Chapter 819: Discovering Tomatoes....
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Wenxiu saw many beggars by the roadside. There were not many people on the streets either. It did not even look like a town.
Su Binglan looked around and felt the urge to develop this place as soon as possible. She wanted to give the people here many job opportunities so they could improve their lives.
Then, they would be able to eat their fill and wear warm clothes. They would also earn enough to spend on themselves.
Su Binglan wanted to drive the local economic development so this place would gradually become prosperous. If a place could develop, the population would gradually increase.
She said, “Tenghe Town is close to the port. It would’ve been better if we didn’t have so many factories there. Still, there are so many mountains and hills here, with no port. This place is even poorer than the past Tenghe Town.”
Su Wenxiu looked at the villagers setting up stalls on the street. He said,
“Sister, will everyone’s lives here improve after we build the herb factory?”
He had just seen people with patched clothes by the roadside setting up their stalls with baskets. Some baskets contained eggs, while others had wild vegetables.
However, very few people were around to buy these things. Since it was already dark out, they had not sold a thing.
Su Binglan said, “I’ll build many factories here. Things will get better as long as they’re hardworking and diligent.”
Su Wenxiu sighed in relief after hearing that. “Sister, I want to get down and buy their eggs and vegetables.”
Su Binglan knew her brother was kind-hearted. Even Doctor Yang wanted to get down to buy the villagers’ things.
“I’ll go down. You guys stay in the carriage, all right?” Su Binglan dismounted the carriage as she spoke. She then approached the villagers who were setting up their stalls.
Most set up their stalls here because it was the town’s main road. They had a higher chance of selling their goods if someone passed by. Several villagers sold eggs that they had gathered from their hens. They could only hope to earn a little bit.
“How much are these eggs, ma’am?” Su Binglan approached an egg seller.
The woman was excited to receive a customer. Her eyes were full of surprise, but she hesitated in saying, “Um, one egg is three copper coins. I’ll give you a discount if you buy twelve.”
Su Binglan was stunned, not expecting the eggs to be so cheap. Eggs cost five copper coins for one in Su Teng Village. Since the woman was only selling hers for three copper per egg, she would not profit at all.
Su Binglan knew it was not easy to raise hens because people needed grain to feed them. It was unlike the modern world, where there was almost unlimited chicken feed.
Still, the seller’s eggs looked good, so Su binglan handed sixty copper to the woman and said, “I’ll buy all your eggs.”
The woman was so shocked that she did not know how to react. After a while, she returned to her senses and hurriedly whispered, “Miss, I think you’re overpaying. One egg is only three copper.”
The woman thought Su Binglan was a rich girl who had miscalculated and overpaid. However, the former would not lie. Although the standard price for eggs was five copper each, she knew no one here would buy them for that much.
Additionally, it was already late in the evening. The woman only wanted to make a sale and did not mind lowering her prices.
Su Binglan noticed the woman’s honesty and said, “An egg costs five copper where I’m from, so I’ll pay you according to that price. You can keep the money.”
The woman became teary-eyed when she heard Su Binglan’s words. If her family had not been desperate for money, she would not have charged Su Binglan so much. She knew Su Binglan did not need the eggs but was still willing to help her.
“You’re a good person, miss.”
Su Binglan smiled. “It’s getting late. You should go home.”
“Thank you so much, miss!” The woman excitedly kept the sixty coppers and carried her basket home. Sixty copper was a considerable amount to her and her family. She could not wait to get home and tell them about it.
Su Binglan then went to buy vegetables and more eggs from the other people’s stalls. She carried a basket on her back and placed it in front of everyone. However, she had secretly placed everything she bought into her pocket dimension.
Then, she met an old woman with graying hair at the corner of the street. The latter’s vision was a little blurry when she saw the young lady before her.
The old woman said, “Miss, I picked these fresh fruits from the mountains.
Although they’re a little sour, they’re edible.”
Su Binglan looked at the fruits and became excited.
‘Aren’t those tomatoes?! I’ve never seen one since I came to this era. I can use these to cook many more dishes.’
Su Binglan planned to make tomato scrambled eggs. She thought there was nothing that tasted quite like it. She said, “You picked these from the mountains?”
“Yes, I did. These fruits are still fresh.’
“Are there more in the mountains, Madam?” Su Binglan expressed her excitement.
“Of course. There are many more, but these fruits are pretty sour. They’re not poisonous, either.” The old woman had worked hard to gather the tomatoes before setting up her stall to sell them.
However, she struggled to sell her goods because they were sour. Most thought they were inedible. The old woman did not overthink it, so she answered Su Binglan’s questions truthfully.
“May I know where you live, Madam?” Su Binglan was happy to hear the old woman’s words.
“l live at the edge of Yang Village.”
Su Binglan became even more excited when she heard that. After all, she was already heading there.
“I’ll buy your tomatoes, Madam. How much are they?”
The old woman was stunned, thinking she had misheard Su Binglan. The former suspected Su Binglan might have misunderstood her, so she repeated, “These are sour, young lady.”
“It’s okay. I know how to eat these tomatoes.”
The old woman was thrilled to hear it. After all, they were heavy and hard to sell. If she failed to sell the tomatoes, she would have to carry them back. She also could not keep them for long.
“Y-You can pay me as you see fit, young lady.” The old woman did not know how much the tomatoes cost. However, she knew Su Binglan was a good person who had just bought other people’s goods.
Su Binglan quickly gave the old woman a silver tael. “Here, this is for you.”
The old woman looked at the silver in her trembling hands. “Young lady, this… It won’t do. I don’t need so much.’
“Don’t worry, Madam. These tomatoes are worth that much. I must also thank you for telling me that there’s such an excellent thing here..”