After walking for a while, the three of us children returned to the Market where the Old Man was. From afar, we could see someone inspecting the Deer Meat by the Old Man’s stall, and the two were talking about something.
As we got closer, we realized they were negotiating the price.
“Thirty qian per jin, no more. If it’s higher, I won’t buy.”
“That really won’t do, that’s way too low.”
Listening in for a bit, it became clear that the customer was bargaining. The customer was a man, and judging by his attire, he was likely a servant from a wealthy household sent to the Market to purchase supplies.
Their conversation was going in circles, and after Leng Yu gave me a nudge from behind, although I found it a bit troublesome, I sighed and stepped forward to speak.
“What’s the matter, big brother? Any instructions?”
Both the Old Man and the man were startled when I interrupted. It was probably strange to see a child come up and start talking.
The Old Man was about to say something, but Leng Yu pressed her hand down, and he didn’t stop me. The man, seeing the Old Man silent, began speaking to me instead.
“I want to buy some Deer Meat. I was just talking with your master for a while. If you can sell the meat for thirty qian per jin, I’ll buy it.”
I immediately flipped my previous annoyed expression into a bright smile and said to the man cheerfully, “You must be joking, big brother. Even pork sells for more than twenty qian per jin. The Deer Meat we just hunted is a bargain at forty qian. Besides, look at this meat — fat and tender. It will melt in your mouth. Other sellers’ prices are about the same, but their meat can’t compare to ours.”
The man pinched the meat, hesitating a little. “It’s still a bit expensive. It’s my first time eating Deer Meat, and I’m not sure if it tastes good.”
“Don’t worry, big brother. We ate some just last night; it’s definitely tender. Beef is usually hard to come by, right? The Beef Kid tried it once, but it was more for novelty. Honestly, Deer Meat tastes just as good, if not better, than beef, especially if your household cook knows how to remove the gamey smell. And compared to beef’s sky-high price, forty qian is really a steal.”
The man reached into his sleeve pocket and felt the money, seemingly tempted but still hesitant. I knew what he was thinking and immediately pressed the advantage.
“Big brother, I’m telling you, winter’s coming soon. This kind of mountain delicacy will only get more expensive…”
I paused, then leaned closer to the man and whispered, “Take some back for your master this time; they’ll definitely love it. We’ll keep hunting and selling like this, and next time you come, the price will be about the same. You can tell your master the price went up…”
The man understood immediately and smiled. “Alright, let’s do it this way. I’ll take fifteen jin this time.”
“Great, thank you for your patronage.” I put on my best merchant smile. The Old Man looked a bit stunned but, after I nudged his leg, snapped out of it and quickly started slicing the Deer Meat.
“Six hundred qian, big brother. Safe travels.” I took the money the man handed over and watched him leave. Then I weighed the pile of money in my hand and glanced at the Old Man cleaning his knives, sneakily slipping a few coins from the stack into my pocket.
But the Old Man was no fool. How could he not notice my little trick? Before I could fully take them, his big hand swooped in and grabbed the coins.
“So young and already such a merchant. I don’t know whether to be proud or ashamed for your parents.” The Old Man counted the money carefully before putting it in his pocket.
Leng Yu quietly said, “After all, using words to charm others is one of the few talents the Young Master has… Really, it’s quite despicable.”
Is that even a talent…
“Have some shame. Weren’t you the one I sent to talk? And if it weren’t for me, could you even sell any meat?” I looked at the Old Man somewhat resentfully as he pocketed the money. “Hey, Old Man, you have to give me some of this.”
The Old Man looked puzzled. “Why do you want money? Hasn’t Mistress bought you everything you needed?”
“Money is the kind of thing that, even if you don’t spend it, just hoarding it makes you happy.” I said solemnly, as if quoting some great truth.
“How can a kid your age think like that?” The Old Man was amused and looked to Leng Yu. “Has he always been like this?”
Leng Yu, with a look of resigned acceptance, replied, “Yes. Although I find it hard to believe, the Young Master really is a greedy and lustful little fellow who treasures money above all else.”
What’s going on… I thought I’d done something amazing, but instead my reputation just dropped.
Seeing me sulking, Leng Yu seemed to think for a moment, then leaned over to whisper something in the Old Man’s ear.
After a while, the Old Man came over to me. “Since it’s thanks to you, I’ll give you some pocket money.”
Ohhhhhh! My little maid may usually act against her master, but when it counts, she’s on my side. Hmm, nice, nice. My little maid is super cute.
Looking at Leng Yu’s impassive face just now suddenly seemed much more endearing.
But before I could rush over to hug Leng Yu and rub my cheek against hers, the Old Man shifted tone.
“But… only after you sell more. Let’s aim for fifty jin first.”
That little maid really knows how to squeeze every last coin out of me. I hate you.
But I hate myself even more for starting to shout louder to sell more for these petty profits…
“Come, come take a look! Premium Deer Meat, forty qian per jin. Forty qian, you can’t lose. Forty qian, you can’t be cheated! Take it home and only delicious dishes await you, only joyful family reunions. Men will gain strength, women will nourish their beauty. Children will grow taller, and elders will grow strong.”
Leng Yu shook her head beside me. “The Young Master is truly pitiful.”
The Old Man was also left speechless by my unrestrained pitch, then noticed the little child we hadn’t seen earlier.
“Hm? This child is…?” the Old Man asked, and Leng Yu explained the situation.
The Old Man nodded and spoke to the nervous little Young Thief who was fidgeting with his clothes. “Child, wait here for us. After we finish selling this evening, we’ll give you whatever is left. If there’s too much leftover and we can’t find you, it’ll be wasted.”
The Young Thief had been unsure of my words before but was delighted by the adult’s promise and, not knowing how to respond, hurriedly said, “N-no problem. I’ll wait here. You just keep selling. If you can give us three or four jin, we’ll be satisfied.”
Time passed quickly. Thanks to my hard selling, a good amount of Deer Meat was sold. But due to many reasons, quite a bit still remained — about less than twenty jin.
Just as the Old Man was about to hand the leftover meat to the child, a sudden voice behind interrupted him.
“Found them! They’re here!!”