When Lan Zhu arrived at the village entrance, the ox cart was almost full and was about to take off. He waved his hands and shouted anxiously towards the ox cart; "Grandpa, wait for me. I'm also going to town"
The Ox cart driver is Lan Zhu's grandfather. Grandpa Lan pulled the cart over and stopped after hearing his grandson's shout.
"How come you have time to go to town today?" Grandpa Lan asked in a teasing tone while Lan Zhu was catching his breath.
Lan Zhu smiled proudly and lifted up the side of the cloth covering the mushrooms: "These mushrooms were entrusted to me by the new ger to sell. I'm going to the restaurant to sell it."
Grandpa Lan's eyes widened in astonishment as he peered into the basket. "My, my, Xiao Zhu! Look at how plentiful these mushrooms are! Are they all edible?"
Lan Zhu nodded confidently: "Yes, Grandfather, they are all edible. I didn't expect him to be a mushroom master."
"Try your best to sell them well. It is your luck to encounter this opportunity." Grandpa Lan said mindfully.
Grandpa Lan saw this as an opportunity for Lan Zhu to earn some money. A young Ger doing strenuous farm work from dawn to dusk was detrimental to his health. However, Lan Zhu refused to remain idle. Grandpa Lan's attempts to convince him were futile, leaving him to watch on helplessly.
"Yes, I'll try my best." Lan Zhu promised seriously.
The two were whispering to each other so the other villagers didn't hear what they were saying. Although they were curious about what was inside the basket, no one asked because they weren't close to Lan Zhu.
After a long drive, the ox cart arrived in town an hour later, just as evening fell. Vendors along the road were already beginning to pack up their goods for the night.
Lan Zhu had only been to this town to sell crops during harvest season, so he knew less about the market. Even so, he didn't dare to be careless considering that the mushroom business was entrusted to him by Bai Jing.
Lan Zhu, a poor and unattractive ger, was an outcast in his village. Unlike most ger who strived for elegant appearances to attract wealthy partners, Lan Zhu's life took a different turn after his male father's death. His family endured significant hardship until his mother remarried two years later. While her new husband offered to take them both in, Lan Zhu chose to remain and support his aging grandfather.
Unlike his fellow Gers, he's very hard working and does farm work all season. Thanks to his grandfather's ox cart business, their income was higher than most villagers.
When the new ger and his husband moved into one of their houses, his grandfather asked him to give them a tour of the village and help them settle down. He wasn't expecting much at first, given the differences between the town and city folk, those from the city are prideful and look down on villagers like them. However, Bai Jing turns out to be different and more welcoming. They quickly became friends, and Bai Jing even entrusted him with his mushroom business. Lan Zhu was very happy about this.
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Daode restaurant is very popular in Liyu town. As the second best restaurant, it has good reviews and treats its customers with respect. Therefore, after asking around a few times, Lan Zhu decided to sell the mushrooms to Daode restaurant. When he arrived, the shop attendant welcomed him.
"Welcome to Daode restaurant customer, what can I do for you?" Seeing that Lan Zhu was carrying a loaded basket, the attendant assumed that he might not be there to eat but to do business.
Sure enough, Lan Zhu said he wasn't there to eat: "I have mushrooms here for seal, can I see the shopkeeper?"
Mushrooms? The attendant boy was shocked, not many people bring mushrooms here for seal. He told Lan Zhu to follow him to the backyard.
Soon, an old man and a younger man came to see him: "Where are the mushrooms?" The old man asked.
Lan Zhu removed the cloth from the basket, revealing fresh mushrooms.
"These mushrooms are very big, are you sure they're not poisonous?" The young boy asked arrogantly
"We will know after checking." The old man cast a disapproving look at his son. A businessman should be attentive and cautious with their words, but his son was too quick to speak, a trait not befitting for business.
"Yes sir." The boy realized his mistake and corrected himself. He retrieved the poison detection needle from the bag and used it to test the mushrooms. This decides which are safe to eat, so they could separate them from the poisonous ones.
Mushrooms are usually mixed with poisonous and edible types, therefore, they couldn't take any chances. All the restaurants also used this method to test vegetables that could be poisonous.
Lan Zhu stood on the side and watched nervously. Although the ones he ate weren't poisonous, he can't assume that they were all good.
A minute later, the needle color didn't change. Which means the mushroom didn't have poison in it. When poison is detected, the needle will turn black. After checking ten mushrooms with no poison, the old man's eyes lit up and he showed more interest. Lan Zhu was also excited by the result.
"Young ger, which master picks these mushrooms?" Asked the old man
Lan Zhu was smart, he can't say that the person who picked the mushrooms wasn't a master but a fellow ger. Not to mention that Bai Jing reminded him about it: "Sir, it's a traveling old master who decided to stay in our village for a few months to recover from his injuries. He didn't have money so he gathered these mushrooms deep into the mountains and instructed me to sell them."
"So that's how it is..." The old man thought about it and felt that it made sense. If such a person who can identify good mushrooms so clearly had been in a nearby village or town, their name would have been known to the public.
According to this young ger, the master would be staying in their village for a few months, so if he made a fair deal, he might receive a constant income of mushrooms. And their mushroom dishes can be revealed to attract consumers. After calculating calmly, the old man came to a conclusion.
"This young ger, I want to purchase all of your mushrooms. the bigger ones for seven copper coins, the medium ones for five copper coins and the smaller ones for three copper coins. What do you think?"
Lan Zhu saw that the price was much higher than the market price so he agreed.
There were thirty big mushrooms, forty medium and twenty-five small ones. Adding the total, the mushrooms earn four hundred and eighty five copper coins. Which is equal to four silver coins and eighty five copper coins. Lan Zhu couldn't believe it.
"Young ger, what's your name?" The old man asked
"My surname is Lan, my name is Lan Zhu." Lan Zhu answered respectfully.
"This shopkeeper is called Boss Li. Remember to sell the mushrooms to the Daode restaurant anytime in the future. We'll negotiate on the same price." Boss Li said
"Yes, Boss Li." Lan Zhu said his goodbye and left. Along the way he'll occasionally look back as he walks, it was obvious that he was afraid of being robbed. Besides, this is his first time holding such a huge sum of money.