Chapter Ten Market

  When Dog Egg Father gathered people to weave, many villagers who knew how to weave came immediately. They all said that as long as they were provided with two meals a day, no wages were needed. This period of time was just idle time, and if it was said that the fields should be weeded, the crops had already grown up, and even if there was grass in the field, it would not grow anymore. The harvest was still to wait for some time, so Dog Egg Father put out the word, and their uniform requirement was that as long as they were provided with two meals a day, everything was settled.

  Moreover, the villagers also knew that a foreign child had come to the village and bought Li Lao Cai's property. The villagers even laughed at Liu He Hua for spending so much money on these fields and houses. In this era of bandits roaming around, these things are really worthless. What is valuable is only that rifle. In this world, having weapons is the way to go.

  Although everyone was laughing at Liu He's defeat, they all arrived early at Liu He's home and began to take responsibility for weaving baskets and other rattan products.

  Liu He took a look at this craftsmanship and exclaimed, "Wow, this is incredible! It's even better than what I've seen in the future. These are truly works of art!" The winnowing basket, the basket, and the bamboo steamer were all tools that could be used to store grain in the autumn.

  Luckily, the sack of grain that Liu He pulled down from Lao Cai's car came in handy now. It was a sack of dried sweet potatoes. Gou Dan Niang also learned from Liu He how to cook with wild vegetables, so this meal could fill their stomachs.

  In this era, as long as one's belly is full, it's enough. There's no picking and choosing between good or bad food. Moreover, everyone sees that the master of the house eats the same thing as them, so what's there to be dissatisfied with?

  But for Liu He, this is a new experience. The wild vegetables and dried pumpkin are really fresh. It's been many years since he last had dried pumpkin. By the time he came over, no one was drying pumpkins in the sun anymore. They were all harvested directly from the field and sold out. Only some unusual varieties of pumpkin, such as those with red pulp, purple pulp, and yellow pulp, were left to eat. The rest were either sold or kept by households that raised pigs to feed them. And those rare varieties of pumpkin weren't as sweet as the ones at this time. Moreover, they were purely green and non-polluting food. Fertilizers? There was no such thing at that time. Pesticides? Even less so. Who could afford them anyway?

  So, Liu He ate with great relish and peace of mind. The villagers saw that the host was eating so happily, what else could they pick on? It's just that no one knew that this wild vegetable could be eaten before, and it tasted very bitter when they took a bite, but unexpectedly, it was actually delicious when eaten with dried sweet potato.

  This person ate his fill, and the momentum for weaving was even greater. Everyone brought out their own eighteen martial arts, each showing off their skills. These things were woven like flowers, making Liu He not want to sell them outside anymore.

  Finally, the day of the fair arrived, and over a hundred bamboo baskets were carried by Dog Egg's father and two long workers using shoulder poles to the market.

  "Little brother, maybe it's time to use these things now, they can still be sold." "Uncle Li, you handle it."

  The market was really far away, after crossing two earth ridges and even a railway track, I finally arrived at a market called Dacheng Village. It's so lively, with people calling out to buy and sell, but most of them are just small things.

  The people in the market were all shabbily dressed peasants. But Liu He thought carefully, and indeed, at this time, how could he see well-dressed people? Only landlords would dress a little better, but would they personally come to the market? Maybe they would, but they wouldn't come out so early.

  They knew that they had set out before dawn and arrived at the market before eight o'clock. Perhaps everyone had the same idea, coming very early, and this was the busiest time.

  As soon as they put down their burden, someone came up to ask the price. "How much is this basket of goods?" "One cent for a small bamboo basket, two cents for a medium-sized one, and three cents for a large wicker basket." Li Shu immediately called out the prices.

  "This boss is expensive, isn't it? Can you make it cheaper?" "No way, you haven't seen what material this is woven with." "Isn't it just rattan?" "Yes, it's rattan, but this is good rattan weaving. Our boss even used some new methods to treat it, and I guarantee it won't rot in three to five years."

  This good method was thought of by Liu He, who remembered that in the past, these things were more durable after being roasted over a fire. So he suggested roasting them with fire. In fact, when weaving rattan, it is necessary to soak the rattan in water for a period of time before weaving. However, this will damage the lifespan of the basket and other items. Roasting with fire is different, not only can the lifespan be increased, but it is also more convenient to weave at that time.

  "Uh, it's not bad." The person asking the price took a basket and pressed it down to the ground, looked at its elasticity, and even its ability to recover. Instinctively, he felt that it was not bad. Liu He was also experienced, and if you used force to press on the woven bamboo basket that had been soaked in water, there might be rotten patterns on top.

  "You can rest assured, it's a product of Shang Li Village, absolutely first-class." "Oh, big brother, you're from Shang Li Village? No wonder I think these things are so exquisite. Okay, give me five baskets, two baskets, and one bucket."

  "Alright, five wicker baskets at 5 cents each, two bamboo baskets at 6 cents each, and one basket at 2 cents. That's a total of $1.30. Just right! Here you are, brother."

  This business has opened the pot, and it's naturally easier to do. When someone sees that someone has bought so many at once, they will naturally follow suit. "Old brother, you've bought so many baskets!" "Yes, isn't autumn harvest coming soon? Our family's broken baskets aren't enough for use. Seeing that Li Zhuang's weaving is still good, and this time their goods are more durable, although it's expensive by more than a fold, but it's still worth buying back to use."

  After this person's promotion, more people came to buy, and in less than an hour, the hundreds of products they brought were all sold out. Meanwhile, the people next door stared blankly, wanting to intervene but finding that their own products were selling for a higher price, yet not wanting to intervene because their own products weren't selling at all.

  "Ah, the baskets are cheap now, three for a cent, three for a cent." He had lowered the price again, but just as he did, Liu He had already taken his men and left, they had sold out.

  Liu He took out nearly twenty jiao he had earned from selling things, which was his first income since coming to this era, and naturally wanted to spend it.

  "Hey, what's good to eat here?" Liu He brought the three of them to a small restaurant. The restaurants in this era were also very simple, with several worn-out tables and long benches inside. A waiter wearing a sleeveless white tank top was serving the few customers who were eating.

  "Hello sir, please come in. We have stir-fried dishes, roasted dishes, Wonton, chicken soup, chicken blood tofu soup, and also pork bone soup. What would you like to have?"

  "How much are these fire crackers selling for?"

  "Ten fire crackers for one jiao, and we'll throw in a bowl of chicken blood tofu soup for each of you gentlemen."

  "That sounds good, give us ten fire crackers, and a bowl of chicken blood tofu soup for each of us."

  "Alright, ten fires are burning, four bowls of chicken blood tofu soup." "Master Li, please hold back a bit." At this time, the long workers following behind were somewhat surprised and delighted. They had followed Li Lao Cai to the market countless times before, but they had never eaten a meal at the market. In Li Lao Cai's words, you country bumpkins are lucky I brought you out to broaden your horizons, and now you want to eat too?

  "It's okay, eat up, not enough to ask for more." To be honest, these ten Huo Shao were really not enough for four people to eat, but after they finished eating, they wouldn't let Liu He ask for more. This was very satisfying, and it was rare to have some meat in the Huo Shao, which was something they had never had before in their lives. Speaking of which, where did Liu He end up? It was really too poor.

  "Rock sugar, rock sugar." "Selling rock sugar, how much is the rock sugar?" "Sir, this rock sugar is ten pieces for one cent, sir, how many do you want?" "Okay, give me one cent's worth." Liu He handed over one cent and the vendor wrapped up ten pieces of rock sugar in straw paper and gave them to Liu He.

  "Is this sugar sweet or not? If it's not, I'll return it to you," Dog Egg's father said with a thick face as he took out a piece from the vendor's box and put it in his mouth.

  "Sir, how can you do this?" The vendor suddenly became anxious. "How can I do this? Our master bought so many from you at once, and you didn't even give us a discount, but instead made me take it myself. Why are you looking for trouble?"

  "Alright, alright, you win." The vendor said and turned his head to leave, fearing that Uncle Li would take his sugar again.