The next morning, everyone went to the Nancheng county market after finishing breakfast.
They maintained the tradition of going to the market by going there every first and fifteenth day of the month. The market was pretty big and almost all of the villagers from the nearby villages would come over.
Qiao Moyu slept well last night and woke up early this morning. She didn't put on any makeup and just casually braided her long hair into two braids. From the back, she looked like a young lady who grew up in the mountains.
Qin Qianqian smiled at her, "Moyu, are you trying to look more down to earth? You better wear a flowery dress because if you do, young men from ten li and eight villages away will definitely go crazy for you!"
(T/N: Li – A measure of length = approximately 500m)
The two friends found a spot by the corner and spread the already prepared oilpaper cloth on the ground. They placed two small cushions and began to sell garland flowers. On the other side, Xing Wanshuang looked at Qiao Moyu in disdain.
She had really thought Qiao Moyu had a backup plan but who would've known that she was really going to sell garland flowers?
Xing Wanshuang planned to win with Qiao Ruohuan's group. Qiao Ruohuan would obviously have Xing Yichen on her side, so she wanted to have Ye Peicheng assist her group in winning, she wanted to see what Qiao Moyu and Qin Qianqian would do without someone assisting them!
Xing Wanshuang opened the box carefully. She was very lucky yesterday and discovered a few dozen of caterpillar fungus.
This was 100% good stuff, nothing else could compare to this!
Yesterday, she gave the caterpillar fungus to Qiao Ruohuan to see. She wanted to give the caterpillar fungus to her so that Qiao Ruohuan's group would place first, but Qiao Ruohuan smiled and said it was no big deal because it was a fair competition. Either way, Xing Wanshuang was certain that she wouldn't place last.
Xing Wanshuang knew that the walnuts Qiao Ruohuan had picked were in good condition, so she didn't insist that she take her caterpillar fungus. She thought that if she really wanted to place first, she could have both the male guest to assist her; but she will definitely leave her brother for Qiao Ruohuan.
At the beginning of the market, there weren't that many people but soon many villagers from nearby rushed over.
Some people wanted to sell goods while others merely came to purchase materials for their house. As a result, the items in the market were all the same. Qiao Moyu and the others were by the miscellaneous goods section.
A group of people passed by and smiled when they saw Qiao Moyu's garland flowers, "Young lady, are you selling the garland flower? It's very beautiful!"
Qiao Moyu replied, "Aunty, my garland flowers aren't ordinary because I only sell it to single men and women. I don't sell it to people like you who live sweetly with your husband."
Aunty smiled deeply, "Young lady is very sweet! But why do you only sell to single men and women?"
Qiao Moyu immediately revealed a mysterious expression, "This is because these are lucky garland flowers. After you wear them, you will have great luck with the opposite gender!"
"The young ladies now really know how to speak." Aunty smiled and shook her head.
"Aunty, you must believe this. You'll know once you turn around." Qiao Moyu said, "Plus, my garland flowers recognize their owners so it will bring good luck to whoever buys it. Others will be envious but there is no use in stealing and trying to wear it."
The aunty obviously didn't believe Qiao Moyu's boasting, she turned around to look at the other booths.
Her old man liked to play with walnuts, so her eyes brightened when she saw the walnuts displayed in front of Qiao Ruohuan's booth.
Although walnuts needed to be air-dried and slightly waxed before it could be played with, the few pairs in front of Qiao Ruohuan were freshly picked and in extremely good condition.
Especially the pair of walnuts which looked almost exactly the same, many stopped to look at this.
Actually, customer could just buy fresh walnuts and air-dry it at home, but they didn't realize that. Another alternative is to bring these to a specialized store to have them air-dried and waxed if they desired. The walnuts that were air-dried and waxed were worth much more on the market and many of them sold for tens of thousands of dollars.
Aunty asked, "Maiden, how are you planning to sell the walnuts?"
Realizing that this aunty came from Qiao Moyu's both, an uneasily detected cold smile passed by the bottom of Qiao Ruohuan's eyes.
Realizing that this aunty came from Qiao Moyu's both, an uneasily detected cold smile passed by the bottom of Qiao Ruohuan's eyes.
However, her eyes were warm and bright as she looked up and said, "Aunty, this is the first time I attended a market and you're my first customer. So, I will sell it cheaply to you. This is just an ordinary pair so it will only cost you 800 yuan and the other two pairs cost 1,200 yuan. The best pair of walnuts, the pair that almost looks exactly like each other will cost 10,000 yuan."
Aunty couldn't help but scrunched her eyebrows, "It's too expensive."
"Aunty, since you came to my booth, you definitely know the ropes. Besides it being a little fresh, the walnuts' quality is pretty good." Qiao Ruohuan genuinely looked at her, "We are lacking some money recently, so we are selling it quite cheaply. Whether you are buying it to play, to collect, or to giveaway, you won't lose anything."
By the side, Qin Qianqian who was listening exclaimed to Qiao Moyu, "Heavens, did Qiao Ruohuan set up booths in the past? She's too good with her words."
Qiao Moyu's lips twitched and she continued to guard her garland flowers.
At this time, a young lad passed by Qiao Moyu. He glanced at the garland flowers and a feeling of sorrow appeared in his eyes.
Qiao Moyu recalled the village chief's words and her heart was moved. She tested, "Young lad, do you want to buy a garland flower and gift it to the young lady you like?"
The young lad originally didn't want to answer but seeing how beautiful Qiao Moyu was, his eyes were filled with expectation and he didn't have the heart to just leave.
He sighed, "The young lady that I like? I may like her, but she might not like me back!"
Qiao Moyu had already guessed this, she picked up a garland flower and said, "This garland flower is specially for young lads. Once you wear it, I promise you that the young lady will like you!"
The young lad didn't believe her words and was about to leave.
Qiao Moyu stopped him, "Wait! So, you don't even have the confidence to face her at all?"
The young lad halted.
Qiao Moyu said, "I will sell it to you for a dollar. I believe that you are able to at least spend a dollar on a garland flower. After you buy the garland flower, we will bet. If you wear this garland flower and none of the ladies confesses to you, I will give you a hundred dollars!"
The young lad began to half-heartedly believe this and asked, "It's really that amazing?"
Qiao Moyu shrugged her shoulders, "How do you know without trying? If a young lady confesses to you, you just need to bring her here to the market and let me see. Then, you can have it for free."
Although the young lad still didn't believe Qiao Moyu after her explanation, he felt that there was no loss in just giving her a dollar.
Qiao Moyu took the money and gave the garland flower to the young lad. She patted his shoulders, "Come on, I have faith in you!"
After the young lady left, Qin Qianqian said, "Moyu, why do I feel like you are a swindler who sets up stalls and tells people fake fortunes? You looked so professional before…"
"Are you saying that I'm a professional swindler and cheater?" Moyu smiled.
Qin Qianqian pursed her lips, "I didn't say that." Although she didn't say that, it was clear that she was thinking that.
Qiao Moyu stopped speaking. She knew that within a few hours, Qin Qianqian will definitely throw away her past knowledge and realize that she really does have true abilities.
In reality, it didn't matter whether it was a garland flower or floral hoop. Both items are just ordinary items, but the trick was to pat the person buying the garland flowers on the shoulder.
In her past life, the number of people who wanted to touch or patted on the shoulder by her could form a never-ending line. What they all wanted was to request for either wealth or luck with the opposite gender.
Now, she just needed to think about how much she should sell the garland flowers and floral hoops in order to maintain first place in the contest.
On the other side, Qiao Ruohuan had already sold a pair of walnuts which was bought by a middle-aged man. He had bought a pair of walnuts originally worth 1,200 for 800. This was a good start for Qiao Ruohuan.
In the comment section, Qiao Ruohuan's fans were ecstatic. They cheered and exclaimed how amazing their goddess was. They praised her for her great acting skills as well as her amazing business skills.
In the other comment section for Xing Wanshuang's fans, they were also in high spirits because they saw an expensive ingredient, the caterpillar fungus in her booth.
The fans started a bet, trying to guess who will place first.
Compared to the fans, Qiao Moyu's fans were all trying to comfort her. They said that a dollar is no big deal, after all, she was being benevolent. No matter how much she earned, it was okay because she just needed to try her best.
In the morning, someone finally came to Xing Wanshuang's stall.
Xing Wanshuang was a young miss. Although she acted these sorts of roles before, she still didn't know what to say in markets like this.
Zhou Yunchuan said, "Brother, this is the caterpillar fungus that we picked from the mountain yesterday. It's freshly picked from the wild!"
The middle-aged man took a look, scrunched his eyebrows, and left without saying anything.
Xing Wanshuang was a bit upset, "Brother Zhou, why is he like this?"
Zhou Yunchuan comforted, "It's no big deal, this is very normal. Some people just want to take a look and not really want to buy it. Our items are good, so those who need it will not miss it."
Xing Wanshuang heard this and nodded her head. She was confident in her items too, believing that even if she doesn't place first, she would at least place second.
Every few seconds, Qiao Ruohuan would sell another two pairs of walnuts.
The two male guests bought some local food and drinks and brought it over to the three groups.
After last night, Qiao Ruohuan and Xing Yichen had probably made up. Qiao Moyu could see the gentleness in Xing Yichen's eyes as he looked at Qiao Ruohuan.
She couldn't help but smile. When did the original female lead need to sell her body in order to obtain the male lead's favorable impression?
At this time, Ye Peicheng brought two bags of food for Qiao Moyu. He delivered the items asking, "How much did you earn?"
Qin Qianqian was upset, "Just a dollar."
Ye Peicheng had already guessed this result. He comforted her by saying, "No worries. The important thing is participating in it. Plus, I found $520 in front of Moyu's door. When they announce the result, I'll ask if anyone lost their money. If not, I will place this money with your group."
"Wow, teacher Ye is so nice!" Qin Qianqian was surprised.
While Yei Peicheng spoke, Qiao Moyu opened the bag and began to snack on dumplings and shaved ice. The satisfied expression she had on made it seem like the competition wasn't important to her.
Ye Peicheng sat by her side, "Little Moyu, aren't you worried about the result?"
Qiao Moyu shook her head. Her mouth was stuffed with food as she mumbled, "Look. There will definitely be a lot of people rushing to buy my garland flowers!"
Ye Peicheng saw a grain of sesame seed by the corner of her lips. He reached over to pick it off and his fingertips carelessly touched her smooth cheeks. He recalled the almost kiss last night and his heart was slightly moved, "Moyu."
"Hm?" She returned around to look at him.
He suddenly didn't know what to say, so he just smiled at her and then stood up.
Qiao Moyu felt a bit confused, however, she quickly placed her doubts to the side because a couple of people had arrived in front of Xing Wanshuang's stall.
Xing Wanshuang's eyes brightened at the men and women wearing gold and silver walked in front of her stall. It looked like someone with money had finally arrived!
Xing Wanshuang straightened her back and asked, "Is everyone here to buy caterpillar fungus?"
The moment she spoke, these people looked at her face. One of the women shockingly said, "Aren't you that Xing Wanshuang? The celebrity!"
The woman had a loud voice, so when she talked, everyone looked over.
"Are you really that Xing Wanshuang? Heavens, I actually met an A-list celebrity!" The woman was very excited, "Can we take a picture?"
Although Xing Wanshuang didn't like their vulgar looks, she still smiled generously in hopes of selling the items, "Ok."
The two women quickly gave the camera to the man by their side and the men took a few pictures of them.
The woman asked Xing Wanshuang again, "Why did you set up a stall? Are you here to experience the lifestyle here?"
The program group made a rule that they couldn't say they were recording a program when setting up stalls, so Xing Wanshuang just smiled and didn't say anything. Even the cameramen had to use small video cameras to secretly film the show.
The men in front of Xing Wanshuang's stall had already picked up the boxes of items in her stall. When they saw what's inside, they asked, "What are you selling?"
Zhou Yunchuan responded, "Caterpillar fungus. We just picked it yesterday."
The woman's voice from before had already attracted numerous people nearby. An older man looked and shook his head, "How is this a caterpillar fungus? Maiden, did you pick this at the Nan Jia Village? These are just ordinary items; it looks a bit like a caterpillar fungus so many people think that is the real thing. In reality, it's actually harmful to your body if you eat them!"
Once he had said this, a few others also carefully looked at the items inside the boxes. After inspecting the items, they all shook their heads and said, "How can caterpillar funguses be so easily found? With just one look, you can tell this is obviously fake! Only the shape of this item is similar, but the color isn't even right! Maiden, didn't you see the ones being sold in the medical shops?"
Xing Wanshuang didn't expect this outcome. She had never paid any attention to the appearance of a caterpillar fungus since her family didn't even eat this!
Suddenly, she thought of old man Qiao whose body wasn't well before. She had heard Qiao Ruohuan mention that she had bought quite a bit of caterpillar fungus from the medical shop before and after the old man ate it, he got much better!
So, Qiao Ruohuan already knew that this was fake caterpillar fungus which was why she has refused her offer to take it? Did Qiao Ruohuan didn't tell her on purpose because she wanted to see her make a fool out of herself?!
Xing Wanshuang suddenly turned around to look at Qiao Ruohuan. The latter hurriedly waved her hand, exclaiming that she didn't know.
How would Xing Wanshuang believe this? She tightened her hands into a fist and anger rose inside her heart. She had never lost her face in public ever since she was a child!
In the beginning, because there were a lot of people surrounding the place, everyone spoke politely. However, when people found out that Xing Wanshuang was actually a celebrity, they started to speak impolitely—
"Heh, and she's a celebrity. Normally, she earned so much and now, she wants to swindle people at our place!"
"Right? That item is obviously not a caterpillar fungus. I don't believe that she didn't know. She really has a black heart, too greedy!"
"She's called Xing Wanshuang, right? Which movies did she act in before?" Someone was in doubt before responding, "Oh, I remembered. My daughter has been watching "Sheng Shi", isn't Xing Wanshuang acting in it?"
"Quickly tell your daughter to stop watching it. It'll teach your children to go on the wrong path!"
People were pointing at her and even the program group's faces changed. They hurriedly went over to help.
Xing Yichen detected that something was wrong too, so he rushed through the crowd.
Seeing that his sister was about to cry, he hurriedly pulled her behind him. He said, "Everyone, even though this is a market, this is not the place where you can casually speak and point at someone! She is my sister. Speak to me if you have something against her. What's the point of bullying a girl?"
His attitude was stern and because of his imposing manner, the people who were watching passively were a little nervous.
Some people just scolded them a little more before directly leaving. Very quickly, everyone left Xing Wanshuang's stall.
Xing Yichen turned around and said, "Little Shuang, are you ok?"
Xing Wanshuang knew that they were still recording the program, so she tried her best to hold in her tears. She shook her head at Xing Yichen and lowered her voice, "Brother, I'll tell you later."
She then swept her glance at Qiao Ruohuan's direction.