The middle-aged woman hurriedly nodded with a smile, "All right, then let's each take half!"
"Hold on, I want to buy some to try for the New Year too."
"I want to buy some as well!"
"Me too, me too!"
At this point, everyone was talking at once, all thinking of buying some to try something new.
Gu Chen smiled amiably as he looked at the crowd, "Don't worry, there's only so much vegetables today, but I'll try to make sure everyone can get some."
Having said that, he split a Huacai down the middle into two halves and then bagged them separately.
Only then did he put them on the scale.
"Here, yours is seventeen yuan and fifty cents."
"And for you, twenty yuan."
Both the old man and the middle-aged woman happily took the Huacai from Gu Chen's hands.
They each took out money from their pockets and handed it over to Gu Chen.
Gu Chen had just taken the money and hadn't even had time to count it.
But the aunty next to them was already getting impatient and urging, "Young man, quickly weigh two jins for me too."
She was a bit worried she wouldn't be able to get any in a little while.
"No problem!"
Gu Chen stuffed the money into his pocket and then used the knife to cut the broccoli and weighed it on the scale.
Since it was cut by hand, it wasn't that precise.
A little bit over.
But Gu Chen wasn't stingy, quickly stuffing the Huacai into the bag.
Smilingly, he handed it over to the aunty across from him.
"Two jins and three taels, we'll call it two jins, twelve yuan!"
The aunty received the vegetables with a beaming smile.
"You, young man, are surely good at doing business. From now on, I'll only buy vegetables from you!"
Gu Chen scratched his head and said with a smile, "Aunty, I don't sell everything, you can't only recognize me."
"Come on, weigh some for me too."
"And me, there doesn't seem to be much left, give me some too."
Everyone was saying one after another, all eager to buy.
The town market was very large, arguably one of the biggest in the city.
Usually, people bought their own things, but seeing a crowd gathered around Gu Chen's stall, many people started walking over.
Wanting to see what the fuss was about.
As a result, the crowd in front of Gu Chen's stall grew larger and larger.
The other vendors didn't say anything, but deep down, they were green with envy.
The vendor selling cabbages couldn't help but glance at Old Tang next to him, who was selling wild goji berries.
"What's he selling over there that's causing such a commotion?"
Old Tang was also puzzled, but hearing the neighbor's remark, he grew even more curious.
"Who knows, I'll go have a look."
Old Tang said and walked towards Gu Chen's stall.
The goji berries he sold were wild ones picked from the hills in the summer.
In terms of nutritional and medicinal value, they were top-notch.
How come there isn't a single person at his stall, yet the kid's stall is swarming with people?
That didn't make any sense.
Over at Gu Chen's stall.
The little stand was now a hubbub of activity, with him juggling tasks all over the place.
A fine layer of sweat had already broken out on his forehead.
The little girl, seeing her father dividing up the vegetables, weighing them, collecting money, and giving change,
began to help by holding the bags, even though the child's movements were slower.
Still, the father and daughter worked together in harmony,
earning praises from many people that Tangtang was a sensible child.
Old Tang, who was selling goji berries, watched the scene before him, his heart filled with jealousy and envy.
Good lord, when would his own stand attract so many people?
This wasn't just buying vegetables, it was like a frenzy,
as if it was free.
He stopped an aunty who was holding the Huacai and was about to leave.
Curiously he asked, "Aunty, why is everyone scrambling for this Huacai?"
The aunty smiled mysteriously.
"You don't know, this is imported, it's pear-flavored, have you ever tasted it?"
Upon hearing this, Old Tang shook his head, looking astonished.
"Pear-flavored broccoli?"
How could that be?
This is preposterous!
Absolutely ludicrous!
He, Tang Laosi, had been selling stuff in this market for at least six or seven years.
He had heard of banana pears, he had heard of chocolate-flavored strawberries.
This pear-flavored broccoli.
It was his first time hearing about it.
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed unbelievable to him.
Before long, the Huacai left on Gu Chen's stall had sold down to just less than half, and there wasn't enough left to keep selling.
Seeing that Gu Chen had run out of vegetables,
everyone murmured with some dissatisfaction.
"How come it's all gone."
"Yeah, young man, are you coming back tomorrow?"
Gu Chen gave everyone an apologetic smile.
"Don't worry, everyone, I'll be back tomorrow. I just didn't expect these imported Huacais to be so popular!"
"Tomorrow, I will definitely bring more!"
"That's great, I'll come back tomorrow too, but you have to save me some of your high-tech stuff."
"Yeah, bring more, New Year's is almost here, and I want to buy some for my daughter-in-law, sister, and brother's family too!"
After listening to Gu Chen's explanation, everyone dispersed one after another.
There were too many people just now, and he didn't even have a chance to count the money.
Now, with no one around, Gu Chen began to sort and count the change in his bag.
It totaled more than three hundred and sixty yuan.
It wasn't a lot, but after all, it was his first day making money.
And he had earned enough to buy milk powder for Tangtang.
With this, Gu Chen felt quite satisfied.
He pocketed the money and then noticed Old Tang, who had been standing in the corner and watching.
He laughed, "Big brother, I'm sorry, but the Huacai is all sold out. Why don't you come back tomorrow?"
Hearing this, Old Tang also laughed.
"Well, I'm the one who sells goji berries over there."
After speaking, he even pointed back at his own stall.
"I heard that your Huacai actually tastes like pears?" Old Tang asked incredulously.
Gu Chen nodded.
"Yeah, it's imported. There's still a little left, not much though. If you don't mind, why don't you take it back and try it?"
After saying this, Gu Chen pulled out a plastic bag and filled it with the remaining two pounds of Huacai.
He handed it to Old Tang.
Old Tang didn't expect this young fellow Gu Chen to be so generous.
He waved his hands immediately.
"Oh no, that wouldn't be right; I see this isn't cheap. This little amount here must be worth at least ten yuan, right?"
Don't underestimate the value of ten yuan these days.
It's equivalent to several tens of yuan in the future, quite valuable indeed.
Seeing that he refused, Gu Chen forcefully stuffed it into his hands.
"Big Bro, I can see you're older than me. If you're willing, I'll call you brother. Besides, we're both doing business here together, it would help me out to get some pointers from you."
As the saying goes, more friends means more paths.
After all, Gu Chen was new here, and even though this was just a small business of selling vegetables,
having someone look out for you certainly made a difference.
Seeing Gu Chen's enthusiasm, Old Tang no longer felt right refusing.
He chuckled.
"Alright then, I'll accept it. But I can't just take your stuff for nothing, if you acknowledge me as your older brother, just wait here, I'll be right back!"
Having said that, Old Tang turned and walked briskly towards his own stall.
He hastily grabbed a bag and filled it with some goji berries.
Then he returned to Gu Chen.
"I won't take yours for nothing, if you sincerely consider me your older brother, then take these. They are all wild, great for making a soup or brewing in water, very nourishing!"