Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1217 Popular Bamboo Weaving
"That's 268 yuan in total, here you go." Qiao Jian handed a stack of money to Shi Jia.

Shi Jia took the money, counted it, and nodded, "Thank you, Uncle Qiao."

"No need to thank me. You can send over any medicinal herbs you collect in the future. I work from Monday to Friday, so you don't have to wait until the market day," Qiao Jian said.

"Okay, sure." Shi Jia nodded. All the medicinal herbs were cleared out, leaving only two large baskets and a dozen vegetable baskets, which were very light for Shi Jia.

Leaving the medicinal herb purchasing station, she wasn't in a hurry to buy oil and salt, but instead squeezed into the bustling market. After all, the shops were there, and she could buy oil and salt anytime, but once the market closed, the people were gone.

Shi Jia's woven bamboo baskets were exquisite and sturdy; they attracted many people as soon as they were placed down. Moreover, most of these people lived in the town.

"Kid, where are your adults?"

How much does one of these shopping baskets cost?

"Small ones are one yuan each, large ones are two yuan, and baskets are three yuan," Shi Jia greeted with a smile.

"So expensive? 5 cents each, I'll buy them."

"No way, look how hard it is to weave such a beautiful basket. And Auntie, feel it. There's not a single bamboo splinter. It takes three or four days to make just this one basket, and it costs 50 cents. I'd be losing money like crazy. If you really want to buy it, I'll give you a 20% discount, how about 80 cents?"

"Okay." The woman hesitated for a moment, but she really liked the shopping basket, so she gritted her teeth and bought it.

After the first order, there was a second order, a third order... Before the market closed, Shi Jia's two bamboo baskets were all sold.

I sold a dozen or so vegetable baskets and two large wicker baskets for a total of 20 yuan. That's enough to buy oil, salt, and cotton.

Shi Jia checked the time; it wasn't time to go back yet. She simply went to the restaurant and bought two large meat buns for lunch. After eating and drinking her fill, she leisurely headed to the store.

Oil was 8 cents a pound, salt was 2 cents a pound, and Shi Jia bought two pounds of each. Meat was 6 cents a pound, and Shi Jia wanted to buy more, but there was a purchase limit, so he only bought one pound. Tsk tsk, looks like those who want to eat meat every meal will have to go up the mountain and see what's going on.

Finally, I bought another 10 jin of cotton and 5 meters of cloth, and then I gave up.

When Jia returned with bags full of things, everyone was surprised. "Xiao Hua, why did you buy so much stuff? How much did it cost?"

"Where do you get so much money?"

"Xiaohua, where are your baskets and vegetable baskets? Why is there only a bamboo basket left?"

Everyone chattered amongst themselves, but they didn't forget to help Shi Jia put the basket on the oxcart.

"Sold out." Shi Jia smiled as he climbed onto the oxcart.

The aunts and uncles exchanged glances. "Are those vegetable baskets selling so well?"

"Well, it's alright. Luckily, they're all sold out, otherwise I wouldn't have had the money to buy so many things," Shi Jia said with a smile.

"Oh my, you didn't spend all your money, did you?" an aunt exclaimed.

"How much do you sell them for?" an aunt asked, her eyes shining.

"Yeah, I've spent almost all of it, but money is meant to be spent." Shi Jia said matter-of-factly. "As for the prices, they're the same as everyone else's: a vegetable basket costs one yuan, a larger one costs two yuan, and a wicker basket costs three yuan."

"Oh, this isn't cheap either!"

Shi Jia glanced at Mu Xiniang somewhat guiltily. Come to think of it, she had sold the basket to Aunt Xi at the highest price—cough cough, no, she even gave her some freebies, so Aunt Xi wasn't exactly a swindler. "Perhaps they were so supportive because they thought my craftsmanship was good and the baskets were beautiful."

Mu Xiniang nodded, "Xiaohua's craftsmanship is indeed excellent. There isn't a single bamboo splinter in the baskets she makes; that requires a lot of patience to polish the bamboo strips."

"Oh, I see." It's just polishing the bamboo strips; it's something that can be done with a little care. I'll get the old man in the family to go up the mountain to cut bamboo later.

Shi Jia was unaware that she would soon have a lot more competitors, but she didn't care, because she didn't plan to sell bamboo weaving next time. After all, the town was so small, and the market was only so big. There was no need to obsess over bamboo weaving.

Once the market opens up and the economy improves, selling them as handicrafts might be the best option.

The most important thing now is to go up the mountain to collect herbs before it snows, and make some money before winter.

Shi Jia subconsciously touched the hidden pocket of her clothes and thought to herself.

On the way back, the aunts and uncles pulled Shi Jia aside to talk, asking her to share her experiences selling bamboo baskets. Seeing the way they were all secretly, yet openly, trying to learn about sales methods was almost comical.

There was nothing to hide, so Shi Jia naturally told the truth.

Amidst laughter and playfulness, they returned to Xinghua Village. Shi Jia carried her spoils home, and her aunts and uncles were also quite satisfied.

Li Xiaohua's two aunts happened to pass by and saw Shi Jia carrying so many bags and packages. Their eyes immediately welled up with tears. One of them grabbed one of the aunts and said, "Aunt Qin, where did that little slut Li Xiaohua get so much money to buy so many things?"

Aunt Qin's gaze fell on Wu Manfang's face. "Afang, what happened to your face? Did you bump into the door when you got up in the middle of the night?"

Wu Manfang's face, swollen like a pig's head, contorted into a ferocious expression as she said stiffly, "I accidentally bumped into the door this morning."

"Tsk tsk. It must hurt a lot, right?" Sister-in-law Qin felt a chill just looking at Wu Manfang's face.

"That's no nonsense," Wu Manfang urged, "Sister-in-law Qin, where did Li Xiaohua get so much money? Did she steal it? Was it her last night...?"

"What?" Sister-in-law Qin waited for her to continue, but she stammered for a long time without saying a word before she finally said, "Don't talk nonsense. How could a good child like Xiaohua steal? Besides, I haven't heard of anyone losing anything!"

"Did you lose money?" Sister-in-law Qin suddenly asked.

"No," Wu Manfang answered instinctively.

“That’s right, Afang, you need to be more careful with what you say in the future. You can’t just blurt things out. If the patrol team hears you, they’ll come to our village again,” said Sister-in-law Qin. “Little Flower earns her money with her own two hands.”

"She makes money? How old is she to be making money?" Wu Manfang was originally angry because of Sister-in-law Qin's lecturing, but when she heard that Li Xiaohua was making money on her own, she was furious.

"You can't say that. Although Xiaohua is young, she can already support herself and is a very sensible child," Aunt Qin sighed. "She wove more than a dozen vegetable baskets and sold them at the market..."

"Aqin, didn't we say we'd go up the mountain together? Are you still going?" An aunt passing by called out to Aqin's sister-in-law.

"Go, go, right away," Aunt Qin said hurriedly. "Ah Fang, I have something to do. Let's chat another day when we're free." With that, she left in a hurry.

"You should avoid contact with Wu Manfang in the future; she's dishonest," the aunt who had just called Sister-in-law Aqin whispered.

"What's going on? Wu Manfang is indeed a bit mean and likes to take advantage of others, but is she dishonest? I don't think so, right?"

"Of course there is, let me tell you..."

Shi Jia chuckled as she listened to the whispers outside the door. These aunts and uncles are really quite adorable.