After cheating the corpse and the sheepherder, Wu Ming encountered no more strange things in the remaining few days and arrived in Liuzhou City safely.
Liuzhou City is the capital of Liuzhou, a rare prosperous place.
In the north of the city, four temples, Erlang Temple, Guandi Temple, Chenghuang Temple, and Dragon King Temple, coexist, forming a place where incense is most popular.
The south of the city is close to the canal. In the past, there were countless vendors and literati and businessmen gathered together, making it look like an ancient metropolis.
Walking in Liuzhou City, Wu Ming was carrying cargo boxes and doing some small businesses along the street.
The salesman left a lot of things for him. Although they were cheap items such as needlework, clay figurines, and windmills, they were of some value.
Taking his time, Wu Ming stayed in Liuzhou City for a week before he sold all the cheap groceries.
In order to pay for the trip to Qingcheng Mountain, Wu Ming bought some low-end goods such as wooden hairpins, bronze mirrors, and brass bracelets from merchants. Later, he set up his own street stall in front of the temple in Chengbei District.
There are many people coming and going at the entrance of the temple, which can be regarded as a geomantic treasure.
Wu Ming sets up a stall here, and regardless of his income, he has to pay some sesame oil money to the temple, which can be regarded as a disguised form of tax collection.
"Brother, how do you sell these wooden hairpins?" It was getting late, and just when Wu Ming was about to close the stall, four children walked towards him.
Among them, the little girl who spoke seemed to be eight or nine years old, and her eyes were very smart.
Behind the little girl, there were three younger boys with patches on their clothes, hanging behind like followers.
"Sister, why don't we go? Things here are very expensive!" Seeing Wu Ming's gaze, the three little boys spoke cautiously and pulled the little girl's clothes.
"Don't be afraid. My sister is just asking about the price and will take you to eat meat buns later!" After the little girl said this, she touched the heads of her brothers and turned around and said, "Brother, you haven't told me yet.
How much does the wooden hairpin cost?"
"The little girl has good eyesight. This wooden hairpin is my treasure. I'll sell it to you for sixty cents!" Seeing the little girl's gaze, Wu Ming said with a smile.
Hearing the price, the little girl frowned cutely, bit her lower lip and said, "How much is the minimum price? I've agreed, but you can't lie to me!"
"Haha, how can a mere gold and silver thing compare to my reputation! Look at the pattern and the workmanship. This is top-grade mahogany wood. Sixty fen is not expensive!" Wu Ming said
Sincerely, the little girl shook her head repeatedly.
In the world of Liaozhai, a big meat bun costs one penny, and a bowl of wonton soup costs three cents. The prices are amazingly cheap.
The little girl, her four siblings, all had patches on their clothes, and they looked like children from poor families. Adults would have to grit their teeth to spend these sixty pennies, let alone children wearing patches.
"Brother, can you keep the wooden hairpin for a few more days? When I sell the pigweed, I will have the money to buy it." After hesitating for a long time, the little girl tentatively spoke and looked at Wu Ming pitifully.
Seeing that the little girl was interested in buying it, Wu Ming nodded and agreed, and asked: "I can keep it for you, but you have to tell me, you are so young, why are you buying a wooden hairpin?"
"I bought it for my mother, and she doesn't have a piece of jewelry." The little girl is young, but her filial piety is commendable. At the same time, there is no such sentence in a piece of jewelry, which also reveals in disguise that the little girl's family conditions are not
Ordinarily difficult.
Looking at the little girl with bright eyes but some malnutrition, Wu Ming shook his head: "Since ancient times, the poor have produced filial sons, and the rich have failed sons. Since you are filial, I will keep this wooden hairpin for you. When will you become rich?
Come and buy it!”
After receiving such a promise, the little girl took her three brothers and left with satisfaction.
In the next few days, Wu Ming would often see the little girl wandering in front of his stall.
However, the little girl never came close. She just stood in the distance and watched from a distance, holding a small and shriveled money bag.
The little girl came every day for half a month and occasionally counted the coins.
The number of copper coins is increasing day by day, with two or three coins increasing every day. It seems that buying a wooden hairpin is not far away.
"Brother, can you wait for me for a few days..."
On this day, the little girl came over crying. Instead of holding her little purse, she had a slap mark on her face.
Wu Ming frowned slightly, looked at the little girl's face, and asked: "What's wrong with your face, and where is your little purse?"
The little girl didn't speak, just sobbed and shook her head, begging you to keep the wooden hairpin for a few more days.
After half a month of getting along, Wu Ming knew that the little girl's life was very difficult at home.
The little girl's father is a bad gambler, and the family can't keep any money at all. The little girl's mother does her best to support the family, but she can only stay hungry but not enough to eat.
So, when he saw the slap on the little girl's face and the disappearing money bag, Wu Ming knew without even thinking about it that the little girl's money had probably been snatched away by his father and taken to the casino.
"The child is a good child, but his life is miserable!"
Wu Ming touched the little girl's head and couldn't help but think of the tragic fate of Xiao Baicai. He said bluntly: "I am doing business here to go to Qingcheng Mountain. In the past half month, I have saved enough travel expenses.
I will be leaving in a few days. Well, this wooden hairpin is a parting gift for you. You can take it home!"
"Brother, I can't ask for your things, you should tell me when you will leave!" The little girl did not go to get the wooden hairpin, but looked up at Wu Ming.
Their eyes met, Wu Ming saw in the little girl's eyes a perseverance that is rare in adults.
"In five or six days, I will sell the goods and leave. It will take about five or six days."
"Brother, if you can trust me, at this time on the fifth day, I will definitely come over with the money to buy the wooden hairpin!"
"Haha, are you going to sell pigweed again?"
"Sell, I want to make back the money I lost!"
After saying that, the little girl left, with her little fist clenched tightly in her back, a bit like a promise of a thousand dollars.
Wu Ming stood there, looking at the little girl's back until she disappeared from his sight.
After a long time, Wu Ming withdrew his gaze and felt that there was something extraordinary about this little girl.
"Let me think about it, what is the name of this little girl! Narcissus, yes, it is called Narcissus!" Wu Ming thought about this name and recalled whether there was anyone named Narcissus in the Liaozhai stories he had read.
It's a pity that the name Narcissus is easy to remember, but it doesn't appear at all in Liaozhai.
It seems that this little girl named Narcissus should also be a wave under the big waves in the world of Liaozhai.
"Brother, what are you thinking about?" Just when Wu Ming was distracted, an old farmer picking vegetables came over from the opposite side.
This old farmer who picked vegetables delivered vegetables to the temple, and he was quite talkative in the past.
Just in time, Wu Ming was thinking about Narcissus killing pigweed. After seeing the old farmer selling vegetables, he casually asked: "Brother, you are a vegetable seller, do you know how much a pound of pigweed is now?"
"Pigweed!"
The old farmer looked at Wu Ming unexpectedly and said hesitantly: "If I remember correctly, there is no pigweed in Liuzhou!"
"No production, not at all?" Wu Ming was a little stunned when he heard the old farmer's words.
"No, I am a vegetable grower in the countryside. I have stayed here for more than sixty years. I can't remember this wrong!" the old farmer said casually, and walked away with the vegetable basket.
When the old farmer left, Wu Ming stayed where he was, looking at the wooden hairpin on the stall and then in the direction where the narcissus was leaving.
If pigweed is not produced in Yangzhou, then where does the pigweed sold by Narcissus come from?