Translator: Lonelytree
The next morning, Grandma Song and Grandpa Song arrived at Xiao Lingyu’s place. They were afraid that if they were late, Xiao Lingyu would rush out to sell the vegetables and forget to save the vegetables for them.
“Girl!” Grandma Song knocked on the door.
The sky was slightly bright. Xiao Lingyu was counting her inventory. She heard Grandma Song. Xiao Lingyu looked at the clock. It was not even 6 am yet. She was shocked that Grandpa and Grandma Song arrived so early.
Xiao Lingyu walked to open the door. She greeted, “Good morning, Grandma Song, Grandpa Song! Why are you so early?”
Grandma Song said, “I’m afraid that we might miss you if we came late!”
Grandpa Song was more straightforward. He said with a half-joking and half-serious smile, “Girl, your vegetables and fruits are too delicious. I’ve been thinking about them. I was afraid that you’d forget to save some for us, so we came early to snatch them first!”
Xiao Lingyu smiled, “Grandpa Song, I’ll never forget to reserve your portion! It’s cold outside, so please come in!”
As soon as Grandma Song and Grandpa Song entered the courtyard, they saw the warehouse filled with fresh vegetables. Grandma Song was surprised to find more variety.
Xiao Lingyu only had tomatoes, cabbages, spinach, eggplants, and chilies last time. This time, there were cucumbers, cole, garlic sprouts, and leeks.
“Girl, you have a bigger stock this time!” Grandma Song commented with a smile.
“That’s right, Grandma Song!”
“Okay, give me some of each vegetable!” Grandma Song said.
“Wife, we need to get more!” Grandpa Song reminded her. Last time, Xiao Lingyu gave them two days’ worth of ingredients, but their family had finished them in two meals. They had been waiting for Xiao Lingyu to come back to the county town. They waited for ten days, and Xiao Lingyu didn’t appear. In the end, they had to call Xiao Lingyu and ask when she’d come back to sell her crops. Xiao Lingyu gave them a date and promised to call them when she arrived at the county town.
“Okay, okay!” Grandma Song corrected, “Then, give me thirty tomatoes, five cabbages, ten eggplants, and two catties of garlic sprouts…” Grandma Song gave a list. She ordered a lot. It would take at least five or six days to finish all these.
Xiao Lingyu laughed. “Grandma Song, you don’t need to buy so many at once. I plan to stay here to sell my crops for the next three or four days. Even if I don’t open my stall, I’ll reserve the portion for you.”
“Girl, are you serious? You’ll stay here to sell vegetables for the next few days?” Grandma Song’s eyes lit up. She said happily, “In that case, I won’t be buying so much for now. Give me 30 tomatoes, 1 cabbage…” That was for a day. The thirty tomatoes were because her family liked to eat them raw as fruit.
Xiao Lingyu packed the vegetables and fruits. She placed them in a small cart. “Grandma Song, it’s quite heavy. Why don’t I drop them at your home for you?”
Grandma Song waved her hand and pointed at the small cart behind her. “This small cart is light. We’ve used it to buy heavier things.”
Grandma Song looked at the crops, and she was deep in thought. She took out her phone and made a call. After the call connected, she said, “Grandma Li, the girl you’re looking for is here. How much do you want? I’ll have her reserve them for you so that you can come to get them later. Oh, you want to come over now? Okay. The girl is at my old house. Yes, she’s still here. Okay, I’ll tell her!”
After hanging up, Grandma Song told Xiao Lingyu. “That was Grandma Li. She bought your vegetables for her eldest grandson. Her grandson is facing the university entrance exam, so he’s under a lot of pressure. He can’t eat or sleep well. But after she bought your crops and cooked them for him, the child’s appetite and energy had improved! He is in such high spirits.”
Grandma Song paused. “Grandma Li was looking all around for you. She was extremely anxious because she couldn’t find you. She ran into me, and we chatted. Only then did she find out you’re my tenant. She asked me to tell her when you came to town. I just called her, and she said she’s coming over! Her house isn’t far away so she should be here soon. It won’t delay you for long.”
Xiao Lingyu smiled. “Grandma Song, it’s no delay. You’re all my valued customers. I need to thank you for coming to buy my stock.”
Xiao Lingyu had an impression of this Grandma Li. On her first day, only one old lady bought the crops from her. Her other customers were young and middle-aged women who had better living conditions. The elders were normally more frugal. Unless it were a special occasion like Grandma Li’s case, they wouldn’t spend on expensive stuff.
Grandma Song looked at the boxes of crops on the floor. She asked, “Girl, do you need help? Since the old man and I are here, we can help you. Look at these boxes. They should be quite heavy. We can use the cart to move them to the tricycle!”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “It’s fine, I can do that myself! Grandma and Grandpa Song, you should rest!”
The boxes were small. They weighed around 10 kg. They were not that heavy for an adult. Moreover, Xiao Lingyu could use her farming space to do the heavy lifting. It was because she had guests that she resorted to manual labor. Xiao Lingyu moved a box of eggplant, a box of cole, and a box of leeks onto the tricycle.
“Done!” Xiao Lingyu clapped her hands.
Grandma Song smiled. “Girl, you have such tender skin. You look like a rich young lady, but you’re quite the worker.”
Xiao Lingyu chuckled. “Grandma, you need to stop teasing me. I grew up in the countryside. I have to work hard. My skin is rough and hands calloused!” They were merely healed by the spring water.
Grandma Song joked, “Grandma saw your tender flesh and wanted to take a bite like the Big Bad Wolf!”
“Sister Song!” Someone called outside the door.
Grandma Song said, “Oh? Grandma Li is here so soon!”
Grandpa Song had already gone to get the door.
When Grandma Li saw Grandpa Song, she smiled, “Brother Song, you’re here too!” Grandma Li’s eyes immediately moved to the crops on the tricycle. Her eyes lit up. She saw Xiao Lingyu standing beside the tricycle and said excitedly, “Miss, it’s you. It’s really you.”
Xiao Lingyu saw the little old lady and nodded, “Grandma Li, good morning!”
“This time, I have to buy more from you!” Grandma Li was ecstatic. “You have no idea how much my eldest grandson adored your vegetables. Ever since he had your food, he became more focused on his studies.”
“Grandma Li, I will stay in the county town to sell the crops for the next few days. If you need it, I can reserve a certain amount for you just like I did Grandma Song!”
“Oh, you’ll be here for the next few days?” Grandma Li thought Xiao Lingyu would disappear after one day like last time. Since Xiao Lingyu would stay longer this time, she didn’t need to buy so much at once. “Okay, then I shall trouble you to reserve some for me.” Then, she thought and said, “Miss, what time do you normally wake up to set up? I can come over early in the next few days. My house is close by, so I can walk over here.”
“Okay then. If Grandma Li doesn’t mind the trouble, you can come by early every day!”Xiao Lingyu said as she helped Grandma Li pick up the vegetables.
Grandma Li looked at the dishes on the tricycle and said, “Girl, give me a cabbage, half a catty of chili, half a catty…”
At this moment, Grandma Song said, “Grandma Li, these tomatoes are delicious. You should buy some.” Last time, when Xiao Lingyu ran into Grandma Li, the tomatoes had already sold out. Therefore, Grandma Li didn’t get to taste the tomatoes.
“Okay, give me ten tomatoes!” Grandma Li took Grandma Song’s suggestion. “Give me another half a catty of garlic sprouts, one catty of leeks, and two eggplants!”
“Sure!” Xiao Lingyu immediately weighed the tomatoes for Grandma Li. Then, she gave Grandma Li two more tomatoes and two cucumbers, both of which could be eaten as fruit.
Grandma Li asked, “Girl, how much is the total?”
Xiao Lingyu said, “Grandma Li, the tomatoes are two RMB a piece, the cabbage is fifteen RMB a piece, the cucumber is two RMB a piece, the chili is twenty RMB per catty, the garlic sprouts are ten RMB a catty, and the leeks are ten RMB a catty.
“Grandma Li, you have taken ten tomatoes, two eggplants, half a katty of chili, half a katty of garlic sprout, and one katty of leeks. That’s a total of 54 RMB. I’ll take 50 RMB. I’ll also throw in five tomatoes and five cucumbers for you to try.”
“Girl, you shouldn’t do that!” Grandma Li refused. “You have already given me a discount. I shouldn’t take free things from you!”
“Grandma Li, you’re too kind.” Xiao Lingyu said, “I heard from Grandma Song that Grandma Li’s eldest grandson is taking the university entrance exam this year. Take these tomatoes and cucumbers. You can slice them up as fruits for your grandson.”
Xiao Lingyu added, “Grandma Li, where does your grandson attend his high school?”
“Number One High School!”
“This is such a coincidence. My younger brother is also a student there! He is in Grade 12 Class 1.”
“No way, my grandson is also in Grade 12 Class 1!”
“So they are classmates. Haha….”