The little one's purse connects the two worlds, turning a desolate village into a paradise.

"Hey girl, give me a bowl of corn porridge, two fried dough sticks, and some snails..."

Wang Guifen instinctively wanted to order the same set meal as before, but when her gaze fell on the spot where the insulated container had been placed, she swallowed her words back.

There are no snails today; when it rains, there are mushrooms but no snails; when it doesn't rain, there are snails but no mushrooms.

There is no way to have it all in this world.

Why don't you air it out first and then come back to buy it?

These two sentences suddenly popped into Wang Guifen's mind.

Forget it, there's only so little, why bother showing it off? It's not easy to get a fresh bite to eat.

It takes ten pounds of fresh mushrooms to produce one pound of dried mushrooms. It's time-consuming and tiring, and they don't even taste as good as fresh ones.

"Sister, there are no snails today, and there haven't been any for the past few days," Cao Xiulian reminded her.

"A bowl of corn porridge and two fried dough sticks were placed on the nearest small table. I picked out my food and ate."

"Okay!"

Wang Guifen grabbed a thick plastic bag and stood in front of the shelf, carefully picking through the mushrooms in the basket.

The mushrooms in each basket were of exceptionally high quality. She even suspected that someone from the small business owner's village might live in the woods and guard the mushrooms as soon as they sprouted.

It's worth noting that mushrooms with open caps taste quite different from those without.

Moreover, unopened umbrellas are more durable and can be stored in the refrigerator for three to five days without any problem. If the umbrella is opened, it will spoil in a day and is also more likely to harbor dirt and grime.

These mushrooms are so good, I wonder what the price is this time.

Just then, Cao Xiulian came over with a small blackboard with the price written on it. She had bought it in the last couple of days. It came with a stand and a big bag of chalk as a gift.

She placed the small blackboard next to the scale, and Wang Guifen subconsciously leaned over to look at the prices on the blackboard.

Morel mushrooms were still priced at 350 yuan per jin (500g), but after looking down and seeing that hazel mushrooms were 15 yuan per jin and leiwozi mushrooms were 12 yuan per jin, Wang Guifen immediately frowned.

"What's wrong, sister? Is my price... too high?" Cao Xiulian felt a little uneasy seeing Wang Guifen's expression.

She doesn't specialize in selling mountain products, so she doesn't know the prices and finds them online. She can only afford to buy hazel mushrooms that cost three to five yuan per kilogram, but Ya Ya's products are good and clean, so she prices them a little higher.

"Hey, why are you so unconfident about the boss's goods? Is he selling them cheaply?" Wang Guifen patted Cao Xiulian on the shoulder.

"I cooked these morel mushrooms last time I went back, and you know what? They were even better than the ones my old man bought for over three thousand. My family all said I got a bargain. This batch is even fresher and more tender than the last one."

Upon hearing this, Cao Xiulian paused for a moment, then nervously rubbed her hands together. "Sister, how much should I sell it for? I don't really handle these myself, so I don't know the market price. I just searched on my phone for reference... The hazel mushrooms should be fine, right? I buy them for seven or eight yuan a pound myself. I thought these looked better than what I bought, so I doubled the price. Is that a bit too high?"

Wang Guifen: ⚆_⚆?

Hey girl, what are you saying?

She looked at him with a disappointed expression, "You're such a fool! You have to know when to buy! Hazel mushrooms are a mountain product that's abundant in autumn and winter, when the yield is high. Plus, the ones you bought for a few dollars are mostly cultivated or have large caps. How can they compare to those from early spring?"

If it rains, you'll probably be the only one in the entire Red Leaf Morning Market—no, in the entire city.

As she spoke, she casually picked up a hazel mushroom and examined it: "Look at these mushrooms, they're all tender mushrooms of a suitable size. Wild hazel mushrooms are particularly prone to getting infested with insects if they grow for too long. This batch was harvested at the perfect time; the mushrooms are fresh and firm, and there aren't any insects under the caps. They can be easily prepared and cooked when we get home."

Most hazel mushrooms need to be washed for ages after you get them home, because you know these days wild mushrooms are generally assumed to contain insects.

Wang Guifen shook her head repeatedly: "There are plenty of hazel mushrooms in autumn, and I won't complain if you sell them for fifteen yuan, but setting this price for the first batch of spring mushrooms is just too much of a loss!"

"And there are still some minefields, all unopened. The price is unacceptable; the small business owner is losing money."

Cao Xiulian nodded repeatedly in agreement, "It was my limited understanding that led me to this."

Ya Ya, who had been quietly listening to the two women's conversation, immediately stood in front of Cao Xiulian and earnestly defended her aunt when she heard Wang Guifen criticizing her: "Grandma Wang, please don't talk about Auntie. Auntie is on my side. Auntie can sell for whatever price she wants. Auntie is a very good person."

Wang Guifen was amused by the little girl's protective manner and laughed out loud: "Goodness, Grandma is just trying to correct you so you can make more money, you little boss..."

Ya Ya glanced at Cao Xiulian.

Cao Xiulian rubbed Ya Ya's head. "Grandma is helping us, not scolding us. Grandma is a very good person too."

After saying that, she turned to Wang Guifen and said, "Sister Wang, please set a price for me. I'll do as you say. From now on, you'll get a 15% discount when you come to our store."

Wang Guifen glared at her. "I'm not short of money. Whatever the price is, that's the price!"

"Oh, ma'am, it's not about money. You're a long-time customer, a VIP, and you're the only one who can get this price. So..."

"Okay. Just me is fine." Before Cao Xiulian could finish speaking, Wang Guifen happily agreed.

She is now the only officially recognized VIP.

"Where's the chalk? I'll correct it for you."

"It's in the small box behind the scale."

While Wang Guifen was changing the prices, Ya Ya tugged at Cao Xiulian's sleeve, "Auntie, what does 15% off mean?"

Cao Xiulian quickly bent down and whispered in Ya Ya's ear, "The 15% discount means it's calculated at 85% of the original price. It's a discount that gives Grandma Wang a little over 10% off."

Auntie gave Grandma Wang a discount without consulting you. If you don't like it, Yaya, Auntie will make up the difference.

"Okay, Auntie, I'll do whatever you say. Grandma Wang is our good friend, so it's okay to charge less!" Ya Ya replied softly.

"What are you two whispering about? Come and see if this price is reasonable." Wang Guifen patted the chalk dust off her hands and held up the small blackboard with satisfaction.

Cao Xiulian glanced at it:

Morel mushrooms 380/jin

Hazel mushrooms 40/jin

Leiwozi 20/jin

Spring bamboo shoots 20 yuan/jin

Nostoc commune, 60 yuan/jin (sold out)

"Are you going to buy all of the lichen?"

"There's only so little, but I took it all. This wild vegetable that doesn't need to be washed, tsk tsk, just thinking about it is wonderful." Wang Guifen shook the plastic bag in her hand.

"Forty for hazel mushrooms... can we sell them?" Cao Xiulian could barely accept the other things, but forty for hazel mushrooms really panicked her.

"Yes, I can. I'll take them all even if they can't be sold," Wang Guifen said, patting her chest.

Then they packed another ten catties of bamboo shoots, five catties of hazel mushrooms, two catties of morel mushrooms, and three catties of Leiwozi (a type of fried dough).

I bought too few bamboo shoots last time, so I'll buy more this time.

After paying, Wang Guifen felt relieved looking at the two large bags full of vegetables. She leisurely carried the bags to the table inside and started drinking her porridge.

It feels a bit strange without snails.

"Young lady, if you can manage to keep up with the business at your shop, why don't you steam some buns or mantou? I'm getting old, and I can't handle too much oil and sweet food."

You can think about it.

Wang Guifen munched on a crispy fried dough stick and said loudly to Cao Xiulian.

Cao Xiulian had originally planned to change her product category, but now that the weather is gradually warming up, high-oil and high-sugar sugar cakes are not selling as well. Wang Guifen's words reminded her that making some steamed buns and mantou would also be a good idea.

"Oh dear, Sister Wang, you're the first one again? Are you out of lichen?"

The second customer entered the store and immediately noticed the word "Sold Out" behind the lichen on the blackboard.

"That's all, that's all. There's only a little bit of this wild vegetable left. It's not that I'm greedy, it's just that there's really not much. I'll come earlier next time."

Wang Guifen patted the bulging plastic bag beside her with a smug look.

The regular customer could only sigh silently; she had rushed over on her electric scooter, but she still couldn't keep up with Sister Wang's pace.