Chapter 10: Sweet Words Bring Good Business

"Stop fooling around." Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiuxiang's expression darkened.

Most of the roads leading into the city were hard to traverse; if anything happened because Guazi came along, she feared she would regret it all her life.

Sensing the mood, Guazi immediately shrank her little head.

Liu Xing couldn't bear to see Guazi cry. He reached out and picked her up, testing, "Mom, let Guazi come with me. After all, Black Calf walks slowly on the road, and with one more person, I won't be afraid of walking at night."

"I'll take good care of Guazi," Liu Xing added after a pause.

"Well..." Zhou Qiuxiang hesitated at his words.

She wasn't afraid of anything else, just that someone might snatch Guazi away.

But what Liu Xing said made sense. For one person to grope their way to the city market in the dark, it truly wasn't safe without company.

"Mama, I'll be very good," Guazi said softly, tugging at Zhou Qiuxiang's arm.

Her gentle voice softened Zhou Qiuxiang's heart. She sighed, "All right! Going with your brother is at least some protection, but you must never leave his side. If a bad person takes you, you’ll never come back."

"Yes, yes! I knew Mama was the best." While Zhou Qiuxiang wasn’t looking, Guazi hugged her and kissed her cheek with a pout.

"This little rascal," Zhou Qiuxiang couldn’t help but laugh, touching her face.

Liu Xing also smiled, sat Guazi on Black Calf’s back, then led them toward the mountain path to the east.

"Be careful on the road," Zhou Qiuxiang called out, watching Liu Xing and Guazi fade into the night, worry instantly surfacing in her eyes.

"Don’t worry, our third child is much more reliable than the fourth... cough, cough..." Liu Dazhao appeared behind Zhou Qiuxiang, looking much more haggard than he had the day before.

"That’s true," Zhou Qiuxiang nodded slowly, turning to support Liu Dazhao. "Your wounds aren’t healed yet, you should go back and rest."

"If I lie down any longer, I'll be crawling with lice. Let me walk around the drying yard a bit, all right?" Liu Dazhao gave a bitter smile.

"Fine, I’ll keep you company." Zhou Qiuxiang supported him as they walked to the drying yard.

Neither of them noticed Liu Ye hiding in the corner, quietly watching, as tears silently slipped down his face.

...

In the dark, Liu Xing led Black Calf slowly forward.

With Guazi’s company, he wasn’t lonely at all—on the contrary, he felt much happier.

Whenever he drifted into thought, Guazi would whisper to him, making him laugh.

Unknowingly, more than three hours passed.

Liu Xing left the borders of Saltpeter Village and entered the territory of Camphor Township.

A dozen miles further south would be HY City.

By now, dawn was breaking, and the road ahead was much clearer.

Liu Xing didn’t stop, but quickened his pace toward HY City.

Guazi, sitting on Black Calf’s back, was already exhausted, and soon fell fast asleep, sprawled across the animal.

Liu Xing couldn’t help but smile. To keep her from falling, he climbed onto Black Calf’s back as well and immediately hugged her tight.

It was April, after all, and without care, it’d be all too easy to catch a cold.

Black Calf, feeling Liu Xing settle on his back, took a few steps in place, then started munching on the grass by the roadside.

"You can’t do that, Black Calf," Liu Xing tightened the rope. "We have to hurry to the city to sell these eggs and river snails. If we get there late, this whole night’s journey will be wasted."

As if understanding Liu Xing’s words, Black Calf glanced back at him, then strode off toward HY City, picking up the pace much more than when Liu Xing had been leading him.

"Good boy. When we get home, I’ll give you a special treat," Liu Xing said, patting the calf’s neck.

Black Calf let out a low moo, picking up speed again.

By now, a few travelers had appeared along the road—villagers carrying shoulder poles.

Seeing Liu Xing riding Black Calf toward HY City, each one couldn’t help but marvel, though none stopped to gawk. After a few whispered comments, they parted ways.

Daylight gradually broke.

As time passed, Liu Xing, riding Black Calf, finally reached the borders of HY City.

Guazi had woken up, looking curiously and fearfully at the unfamiliar red-brick buildings around her.

Noticing several passersby pointing and whispering at her and Liu Xing, she quickly burrowed into his arms.

Liu Xing could only give a helpless smile. Dismounting from Black Calf, he led them to a red-brick house near the road, where a crowd had gathered.

In the 1980s, HY City wasn’t large. Most buildings were two or three stories of red brick, though there were a few mud-brick and blue-brick houses, hidden away in less visible corners.

These must have been newly constructed as part of recent planning. In Liu Xing’s memory, HY City had still been a town in the 1970s, only being upgraded to a city in the 1980s with the advent of the reforms.

Before they reached the red-brick house, a crowd of onlookers gathered around Liu Xing.

One well-kept auntie looked at Liu Xing as if he were a curiosity. "Child, where are you from? How did you ride a water buffalo onto the concrete road?"

"Auntie, I’m from Saltpeter Village," Liu Xing replied with a smile, steadying himself and Black Calf. "I was idling at home, so I fished up some river snails, thought I’d come to the city to sell them for a bit of money to buy my sister a pair of shoes, and maybe help out at home."

At these words, the auntie broke into laughter.

For a child to call her 'auntie' was the greatest compliment to her looks—most would have called her 'granny' at best.

This country boy had such a sweet mouth; she liked him!

The other city folk watching couldn’t help but laugh at Liu Xing’s words.

An old man leaning on a cane stepped forward and peered into the basket of river snails. "Hey! These are pretty big! How much are you selling them for? If the price is right, I’ll take some home to stir-fry."

"Well... I don’t know the price yet," Liu Xing replied sheepishly, scratching his head.

This was a tactic—retreating in order to advance. It looked passive, but was in fact shrewd.

The old man, unaware, gestured, "At the market, it’s about thirty cents a pound."

Liu Xing’s heart beat fast at the price—it was a dime higher than his father had said.

But to his surprise, the auntie beside him scolded the old man, "Old Taro, have you no shame? Just a few days ago, river snails at the market were forty cents a pound, and they couldn’t keep them in stock!"

"That’s right! It’s not easy for this kid to come all this way. Didn’t you see his sister doesn’t even have shoes? Old Taro, if you cheat a kid like this, you’ve wasted your decades of living." The speaker was a burly man with glasses, looking quite scholarly.

At this, the crowd burst into laughter, making Old Taro blush. Scratching his head, he apologized, "Say no more, kid—forty cents a pound. Can you sell me five pounds?"

"Sure," Liu Xing nodded.

"But I don’t want ration coupons, any other ticket will do," he added after a pause.

"Why not?" Old Taro was puzzled.

"Because my family are farmers, we have enough grain," Liu Xing replied.

"Fair enough," Old Taro nodded with a smile.

"Would you like more river snails?" Liu Xing asked when he saw Old Taro hadn’t left.

"Of course," the old man replied.

Hearing this, Liu Xing quickly lifted Guazi down from Black Calf’s back and carefully set the eggs from the basket on the ground.

Just as he was about to weigh the snails, the auntie exclaimed, "Oh! You brought eggs too—how much each?"

"I’m not sure," Liu Xing feigned ignorance.

He was afraid to set the price too low, not wanting to let his mother’s thrift go to waste.

"Eight cents each, I’ll take them all—how about it?" the auntie said, looking at Liu Xing.

"Alright, whatever you say," Liu Xing replied without hesitation.

His mother had told him that five cents an egg would be good enough, so eight cents was more than generous. He couldn’t afford to be greedy.

"I’ll count them, then," the auntie said, pleased with Liu Xing’s straightforwardness, and began counting the eggs from the woven bag.

Knowing she lacked no money, Liu Xing smiled and turned to help Old Taro weigh the river snails. As he opened the basket, more and more people gathered. Many local residents, seeing river snails for sale, crowded around.

Guazi stood guard by the basket, not letting any strangers near.

After all, her brother had worked hard to gather them from the river. If they were stolen, it would be terrible.

Her vigilance made the onlookers laugh.

They all praised Guazi for being such a sensible girl.

But most of all, they were eager to buy the river snails.

If they missed this chance, it might be a long time before they’d find any again.

After all, HY City only had two small markets, and river snails were a rare sight.

The brisk business left Liu Xing a little dazed at first.