Chapter 172 (2/2)

“Older Sister is being too courteous! You could have just left it next door and I would have retrieved it later!!” Seeing that her eyes seemed stuck on the watermelons on the shelves, Xiaocao knew that she was very satisfied with her family’s watermelons .

Eldest Young Miss Zhuang walked into the shop like a willow tree blown by a light breeze and looked at the price on the shelves . What are ‘five taels, ‘four taels’, and ‘three taels’? Five taels per catty? Even the watermelons in the capital weren’t so expensive!! But, her watermelon did seem much better than the watermelon from the capital .

“Help me weigh several of the biggest watermelons . I’ll send someone to retrieve them tomorrow when you guys open for business! This is the deposit!!” Eldest Young Miss Zhuang took out a golden ingot that was worth five taels of gold [2] and handed it to Yu Xiaocao .

Gold ingot? Yu Xiaocao had dealt with silver and bank notes, but she had never seen this golden thing! Based on the size, it should be at least five taels, which meant that it was fifty taels of silver! To be so generous, she was definitely the young miss of a n.o.ble family!!

“This older sister, the watermelons in our shop are sold on a per unit basis . All the watermelons on this shelf are around twenty catties, and they cost five taels of silver each . With the amount of your deposit, you can buy ten watermelons of this size!! If there aren’t that many people in your family, you can just buy two of them back to eat . In the future, we will transport fresh watermelons here every day . It’s better to buy fresh ones to eat each day, and the taste will also be better!” Yu Xiaocao adhered to the true meaning of ‘customers first’ and sincerely advised Eldest Young Miss Zhuang .

Although Eldest Young Miss Zhuang had a proud temperament, she wasn’t someone who couldn’t tell good from bad . She felt slightly better about the little girl after she heard her words . She smiled faintly and said, “So it’s five taels for one ah! The price is much cheaper than the ones in the capital! It really is tasty and inexpensive!! Then I’ll order ten first . They’re not only for my family to eat . Since it won’t be considered unsightly to send them as gifts, I can also send them to friends and relatives!”

“Alright!” She was rich and imposing, and Yu Xiaocao naturally didn’t mind earning more money . So, she took the little golden ingot with a radiant smile on her face and said, “This older sister, I’ll give you a receipt for you…”

“No need, it’s not that much money! Tomorrow, you can just give the watermelons to the servant sent from the Zhuang Family!” Eldest Young Miss Zhuang didn’t really care about a mere fifty taels of silver, so it didn’t matter whether there was a receipt or not .

Miss w.a.n.g wandered around the shop a few times and was overjoyed after she heard the price . She originally thought that such a delicious watermelon would surely be expensive . She had heard from Eldest Young Miss Zhuang that the watermelon that her older brother bought from the capital cost two taels per catty! A small watermelon cost several dozens taels . She was the daughter of a merchant, but even with her entire year of allowance, she still wouldn’t be able to buy a watermelon .

She hadn’t expected that she could buy a watermelon for five taels of silver at this watermelon shop . In this way, she could buy a watermelon every month with her monthly allowance!

“I want to order one too . I’ll come to get it tomorrow myself!!” Miss w.a.n.g took out a five tael silver ingot from her embroidered purse and smiled like a little hamster who received peanuts .

Yu Xiaocao quickly wrote two receipts and handed them to the two flower-like girls . She smiled and explained to Miss Zhuang, “When we open for business tomorrow, there will be a lot of people and we’ll be very busy . I’m afraid that we’ll make a mistake at that time, so it’s better to retrieve the watermelons with a receipt!”

Eldest Young Miss Zhuang hesitated for a moment before she took the receipt with ugly handwriting, and then looked at Xiaocao with dismay . But, when she considered her age and attire, she felt that she was being too demanding . Most of girls from ordinary families in town didn’t know how to read and write . It was already pretty good that this little girl could write a few words!

Miss w.a.n.g had already picked out the biggest watermelon in the shop and giggled, “Little girl, I want this one . Help me put it away first . I’ll come get it tomorrow!”

Eldest Young Miss Zhuang was displeased with Miss w.a.n.g’s haggling again, but Yu Xiaocao continued to smile and said, “No problem! Uncle Li, remove the watermelon that this young lady selected from the shelf and put it in the corner of the shop alone . This older sister, look carefully . I’ll mark it for you, so remember to check tomorrow . ”

Miss w.a.n.g looked at her watermelon with satisfaction . Seeing Yu Xiaocao tie it with a straw rope and stuff a sheet of paper with a strange symbol (Author’s note: Arabic numerals) between the rope, she nodded unceasingly .

Eldest Young Miss Zhuang was already rendered speechless by Miss w.a.n.g . Disregarding her, she walked out of the shop first and headed to her own carriage .

The next day, with the crackling of firecrackers, Yu Xiaocao’s watermelon shop had finally opened! Originally, she had wanted to set off a string of firecrackers in a low-key manner, unveil the plaque, and officially start business! But she hadn’t expected to see so many familiar faces despite not notifying anybody .

County Magistrate Wu, who was dressed in regular clothes, came with his precious son and servants carrying gifts behind them . With his hands clasped together, he bobbed a greeting towards Yu Xiaocao’s G.o.dfather and said, “Congratulations, congratulations! Official Fang, why didn’t you notify this subordinate official of your shop’s grand opening?”

Fang Zizhen guffawed, “It’s my daughter’s shop . She wanted to keep a low profile, so we didn’t notify anyone!”

Zhou Zixu had also come with gifts . He snorted in dissatisfaction, “It’s fine for others! But Xiaocao, how can you treat me like this! What’s our relations.h.i.+p? Even if you don’t invite others, can you not invite me to come celebrate the opening of your shop?”

The patriarch of the Yao Family had also personally come with a present, and behind him was the newly promoted head steward—an old acquaintance of Xiaocao . Had he not gained merit by purchasing vegetables from the Yu Family and gotten into his master’s good graces, there was no way he would have gotten the position of the head steward .

[1] orchid fingers (兰花指) - a lady's hand gesture with the tips of the thumb and the forefinger touching and the other three fingers raised; displays grace and elegance

[2] 1 tael of gold = 10 taels of silver

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