Chapter 42: The First Earnings

  Actually, Ye Baiji was opposed to Qi Zhen'er entering the mountain. At this time, there were many wild beasts in the mountains, and even some timid hunters dared not enter the mountains, but Qi Zhen'er wanted to take this risk, she thought that there must be some worries.

  Zi Zhen'er knew she was worried and guaranteed: "Bai Ju sister, I'll just take a look at the edge of the mountain, not go inside. You can rest assured, I have my own measure."

  "What's wrong with me?" Ye Baiji scolded, but still worried, "You really shouldn't go into the mountain. You and Hu Zi were able to come out safely last time, that was your good fortune, with parents' blessings, but not every time you have such good luck."

  Qī Zhēn ér nodded, repeatedly guaranteeing that she wouldn't enter the mountain tomorrow, and Yè Bái zhǐ finally felt slightly at ease. However, in her heart, she had already planned to follow Zhēn ér together.

  As soon as it was light, Qizhen felt her way to get dressed. She had to hurry up the mountain and go into town, so she definitely wouldn't be able to have breakfast with the Ye family. And she didn't want to start a small fire by herself, so she had decided the night before that she would just go hungry this morning.

  Walking up to Ye Baiyi's room door, I heard a murmured voice from inside, "Who is it?"

  Zi Zhen'er hastily stopped moving and didn't dare make another move. It wasn't until it had quieted down inside that she carefully and quietly exited the door.

  Carrying the basket she bought yesterday and a sack borrowed from Mao's family, Qizhen quietly closed the door and headed towards the mountains.

  As for the situation in the mountains, Qizhen still had some familiarity with it, after all, she had been mixed up in the mountains for a period of time.

  Deep in the mountains, the morning is always a bit foggy even if it hasn't rained. Qi Zhen'er only enters the mountain when the sky outside has brightened up a bit. The basket on her back still holds the axe she brought from the Qi's house to boost her courage.

  Although it hasn't rained recently, the humidity in the deep mountains is still relatively high, and with a river nearby, the climate is still quite humid, and some mushrooms have grown on the ground. It's just a bit less.

  Qī Zhēn ér was carrying a bamboo basket, carefully searching for mushrooms in the forest. Mushrooms are very deceptive, especially in the deep mountains where weeds are dense, and you can't find them if you're not careful.

  Qī zhēn ér yī biān yào zhù yì zhe fù jìn de qíng kuàng, yī biān yào yòng xīn de zhǎo mó gu, zhè yī xīn èr yòng, zhēn shì nán shòu.

  Fortunately, in some open pine forests, there are fewer miscellaneous trees and more mushrooms. Qizhen's biggest goal for this trip was to pick mushrooms, but since it hadn't rained, the mushrooms were still a bit scarce. Fortunately, now there are many wild fruits in the mountains, she walked and stopped, also picked a lot of wild fruits. These she prepared to take back to eat.

  When the sun was high, Qizhen looked up at the sky and estimated it to be around 9:00 am. Although she had only picked half a basket of mushrooms, she didn't dare to linger any longer and hurried down the mountain towards the town.

  Qizhen'er put the mushrooms in a burlap sack and loaded the wild fruit into a carrying pole, which made it easier to carry. The wild fruit was not noticeable when packed in the burlap sack, but after being transferred to the carrying pole, it filled up the entire pole and became very heavy, almost too much for Qizhen'er to handle. She had originally planned to hide the carrying pole on the mountain and then retrieve it on her way back from town, but she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease about leaving it there. In reality, she also wanted to see if anyone would be interested in buying the wild fruit, so after some deliberation, she decided to bring it to the market instead.

  Last time going to the town, because of Hu Zi's slow legs, Qi Zhen and others walked for an hour. Today Qi Zhen alone carried a basket of wild fruits on her back, and her pace was about the same, taking almost an hour to arrive.

  Last time I came to visit, Qizhen'er paid attention that there are four districts in Jiyang County, each district has a special place for selling things, whether it's city people or rural people can set up stalls on designated streets, as long as they don't block the road.

  Zijin entered the city and went straight to Nancheng. There was no other reason for this, it's just that last time Ye Baiji took her to Nancheng, and she only knew how to get there.

  Zijin'er arrived late, and the streets of Nancheng were already filled with small stalls. There were all kinds of vendors selling everything imaginable, their cries rising and falling in a lively cacophony that was anything but ordinary.

  After a long search, Qizhen finally found an empty space at the corner, put down her basket, and poured out the mushrooms from the sack. After resting for a while, seeing that there were not many people coming to her place, she became somewhat anxious.

  Her location here is not good, it's too remote. Many people are already buying things and leaving before they even get to her place, so even if someone comes, no one will notice her.

  The stall next to Qizhen was very popular. After observing for a while, she found out that it was because the owner was good at shouting.

  "Fresh tofu for sale~~~ three copper coins a block!"

  "Tofu flower, fresh and sweet tofu flower~~~~"

  "Sir, come and try some tofu, it's fresh and tender, fragrant and delicious, I guarantee you'll be satisfied... want two pieces? Alright, I've wrapped them up for you, have a good walk!"

  Qī Zhēn ér thought for a moment, and she also grasped some of the tricks. She knew that shouting was necessary to get people's attention, but understanding it was one thing, and actually doing it was another matter altogether. Although her appearance was only around ten years old, her soul was already sixteen years old, which is the most shy time for a girl, making her shout loudly, she just couldn't open her mouth.

  Just as Qizhen was hesitating to speak up or not, the bean sprout seller across from her had already sold out and packed up. Qizhen thought the spot was good, so she quickly moved her things over, while the person next to her wasn't as quick and regretted it for a moment.

  "Little girl, your hands and feet are too fast!"

  "I've been eyeing this spot all along, but who knew it would still be snatched away by you."

  Zijin'er smiled awkwardly. Fortunately, everyone saw her as a little girl and didn't bully her much. Most of the people here were from nearby villages, very kind and honest, coming to sell some farm produce and exchange for some pocket money.

  Next to Zhen'er is a woman in her thirties, selling lettuce and broad beans. She also has a carrying pole beside her, it seems she brought a lot of things, but now there's only a little left unsold.

  The woman had noticed Qizhen from across the way. There weren't any little girls as small as Qizhen setting up stalls around here. Now that Qizhen was standing next to her, she started chatting with her.

  "Little girl, what are you selling?"

  Qī Zhēn ér smiled at her and pointed to the mushrooms on the sack, saying: "Auntie, I picked some mushrooms early this morning in the mountain. We can't finish them at home, so I brought them here to sell."

  The woman looked at Qi Zhener's mushrooms and said, "They're really fresh. Why did you come alone? Where are your parents?"

  "They're busy." Zhen'er didn't dare tell outsiders the truth, after all, those without a backer would be bullied.

  That woman did not suspect Qi Zhen's words after all, the farm work was busy, and the adults at home would definitely prioritize the farm work.

  "What a well-behaved child, knowing to help with household chores at such a young age. My kid is already eleven or twelve years old and still only knows how to catch fish and shrimp all day, not understanding anything."

  At this time, another woman came with a basket to ask about the dishes, and the vegetable-selling aunt had no time to chat with Qi Zhen'er.

  It's probably just a little left, and Auntie also wants to sell it early, so she gave that person five cents to pack it up. After cleaning up the goods, the old lady turned back to Qi Zhen'er and said: "Little girl, you can't do this. If you don't shout loudly, you won't attract people. Look over there." Pointing at the tofu seller across from Qi Zhen'er, she said: "You have to be like that to sell quickly. Auntie is telling you, after a while it will be noon and there will be fewer people. If you can't sell it out, today's efforts will be in vain."

  Watching the figure gradually disappear into the distance, Qizhen'er pondered her words and felt that things couldn't go on like this anymore.

  "Gritting her teeth, Qizhen'er shouted: 'Mushroom Leh, fresh mushrooms!'"

  "Sour and sweet fruit~~ Fresh fruit picked from the mountains" The clear and crisp voice stood out among the thick or sharp cries.

  No need to say, after shouting a few times, Qi Zhen'er completely let go. Not afraid of others watching, someone looked over and even took the initiative to greet.

  Before long, someone stopped in front of Qizhen's stall. It was a 14 or 15-year-old girl with double buns, who was very reserved in her speech and behavior. Qizhen immediately recognized the girl's identity - she was a maid.

  To be more accurate, she was a maid from a respectable family.

  Qizhen'er used to be the same as her, and at a glance, you could see the similarities between them. However, Qizhen'er was able to tell that this maid's master had status because of her attire, which was too exquisite, not inferior to the young ladies of the Qi manor before.

  Just as Qizhen'er was sizing up the maid, the maid had already taken a glance at the basket of wild fruits that Qizhen'er was carrying.

  "Little girl, is this fruit delicious?"

  Qī Zhēn ér saw someone asking about her things, of course she was delighted, and hastily nodded: "It's very sweet, don't believe me? Try it." As she said that, she picked one up and handed it to the maid.

  Zijin'er's young age, combined with her well-behaved appearance, made what she said quite believable.

  The maid waved her hand and said, "Forget it, I believe you. How much does this fruit sell for?"

  She certainly knew that the maid wouldn't eat this fruit, generally everyone's maids are raised more nobly than the young ladies of small families, like eating things on the street, and still unwashed things, is not elegant, they certainly won't do it.

  "Ah, originally it was five cents a catty, but I think you look kind, so I'll give it to you for four cents a catty." Qizhen'er said sweetly. She had also been paying attention along the way and noticed that there weren't many fruit vendors in the market, and many people were buying plums at this price.

  Who doesn't love listening to sweet talk? The maid heard Qizhen say this and her good impression of her immediately rose.

  "How many of these do you have? I'll take them all." The maid said boldly. She was helping her mistress buy some fresh fruit today, but who knew that after walking several streets, there was nothing fresh to be found. Just as she was about to drink a cup of tea and rest for a bit at the tea shop, she heard a clear voice calling out "Fresh fruit for sale!" When she came over to take a look, these fruits were indeed very fresh and rare. Many of them she had never seen before! She didn't know how they tasted, but their appearance was certainly appealing. Anyway, her mistress was someone who loved beauty, as long as something looked good, she would love it, even if the fruit didn't taste great, its appearance could still please her.

  Qī Zhēnér was overjoyed when she heard this. She didn't expect to have made such a successful deal so quickly. With great joy, she packed all the fruit into the basket brought by the maid, and then borrowed a scale from the side to weigh it.

  "Sister, look, it's a total of twenty-four catties and two taels. If we subtract the weight of the basket, which is one catty and two taels, that leaves us with twenty-three catties. At four cents per catty, that comes out to be ninety-two cents. I don't want those two cents, sister can just give me ninety cents." Qizhen held out the scale for the maid to see.

  That young girl didn't notice these, heard the price and started taking out money from her purse: "I didn't expect you to be so skilled at weighing and calculating, you gave me a lower price from the start, it's not easy for you either, here, 92 coins, not a single copper plate less."

  Qī Zhēn ér received the money and was overjoyed, but didn't show it on her face. She suppressed the urge to jump up and saw off the maid instead.

  This is her first earned money!