Chapter 43: The Wind Rises

  By noon, Qizhen still had a small half of the mushrooms left. Seeing that there were fewer and fewer people on the street, Qizhen didn't want to wait any longer either. If they couldn't be sold, she would take them back home to eat herself. Anyway, dried mushrooms could be eaten during winter when there was no other vegetables.

  Watching that they couldn't make it in time for lunch, and the things they wanted to buy hadn't been bought yet, Qizhen decided to eat something in town and then head back after finishing shopping.

  The last time I ate a bun, it tasted really good, but it was a bit small. Qizhen'er ate half of it and felt like she hadn't even taken two bites before it was gone. Anyway, at one cent each, they're not expensive, so Qizhen'er decided to go buy two buns to eat.

  From far away, the aroma of food from the street vendors wafted over, and even Qizhen, who wasn't hungry at first, was tempted by the smell and felt her stomach growling with hunger.

  She went to the baozi shop, and Qizhen saw that there were tables and chairs inside, and not many people, so she went in and found a corner seat. The boss originally thought she was just a little girl who would buy two buns and leave, but seeing her come in, he didn't have the nerve to shoo away customers. Fortunately, at this time, there were few people, and the shop had many empty tables and chairs.

  "Little girl, what would you like to eat?" The store was small and could basically be managed by the couple who owned it. When the owner saw Zhen'er walk in, he asked.

  Qī Zhēn ér looked at the sign on the wall, which had the name of the package and its price written on it.

  "Bring two mushroom buns. I've finished eating four mushroom buns, four fresh meat buns, four sauce meat buns and four leek buns, take them away."

  Regarding Qizhen's literacy, the baozi shop owner expressed great surprise. After all, books and tuition fees are very expensive, and ordinary families can't afford to send their boys to school, let alone a little girl. However, upon hearing Qizhen's words, the old man was still very happy and became more enthusiastic in his hospitality.

  "Okay, little girl, just wait a moment, it'll be fine soon."

  This time I really misjudged, didn't expect a young girl to have such courage. The boss thought to himself.

  Two buns were served on the table, accompanied by a bowl of soup.

  "Boss, I don't want the soup." Qizhen'er said, looking at the soup.

  The boss of the baozi shop smiled and said, "This is on the house. Just eating baozi isn't enough, have a sip of soup to moisten your mouth. Our family's soup may be made with cheap big bones, but it tastes good and has nutrition. Try some."

  Qī Zhēnér took a sip, and the flavor was indeed good. Unexpectedly, the big bones that looked unappetizing and worthless at ordinary times made such a delicious soup, but why didn't many families want to use them to make soup?

  "This thing is a hassle to simmer, and there's not much meat on it. People from the countryside wouldn't want to do something like this. Only wealthy families who pay attention to their food and clothing would know the benefits of this big bone. My wife used to work for a wealthy family, she understands these things, and I only knew about them because she told me." The old boss explained.

  Qizhen only then realized that she had unknowingly asked out all the words in her heart. However, if this thing is really good, she can also drink soup with Huzi in the future, anyway it's cheap.

  The two buns were quickly eaten by Qizhen, she didn't eat breakfast in the morning, after eating these two buns she still felt hungry, fortunately that bowl of soup went down and she felt full.

  The boss was also a connoisseur and saw that Qizhen was about to finish eating, so he started packing the buns according to her requirements.

  She wrapped up sixteen buns and placed them beside Zijin'er. "Here, little girl, these are your buns, a total of twenty-six cents."

  Qizhen'er calculated it was also this price, took the burlap sack out of the basket, Qizhen'er was just about to put the steamed buns in, that boss noticed the things in the basket and asked: "Little girl, are these mushrooms newly bought?"

  Qizhen'er thought that the baozi shop also sold mushroom buns, and estimated that there was a need for them. She said, "No, this is what I picked on the mountain this morning, preparing to take it to town to sell, and there are still some left. Boss, do you want any?"

  The boss took over the mushrooms and looked at them, saying: "How much does the little girl sell?"

  Zi Zhen'er knew that all businessmen have their own ways, and the boss wouldn't just buy mushrooms this one time. If business goes well, he'll definitely come back to her again in the future.

  "Boss, give me a price? I picked all these myself from the mountain, just want to earn some pocket money." Qizhen'er thought for a moment and still handed over the initiative to the other party. After all, it can be seen from the opening price whether it is a person who can cooperate in the long term.

  The boss initially looked down on Qizhen, but after knowing she could read and didn't show off her wealth, he thought her family's financial situation should be okay. Plus, Qizhen gave him a good feeling, so he didn't press for a lower price.

  "We usually sell it for three cents a catty, and I'll give you this price, what do you think?"

  Zi Zhen'er thought for a moment, and with the four Wen coins she had just sold, she was only short of one Wen coin, which was still fair. She had carried it all this way, and didn't want to carry it back either. A no-loss deal was still a gain, whether she sold it or not.

  "Go with what the boss said."

  The weight was just over eight catties, so the old man wiped off the extra and counted it as eight catties. After paying for the buns, there were still two coins left, but the boss waved his hand and said: "Forget about those two coins, consider it my treat for the little girl. If you have fresh mushrooms in the future, would you please come to our store first?" Although they didn't lack mushrooms, they were all dried, which was not as tasty as fresh ones. It hadn't rained much recently, so he thought no one would be picking mushrooms, but unexpectedly met a little girl.

  Qī Zhēnér heard that he was willing to pay two less coins, and had a long-term cooperation plan, so she naturally agreed. However, it hadn't rained much recently, and she didn't know if she would be lucky enough to find mushrooms every day. She said: "It hasn't rained much recently, and the mushrooms on the mountain are scarce. But if I look carefully, there still are some. In the future, if I pick some and come to sell them, I'll definitely ask the boss first if he needs them."

  "Alright, it's settled then."

  Out of the steamed bun shop, Qizhen was still quite happy. Although today's work was delayed, everything was sold out, not only did she earn over a hundred copper coins, but also bought some buns back home for dinner. Qizhen felt like she was walking with the wind.

  Qī Zhēnér went to the fabric store, wanting to ask if they had any quilts for sale. Although summer was approaching, their new house still didn't have a bed, but having a quilt to cover it would be fine too.

  The shopkeeper saw that she was just a young girl, wearing coarse linen clothes and patches, so he didn't show much enthusiasm in welcoming her. He pointed to an old quilt in the corner and let her look at it herself.

  Qī Zhēn ér looked at them, those were all old and worn out, the cotton was all bunched up, it felt rough to the touch, let alone covering herself with it.

  "Hey little brother, do you have some newer ones? These are too old."

  That fellow was leaning against the counter, listlessly watching people come and go outside. Hearing Qizhen call him, he raised his head, glanced at her, pointed to another direction, "It's over there, take a look yourself."

  Zijin didn't mind his attitude either, after all she was too young and had no credibility when buying things, let alone something so expensive.

  However, these quilts are good. They should be newly quilted, feeling very soft to the touch, and the lining is cotton, also very comfortable to the touch, not scratchy. Qizhen loves these quilts very much.

  "Hey little brother, how much for these quilts?"

  This time that fellow didn't even turn his head back and directly replied: "Four hundred coins for a bed, now the new cotton hasn't come down yet, this price is considered cheap."

  Listening to him, Qizhen also felt that this was the case. However, she counted the money in her hand and found that it was only enough to buy one bed, including the 100 cents she earned today. But once she spent the money, she wouldn't have a single cent left.

  After some thought, Qizhen still decided to give up. Next time she would sell more things at the market and wait until she had money in her hands before doing anything else.

  As for Qizhen'er, who didn't buy anything and left, the shopkeeper wasn't surprised at all, not even raising an eyebrow. At a glance, it's clear that he's penniless; if he really wanted to buy something, he should have started with some fabric to make clothes.

  Zijin'er went to the grain and oil store again, asked about the prices of miscellaneous noodles, bean oil, and vinegar, and was ready to leave. Having wandered around for so long today, she had a good understanding of what she wanted to know, so she hurried back.

  All the way, Qizhen was very happy in her heart and walked with a bounce. She knew that good luck like today's wasn't available every day, but being able to earn first prize made her very happy anyway.

  Ye's family lived at the end of the village, and every time they came back from outside, they had to pass through the village. Today, as soon as they entered the village, Qizhen felt something was off. This strangeness wasn't about anything else, but rather the way the villagers looked at her, as if she had gotten herself dirty with something unclean.

  Qī Zhēnér felt a bit strange, but couldn't figure it out and was about to put it behind her mind. She thought of hurrying back home to take a look at her new house. Moreover, she had received some good news at the gathering today that she wanted to share with Bái Jì sister to celebrate.

  Arrived at Ye's house, Qizhen hadn't even entered the room when she turned to go see her new house behind the main building. Before she had even stepped inside, she sensed something was off. **Vote for me, and collect this chapter!**