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墨書 Inktalez
"Little girl, do you have anything else to say?" The man turned around and asked after hearing Liu Qingxi's words.
"Uncle, thank you! You are my first customer, and these Cicada Monkeys are a gift for you!" Liu Qingxi handed him a handful.
"Hehe, thank you, little girl. I'll come back to support your business!" For the middle-aged man, it was an unexpected delight.
After sending off her first customer, Liu Qingxi expressed her gratitude to Auntie beside her: "Auntie, thank you! Otherwise, we wouldn't know what to do! Take these back and enjoy them."
"Hey, little girl, there's no need to be so polite. You all have it tough too. It's just a small matter for me; hurry up and take them back!"
"Auntie, we can go back up the mountain to find more. Please try these Cicada Monkeys!" Liu Qingxi insisted on giving a small bag of Cicada Monkeys to Auntie.
Little did she know that Auntie was a warm-hearted person who refused to take them no matter what. From their conversation, Liu Qingxi learned that Auntie's family name was Song and that she came to town every couple of days to sell vegetables.
Though her income was modest, it was enough for daily expenses. Life wasn't easy, but it was sufficient for sustenance.
"Alright, you should hurry back to your stall. It's just a small favor for me; I won't take your things. When your situation improves in the future, you can't refuse me; I'll come asking for it," Auntie said with a hearty laugh.
Her cheerful voice made Liu Qingxi feel at ease. Besides Liu Qingyan, Auntie was the warmest person she had encountered since arriving in this world.
A bittersweet feeling welled up in her eyes as she fought back tears. She choked out to Aunt Song, "Aunt Song, I have to get busy now. If you need any help, just let us know."
"Ah, alright then. Everyone has their difficulties; lending a hand is no big deal." With that, she continued her loud sales pitch.
Having gained experience from her first sale, Liu Qingxi felt much better afterward. Although she let people taste about ten of them, within half an hour she welcomed three more customers and sold a total of two pounds.
Looking at the sky, it was already getting late, and it would take them an hour to get home. "Xiao Yan, let's pack up and head home!"
"Okay, sister!" Liu Qingyan readily agreed, always listening to his sister.
Aunt Song, seeing the two about to leave, asked, "Little girl, are you two going home now? Aren't you going to sell the rest?" After all, it was still half an hour until noon, and business in the afternoon was usually decent.
"Aunt Song, we're not selling anymore. We're afraid that if we go back late, Grandpa and Grandma will worry," Liu Qingxi replied cheerfully as she quickly tidied up the things on the ground and slung her basket onto her back.
"Auntie, this is what we have left to sell. You can take it home and eat it; we won't carry it back!" Liu Qingxi handed the remaining Cicada Monkeys to Aunt Song.
"Look at you, child! I've told you not to be so polite. But since this is what you have left, Auntie will accept it!" Aunt Song happily took the offering.
As she watched the two leave, she couldn't help but praise them: "What good children! It's a pity they don't have parents."
Shaking her head, she returned to her own tasks. Life had to go on; she wasn't doing well herself but could only help others within her means.
Following behind Liu Qingxi, Liu Qingyan was overjoyed. Although he was still young, he understood that Cicada Monkeys could be sold for money. This was the first time he had seen money in his life.
"Sister, how much did we sell for?" The little guy looked at Liu Qingxi with wide eyes full of anticipation, his mouth watering at the smell of steamed buns nearby.
"We sold for twelve coins. When we get home, you can't tell anyone, okay? If you do, Aunt will definitely take the money away," Liu Qingxi said seriously.
Given Wang's character, not only would she take the money away, but both of them would also get a beating. She might even think they were hiding more money.
"I got it; I won't say a word!" Liu Qingyan immediately covered his mouth and sneakily looked around. Once he saw that no one was paying attention to them, he felt relieved and continued walking with Liu Qingxi.
"You're amazing, Sister! Aunt can't make any money," he thought, considering her the most impressive person in his heart.
"But we can't sell something every day. In a few days, there won't be any Cicada Monkey left. We need to think of other ways. No one can know about this!"
Liu Qingxi was worried that Little Guy might accidentally let it slip and reminded him repeatedly.
As they passed by the Steamed Bun Shop, not only did Liu Qingyan stop in her tracks, but she also felt the same way.
She had never found buns so fragrant before, and seeing Little Guy looking greedy made her chuckle. "Hey, Boss, how much are the buns?"
"Two for one wen for steamed buns, one wen each for vegetarian buns, and two wen each for meat buns. What do you want, miss?" The Boss loudly announced the prices of his goods.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Qingxi realized she hadn't eaten much since arriving in this world and had a total of twelve wen. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I'll have two steamed buns and one meat bun, Boss!"
"Alright!" The Boss quickly wrapped them up and handed them to Liu Qingxi. "That'll be three wen!"
Liu Qingxi carefully counted out three wen from her pocket. She had sold a total of twelve wen that morning, and now she had spent a quarter of it on just these few items. It pained her to part with it.
"Xiao Yan, eat while it's hot!" She handed the meat bun to the already drooling Liu Qingyan.
With a big bite, Little Guy sank his teeth into the bun, juices from the meat filling oozing out. The rich aroma filled his mouth as he squinted his eyes in enjoyment, devouring it eagerly.
Looking at the steamed buns in Liu Qingxi's hands, he couldn't bear to eat alone. "Sister, you eat too!"
The half-eaten bun he had bitten into was offered to Liu Qingxi.
She carefully took a small bite. "Alright, sister has eaten. You should hurry and eat too; the steamed bun is delicious."
Although the bun was slightly yellowed, it was a rare treat for Liu Qingxi at this moment.
Looking at the sky, the sun was getting higher overhead. Fearing that Wang and the others might notice, Liu Qingxi quickened her pace.
Beside her, Liu Qingyan quickly finished the meat bun in her hand, wiped her greasy little mouth, and smacked her lips, feeling quite unsatisfied.
Liu Qingxi handed her the bun. "You should eat this bun too!"
"Sister, let's eat together!" Although the bun smelled good, the steamed bun was also nice. Liu Qingyan used her small hands to split the bun in half.
"Sister won't eat anymore; you should hurry and eat!" Liu Qingxi wasn't not hungry; she just couldn't bear to part with it.
Thinking about how hard they had worked all day today and how they had roasted through most of the night yesterday, spending a quarter of their money on two buns and one meat bun made it seem like saving money would be a long journey ahead.
Liu Qingyan was too busy enjoying her food to notice Liu Qingxi's thoughts.
Perhaps it was the energy from the buns that made them return faster than they came. In less than an hour, they arrived back at Ten Li Pu.
The two of them carefully hid at the foot of the mountain...
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