This loud voice immediately drew the attention of the customers behind and the passersby nearby. Even Song Ming looked over in shock, “What? What did you say?”
Not tasty?! You want a refund???!
If you don’t like it, give it to her!
She loves it!
“Not tasty? Are your taste buds broken?” Lin Yirui, who happened to be a few spots back in line, couldn’t help but ask.
He’d been enjoying the mushrooms these past two days, even got some fish and mulberries yesterday, and his mood was sky-high.
His work efficiency improved, and since he didn’t have overtime today, he came straight after work to buy mushrooms and fish, planning to bring some home for his parents.
He was just thinking it’s a pity there was no fish today, and now someone says the fish isn’t tasty and wants a refund?
As soon as Lin Yirui finished speaking, other customers who’d bought fish nodded along, “Exactly, I bought some yesterday too. Oh my, that taste, it’s really fresh!”
“It’s really good. I was just thinking of buying some more today. Sure, it’s a bit expensive, but the taste is worth it.”
“Why ask for a refund? Don’t tell me you heard the Boss was willing to refund and now you want a free meal?!”
Granny never expected to be accused by so many people all at once, her face flushing bright red.
“Everyone has different tastes! My tongue is just picky, can’t I think it’s not tasty?!” She finished, glaring fiercely at Jiang Heng.
A confused passerby whispered, “If that’s the case, the Boss should just give the refund.”
“Yeah, didn’t you say refunds were okay?”
Jiang Heng didn’t get upset.
She said calmly, “I’m not refusing the refund, just confirming with you. Since you’re so sure, I’ll refund your money. If I remember right, you bought a 1.6 jin cyprinid yesterday, right? That was 90 yuan, wasn’t it?”
Granny’s angry expression stalled, surprised. She pouted, muttering, “Yes.”
Yesterday, she originally wanted to buy some veggies her grandson liked.
Passing by, she overheard the young Boss say the fish was guaranteed tasty, or you could get a refund.
She’d bought mushrooms before and liked them, but her gluttonous daughter-in-law ate them all, then egged her son to buy more.
Buy, buy, buy!
All she does is buy.
How much money does the family have to waste like this?
She lied and said they weren’t selling anymore, and her daughter-in-law never noticed.
Yesterday, seeing fish for sale—her son liked fish, and if it wasn’t tasty, she could get a refund—she decided to try her luck. If it wasn’t tasty, she’d get her money back; if it was, her son would be happy.
The result—
Forget it, thinking about it only makes her upset.
But she was definitely taking the money back today, just to feel better.
Jiang Heng remembered she’d paid cash, so she counted out ninety yuan from her cash pouch and handed it over, saying to the people in line, “Here’s your refund, everyone please bear witness.”
“Hey! I saw it!”
“Yeah, me too. Don’t worry, Boss!”
Although some people wondered if the fish really wasn’t tasty, most could guess the truth—whether it’s tasty or not was uncertain, but it was obvious this old lady just wanted a free meal.
Some of the young people looked angry.
It’s people like this who ruin honest business, making it hard for the trustworthy ones, while the troublemakers profit.
A young girl even stomped her foot in frustration, “So annoying, it was clearly delicious!”
Granny snatched the ninety yuan with satisfaction, a small smile on her face, then reached out for some mushrooms, “Give me some, pack some up for me.”
The ninety yuan was back, no loss!
She might as well buy some mushrooms; her children and grandkids liked them too.
But this time, she planned to keep a close eye.
Jiang Heng blocked her hand. She looked gentle, but her grip was firm and unmoving.
Her usually polite and pretty face was now cold, “Sorry, I won’t be doing business with you anymore.”
Granny was dumbfounded, “What? You won’t sell to me?!”
The customers, still fuming, burst out laughing, “Boss, that’s the way!”
“Yeah, of course you won’t do business with her,” someone gloated. “Otherwise she’ll just keep eating for free!”
Jiang Heng: “Exactly, since you said my stuff wasn’t good and got a refund, you don’t need to buy from me anymore.”
Granny never expected this, her voice rising, “How can you do business like this? It’s your fish that’s bad! You said refunds were okay!”
Jiang Heng nodded, perfectly reasonable, “Right, so I refunded you. I’m following the rules. Not doing business with refunded customers is also my rule. Besides, you know if the fish was really bad.”
Granny shouted, “It was awful!”
“You’re lying! You didn’t even eat any yourself!” A voice suddenly interjected, full of righteous anger.
Pointing at Granny, the person spoke quickly, “Awful? You yourself said, after dinner was ready, you took the younger one downstairs to play. While your daughter-in-law was tutoring your eldest granddaughter, you let your son eat first.”
“When you got back, the fish was all gone, not even a piece left. Obviously, your daughter-in-law took the chance to eat it all and told your son to coax you into buying more, saying the fish was really tasty!”
The speaker was Gao Xiuling.
Yesterday, she made Fish Tofu Soup for her daughter, hoping it might help her produce more milk so the baby would fuss less.
She didn’t expect much, just hoped her daughter would like it.
Turns out, her daughter loved it, drank two bowls of soup, and even had half a bowl of Little Chicken Stewed with Mushroom.
Then, in the middle of the night, her milk increased!
It wasn’t a lot, but more than before. At least, when the baby got hungry in the night, she could breastfeed directly instead of waiting for the child to cry itself out for milk powder, making everyone lose sleep.
So today, she rushed over, hoping to buy two more fish.
There weren’t any, so she planned to buy mushrooms and mulberries, and maybe ask the Boss if they could bring two fish tomorrow.
While waiting in line, she overheard the commotion, and only stepped in when she realized it was about fish—and that it was her neighbor!
She always spoils her son, picks faults with her daughter-in-law, and complains that she eats all the good food, making her use her pension to buy more.
Thinking the Boss was being wronged, she worried the Boss might stop selling fish if upset! She still wanted to buy fish privately!
So, out of both anger and neighborly rivalry, she mimicked Granny’s usual complaints, saying, “Oh, all she does is eat, eat, eat! I let my son eat first, thinking she was busy tutoring the eldest, but when we got back, his belly was round from eating…”
The bystanders couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Granny’s face grew darker and darker, nearly stomping her feet.
Gao Xiuling felt vindicated and added, “Before your son was married, you said he was the glutton who never left you anything good. Now he’s married, and suddenly your daughter-in-law is the glutton? I know her, she’s an honest girl. I gave her two oranges once—she didn’t eat a single one, gave them to the kids. But the next day, you said she ate all the oranges herself. If she really eats that much, how is she still so thin?!”
Granny was hopping mad, surprisingly nimble for her age. She pointed at Gao Xiuling, “Nonsense! My son said she ate it!”
Gao Xiuling rolled her eyes.
Before she could say more, a bystander chimed in, “Then your son must be lying!”
Granny choked, nearly falling over in anger, “What would he gain by lying?! I wouldn’t give him less food! Enough of this, I’m not talking to you all!” She couldn’t hold it together anymore, shot a glare at the crowd and Jiang Heng, and snapped, “It’s just some mushrooms! Who cares!”
She stormed off.
Jiang Heng, who’d just been watching the show, clicked her tongue, “Tsk~”
“Eh, she’s gone?” Some were disappointed.
“That’s enough, let’s stop. Any more and she might try to blackmail us!”
Those who hadn’t had enough fun quickly sobered up, “True, true.”
Gao Xiuling let out a long breath and went back to the line, “Hey, who was I standing behind?”
“No worries, you can stand anywhere, big sis! You were amazing just now!” The customer beside her cheerfully made space and complimented her.
Gao Xiuling smiled sheepishly, “We’re neighbors, so I know a little.”
“Is that old lady really like that?” Someone gossiped.
Gao Xiuling nodded, “She is. Always bringing her grandson around, cursing her daughter-in-law. Even her granddaughter argues with her now and doesn’t want to play with her, so now she yells at both of them…”
“Her daughter-in-law has really had a tough life!” The gossip-monger sighed with sympathy, “She should know about this…”
Soon, it was Gao Xiuling’s turn.
She bought over a hundred yuan of mushrooms and a jin of mulberries.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, she hesitated, “Boss, your wild crucian carp is really good. My daughter just had a baby, low milk supply, the baby cries and the whole family can’t rest. Last night, after drinking your fish soup, she had more milk! Boss, could you please bring two more tomorrow? Same price, I’m not trying to take advantage!”
Jiang Heng was a bit surprised. Huh? Can crucian carp soup really help new mothers increase milk supply?
She wasn’t sure, but she knew her food, though with only faint traces of spiritual energy, had been irrigated with it, which naturally expelled impurities.
Long-term consumption would slowly improve one’s health.
For someone recovering from childbirth, eating more was definitely good.
…
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Heng said, “Sorry, I might not come to the stall tomorrow. Something came up at home, but if I can make it, I’ll bring two more fish.”
Gao Xiuling sighed in disappointment, “Just my luck…”
But she couldn’t insist.
After all, it was personal business. She thought about going directly to Jiang Heng’s house but worried the Boss, a young girl, might not be comfortable. “Alright, then. Can you total this for me?”
Jiang Heng nodded and told her the price. Remembering her earlier support, she added, “How about we add each other as contacts? If I have fish, I’ll let you know in advance so you won’t miss out.”
Gao Xiuling brightened, nodding eagerly, “Yes, yes! You’re so kind, Boss! Your business is sure to boom!”
Jiang Heng accepted the praise with a smile.
After this wave of customers, more than half of Jiang Heng’s produce was sold out.
There were still some mulberries left, but not many. Song Ming, now free, glanced over enviously, “Wow, your speed gets faster and faster! You’ll probably sell out soon!”
Jiang Heng smiled, “Everyone knew I wouldn’t be here for a couple days, so they bought extra. It’s a special case.”
Their stalls were right next to each other, so Song Ming had overheard her earlier conversation with Boss Ge and didn’t press further, only sighing, “What a shame, mushrooms grow so quickly. If you miss a couple days, you’ll miss out on so many sales.”
Jiang Heng was helpless, “I’ll just have to finish things at home quickly and come back to sell again.”
Song Ming advised, “If you can pay someone to help, do it. Your time is valuable!”
Jiang Heng agreed, and used the lull to bring her stuff over to Song Ming: two jin of mulberries and a bag of mushrooms.
Just as she finished, two more customers arrived.
One bought all her remaining mushrooms, the other bought all her mulberries.
After they left, Song Ming stared after them, feeling they looked familiar but couldn’t place them.
It wasn’t until Jiang Heng had left, and Song Ming had just sold a sushi, that it struck her. She slapped her thigh.
She remembered!
The first who bought the mushrooms was the owner of the private kitchen in this market!
The second, who bought the mulberries, was the owner of the super expensive fruit shop at the corner!
Now that Boss Ge’s business was thriving, were they all jumping in too?!
Song Ming was so excited she couldn’t even message, but immediately called, “Jiang Heng, do you remember the last two people who bought everything from your stall?!”
Jiang Heng was puzzled, “Ah? I remember. What’s up?”
Song Ming: “One’s the private kitchen owner, the other’s the fruit vendor! They must have noticed your high-quality goods. Along with Boss Ge, if you can supply them, you’ll never have to worry about not being able to set up your stall!”
Jiang Heng was speechless, “Really.”
Song Ming sensed something odd, “Eh? You’re not surprised?”
Jiang Heng cleared her throat, “Actually, I already saw several shop owners here buying from me today. Some even added me as a contact.”
She tended to pay more attention when people bought in bulk.
She didn’t recognize all of them, but some looked familiar.
The big shops here were mostly on the ground floor, and most were like Boss Ge’s, without hired staff, with the owner serving customers personally.
She passed by often, and though she hadn’t bought anything from them, she had a good memory and recognized some faces.
Especially those who bought a lot and asked for her contact info.
Song Ming gasped in anticipation, “Oh no, I feel like our days of setting up the stall together are numbered!”
Jiang Heng burst out laughing, “It’s not that bad. The cost is high, so they probably won’t buy that much.”
This market was small, and it would soon be saturated.
Spending a lot for a special meal once in a while was normal, but to spend that much every day—in this place where most salaries are only about three thousand yuan—most people couldn’t afford it.
It was only Boss Ge’s first day. Customer flow would definitely drop off later.
Of course, if she could supply stores steadily, her daily sales would rise, and so would her profits.
Song Ming thought the same and was satisfied, “That’s already really good. Sell some to them, and some yourself, your income will only get better!”
Jiang Heng smiled expectantly, “I hope so~”
Song Ming shouted, “Definitely!” Then, lowering her voice, “Actually, I just sent my homemade Mushroom Sauce and dried mushrooms to my former colleagues in the Magic Capital. If they like it, maybe they’ll order regularly. They’re all go-getters, money’s no issue!”
This time, it was Jiang Heng’s turn to be delighted, “Wow~~~”
Could she really start selling by express delivery so soon?!
With this beautiful hope, Jiang Heng was even happier as she counted her earnings on the way home.
Still, she made a little less than yesterday, total income was five thousand three.
Mainly because there was no fish.
But it was still a lot.
Another bountiful day!