Chapter 16: Visiting the Vegetable Market

Mei Mengzhen was startled, "Goodness, that scared me to death."

Not only was Mei Mengzhen frightened, but because of her exaggerated reaction, she even scared her younger brother.

Mei Mengchen plopped down on his bottom, looking at Mei Mengzhen with a bewildered gaze, seemingly worried and a bit scared, his little mouth puckered as if he couldn't decide whether to speak or cry.

Mei Mengzhen quickly hugged her brother to her chest, and seeing his pitiable look, she comforted him, "Chenchen, why are you looking at your sister like that? You scared me to death."

Mei Mengchen heard his sister's explanation and immediately relaxed. He had thought his sister was upset with him, but it turned out she was just startled. With a little pout, he said, "I woke up, and sister, you were still asleep, so I wanted to stay by your side."

"What time did you wake up? I'm sorry for scaring you, alright?"

Mei Mengchen reached out and hugged her shoulders, holding her tightly, "I woke up not long ago, I wasn't scared, sister."

In fact, he had been awake for quite a while, and had watched Mei Mengzhen for a long time. It was just that Mei Mengzhen was sleeping so soundly he didn't want to disturb her. Little did he know, as he watched, he became entranced, for his sister, protecting him, was at her most beautiful.

Mei Mengzhen twitched her lips upon hearing this answer. The poor thing sounded so aggrieved, yet he pretended he wasn't scared.

But since her brother was still young, she knew she had to comfort him, so she held Mei Mengchen and patted him for quite a while until his mood gradually settled.

At this time, Mei Mengzhen decided that taking a nap and entering the "Spiritual Spring" space was a big no-no. That kind of scare was something neither her brother nor she wanted to experience again.

Once her brother's mood was settled, she glanced at the clock. It was time for dinner.

It seemed she had slept quite a while; both the morning and evening meals were rather sumptuous. After casually taking some vegetables from the space to make a soup for dinner, they managed to 'get by' for the rest of the day.

There had been a lot going on at home yesterday, so the two of them hadn't left the house, feeling fully occupied. However, it wouldn't make sense to stay in again today.

But for Mei Mengchen, going out meant spending money, and their family, well, didn't have any.

Even though he was very young, he knew this much.

If this had been the past, even if Mei Mengchen was smart, his little brain wouldn't be capable of understanding these details. But he had been drinking "Spiritual Spring Water" for several days now, and the effects of the water, which were meant to regulate the body and boost memory, were particularly noticeable on the young Mei Mengchen, who naturally had fewer impurities in his body than Mei Mengzhen.

Right now, neither of them realized that not only had Mei Mengchen's language skills become much richer, his mind had also become much sharper.

Of course, since he hadn't even started kindergarten yet, it was impossible to deduce so much from just a few sentences.

"No worries, let's go out and see if there's a place where we can make some money," suggested Mei Mengzhen. She wanted to go by herself, but with her brother being only 3 years old, it didn't seem right to leave a child alone at home. If something happened to him at home, she would feel even more guilty, so she decided it was best to bring him along.

Upon hearing about making money, Mei Mengchen exclaimed with joy, "Sister, you thought of a way."

Mei Mengzhen nodded, "I know someone who can wholesale vegetables— the kind we eat. We could buy some in bulk and then sell them."

Mei Mengchen's face lit up with surprise. Such delicious vegetables would surely sell for a lot of money. He happily said, "Good, I'll be with sister."

Mei Mengzhen hurriedly nodded, "Yes, we'll sell them together, but I'm not sure where to sell yet. Let's go out now and take a look, shall we?"

No matter how intelligent Mei Mengchen was now, at his core, he was still a three-year-old child. Coaxed in such a manner by Mei Mengzhen, the two of them left the house.

They first had breakfast outside, then strolled around the Vegetable Market near their home.

The Vegetable Market near their home did mediocre business. It mainly catered to people returning home from work who picked up some groceries on their way, or for those who needed something convenient to add to a dish. That's why the business was quite ordinary, but there was still money to be made.

Speaking of a market that was doing well, another one about a 15-minute walk away was bustling. That Vegetable Market was much larger inside and out, and every stall was doing exceptionally well. The vegetables were fresh and the prices were even cheaper than those at the entrance. Not only Mei's parents but also relatives who were off work liked to shop at that market.

After visiting the nearby Market, Mei Mengzhen then took her brother to the busier Vegetable Market further away.

They hadn't even reached the Market when they found the street so clogged with vendors that it was impossible to pass through. She had not expected there to be so many people shopping for groceries even past 9 o'clock.

Mei Mengchen was small, and fearing he would get trampled, she quickly picked him up.

As they looked around, neither found the dirtiness of the Vegetable Market disturbing; instead, they were both intrigued by the lively atmosphere.

Walking around the Market took more than 20 minutes to complete, which showed how large it was. After surveying the private vendors outside, she found a corner spot and pointed it out to Mei Mengchen, "How about we set up our stall here tomorrow?"

Mei Mengchen nodded enthusiastically, but asked, "Isn't there one this afternoon?" Why wait until tomorrow when they were free in the afternoon?

Mei Mengzhen was taken aback by his question, "But you have to take a nap in the afternoon, right?"

Mei Mengchen shook his head, "Sister, I don't have to sleep. It's the same if I sleep at night."

Mei Mengzhen hesitated, she had never sold vegetables before. Trying it out in the afternoon seemed like a good idea, but still, "Are you sure you can manage without a nap? Have you ever skipped your afternoon nap before?"

She was truly unaware. After all, she was usually at school, or locked up in her room, or out playing. She hadn't paid much attention to whether her brother took his afternoon nap or not.

"Definitely," he said, "I don't sleep when we go out to play."

Since that was the case, "Then we'll give it a try this afternoon."

If they were going to start selling vegetables in the afternoon, then they needed to prepare the necessary equipment now.

Luckily, everything they needed was available near the Market. She went down a back alley and after some searching, set her sights on those large PE crates commonly used for logistics, the kind that could be stacked into two layers and had a large capacity. Each cost 25 yuan, and she promptly bought two.

She could have bought more, but she didn't think she could carry them once they were filled with vegetables.

After another round of shopping, she bought a cart of just the right size to pull the vegetables, spending another 40 yuan. Along with breakfast in the morning, she had spent a full 100 yuan without having done anything else.

A hundred yuan in 2007 was still somewhat valuable. To spend it in such a short time was painful for someone with no money.

But she didn't say anything about it. Knowing how sensitive a child's mind could be, she feared that a thoughtless comment might lead her brother to worry. However, the child kept tabs in his mind, and before Mei Mengzhen could express her concerns, he started, "How much money did we spend today? Can we earn it back this afternoon?"