She cleared her throat and smiled at the onlookers, saying:
"The eggs are sold out, but there's more."
"Uncles and aunties, how about checking out my rice and mushrooms?"
As soon as Jiang Xin spoke, those who didn't get eggs turned their eyes to the other baskets.
The rice was the first to sell out.
After all, such good things will always be discovered even if they sit quietly.
The rice in Jiang Xin's basket looked crystal clear, as if it were glowing.
Someone who knew quality had already reached out to feel it.
Grabbing a large handful of rice and bringing it close to their nose, a faint aroma wafted out.
A man who appeared to be in his sixties leaned over and kept looking at the rice in Jiang Xin's basket.
Clearly, he knew the quality and immediately recognized the rice as top-notch.
His eyes instantly lit up.
Pointing at Jiang Xin's rice, he asked where it came from, wanting to buy more:
"Young lady, where did you get this rice from? It's even better than what we eat at home."
"I've lived this long and this is the first time I've seen rice of such high quality."
While speaking, his tone rose unnaturally, sounding very excited.
Of course, he didn't really expect much; he was just testing Jiang Xin.
After all, he believed that rice, such a scarce commodity, wouldn't be available in abundance for anyone.
Jiang Xin was just a young girl, looking not too old.
He guessed she was selling the family's rice at the market due to financial difficulties at home.
He assumed she had been saving it, so she had quite a lot.
The man guessed right.
But he could never imagine that Jiang Xin actually had rice, and not just some, but an unlimited supply.
Hearing this potential big sale, Jiang Xin got excited immediately.
But she thought, rice is a scarce commodity.
If this person wanted to buy a lot, she couldn't just produce a few hundred pounds out of thin air without raising suspicion.
Jiang Xin's mind turned, and she lied:
"This rice was grown by a relative of mine. There isn't much, so if you want more, I really can't decide now."
"How about this: you buy a few pounds to try first. If you like the taste, I'll often set up a stall here."
"Then, if you want more, I'll ask my relative to see if they can sell you extra."
The man, upon hearing this, realized buying rice might indeed be possible.
He grinned and carefully analyzed Jiang Xin's words, agreeing with her.
Rice isn't like other things; you have to taste it to know its flavor and texture.
If he bought hundreds of pounds without trying it and it didn't taste good, he would suffer a big loss.
Although it wouldn't be wasted, if the texture wasn't good, eating hundreds of pounds would surely become monotonous.
Hearing that Jiang Xin would often set up stalls at the market, the man thought it over and said:
"Okay, I'll take your suggestion. I'll buy five pounds to taste, and if it's good, I'll come back for more."
Jiang Xin smiled, took out a plastic bag, and weighed five pounds for him.
After that sale, a new round of buying frenzy began.
There wasn't much rice in the basket to start with.
With so many people around Jiang Xin's stall, it didn't take long for all the rice to sell out.
Then came the mushrooms and wild rabbit meat.
The mushrooms were fresh and cheap, selling without any worry.
In the end, only two pieces of wild rabbit meat were left.
Because the price was slightly higher, one piece remained unsold.
It was almost dinner time.
Having just earned her first pot of gold, Jiang Xin planned to treat herself today with a nice meal.
After working for over two hours in the market, her stomach was already empty.
She had only eaten whatever she found in the space when she first arrived this morning.
That was long gone by now!
Jiang Xin remembered Mrs. Fu's instructions to return to the Fu Family before dark.
Jiang Xin simply packed up the last piece of wild rabbit meat.
Then she stacked the empty baskets together, grabbed the carrying pole, and exited the market.
She was never one to shortchange herself.
She first wandered around town and found a State-owned Restaurant, hesitating not at all before walking in.
Finding a seat, she sat down.
The waiter brought the menu over and asked her to order.
Jiang Xin took the menu, glanced through it, chose two signature dishes, and added two beef pies.
After ordering, she handed the menu back to the waiter.
Suddenly, Jiang Xin remembered the wild rabbit meat in the pole.
Thinking quickly, she called out to the waiter who was about to leave with the menu:
"Hey, I'd like to ask, can your place help process some ingredients?"
Jiang Xin asked tentatively, not expecting much.
But to her surprise, the waiter wasn't shocked at all upon hearing this.
With extreme calmness, he asked what ingredients Jiang Xin wanted processed, as if it were a common request.
Seeing it was possible, Jiang Xin hurriedly took out the wild rabbit meat from the pole and handed it to the waiter.
The waiter took it, glanced at it, and his pupils widened when he saw it was a skinned wild rabbit.
The bloody rabbit meat didn't faze Jiang Xin one bit as she handed it over, which truly surprised him.
Fortunately, his basic professional demeanor remained.
The waiter estimated the weight of the rabbit meat and told Jiang Xin:
"Processing fee of five yuan, is that okay?"
The restaurant wasn't a charity, so there was naturally a cost for helping process ingredients.
Jiang Xin was well aware of this.
When the waiter sought her opinion, she nodded in agreement.
She had just earned quite a bit at the market today, so this small expense was nothing.
The waiter, seeing this, quickly took the wild rabbit meat to find a chef for processing.
Being dinner time, the State-owned Restaurant was quite busy.
While waiting for her meal, feeling idle, Jiang Xin decided to take out the money she earned today from her bag and count it.
She wanted to see how much she earned today.
Counting it, Jiang Xin was surprised to find that her net income today was fifty-four yuan and twenty cents.
She earned in a day what others made in a month!