Chapter 201: Sunshower (2)
In the afternoon, there weren’t many people left in the market. The various stalls already started their lunch, sipping their tea slowly.
Li Mo put the small cart at the exit gate of the market where there were still a lot of people coming and going.
But even after finding a good place, didn’t mean that the sale would be good too, at least that’s what Li Mo and Li Man experienced here.
Li Mo originally wasn’t someone who talk a lot, thus selling things was more impossible for him.
For Li Man, this was her first time she came out to set up a stall. Standing there, facing the eyes of various people on her, she felt more and more uncomfortable.
Two people stood by the wall for about half an hour and more people gradually came back to the market, but there’s no one at their stall, although, this pair of beautiful woman and handsome man attracted many people’s eyes.
“Man Er, let’s go back.” Li Mo didn’t want people’s gazes to fall on her as he pushed the small cart to go back home.
How can this be okay? Even though going out was easy, but it still made her pair of feet hurt walking here. She thought, even if they have to sell it cheaper, that could still make her feel more ease at heart.
Taking a mouthful of deep breath, Li Man pushed herself to open her mouth, but the sound she let out was akin to a mosquito.
Li Mo was somewhat distressed, how can he let his wife look like this?
When he just wanted to push the cart again, at this time, there’s an old lady that came over with a cane and glanced at their basket.
Li Man quickly seized the opportunity and held the old lady while letting out a gentle voice, “Grandma, do you want to buy some wild garlic? It’s delicious and nutritious.”
“Young lady, are you selling vegetables?” The old lady looked at her with a smile.
Li Man felt that there was finally a way out, she busily said, “That’s right, these grew on the mountain, all natural. Grandma, do you want to buy some?”
“Buy, buy.” The old lady’s mouth said this word, but her eyes stared at Li Man and curiously asked, “Girl, how old are you this year?”
“Me?” Li Man thought that this body at most would be 15 to 16 years old, so she said, “Sixteen.”
“Sixteen? Sixteen is good ah.” The old lady smiled and seemed to be thinking of something.
Sixteen? Li Mo’s heart fell down, he was older than her by a full 7 years, would she disdain him of being too old?
“Grandma, how much do you want?” Li Man saw that the old lady had no objection, so she grabbed a handful from the basket and then whispered to Li Mo, “How much do you think the price should be for a catty of this?”
Li Mo was dumbfounded, he shook his head, “You should set the price yourself.”
“Oh.” Li Man thought about it. At her time, this kind of wild garlic was quite expensive, even the cheapest would be around 4-5 yuan for a catty. At this time, one copper coin should be equal to modern time’s one yuan, “Then, how about 4 copper coin for a catty?”
“Four copper coin?” Li Mo thought, isn’t this too expensive? After all, they only picked these wild garlic freely at the mountain, isn’t 4 copper coins for a catty a bit too much?
“Grandma, how many do you want to buy?” Li Man grabbed a few and put it into the small basket as she asked Li Mo, “How many catties are these?”
“A bit more than two catties.” Li Mo answered.
Li Man asked the old lady, “Grandma, is two catties enough?”
“Enough.” The old lady said briskly, but her attention wasn’t at the wild garlic apparently as she grabbed Li Man’s hand and asked excitedly, “Girl, where do you come from? Are you already betrothed to someone?”
“Ah?” Li Man was dumbfounded for a while, she realized that this old lady didn’t come to buy vegetables.
Li Mo also saw this. He quickly reached out for Li Man and put her behind him, glaring at the old lady as he said, “She’s my wife.”
“Ah?” The old lady was surprised, as she apparently didn’t expect this, “Your wife?”
“Yes.” Li Mo put the wild garlic back into the basket, “Old lady, if you don’t want to buy, please feel free to do so.”
“Big brother.” Li Man gently pulled the corner of Li Mo’s clothes, telling him not to be angry. After that, she politely said to the old lady, “Grandma, I’m already betrothed to someone else.”
“Oh.” The old lady was obviously disappointed, then she said to the few people standing behind her, “She’s already betrothed, this is her husband.”
“Oh, I say, such a beautiful girl like this, how could someone haven’t rushed to take her home already. You people still want to take turn vying for her?” The people on the side laughed and dispersed the crowd.
Li Man’s face was flushed red in embarrassment, do this people really have nothing to do so they decided to tease me?
“Girl, don’t worry about it.” The old lady saw that Li Man was somewhat unhappy, so she said a few comforting words, “We have no other meaning. In fact, we haven’t seen any girl as beautiful as you in this town, so with you standing here, our eyes have become dazzled. To tell you the truth, there’s a little grandson in my family, only one year older than you and we haven’t decided on his marriage yet. Both appearance and age are good, and is also a scholar.”
Is this what they said by cornering people to a wall? Not giving face to Li Mo who was still there, he felt angry, “Old lady, us four brothers are enough for my wife. Furthermore, our fourth will soon take the test to be an official.”
Li Man saw that the old lady actually had no malicious intent, and she glanced at the black face of Li Mo full of sourness, her lips can’t help but let out a grin.
“Haha.” The old lady laughed, she stared at Li Mo and jokingly said, “Girl, your man is a vinegar tank.”
Li Man blushed, her smile full of shyness.
“Young man, don’t be too upset.” The old lady said to Li Mo, “You’re a blessed person, you can marry such a good girl as your wife. To tell you the truth, if only this old lady could meet this girl earlier, I will surely won’t let you have a share. My grandson is a good man, there’s a lot of young girl who want to marry him, but I still can’t part with him. Ah, such a pity.”
Saying this, she looked at Li Man again as she sighed with a pity, making Li Mo’s heart very uncomfortable.
Li Man knew that old people have the tendency to be long-winded and it won’t be polite to interrupt them, so she could only listen with her head lowered in silence. When her complaints were finished, she grabbed the two catties of wild garlic and pushed it into the old lady’s basket, laughingly said, “Grandma, you also have a blessed life. There’s a good grandson at home, of course there would come a good granddaughter-in-law soon. These wild garlics were picked by us from the mountain, it doesn’t amount too much, please take it home and have a taste.”
“Oh, no no. You people are doing business, how can I just take without giving money?” The old lady said and busily pulled out the money bag.
Li Man stretched her hand and held hers, “Grandma, don’t be polite with us. You like me, I also look at you as my relative, just like my own grandma.”
The old lady stopped and looked with expectation, “That’s right, is there any sister in your house? Your looks and temperament is this good, the people in your family shouldn’t be bad too.”
Li Man was at a loss, she shook her head, “There’s no one, only me. Oh, that’s right, there’re also my husband.”
Saying this, she pulled Li Mo out.
The black-faced Li Mo changed into a blushing red one when he heard her calling her ‘husband’, his lips slightly bent upwards, his face was obviously happy.
“Old lady, you should just take it. My wife said that scrambled egg with wild garlic is really fragrant.”
Li Man also nodded, “That’s right.”
The old lady smiled. She really liked looking at Li Mo and Li Man, “Alright, this old lady has received it.”
After a few words, Li Man finally sent the old lady off and let out a sigh of relief. This old lady was really enthusiastic, she grabbed her hand and talked for half an hour. There were even some stall owners and pedestrian that came over and inserted a few words ah…
At the end, Li Man felt that she didn’t seem to be selling any vegetables, it felt like she just went to a nursing home to donate some support, accompanying people to chat for a long while.
Although Li Mo was standing firmly beside Li Man, he was treated as air from the beginning to the end, only guarding her not to be touched by those people surrounding them.
He completely acted as a wall-flower, of course he liked this kind of role too, looking at Li Man speaking with such fervor at the side.
After getting along with her for so long, he actually didn’t know that his wife could talk warmly to those old people and merchants. He also saw that she really didn’t act perfunctorily with them and was instead immersed in the joyful atmosphere.
After the old lady left, there were many people left to chat and buy not few of wild garlic.
After chatting for a long time, Li Man felt that they were already acquaintance, so she didn’t feel at ease when receiving their money, but she couldn’t just give away for free either, so at the end, she let those people give how much they think would be suitable.
The money was all collected by Li Mo, she didn’t count any of it.
After a while, a basket of wild garlic was sold out.
Li Man was really happy, Li Mo was even more happy, looking at the expression on her eyes that was different, in awe, and even a little worshipping.
Wife said that the garlic was delicious, of course it’s delicious. Said that they can be sold, and as expected, they can be sold for money. By talking with people for a bit, they left after buying some. Didn’t know if they really wanted to buy or not, but they all really looked happy when buying it.
In this way, half an afternoon passed. Afraid that it would be too late to return, after Li Mo put away the money, he looked that they still some wild garlic left, so he said, “These left overs, how about we come back again tomorrow to sell them?”
Li Man was a bit reluctant. Those wild garlic may not be as fresh if left for tomorrow. Moreover, there would be more people coming and going in the evening.
At this time, the auntie at the side who sold vegetables laughed, “Girl, if you believe me, why don’t you leave the garlic with me and I’ll sell it for you. How much money I could get, when you come here again next time, I’ll give it to you. My booth is here every day and I can’t run away.”
That’s a good thing. They already sold some garlic today, they can still pluck some to sell tomorrow, “Auntie, if what you say is really true, then I would like to thank in advance.”
Li Man was very polite. When she just wanted to let Li Mo moved the garlic, the old lady from before came again, bringing with her some dozen women, “Girl, do you still have more wild garlic? They also want to buy some.”
When she saw the old lady bringing her these guests, Li Man’s face bloomed as she pointed to the basket and said, “There’s still a lot. Sisters, how much do you want? I’ll help you take it.”
Less than half an hour, another basket of wild garlic was sold cleanly, Li Man was so happy that she wanted to jump around. After packing up a few things, she took Li Mo to push the cart out of the market and brought him to a secluded place, she excitedly asked, “Big brother, how much did we earn?”
Looking at her sparkling eyes just like a happy child, Li Mo couldn’t help but gently reached out and pinched her nose, “A lot.”
“A lot? How much?” Li Man wanted to know the exact number. Her first time setting a stall was this flourishing, she was very proud.
“About a hundred copper coins.” Li Mo said excitedly.
“A hundred?” Li Man thought about it, it would be around a hundred yuan at her time. They tiredly work for a day only for a hundred yuan? That couldn’t be said a lot.
Li Mo looked at her little gloomy face and said, “A hundred copper coins is already a lot, these wild garlics all grew on the mountain, we didn’t put any effort growing them ourselves.”
“That’s also true.” Li Man suddenly thought, they can buy two meat buns with ten copper coins here, one hundred copper coins could buy ten meat buns,” We should buy some buns back home.” Little Five and them really liked to eat.
“En.” Li Mo also felt that he should reward his wife with good food.
Two people walked to the street, planning to buy ten meat buns, but when Li Mo wanted to pay, Li Man stopped him, “Do we have steamer basket at home? I can cook some steamed bun myself.” This kind of meat buns they sold at the stalls were too greasy.
Like this, the two people went back to the market and bought some meat. The vegetarian dishes at home was still enough.
Putting things in place, Li Man sat on the small cart while Li Mo pushed it.
Because he just earned money, and the girl sitting inside his cart was also his wife, Li Mo didn’t feel tired at all, he instead walked really fast and left the market in a short time. When they got to the mountain side, they only need to pass by a few mountains and they could immediately go back home.
The road on the mountain wasn’t easy to pass through, sometimes going up, and sometimes going down. When the slope went up, Li Man went down, when the slope went up, Li Man went down. Li Mo also pushed the cart quickly, making her felt like she’s going to fly.
From time to time in the quite mountain forest, Li Man’s surprised shouts and Li Mo’s laughter could be heard.
In this way, they passed through two mountains. They saw that in just another half an hour they could finally return back home, but the sky unexpectedly turned ugly as raindrops floated down.
At first Li Man thought that it was just an illusion. After all, the sun was just shining brightly, but suddenly the rain poured down to her face. In a while, it became bigger.
“Sun shower?” Li Man was surprised, her hands covered her head and curiously looked at Li Mo.
Li Mo’s hair was a little wet already, his face full of worry as he looked all around. This place was a barren hill and mountain, there’s no place to take a shelter from the rain, he could only push the cart and run quickly.
“Slow down, the rain shouldn’t be too big.” Li Man held the edge of the cart tightly and comforted him. In modern times, they also encountered such a situation where the sun was still shining and the rain pitter-pattered down. But this kind of shower was extremely short, and sometimes it would go by in an instant.
But this time she was absolutely wrong. The rain was getting bigger and bigger and it looked like there was no stopping any time soon. Li Mo’s and her clothes were both soaked through.
In this way, Li Mo still took off his outer cloak and covered Li Man’s head for a bit of protection.
Li Man saw that the wound on his back hasn’t healed yet, how can it get soaked like this? What if there’s bacterial infection? She busily drapped the cloak back on him.
The two of them pulled back and forth for a while, their whole body was soaked just like a drowned rat.own
Fortunately, after they walked for a bit, they found a grass shack inside the pine forest. He immediately threw the cart aside and brought Li Man inside it.
The shack wasn’t big, it could only accommodate two people at most. There’s also a door panel that fell down from the mud wall, and some rice straw messily put on the ground, it looked like a simple built shack.
This should be a temporary place for people to rest and enjoy the scenery, but it was obviously abandoned a long time ago.
“You just sit and rest a bit, I don’t know when this rain will stop.” Li Mo said as he brushed lightly the water on their clothes.
“Oh.” Li Man was also a bit annoyed. They could finally return home after just passing through one more mountain. This sudden rainstorm made her depressed, her body was all soaked through and she felt a bit cold.
She pushed the straw on the door plank and rubbed it clean. She sat down on it, but then she felt more uncomfortable.
Her clothes were wet and pasted on her skin. When she sat down, it became more apparent.
So she stood up again.
“What’s wrong?” Li Mo saw her suddenly jumped up, thinking if there’s something wrong, he busily tidied up her scattered wet hair.
Li Man shook her head, as she rubbed her face and sighed, “We don’t know when this rain will stop. The wet road won’t be easy to walk through either.”
“Don’t worry, the rain will be smaller in a while. The road in the mountain are all stones, it would be easy to walk.” Li Mo comforted her while he helped her wiped the water drops from her clothes.
“Oh.” Li Man stood quietly, she looked at the outside with some disappointment. The raindrops were falling as the green leaves on the shack were covered with crystal clear drops of water.
The rain didn’t show any sign of stopping.
Li Man turned back and wanted to say if they should just push through and go back home, but then she saw Li Mo’s tight face and dark eyes. Her line of sight slowly went down and dropped on his big hand pressing on her breast, her heart suddenly missed a beat.
TL NOTE
One catty = around one pound / half a kilogram.
Vinegar / sourness = jealousy.
Copper coin in ancient China, they usually put a string through the hole to bunch it up together.
The Mud and Grass Hut they took a shelter in… maybe. Imagine it smaller than this, with the wooden door fell down.
Yeah… I end it right there to torture you all… The next chapter might or might not be like what you imagine it to be. Ψ( ｀▽´ )Ψ
Anyways, I have a few announcements for you guys.
I have to take a break for a few days because of my recurring illness.
I might take a few side projects, some of them might not be your cup of tea (I really mean it), so be careful when treading through this blog. I’ll put up a warning at the top of the page for those risky translations. These side projects might only get updated once a month or so. Again, I have no fixed schedule.
I might mass-release some of the translations all at once.
Let me know if you found any mistakes! Sayonara~