They had been here for more than an hour. The other hawkers managed to sell out some things, except Changsheng who was trying to sell his eggs. He did not know if he was having a tough luck or he had brought too many eggs with him, for he had not sold any of his eggs.
Changsheng grew anxious as the clock ticked by. His forehead was beaded with cold sweat. Do we really have to bring these eggs all the way home if we fail to sell it today?
They remained at the same spot for another hour. Before long, two hours went by. Yet, the number of their eggs stayed the same.
Yan Huan rose to her feet, thinking that nothing would change if they continued to stay here quietly. Soon, they would have to head home as it would be dangerous to take the mountain roads after the sunset.
“Changsheng, do you know if there’s any eatery around this area?” Yan Huan asked.
“Are you hungry?” Changsheng took out a biscuit. “Here. You can have this first. We can have our dinner at home after the eggs are sold out.”
Yan Huan was flustered by Changsheng’s words, knowing that it was impossible for them to sell all the eggs now that the peak hour had passed. It was not as easy as he expected it to be. Is this kid naive or simply overconfident?
“Let’s find a restaurant first,” Yan Huan insisted. Of course, she did not accept the biscuit that Changsheng offered.
“Sure.” Changsheng stood up after giving it some thoughts. He carried the basket on his back. Let’s just go to the restaurant since Yan Huan insists. He still had some money with him and it was enough to buy her to have a nice meal. He could get up earlier the next day to sell the eggs and earn some money.
When they reached a considerably decent restaurant, Yan Huan entered the restaurant alongside Changsheng. Yan Huan was used to visiting many restaurants and hotels, and thus, she was very familiar with the environment. On the other hand, it was Changsheng’s first time at such a place. He was evidently not at ease. He dared not lift up his head as he tightened his grip around the cash, not knowing if he had enough money to pay the cheque.
His cheeks were burning. This was his first time feeling ashamed of his lack of wealth as he could not afford to provide her much. The people in the village were poor, and he was no exception.
Only then he understood why the men of the village wanted to work outside the village. They only wanted to earn more in order to buy gifts and provide a better life to their loved ones.
“What would you like to order?” A waiter greeted them as they entered the restaurant. Yan Huan’s face was masked with a piece of cloth while she was limping on one leg. As for Changsheng, although he had a tall and masculine physique, he was obviously a country bumpkin.
“Can I know if the restaurant needs any egg?”
Yan Huan spoke fluently in a standard accent. She had been learning some of the dialect, but she was not familiar with it yet. Therefore, it was better for her to speak in an accent which was widely understood.
“Eggs?” Seeing the load on Changsheng’s back, the waiter immediately realized that they were trying to pitch sales. However, they had their own purchasers in the restaurant and did not need to buy any more eggs.
She was about to reject them, but she found it really hard to decline Yan Huan after she looked into Yan Huan’s mesmerizing and beautiful eyes.
“Let me bring you to the kitchen. Is that alright?” The waiter could not bring herself to turn them away. Therefore, she decided to lead them to the kitchen. All in all, she would let the head chef take a look at the goods. Then, it would be his decision to either accept or reject their offer.
Changsheng was still out of the loop. Anyway, he followed Yan Huan wherever they went.
The waiter made known of their purpose to the head chef when they reached the kitchen. They were indeed lucky as the kitchen was in need of eggs and their purchaser had yet to deliver a new batch. The head chef was in a pickle about the egg dishes on the menu. Their timing was perfect. It was as if he was given a pillow as a gift just in time for bed.
“Are the eggs fresh?” The head chef took out one egg and weighed it in his hand as he asked Changsheng. Men were always seen as the leader of the family, while women were deemed indecisive. Naturally, the question was delivered to the man instead of the woman.
Changsheng opened his mouth, but he was too nervous to speak as he had never experienced such an exchange before. Counting eggs and selling them in the markets were his forte, but he had absolutely no experience in pitching.
“The eggs are fresh. They are newly laid from the hens at home.” Yan Huan took an egg and cracked it on the side of a cabinet to show the perfect yolk to the head chef. “The eggs are laid by our free-range hens. They feed off nothing but live insects and vegetables. These are authentic free-range eggs which have a higher nutritional value compared to normal eggs. Besides, they are free from any sort of pollution.”
After finishing her sentence, she threw the smashed egg into a bin at the side without showing any hint of regret. As a matter of fact, she would not even allow herself to eat a single egg at Changsheng’s house.
The head chef picked up another egg. Hmm, every egg is of identical size. There are some with red shells and some with white shells. Judging from the soft sheen on the eggs, he could tell that the eggs had not been touched by many people. He believed what Yan Huan said, that these eggs were indeed very fresh.
“How much are the eggs?” The head chef put the eggs in the basket. “I’ll take them if the price is reasonable.”
Changsheng was stunned. Before he could mention the price, Yan Huan had already interrupted, “These free-range eggs are all from our own farm, so they will be more expensive than the commercial eggs. Since this is our first time selling to you, we’ll give you a discount. The market price for normal eggs is three dollars and fifty cents per catty, our free-range eggs is only one dollars and fifty cents more than that. It’ll be five dollars per catty for you then.”
The head chief briefly pondered upon the offered price. Yan Huan was certainly correct. The normal eggs were sold at a price of three dollars and fifty cents. Meanwhile, the current price of free-range eggs was approximately seven to eight dollars. It was impossible for them to purchase the egg for less than six dollars. Yet, they were offering him with the price of merely five dollars per catty.
“Alright, we’ll take them all,” said the delighted head chef before he immediately told them to weigh the eggs. The total weight of the eggs was more than 30 catties. After they calculated the total sum, he paid them 180 dollars.
Changsheng took the money in his hand, unable to come back to his senses for quite a while. He felt as if the money was burning his hands.
“Xiao Yan, did we really earn this much money? 180 dollars?”
“Isn’t the money in your hands right now?” Yan Huan recomposed herself but she could not comprehend Changsheng’s question. “Why? Is there a problem?”
