Xinyan received quite a few herbal seedlings from Master Gousheng last week. She learned that they had a grapevine in their yard and arranged to meet at the market this week to have him cut a few branches for her and to give her the herbs he found on the mountain.
Last week, she didnât change her outfit and told Master Gousheng that she dressed scruffily on purpose, for safety reasons when going out.
After finishing her chores in the morning, Xinyan left her house.
She fished a bucketful from the Yuquan River and headed to the market, carrying it along. These fish were ordered by Manager Lu at the state-run restaurant at the market, so she conveniently took them over.
Since there were people along the way and the state-run restaurant wasnât far from the townâs market entrance, she couldnât cheat and had to carry it all the way. Fortunately, she was strong, or she wouldnât have been able to manage.
She first arrived at the state-run restaurant and saw Song Wenjuan cleaning at the front desk: "Sister Wenjuan, busy as usual?"
Song Wenjuan looked up and saw Xinyan carrying the bucket: "Oh wow, Xinyanâs here! Chef Zhang was just talking about you."
Chef Zhang heard the commotion from behind and came over: "Girl, since youâre here, why donât you bring the fish to the back kitchen, why chat here?"
Since the last time she sold fish here, Xinyan hadnât come again. Last week, when she came to find things from Master Gousheng, she bumped into Chef Zhang at the market, which led to todayâs fish delivery.
Xinyan laughed: "Iâm here, Iâm here. I just arrived and havenât chatted with Sister Wenjuan yet."
Saying this, she carried the bucket to the back kitchen, not forgetting to smile at Song Wenjuan.
Last weekend, someone admired Chef Zhangâs cooking skills and, after tasting his dishes, directly reserved three tables for today.
Chef Zhang is a peculiar person, very particular about cooking. He likes to search for ingredients himself, and even Manager Lu dares not offend him. If things donât go his way, he really will leave you hanging.
Xinyan brought the fish inside: "Master Zhang, are these fish to your liking?"
On the way here, she tried putting a small amount of Space Stream Water, and the fish became very lively. Chef Zhang looked at them and his face brightened: "Not bad."
Then, he shouted to someone nearby: "Come over and weigh these."
Then he looked at Xinyan: "I wonât let you lose out, Iâll still stick to the price Manager Lu stated last time."
Xinyan thanked him and went to the side to weigh them. Since there were more fish than last time, she received more money.
Politely bidding farewell to Chef Zhang, she was about to leave when she heard Chef Zhang say: "If you have good goods in the future, feel free to bring them here. Can the market give you a better price than I can here?"
Xinyan knew Chef Zhang was warm-hearted despite his cold exterior. He was worried about her getting shortchanged at the market, so she chuckled and said to him: "Thank you, Iâll remember."
Although she would leave here after the college entrance exam, she still wanted to respond and respect othersâ kindness.
After greeting Song Wenjuan, who was busy cleaning, she left.
Upon arriving at the market, she was surprised to see Master Gousheng had been waiting there. Besides several grapevines, he also brought a small ginseng seedling for her, which thrilled Xinyan.
Seeing her delight, Master Gousheng pulled out two cockscomb flowers from his basket: "Knowing you like flowers and plants, I helped out at another house and got two small ones for you, brought them all together."
Xinyan smiled and nodded: "Thank you."
But she didnât let Master Gousheng miss out either, directly paying him, as it wasnât easy for his grandson and him.
Seeing she paid for the cockscomb flowers too, Master Gousheng declined: "Treat these flowers as a gift. They took no effort, just things procured from others, treat them as a bonus."
Xinyan laughed and pushed it back: "Donât refuse, buy Gousheng some candy."
Master Gousheng heard Xinyan mention Gousheng, and his eyes were full of smiles. He no longer declined: "Always making you spend, so Iâll thank you on his behalf."
Xinyan put the things into her bucket: "Please donât say that. Iâm taking things from you; itâs just mutual need."
After separating, Xinyan wandered around the market for half a day, pulled a few pieces of fabric at Gongqiao Society. Seeing some yarn that needed no coupons, she also bought a few pounds, thinking to prepare clothes for herself for autumn and winter, once she had time.