Chapter 24: Plenty of Money, Not Much Else

Ignoring the exaggerated praise from the wild shill, Lin Ruanruan turned to the drunkard holding a wine jug.

"Little stutterer, do you still have rabbit meat today?" The drunkard took a swig from his wine gourd and asked before Lin Ruanruan could respond.

Seeing Lin Ruanruan shake her head, he turned to leave.

"Wa... wait!" Lin Ruanruan quickly called out, scooping a small spoonful of venison mix and offering it to the drunkard.

He wanted the cold rabbit meat to pair with his drink, and coincidentally, the venison mix she made was also great with alcohol.

"What is this?" Frowning at the venison mix on the wooden spoon, the drunkard took another swig.

"Ven... venison mix," Lin Ruanruan stuttered honestly.

The drunkard paused, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Little stutterer, you should be honest."

Lin Ruanruan: ???

What was dishonest about her? Was the price too high? But she hadn't even mentioned the price of the venison or the mix, whether it was eighty coins for the venison or twenty coins for the mix.

"I came here specifically to buy rabbit meat from you. If you don't have rabbit meat, that's fine, but why give me offal to disgust me?" The drunkard quickly explained.

Offal? No decent person would eat that.

Lin Ruanruan blinked, momentarily unable to follow his strange logic. Remembering the original owner's experiences, she recalled she had never eaten offal herself.

Not just venison offal, but she had only ever eaten pork liver and lungs, nothing else from a pig.

She stirred the potatoes in the pot and then put the wooden spoon away.

The onlookers had started whispering about her giving offal to the drunkard, and the drunkard's face looked unpleasant.

Pressing her lips together, she used a bamboo skewer to eat a few pieces of venison mix.

The autumn wind was mild but constant, and the fat on the venison mix had started to solidify. Though not as good as freshly made, it had its own unique flavor.

Since she ate it herself, the drunkard couldn't see her actions as an insult.

The drunkard took another swig of wine, watching her chew coldly. Only after she swallowed did his expression soften a bit.

"I won't eat this stuff. If you don't have rabbit meat, I'm leaving." He waved his hand and turned to go.

Lin Ruanruan tried to stop him: "Ven... ven... venison, do you... do you want it?"

Because she was in a hurry, she stuttered more, and by the time she finished, the drunkard was already walking away with his wine jug.

"Venison?" Realizing what she meant, the drunkard turned back.

Lin Ruanruan's eyes brightened, and she nodded vigorously.

Afraid he wouldn't believe her, she quickly scooped out a piece of venison.

The venison wasn't cooked for long; it was intended to be stewed on the stove before eating.

The drunkard, half-believing, came back and reached for the venison with the wooden spoon, but someone else's hand grabbed it first.

The man who had finished the bag of wolf-tooth potatoes popped the venison into his mouth.

"I've had venison before. It's tough, dry, and very gamey," he said before chewing.

But after a few bites, his eyes lit up.

"Little mute, how did you get so good at cooking? Your chestnuts were great, your potatoes are amazing, and this meat—is this really venison?"

Shill! Definitely a shill!

If he weren't a shill, Lin Ruanruan wouldn't believe it.

Even a paid shill wouldn't be this enthusiastic.

"Hey, young man, did the little stutterer hire you to deceive us?" Finally, someone couldn't stand it, and an old man coughed and spoke up.

"What? Deceive you?" The wild shill frowned. "Why would I bother deceiving you poor folks? I'm not that bored."

Calling them "poor folks" successfully angered the crowd.

"We're poor? You have money. The little stutterer gave you those darn potatoes right away, and now you've eaten her meat from the barrel. All this talk, but we haven't seen you buy anything," one person challenged.

"Exactly, you keep saying it's delicious but haven't bought a thing. If you're not a shill, why haven't you paid?" others chimed in, forming a group and pointing out Liu Sheng's suspicious behavior.

If Lin Ruanruan weren't the stall owner, she would have agreed with them. Liu Sheng's actions indeed looked like those of a paid shill.

"Not buying? Who said I'm not buying? I came here today to buy sugar-fried chestnuts," Liu Sheng retorted, a bit flustered.

"But we haven't seen you buy any," the crowd continued.

"The little mute didn't sell chestnuts today, so I had to taste these things to see if they're good," Liu Sheng's face turned red with anger.

At that moment, Lin Ruanruan's second batch of potatoes was ready, but the first batch hadn't sold yet. She had to turn off the stove and move the previously prepared potatoes to one side of the wooden basin.

"Little stutterer, pack all these for me. And how much is that venison? Give me two portions," Liu Sheng ordered, pointing at the prepared potatoes.

Lin Ruanruan was thrilled to finally make a sale after all the commotion. She quickly placed the fried potatoes in a strainer to drain the oil. "Ven... venison... eighty coins," she stuttered.

"Eighty coins?" Liu Sheng was slightly surprised.

"You said we were poor. You, a rich man, shouldn't mind spending eighty or a hundred coins," the drunkard teased while finishing his wine.

"Who said I mind the eighty coins? Little mute, give me three portions!" Liu Sheng demanded.

Lin Ruanruan glanced at him. This person had quite a temper. She had made enough venison for three to five people, and he wanted three portions. Could he finish it all?

Just as she was about to advise him, Liu Sheng pulled a money pouch from his sleeve, took out a small piece of silver weighing five or six coins, and handed it to Lin Ruanruan.

"I'm in a good mood today. Your food is good. Consider the extra money a tip," he said.

Lin Ruanruan: ...

Well, she didn't understand the world of the wealthy. Since he didn't mind the cost, there was no need to advise him.

She quickly packed all the potatoes, tied up three portions of venison with string, and added a portion of venison mix as a free gift. Then she handed everything to Liu Sheng.

With this transaction, even if she didn't sell anything else, she could redeem the jade pendant from the pawnshop.

Great, any money she earned afterward could be saved for herself.

"See that? Who's saying I'm not buying?" Liu Sheng boasted to the crowd, carrying the food.

The crowd looked at him like he was a fool, except for two people whose eyes gleamed with interest.

Unfortunately, Liu Sheng was too smug to notice their expressions.

Lin Ruanruan was busy preparing the second batch of potatoes and didn't pay much attention to the scene.

Liu Sheng swaggered past the crowd with his purchases. The two keen-eyed individuals exchanged a glance, and one quietly took a few steps back and stealthily followed Liu Sheng.