Chapter 14: A Chance Encounter

Cabbage and radishes didn’t fetch much of a price in winter, but shepherd’s purse and dandelions were a different story.

He smiled, looked at the middle-aged woman, and said, “Seventy cents a jin, how does that sound? It’s the dead of winter, and I spent the whole morning digging these up at the foot of the mountain. It wasn’t easy! You can sell them fresh, and I guarantee you won’t lose money!”

Seventy cents a jin was certainly not cheap.

But at the thought of a bowl of pork and shepherd’s purse wontons selling for one yuan twenty, the middle-aged woman’s face lit up with a smile again.

“Deal! Weigh it all up! I’ll take the whole lot at that price!”

Blanch the dandelions to serve as a cold side dish, and use the shepherd’s purse for wonton fillings; they would definitely sell like hotcakes!

A guaranteed profit!

Xie Zhao was also pleasantly surprised.

First, he grabbed a handful of the wild greens and set them on the cart to keep for himself. As he brought the basket down, he gave it a vigorous shake to drain the excess water.

This gesture immediately won the middle-aged woman over.

Such an honest fellow!

She fetched a steelyard scale from a corner. It was the most old-fashioned kind: a wooden rod marked with silver dots, with a tray hanging from the bottom to weigh small items.

At the very front of the rod was a hook, specifically meant for weighing heavier items.

The lifting strings were also divided into front and back; the front string was for heavy objects, and the back string for lighter ones. In an era without electronic scales, even a young child could read this kind of scale.

The middle-aged woman moved quickly, hanging the basket onto the hook. Once she finished weighing it, she weighed the empty basket separately. Subtracting the basket’s weight from the total, she got the weight of the greens.

“Nine jin and eight liang!”

“I’ll call it ten jin,” the middle-aged woman grinned at Xie Zhao. “That makes seven yuan in total!”

With that, she pulled out the money and paid.

She was a straightforward woman.

Xie Zhao took the money and the basket.

The middle-aged woman smiled and asked, “Will you have more of these wild greens tomorrow? It’s the first lunar month^[1] right now, so the streets are lively and crowded. My husband and I run two wonton shops! If you’re still selling these greens, I’ll take as much as you can bring!”

Xie Zhao’s eyes lit up.

“Sure! I’ll bring another batch at this same time tomorrow. How does that sound?”

The middle-aged woman grinned.

“Deal!”

*

Because he had spread the word the day before, the pavilion was already packed with people by nine o’clock this morning, all waiting for Xie Zhao.

Looking closely, there were both new and familiar faces.

That was how business worked, relying on word of mouth. In a hospital ward, if someone saw the patient in the next bed eating fish head hot pot, they would get a craving and couldn’t resist asking about it.

Where did you buy that?

And just like that, word spread, and soon all three families in the ward knew.

The hospital was the one place where people were most willing to spend money.

Two yuan a jin was something they wouldn’t dream of spending on ordinary days, but during the New Year holidays, and with illnesses to recover from, they managed to scrape the money together somehow.

The moment Xie Zhao pushed his cart into the pavilion, the crowd swarmed him.

“Hey, young man! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for you! Yesterday, I went home and made soup with the fish. It was so fresh my eyebrows almost fell off^[2]! I want to buy another crucian carp to stew with tofu!”

“I didn’t get to buy any yesterday! I get to go first today! You promised me, you can’t go back on your word, young comrade! I want a grass carp, the bigger the better!”

“Bighead carp is the best! Stewing the fish head with tofu is so good I wouldn’t trade it for bear paw^[3]!”

…

The crowd immediately erupted into a clamor.

Standing by his cart, Xie Zhao smiled at the crowd and said, “First come, first served! Those who didn’t get any yesterday get first pick! I have plenty of fish today, enough for everyone!”

It had to be said that he had an excellent memory.

With just a quick glance, he could remember almost everyone who had missed out the day before!

Xie Zhao asked each person what kind of fish they wanted and how big, and if they chatted long enough, he would even give them a rough recipe for cooking it.

Rolling up his sleeves, he reached into the bucket, lifted a fish, and estimated its weight with a quick bounce in his hand.

Once the money changed hands, he tossed the fish into the basins they had brought along. His movements were swift and clean.

The bustling crowd drew quite a few curious looks.

Meanwhile, not far away, Chen Donghai was leaning on a crutch, frowning as he slowly shuffled forward.

Beside him, Zhao Lanzhi supported him with some difficulty. The melting snow made the path slippery, and a layer of sweat covered her forehead.

It was Chen Donghai who had been hospitalized.

On New Year’s Eve, he had drunk a bit of alcohol. While watching the fireworks, he hadn’t watched his step, slipped on a slushy step, and tumbled down.

It wasn’t a major injury.

Just a fractured ankle.

He needed to rest and recover.

So, he ended up spending the New Year in the hospital.

Having made some money over the years, and having been starved in his youth, he had never scrimped on food since he became well-off.

Standing at just under 1.7 meters tall but weighing over 170 jin, he was a real handful for Zhao Lanzhi to care for.

Just like right now.

After lying in bed all day yesterday, Chen Donghai felt incredibly stifled. He wanted to get some fresh air, so Zhao Lanzhi supported him as they walked around.

Even though it was only a short distance, she was so exhausted that her legs felt weak and her face had gone slightly pale.

“What’s going on over there?”

Chen Donghai immediately spotted the crowd gathered together.

It was very lively, and it looked like they were buying something.

He listened closely, and his eyes lit up slightly. “They’re selling fish! I haven’t had fish in ages!”

In the dead of winter, if he could have a fish head hot pot with some tofu and bean sprouts at the bottom, and drink a bowl of hot soup, it would be absolute bliss!

Tempted by the thought, he said to Zhao Lanzhi, “Come on, let’s go buy a couple of fish too!”

Zhao Lanzhi, however, was not pleased.

She was truly exhausted.

None of their three children were willing to come and help share the burden, all claiming they were too busy.

She had wanted to hire a caregiver, but Chen Donghai had scolded her in private for it.

But then again, he had a point.

With both sons and daughters, if they still had to hire someone to look after him, what would people say?

So, she could only suffer in silence.

Zhao Lanzhi gritted her teeth, remaining silent as she helped Chen Donghai shuffle toward the crowd.

The two of them walked slowly, and by the time they reached the cart, the crowd had already dispersed.

With his back to them, Xie Zhao bent over to lift the water bucket down.

There were still two fish inside, which Xie Zhao had kept back on purpose.

These two were the biggest and fattest. He planned to keep them: one to stew into soup for Lin Muyu, and the other to make a hot pot with some tofu to nourish his mother’s body.

“How much are you selling these fish for?”

A voice called out from behind him.

Xie Zhao didn’t look back. He just smiled as he tidied up the shepherd’s purse and placed it into a basket, saying, “Sorry about that, Auntie. My mom and my wife are feeling a bit weak, so I’m keeping these two fish for them. I’m all sold out of fish today!”

Carrying the basket, he propped himself up with one hand and hopped down from the cart.

The youth’s movements were easy and graceful.

Besides, it had to be said that Xie Zhao’s looks and height were absolutely top-tier.

As he grew up, countless people had praised him in front of Chen Donghai and Zhao Lanzhi.

This son of theirs was far better looking than either of them!

“You?!”

Zhao Lanzhi was startled.

She stared at Xie Zhao, her already pale face turning even whiter.

Her expression even grew slightly strained.

“Why did you follow us all the way to the hospital? This is completely out of line!”

Zhao Lanzhi said coldly.

Chen Donghai frowned as well.