Chapter 40 - Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Liar_l (1/2)

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Liar_l

Translator: 549690339

Jiang Cheng has just turned fourteen this year, his height has been sprouting up recently, almost catching up with his third uncle’s height.

Although he’s growing taller, he’s still a slender teenager. Carrying his little cousin on his back for 5 or 6 miles, he was sweating profusely.

After all, Yingbao now weighs twenty pounds. Very heavy indeed, almost as heavy as a piglet.

Finally arriving at the market, he sat on a stone by the road to rest a bit, then got up and started walking again.

Seeing this, Yingbao took a boiled water chestnut from her pocket and handed it to her big cousin.

Jiang Cheng took it and finished it in three bites, feeling warmth spreading all over his body. In no time, his exhaustion was gone.

Being simple-minded as a teenager, he thought he was just hungry and a water chestnut helped him recover.

He didn’t know that this water chestnut was an experimental piece that Yingbao had soaked in five-ding-zhi overnight.

Yingbao in the back basket was standing on her toes, looking everywhere for her second cousin.

The market was not crowded today, a lot less than during the holiday season.

But there were still many stalls. Mostly they sell seasonal vegetables, chicken eggs, goose eggs, and chicks or goslings.

There are also those who sell baskets, bamboo trays, chicken cages, and straw sandals, and offer fortune-telling services.

Many small vendors set up their stalls with bamboo fences, displaying colorful threads. There were five-poison embroidered bags, ai tigers, ai men, as well as amulets for women, such as peach wood hairpins, owl talismans, and so on.

Ai tigers and ai men were made from dried mugwort woven into the shapes of tigers, humans, scorpions, centipedes, and toads. They were worn around the waist to ward off evil.

Of course, these well-made ai charms were dyed and boiled into bright red with cinnabar. The more carefully made ones also had a few colorful silk tassels hanging from them, which looked quite beautiful.

Owl talismans were hairpins made from the feathers of an owl dyed red. They symbolize using poison against poison and prevent evil and Five Poisons when inserted into one’s hair bun.

Because the Dragon Boat Festival would take place the day after tomorrow, the vendors are trying to take this opportunity to make a big profit, so they put out all their festival goods.

Yingbao immediately spotted her second cousin, Jiang Quan, squatting by the roadside, negotiating with several old women who were carrying baskets.

“Old lady, these are water chestnuts I brought from the county town. A bag is ten coins and I won’t sell it for less. Your offer of seven coins just won’t do.”

The old lady glared at him, “You young man are too greedy, what thing could be worth ten coins a bag? There are only twenty pieces in a bag, I see these are just water chestnuts from the paddy field, seven coins is already too much.”

Jiang Quan was not happy, “Look at what you’re saying, could the water chestnuts in the paddy field grow this big? Old lady, could you be more reasonable, please?”

“I only have seven coins left, no more…” the old lady started to act shamelessly, picked up a bag of water chestnuts, about to leave.

Yingbao had her big cousin put her down, trotted up to her second cousin, hands on her hip, and exclaimed, “You cheater! You just sold it to me for twenty coins a bag, now you’re selling it for ten coins, give me back the extra money! Humph! I bought five bags just now, give me back fifty coins!” Jiang Cheng and Dani were dumbfounded, before they could say anything, Yingbao turned her head and winked at them.

Jiang Cheng immediately shut his mouth, took his sister, and turned to another stall, pretending to look at the goods.

Jiang Quan was more astute and responded immediately, pleading pitifully, “Little sister, it’s this old lady who kept bargaining, I always sell them for twenty coins per bag.”

As he was saying this, he turned to the bargaining old lady and said, “Old lady, why don’t you just not buy it? I’m still selling it for twenty coins a bag.”

“What?” The old lady was displeased when she heard this, “You lad are really cunning. You said it would be ten coins a bag, but then changed it to twenty coins. No! I insist on buying it for ten coins.”

After saying that, she threw down ten coins, picked up a bag of water chestnuts, and walked away.

Two onlookers saw this, each spent ten coins to buy a bag of water chestnuts, and hurried away for fear that the young vendor would change his mind.

Jiang Quan made two more transactions in the blink of an eye, unable to stop smiling. Just as he was about to talk to his little cousin, he saw her wrinkling her nose, glaring at him fiercely, “Liar! Leaving all by yourself without me.”

Jiang Quan touched his nose guiltily, whispering, “I was afraid I would lose you.

Don’t be angry, I’ll buy you some candied fruit later.”

Yingbao snorted, turned around, and went to find her big cousin.

She wanted her big cousin to take her to the harness shop to make one for Youyou so she wouldn’t have to be carried by others wherever she went.

Humph, it’s better to rely on yourself than others. In the future, she must be a self-sufficient person.

And so. Tiang Cheng carried his little cousin. leading his big sister around the market.

They saw a food stall selling owl soup, served with steamed glutinous rice balls or water chestnut dumplings.