TSWPF – Chapter 36 Agreement

Li Qingling nodded and said, “Yes, I’ll take all of them.” Aunt Huang only had enough eggs for tomorrow, and she would need to buy more the day after.

Although Aunt Huang wanted to make some money, she still looked at Li Qingling with a bit of disapproval and gently advised, “These eggs don’t last long. If you buy so many at once, you won’t finish them in time and they’ll spoil. You’d better buy a few at a time, and get more when you need them.” Even with money, it wasn’t right to overdo things—without an adult at home, it’s just troublesome.

Hearing Aunt Huang’s words warmed Li Qingling’s heart slightly. She knew she couldn’t hide her egg pancake stall from Aunt Huang—she would eventually find out. Rather than lie, it was better to be honest.

“Auntie, here’s the situation. Brother Zhimou and I set up a stall in town to sell egg pancakes. We’ve run out of eggs at home, so I came to buy some from you.” Pausing briefly, Li Qingling continued, “From now on, whenever you have eggs, could you save them for me? I’ll pay the same price as in town.”

Aunt Huang gasped softly. She hadn’t expected Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou to be so clever as to open a stall in town selling egg pancakes. Seeing her buy so many eggs at once, business must be doing quite well.

“All right, I’ll save all my eggs for you.” Usually, her eggs would sell in town for a penny each, and sometimes they didn’t even all sell. Now Li Qingling was buying all of them at the same price—it felt like a huge pancake had dropped on her head, and it made her incredibly happy. “Can you carry them all? I’ll help deliver them to your home!”

Seeing Li Qingling hadn’t brought anything to help, Aunt Huang eagerly lifted the basket of eggs, wanting to carry it herself.

“No, no, I can manage. I’ll carry them myself.” Li Qingling waved her hands repeatedly. She counted out fifty wen from her pocket and handed it to Aunt Huang. “Here, fifty wen. Auntie, please count it.”

Seeing so much money at once, Aunt Huang’s eyes sparkled. She put the basket down, wiped her hands, and took the money. She felt a bit embarrassed to count it in front of Li Qingling, as if she didn’t trust her.

“No need to count, I trust you,” Aunt Huang quickly said, putting the money away, then reached for the basket again. Having just earned so much from Li Qingling, she wanted to be thorough and personally deliver the eggs to her house.

Li Qingling stopped her, asking if she had extra cabbages she could sell as well.

“The vegetables are free. Xiaoling, pick whatever you want—you won’t be able to eat it all at home anyway.”

If Li Qingling were picking for herself, a trip or two would be fine. But since she was buying for her stall, she had to pay properly. She didn’t want anyone saying she was taking advantage.

“Auntie, listen. I really want to buy them, on a long-term basis. Whatever price they sell for in town, I’ll pay the same.”

Li Qingling had no choice. Her family and Liu Zhimou’s had almost no vegetables, and even if they did, they couldn’t supply long-term. Buying was the only option—but fortunately, vegetables weren’t expensive, so costs wouldn’t be high.

Hearing it was a long-term arrangement, Aunt Huang’s heart skipped a beat. She wondered what kind of egg pancakes Li Qingling was selling that she even needed vegetables.

“All right, let’s go to the vegetable patch. Pick what you like, and I’ll harvest it for you.”

Money to be earned—of course she wouldn’t push it away. She also realized Li Qingling buying eggs and vegetables from her was a way of helping her family. She appreciated the thought.

Li Qingling nodded and followed Aunt Huang to the vegetable patch, basket in hand.

“Xiaoling, pick what you want,” Aunt Huang said, holding a basket and a sickle. Once Li Qingling pointed, she would cut it herself.

Seeing the lush vegetables, Li Qingling could tell Aunt Huang had put effort into the garden. She didn’t hesitate and chose four well-grown cabbages for Aunt Huang to cut.

Back at Aunt Huang’s house, Li Qingling gave her two wen for the four cabbages—more than fair. Aunt Huang accepted them with a smile.

She let Li Qingling carry the cabbages while she carried the eggs to Li Qingling’s home.

Along the way, someone saw her and asked where she was taking the eggs.

Aunt Huang smiled. “Xiaoling needs eggs at home, so I’m bringing them over,” without mentioning that Li Qingling was running a stall and buying her eggs.

Thinking of these eggs, Aunt Huang felt a bit regretful that she hadn’t saved more—she could have sold more. But it didn’t matter; Li Qingling would keep buying from her, so she could continue to save and sell eggs.

Once Aunt Huang left, the villagers murmured. Why was she giving so many eggs to Li Qingling? Surely she had taken payment, right? They planned to ask her when she returned.

“Sit for a moment, Auntie. I’ll get a basket to transfer them,” Li Qingling said politely. She went to the kitchen, got a bamboo basket, and carefully moved the eggs over.

The eggs from Aunt Huang’s hens were all fairly uniform in size, which pleased Li Qingling.

Seeing Li Qingling done, Aunt Huang smiled and asked if she would need cabbages tomorrow. If so, she could harvest them in advance and deliver them, saving Li Qingling another trip.

Li Qingling didn’t know when she’d return tomorrow, so having Aunt Huang deliver them personally would be ideal.

“Yes, please. Could you harvest four cabbages and bring them tomorrow? If I’m not home, just leave them at the Liu house for Xiaofeng,” Li Qingling smiled and nodded.

Aunt Huang’s smile stretched nearly from ear to ear. She regretted not planting more cabbages earlier.

“All right, I’ll pick the best ones for you.”

Li Qingling thanked her and asked her not to come too early—around the same time as today would be fine.

Aunt Huang nodded repeatedly and said she understood, chatting a little longer before taking the basket and heading home.

“Wait, Auntie!” Li Qingling called out as she was about to leave the yard.

Pausing, Aunt Huang looked back. “Yes? What is it?”

Li Qingling approached and whispered, “Auntie, I’d like to ask a favor.” If Aunt Huang helped collect eggs and vegetables, it would save Li Qingling a lot of work and let Aunt Huang earn money. A win-win.

“What favor?”

“If you have time, could you help buy eggs from other households for me? I won’t ask what you pay—whatever you buy them for, I’ll pay the same.” She gave Aunt Huang the opportunity to profit from her own efforts. “But there’s one condition: the eggs must be good and not too small. Can you do that?”

If Aunt Huang couldn’t, Li Qingling would need to find someone else.

Hearing this, Aunt Huang nodded repeatedly, insisting she could do it. How could she turn down a money-making opportunity?

“Xiaoling, I really thank you,” Aunt Huang said, holding Li Qingling’s hand with genuine gratitude. She decided to stay close to her—such a clever girl might achieve even greater things in the future.

Li Qingling felt a little awkward under her grip, smiling and shaking her head to ease her.

After some more polite words, Aunt Huang went home beaming.

On the way, villagers saw her cheerful expression and curiously asked what good news made her so happy.

Aunt Huang laughed and asked if they had any eggs at home. If so, they could bring them to her—she was collecting eggs.

“You’re collecting eggs? Not joking, right? Why? Is your daughter-in-law about to give birth?”

Aunt Huang, being shrewd, didn’t reveal the truth. She simply told them to bring eggs if they had any, then hurried away, leaving curious villagers behind.

Li Qingling ignored Aunt Huang’s side of things and carried the eggs and cabbages to the Liu house.

She told Liu Zhimou about Aunt Huang’s help. He nodded, approving her approach. They didn’t have time to collect eggs from every household—having Aunt Huang do it saved a lot of effort.

“How many eggs did you get from Aunt Huang?” Liu Zhimou asked.

Li Qingling glanced at him. “Just fifty eggs, all from Aunt Huang’s house. I plan to cook them all tomorrow.” She had already sold thirty egg pancakes this morning; cooking fifty more should sell in a day. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll cook thirty semi-finished ones first and finish the rest slowly in town.” It was smart to have a backup plan in case all fifty didn’t sell.

Liu Zhimou had no objections. “Fine, I’ll follow your lead.” Unsold eggs could always be brought back.

Li Qingling smiled and sat aside, listening as he taught the two younger children, following along to learn some characters herself.