"Are you still selling the mulberries?" Yuan Zhou asked again when he saw the old man staring blankly at him.
When Yuan Zhou asked the question, his tone was gentle. Broth also whimpered at the door. It sounded very cute, as if it was proving Yuan Zhou's words that it didn't bite.
The two baskets carried by the old man were filled with purplish black mulberries of different sizes. They were piled high, probably because they had been picked a long time ago. They were a little wilted, but they were still very fresh.
When the old man heard that, he looked at Yuan Zhou in surprise. He didn't react until Yuan Zhou asked again.
"You want to buy this?" the old man pointed at the baskets and asked.
"Yes, it looks good." Yuan Zhou nodded.
"Oh … Oh, okay. It's not expensive. I'm selling it for 8 RMB. I'll charge you 6 RMB per catty at this late hour," the old man said immediately when he saw Yuan Zhou nod.
The old man was very happy. He didn't wait for Yuan Zhou to bargain and directly lowered the price.
"Okay, give me both baskets," Yuan Zhou nodded and said.
"Two baskets? That won't do. It's not good to eat too much of the mulberries. It's a pity that they go bad. "The old man was excited at first, but then he shook his head repeatedly.
"Don't worry. There's a shop in front of me. I'll definitely use them up," Yuan Zhou said gently.
"Shop? Okay. Remember not to put the mulberries in. You have to eat them quickly. I'll weigh them for you. "The old man nodded, put down the basket, and started to take the scale.
"Um, you weigh them. I'll go get a dustpan," Yuan Zhou nodded and said.
"Don't worry, young man. My scale is very accurate. It won't be wrong." The old man nodded and then shrank by the door, waiting quietly.
Yuan Zhou didn't go far. He took a big dustpan from the second floor. It seemed that it could hold 40 to 50 catties of mulberries.
"Just put them in this," Yuan Zhou said.
"Okay, I'll weigh it. Look after me, young man." The old man smiled when he saw Yuan Zhou come back.
"Okay." Yuan Zhou nodded, then poured the broth in his hand into the dog's bowl and looked up at the old man.
"There is a total of 21 and a half Jin in this frame. This one is 18 and a half Jin. You can calculate how much it is. I am too old to calculate it," the old man put down the scale and said with embarrassment.
"Two hundred and forty yuan in total," said Yuan Zhou.
"Two hundred and forty? Alright, I'll round it off for you. Just give me 200 yuan, "the old man said with a smile.
"That won't do. Just pay me the full amount." Yuan Zhou directly handed out the money exactly 240 RMB without any refusal.
"Thank you, thank you, young man," the old man said with a smile.
Just as the old man was carefully putting the mulberries into Yuan Zhou's basket, Yuan Zhou asked, "You're welcome. Why are you walking here?"
That was true. The old man was obviously a mulberry seller. Why would he walk to such a remote alley with a pole? There was basically no one walking in this alley, let alone any business.
"I'm not allowed to put them anywhere outside. I have been picking them for a whole day and still haven't sold them. So, I want to walk to a remote place and not disturb others' business," the old man said slowly.
"Do you grow mulberries to sell?" Yuan Zhou didn't say much. Instead, he asked something else.
"Not really. I just have two old mulberry trees at home. When I can't finish them in the end, I grow them to make up for it," said the old man.
"If you have more, please send some to me next time," said Yuan Zhou lightly.
"That won't do. How can I trouble you to buy all of them?" The old man shook his head continuously.
"It's okay. If there are no selling points, you can walk around here in case I need them," said Yuan Zhou.
"Thank you for your kindness, young man. If you like them, I can send some to you next time," said the old man happily.
"You don't have to. I'm running a shop. I'm very particular about making money. That way, my business will be good," said Yuan Zhou seriously.
"Thank you, young man." The old man nodded and thanked him again.
"You're welcome," said Yuan Zhou.
While he was loading the mulberries, the old man thanked him several times in a row. Every time, Yuan Zhou earnestly said that he would buy them for his own use.
After every mulberry was loaded into Yuan Zhou's dustpan, the old man stood up.
"Thank you," said Yuan Zhou.
"You're welcome. I should be the one thanking you. I didn't use any pesticides on the mulberries. They can be eaten after washing them with clean water," said the old man.
This time, Yuan Zhou didn't say anything. He just nodded and watched the old man walk away with the empty pole.
Yuan Zhou had good eyesight. Even though there was no light in the alley, he could still see that the old man's back wasn't as stooped anymore. Maybe it was because the mulberries in the pole had been sold out and the old man had lightened up.
After the old man walked away, Yuan Zhou was dumbfounded.
"Eh, 40 catties of mulberries is that much?" Looking at the dustpan full of dark purple fruits, Yuan Zhou felt a headache coming on.
He couldn't eat that much even if he wanted to. The shelf life of the mulberries as gifts was very short. They might even rot before he gave them to others.
"I seem to have lost my mind for a moment." Yuan Zhou looked at the mulberries and muttered to himself.
"Forget it. Let's make jam and practice my culinary skills." Yuan Zhou picked up the dustpan and prepared to put it in the small courtyard of the pub.
After putting it in the courtyard, Yuan Zhou grabbed a handful of mulberries and washed them with warm water. After drying them, he took them to the back door.
"This is for you. Since I used you as an excuse, I naturally have to reward you. But it's not good for you to eat too much. That's all," said Yuan Zhou as he put the mulberries into Broth's bowl.
"Woof." Broth raised its head and barked at Yuan Zhou. Then, it lowered its head to eat the mulberries. Of course, it didn't forget to point its butt at Yuan Zhou.
It was probably unhappy that Yuan Zhou only gave it so few mulberries.
Since he bought the mulberries at the last minute, Yuan Zhou was busy washing the mulberries that night.
"Looks like I can make some jam." Yuan Zhou calculated how many bottles of jam he could make as he washed the mulberries.
Because there were too many mulberries, Yuan Zhou took out a lot of dustpans to dry them. That way, he could make jam the next day.
Therefore, when breakfast time ended the next day, Yuan Zhou hurried to the market to buy some sugar.
Since the sugar provided by the system couldn't be given away after it was used, Yuan Zhou could only buy it again.
Yuan Zhou pulled his own cart and brought back 20 catties of sugar. However, when he reached the entrance, he saw two people waiting there.
"Yuan, you went to buy something?" The one who spoke was Carpenter Lian.
"I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting, Carpenter Lian," said Yuan Zhou immediately.
"It's fine. I didn't tell you the time yesterday. I guessed that you were free, so I came over directly." Carpenter Lian waved his hand nonchalantly.
On the other hand, the middle-aged man beside Carpenter Lian looked at Yuan Zhou with a surprised expression.
Indeed, although they had just arrived, anyone who dared to let Carpenter Lian wait for even a minute would not have any furniture left for them.
However, Carpenter Lian didn't seem to mind. The way he looked at Yuan Zhou was naturally strange.
"Sorry to trouble you, Carpenter Lian," said Yuan Zhou as he opened the door.
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
