper Liao, gave a sly smile, then tiptoed to say to Gu Xixi:

"Sister Xixi, I'll just tell you this: the other day I saw Boss Liao purchasing millet."

"He gave two wen per catty for old rice, and three wen for new rice."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for both Gu Xixi and Boss Liao to hear.

Seeing Boss Liao's expression as if he had swallowed a fly, he still wanted to say something.

Gu Xixi took Shitou's hand and said, "Let's go, let's ask elsewhere."

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Liao became anxious: "Another shop? That's not his arch-rival, his old opponent, is it!"

Absolutely not!!

He strode forward with big steps and said, "I was wrong just now; I'll take all your millet, one catty… seven wen, madam, would seven wen be okay?"

Gu Xixi turned around and said, "Deal."

While the grain shop's assistant was unloading and weighing the goods, Mu Nan Zhao sat waiting in front of the cart.

He saw Gu Xixi and Shitou walking hand in hand, and couldn't help but frown: "Zhang Minglei, how old are you, still letting a woman hold your hand while walking?"

Shitou rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction: "So what?"

"Sister Xixi pampers me; I just like Sister Xixi."

"Like?" Mu Nan Zhao sneered, saying, "Right, I almost forgot you're only six; you're still far from growing into a man who can stand on his own, so it's normal not to understand the propriety of men and women not touching."

Shitou felt slighted, released Gu Xixi's hand, put his hands on his hips, and confronted Mu Nan Zhao.

Who says I'm still very young? I can take care of the nursery, take care of myself—I'm a grown man now!

Gu Xixi felt that the two of them bickering was extremely childish, and she couldn't bear to watch.

She stuffed the two strings of cash into Mu Nan Zhao's hands, saying, "For safety's sake, hold onto them for me for now."

The remaining hundred cash, Gu Xixi slipped into her small cloth bag.

She smiled at Shitou and said, "Thanks for your big help just now."

"Let me find a pharmacy, sell the yams on the cart, and then we'll go eat something good."

Shitou patted his chest and said, "Sister Gu Xixi, I know the people at a pharmacy are honest; come with me."

Led by Shitou, they found a pharmacy opened at the intersection.

The price offered was indeed fair—one hundred catties of yam at twelve cash per catty.

The pharmacy keeper repeatedly praised Gu Xixi's yams, saying they were not only of excellent appearance but also cleaned of dirt.

Unlike some people who would love to smear on several layers of mud to weigh it down.

The keeper even personally saw Gu Xixi out, telling her to bring more yams whenever she had them, and he would buy whatever amount she brought.

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "There's none left this year; we'll have to wait until next year."

Leaving the pharmacy, Shitou, for some reason, felt heavy-hearted, wanting to speak but holding back.