Chapter 106: You Are Unworthy ④
“Our company has a rule that if you carry luggage or items that exceed the area of one seat, you have to buy an extra ticket. I saw you were a young girl, and you look like you’re from the countryside, so I let you pay one yuan.” The driver said as he turned the steering wheel, his tone carrying an undeniable underestimation.
Nie Qiu didn’t say anything more, nor did she argue with the driver. Instead, she took out two yuan from her purse and put it into the coin box. The driver’s tone, which clearly looked down on people, made Nie Qiu somewhat annoyed. What a joke, if there were no people from the countryside, what would city dwellers eat?
Because the bus was shaking quite a bit and there were no seats, four or five people were standing in the carriage. It wouldn’t do to try and carry them, so Nie Qiu moved one vegetable basket to the back door, then went back and moved the other vegetable basket to the back door.
A middle-aged woman in a red dress, sitting directly above the bus’s back door, smiled and looked at Nie Qiu. “Girl, how much are you selling these eggplants for?”
Nie Qiu looked down at the eggplants, hesitating. The middle-aged woman seemed like she wanted to buy them. She had only prepared this much, and if she sold any less, she wouldn’t be able to wholesale to the supermarket. However, Nie Qiu didn’t want to refuse her first customer. Everyone knows that once you make a sale, business will pick up. She thought for a moment, then smiled and looked up at the middle-aged woman, saying, “Elder sister, my eggplants are three yuan a jin.”
“Hey! That’s cheaper than the market. Your eggplants are so big, their color is so good, and they’re so fresh, yet they’re cheaper than at the market!” The middle-aged woman smiled happily and said to Nie Qiu, “Girl, pick out six or seven good ones for me and weigh them.”
Weigh?
Nie Qiu was a bit stunned. Right, she had only thought about the electronic scale in the supermarket and hadn’t bought a scale for weighing things yet! Let alone a scale, she didn’t even have plastic bags. After a long pause, she mumbled, “I’ll pick out a few for you! Whatever you think is fair to pay.” As she spoke, she let go of the handrail she was holding, squatted down, selected five eggplants, and handed them to the woman.
The woman also noticed that Nie Qiu didn’t have a scale or plastic bags. She took a plastic bag that was specially provided for passengers from her seat, packed the eggplants, took out five yuan from her bag, and handed it to Nie Qiu. “You’re just a child, it’s not easy for you to be out here selling vegetables alone. You don’t need to give me the change. By the way, are you still studying?”
Nie Qiu took the money, took out some from her purse, and handed three yuan to the woman. “Elder sister, here you go. I said three yuan a jin, so it’s three yuan a jin. I can’t shortchange you.” Although she didn’t know how many jin these five eggplants weighed, eggplants aren’t very dense, so they don’t weigh much. She didn’t know if it was a jin, but if it was three yuan a jin, these eggplants weren’t worth five yuan.
“Silly child.” The middle-aged woman didn’t take the money. She tapped Nie Qiu’s forehead with her finger. “Take this money and buy yourself an ice pop. It’s so hot out here selling vegetables, treat yourself.”
Nie Qiu knew that if she refused again, it would be being overly sentimental. She put the money away, grabbed the bus handrail, and started chatting with the middle-aged woman. “Child” is what locals call the younger generation here, so Nie Qiu knew this woman was a local.
She was also a local, but she had been exposed to high-intensity education since childhood and rarely interacted with older people. The nanny was also reluctant to talk to her, and she preferred to speak Mandarin at school, so she didn’t have a local accent.
“You’re studying at Provincial First High School? My child is also studying at Provincial First High School, but they’re not doing well and are in Class 10.” When the middle-aged woman heard Nie Qiu say she was studying at Provincial First High School, she started chatting with Nie Qiu.
The middle-aged woman got off the bus before Nie Qiu. After getting off, the person still waved goodbye to Nie Qiu.
Nie Qiu’s mood inexplicably improved. This at least meant her vegetables looked good! She believed that among those vegetable vendors, she could stand out and be bought by the managers at the supermarket.
