“Healthy pork! Nothing but the best for your family!
“Natural is good! Keep your family happy and healthy!
“The best pork for the best people!
“Your family’s health is our guarantee! You can’t beat this quality!”
…
Her barrage of advertising slogans, not one of them repetitious, made Jiang Yeqian’s eyes widen. As he watched her yell at the top of her lungs in the middle of the road, he could not help but frown. What a strange woman.
At first, he thought she was just an undignified woman who was stupid enough to get pregnant out of wedlock.
However, she took him by surprise over and over again, overturning all his presuppositions.
Qi Qingyao’s new and unprecedented slogans attracted a lot of curious onlookers. They walked over to her stall to look at the pork she was selling, and they even stole a glance at the person in the Horse-face mask slicing up the meat!
“This pork does look good,” a woman said approvingly, holding up a piece of belly meat.
Qi Qingyao rubbed the head of the child in the woman’s arms and beamed as she said, “You’re pretty, lady, and your kid’s cute too! Do you want a catty of pork? You can braise it for your husband and children back home~”
“Sounds good, gimme a catty!”
Jiang Yeqian quickly weighed out the meat. When the woman took the money out of her wallet, she counted it twice and made sure she had exactly the right number of copper-cashes before she handed them over to Qi Qingyao.
Qi Qingyao bowed and thanked her.
“Could you give us a discount?” An older man came up next.
Qi Qingyao’s eyes immediately reddened. She wiped her red-rimmed, tear-filled eyes and said pitifully, “Sorry, sir, but look behind me. I have three toddlers to raise! You have your kid with you too, so I’m sure you know it isn’t easy raising children. My husband worked so hard to get this wild boar, and it even bit half of his leg off. See the two men behind me? They went hunting with him, and the boar bit their faces off. That’s why they’re wearing masks. I’m just a woman, and all I can think of is earning money to help treat my husband’s leg. Sigh, at this rate he’ll have to rely on a cane for the rest of his life. That hunt… will probably be his last!”
Jiang Yeqian was in awe at the way she could spin tall tales at the drop of a hand.
She did not even have a husband, so how could he have lost a leg? As for needing money for treatment… The woman was an accomplished storyteller.
“Poor thing. Give me two catties, then.”
“I want two catties too.”
“I run a small restaurant in town. Give me five.”
“One for me…”
The stall soon became crowded with paying customers.
Qi Qingyao could barely count the money fast enough.
The three toddlers under the tree at the back were stunned by what they saw. They could not believe their eyes when they saw the money accumulating in their mother’s hands.
“Mommy’s amazing.” Erniu’s eyes widened as she gasped in adorable awe.
Xiaobao was so excited at the back that he could not help but applaud quietly. “We earned so much money.”
Erniu turned to look at Dabao, her voice sounding a little stuffy as she ventured, “Dabao, do you think I could ask Mommy to buy me a candied haw later?”
“I want some too. Let’s ask Mommy together later.” With all the money Mommy was earning, Dabao thought they should be able to afford a candied haw.
Xiaobao’s expression turned stern and he said stubbornly, “Have you two forgotten? Mommy owes the villagers twenty taels!”
“…” Dabao and Erniu froze at the same time.
Dabao’s eyes filled with tears as he looked at Xiaobao resentfully. He forced a smile, saying, “Xiaobao, a candied haw costs barely anything.”
“Every coin counts!” Xiaobao insisted single-mindedly.
“Alright.” Dabao sighed.
Xiaobao added, “We don’t even have a place to live anymore. We might have to spend the night outdoors, yet all you can think about is candied haws!”
Dabao and Erniu both reddened from shame at Xiaobao’s lecture.
