1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 170 From Naive to Romantic Expert in an Instant

"Auntie, please take care. Be careful going down the stairs. It's crowded, so don't slip."

Lin Xiyu escorted her to the stairwell and watched her go downstairs before she felt relieved and looked away.

"The way you call me 'Auntie' is more affectionate than if I were your own daughter."

When Wu Meng saw her return, she laughed and joked, "My mom must be so happy right now, she can't wait to visit the neighbors and show off the sweater you gave her."

"Didn't you give it to me?"

Lin Xiyu laughed and teased her, "We've agreed that today's payment will settle the debt. We'll only treat you to dinner, nothing else."

"Hey, hey."

Wu Meng stopped laughing, her little face drooping as she feigned pitifulness: "Forget it, I won't say anymore, let's get back to work, I'm just destined to work."

"Don't even try that."

Lin Xiyu laughed and punched her lightly: "It's not like I'm exploiting you."

"You don't have it, it's my bad luck."

Wu Meng continued to joke: "Bitter herbs, that's me."

"We've got work to do, don't feel wronged."

Lin Xiyu chuckled and teased her with a smile, "The base salary is gone, but the commission remains the same. For every item you sell, you get a 5 yuan commission. How about that? It's not so tough anymore, is it?"

"Really?"

Wu Meng's eyes lit up, and she instantly perked up.

"fake."

Lin Xiyu, unusually cunning, changed her tune the moment her face fell and disappointment was about to show: "I was just kidding."

"Uh."

Wu Meng was dumbfounded, not knowing what she meant. Her expression froze on her face, unsure whether to cry or laugh.

"It must be true."

Lin Xiyu almost burst out laughing: "We agreed long ago that you would help me with my work and I would pay you. Consider that sweater as me repaying my aunt's favor. She made my engagement dress for free, and I'm giving her a sweater. Why would I ask her for money?"

"Oh oh."

Wu Meng's emotions fluctuated wildly in an instant, and she was a little overwhelmed.

"Are you relieved now?"

Lin Xiyu reassured her again: "The people are here, get to work. Remember to negotiate the price down to no less than 40, or we'll be at a disadvantage."

"alright, I got it."

Wu Meng, feeling reassured, roused herself and greeted a customer who inquired about the price.

Lin Xiyu watched as she skillfully negotiated and bargained with the customer, and smiled with satisfaction. She then stopped being distracted and focused her attention on the other customers who were choosing clothes.

-

The small commodities market has a large flow of customers, and there is a constant stream of customers coming to the second floor to buy clothes.

My cousin's shop is right next to the staircase, so you can see it as soon as you go upstairs. The good location, plus the bright and eye-catching colors of the wool sweaters, has attracted more and more customers.

The two best friends were getting better and better at selling. By the time their aunt brought them food before dark, they had already sold more than twenty items. Wu Meng herself sold ten items and was grinning from ear to ear as she counted her 50 yuan commission.

-

"Stop fussing and let's eat."

Before dark, my aunt came around the stairwell carrying a thermos: "Your grandma made you some chive and pork dumplings herself. She said she didn't have time to eat them at noon, so she'll make them for you tonight."

"Chives and pork, that's my favorite."

Lin Xiyu happily accepted it and couldn't wait to unscrew the lid.

"smell good."

Wu Meng was also attracted by the aroma and sniffed.

"There are thirty in total, fifteen for each of you."

The aunt took out the chopsticks that had been prepared in advance.

Lin Xiyu used chopsticks to pick up a dumpling and put one in her mouth first.

"Is it delicious?"

Wu Meng's mouth watered at her words, and she couldn't help but swallow.

"good to eat."

Lin Xiyu proudly boasted, "Grandma's dumplings are the best."

"I'll have one too."

Wu Meng couldn't wait to snatch the thermos away.

Would you like it with vinegar?

My aunt laughed heartily and then took out a small bottle of dumpling vinegar from her pocket.

Wu Meng disliked the sour taste and waved her hand, indicating that she didn't need it.

"I want."

Lin Xiyu filled the thermos with the lid and poured out some vinegar: "People from Shanxi eat dumplings with vinegar. I'm half a Shanxi native myself, and I've been eating them since I was a child. They don't taste good without vinegar."

"My dad not only dips his dumplings in vinegar, but also adds minced garlic."

Wu Meng curled her lip in disgust: "I've watched him dip it in garlic sauce for nineteen years, and he still hasn't developed the habit of eating it."

"Vinegar is fine, but garlic is out of the question."

Lin Xiyu laughed and joked, "Chive dumplings are already pungent enough, but with garlic added, the smell will spread throughout the entire second floor. It'll probably knock a bunch of people out."

"Hahaha."

Wu Meng was amused and burst into unrestrained laughter.

-

While the two best friends were talking, someone else came in. The aunt gestured for the two to continue eating, and then went to greet the guest.

Wu Meng clicked her tongue in amazement: "It's already lunchtime, how come there are still so many people?"

"There are even more people at night."

My aunt said with a smile, "People who live nearby like to come over for a stroll after dinner, just like taking a walk."

"No wonder."

Wu Meng suddenly realized: "It's so lively here. If I lived nearby, I would come here every day."

"I wish we could sell more at night."

Lin Xiyu sincerely hopes: "That way, there's still a chance to sell all the stockpiled goods before the New Year."

My aunt asked with concern, "How much do you have left?"

“My cousin didn’t hire anyone a while ago. She just relied on her old customers to call them and promote her products. When someone came to buy something, she would ask her colleagues to help out and sell one or two items. There were often no people in the shop, so the sales volume was low and she didn’t sell much.”

Lin Xiyu sighed and rubbed her forehead: "I just roughly counted, and there are still about 500 pieces left."

"so much?"

My aunt was astonished: "Today is already the Little New Year. The small commodity market closes on New Year's Eve. All told, there are only six days left before the New Year. It's not easy to sell 500 items in six days."

"500 divided by six, we need to sell at least 85 items a day."

Wu Meng counted on her fingers: "We sold 21 items this afternoon. If we're lucky, we might sell another 20 tonight, that's only 41. We're still far from 85."

"Let's sell as many as we can."

Lin Xiyu smiled helplessly: "If all else fails, we can only pin our hopes on Gu Bin. He said he could help sell some."

Where did Gu Bin go?

Upon hearing Gu Bin's name, Wu Meng perked up and gave her a knowing look: "I haven't seen him all afternoon. This isn't like him."

"After I dropped you off at home, I saw him and Wang Fan get out of the car and whisper to each other, I don't know what they were saying." Lin Xiyu's ears turned red, and she explained with an embarrassed smile, "They probably had something important to discuss. I didn't ask any more questions. I don't know much about business matters, so I let them handle it themselves."

"Oh oh."

Wu Meng was also a novice in doing business. Hearing that it was an important matter, she was too embarrassed to ask any more questions. She then turned her attention to the customers who were picking out clothes: "Since we can't rely on the two of them, let's rely on ourselves. I heard that when you helped your cousin sell clothes at the night market, you were like a fashion model, changing outfits and selling them one by one. Your business was booming. Why don't we give it a try?"

"No."

Lin Xiyu decisively rejected the idea: "There are too many people in the small commodities market, it's already very crowded. Our spot is right next to the stairs, it's very dangerous. If we fight over it and an accident happens, someone might miss a step and fall down the stairs, that would be a real problem. The little money we make wouldn't even be enough to cover the medical expenses."

"Ugh."

Wu Meng's face fell, and she lost her spirits again.

There's no need to be discouraged.

Lin Xiyu smiled and comforted her in return: "Let nature take its course. It's already lucky that someone is supporting us. At least we've made a good start. We've already sold more than twenty items. Being able to sell them proves that we both have a talent for business. Little by little, we'll make it big. Let's give it our all for a prosperous New Year."

"Uh-huh."

Wu Meng was very happy to earn a commission of 50 yuan on her first time selling clothes. A few words from her inspired her: "What you said has given me a boost. A wool sweater is 5 yuan, so 20 sweaters would be 100 yuan. For my little bit of money, I feel like I can live in the market forever and never go home."

"I can't not go home."

Lin Xiyu joked with a smile, "Auntie must be getting anxious, complaining that I've corrupted her daughter, making her only care about money and not people."

Actually, my mom loves money even more than I do.

Wu Meng chuckled and teased his mother, "Believe it or not, if I told my mom that I could earn 200 yuan a day living in the market, she would definitely bring me my bedding roll without hesitation."

"Pfft."

Lin Xiyu couldn't help but burst out laughing.

-

My cousin called Wang Fan to confirm that he was staying at a villa in the southern suburbs during the Spring Festival, which put her mind at ease. After get off work, she took her little dog to the shop.

Cola was a small female dog, quite docile. She didn't bark at strangers and lay listlessly on her cousin's lap, looking rather pitiful.

"Poor little brat, he's had diarrhea so many times a day, he's lost all his energy."

My cousin was heartbroken and even more resentful towards someone: "I don't know how Li Xiao feeds her. Why is it that she's fine when he feeds her, but I get diarrhea when I feed her?"

Have you taken it to a veterinarian?

Lin Xiyu tried to pet the dog's fur. The little Pekingese looked at her with its innocent big eyes, then listlessly closed its eyes again.

Where is a veterinarian nearby?

My cousin was very frustrated: "I've never seen a hospital that treats pets before, where am I supposed to find a veterinarian?"

"Do you have them at the pet market?"

Seeing the puppy looking listless, Lin Xiyu felt a pang of sympathy: "The person who sold the dog should know him. If you really don't want to ask Li Xiao, why don't you go to the pet market and ask the original seller?"

"Oh right, how could I forget about that?"

My cousin beamed with joy and jumped up from her chair: "You're so smart! I'll go to the pet market right now and get Cola a vet."

It's getting dark.

Lin Xiyu frowned slightly: "The pet market might already be closed. Let's go tomorrow."

"Cola looks so pitiful, I can't wait until tomorrow."

My cousin left without warning; she rushed down the stairs, squeezed into the crowd, and disappeared from sight.

"Hey, hey."

Lin Xiyu sighed softly, "Raising a dog really takes a lot of energy, almost like raising a child."

"My mom won't let me raise it either."

Wu Meng said with a hint of resentment, "Whenever I mentioned wanting to get a dog, she would look at me with disgust and say, 'Don't I already have you?'"

"That's exactly what my aunt said."

Lin Xiyu was both amused and exasperated: "My aunt is the same. She absolutely refuses to let me support her, forcing my cousin to find a place to live on her own. Luckily, Wang Fan has a vacant house that she can temporarily give to her. Otherwise, with the little money she earns, it wouldn't be enough to deal with the house."

"Wang Fan owes us 5 yuan, and we don't know when he'll pay us back."

Wu Meng looked disgusted when Wang Fan was mentioned, still angry at his sharp tongue, saying he was a ghost.

"Didn't he say he would give it to Li Liang and Qu Peng when they came back and we had a get-together during the Spring Festival?"

“That kid doesn’t tell the truth in any of his ten statements, I’m afraid he’ll renege on his promise.”

"will not."

Lin Xiyu was very confident: "With Gu Bin as our witness, he wouldn't dare."

"I've noticed that you really rely on Gu Bin."

Wu Meng chuckled and gave her a knowing look: "You can't stop talking about Gu Bin. You talk about Gu Bin like this and Gu Bin like that, as if Gu Bin is everywhere and has become your shadow, as if you've become one with him."

"Is that right?"

Lin Xiyu's ears turned red, but she stubbornly insisted, "I think I'm quite independent, both at school and in school. I rely on myself for studying and taking exams, and I'm not as dependent on him as you say."

"You don't realize it yourself, that's because you've gotten used to it."

Wu Meng then jokingly added, "His meticulous care for you, from the smallest things, seeps into your life, making you used to relying on him. Maybe that's his purpose, to make you depend on him wholeheartedly and never be able to leave him for the rest of your life."

"Ha, when did you become so smart?"

Lin Xiyu said coquettishly, "You've changed so much that I hardly recognize you. You went from being a cute and innocent girl to a dating expert in the blink of an eye. This transformation is too fast!"

"Don't call me silly and cute."

Wu Meng got annoyed and waved her little fists, pretending to hit her.

"Someone is coming."

When Lin Xiyu saw a customer come in, she took the opportunity to divert her attention.

Wu Meng paused, then quickly changed her expression, greeting the customer with a smile.

Lin Xiyu covered her mouth with her hand, trying her best to hold back her laughter.

-

Just as my aunt had said, the evening crowds at the small commodities market were even greater than during the day.

The residents who come out for a stroll after dinner are not the same group of customers as during the day.

These people have plenty of time to shop, wandering around aimlessly. When they see clothes they like, they linger in the shop and spend a considerable amount of time haggling over the price.

"The lowest price is 40 yuan, and it can't be any cheaper."

"Okay, take your time looking around, and come back when you've made up your mind."

Lin Xiyu and Wu Meng spent a lot of time and effort, saying almost twice as much as they did in the afternoon, but they still couldn't sell many items.

Wu Meng was a little discouraged: "The people who come at night just look but don't buy, and they're extremely picky. 40 yuan a piece is already the lowest price, and they're still not satisfied."

"fine."

Lin Xiyu was more composed than her: "As long as someone buys it, we'll make money from each sale."

"elder sister."

A boy's happy shout came from the crowd.

"Xiaoyi?"

Lin Xiyu looked up at the sound and exclaimed with delight, "What brings you here?"

"I came to see you sell clothes."

Taking advantage of his small size, Xu Yi squeezed out of the crowd, looking up with a happy expression.

"You came alone?"

Lin Xiyu frowned slightly, just about to scold him for wandering around alone so late at night, when she heard Xu Yi say again, "Our mom and grandma are here."

"You child, you speak in such a breathy way."

When Lin Xiyu heard that her grandmother had arrived, she lost the will to argue with him.