Chapter 720 — The Joy of Haggling

Those girls earlier clearly had no idea how the market worked. They hadn't even asked the price before they started picking out goods, as if they'd stumbled onto a fat sheep. But the one who'd actually be paying was still standing behind them!

"A hundred fifty won't do. A hundred eighty... a hundred seventy!" The boss had been about to say a hundred eighty, but then he thought better of it — what if someone heard it as a hundred? He'd be losing money for nothing. He hurriedly changed it to a hundred seventy.

Truth be told, he could sell at a hundred seventy; he'd just make a little less. It was only that he'd been counting on a fat profit, and now he'd be earning less than usual — too big a gap from what he'd imagined, hard to swallow. And a hundred fifty was close to cost. There'd be no point in selling at all.

"A hundred fifty, that's it. I used to sell this stuff myself." As he spoke, Wei Zhao pointed to a clothing stall not far off. "See that brother over there? I used to run a stall with him south of the bridge!"

Just as Wei Zhao spoke, the stall keeper happened to look up, saw Wei Zhao, blinked in surprise, and then recognized him. "Brother, you're back again? Has your wife had the baby yet?"

"Not yet. I'm just out for a stroll." Wei Zhao smiled.

"Well, go on then — I've got customers, so I won't keep you!" The stall keeper nodded at Wei Zhao and went back to tending his own wares.

That brief exchange between Wei Zhao and the other stall keeper left this boss somewhat dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Wei Zhao really had done this for a living. Helpless, he said, "All right, since we're in the same trade, you must know the wholesale price. A hundred fifty is what I pay for stock — I barely make anything on it. How about you add ten? A hundred sixty?"

"Fine." Wei Zhao nodded and took out his wallet to pay.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu suddenly discovered that haggling was tremendous fun. In the malls they were used to, the only discount you ever got was with a VIP card — they'd never enjoyed this kind of pleasure in bargaining.

Watching Wei Zhao haggle, the two of them followed suit and went on a rampage at the next several stalls. Not everything could be beaten down to the floor price, but what astonished Wei Zhao was that with Shen Yushu there playing the foil, plenty of things were haggled down even lower than he'd expected!

Still, what they really enjoyed was the fun of haggling — they ended up buying piles of useless things. Hair clips alone, they bought more than a dozen; far more than they could ever use, so they gave several to Tang Yun.

Tang Yun hadn't wanted them at first, but Wei Zhao nodded to say she could accept, so she took them. Even so, she couldn't quite shake the feeling of being beholden to someone.

"Sister Yaoyao, what's that over there? It looks like fun!" Shen Yushu pointed at a spot not far away.

Gu Mengyao looked up and saw a crowd gathered around something, throwing sandbags at it. "Looks like a game — you throw sandbags at things, and whatever you hit, you win."

You saw this kind of game in movies all the time. Usually the good prizes were placed toward the back, not so easy to hit.

"Let's go take a look too?" Shen Yushu was intrigued.

"Don't bother. It's all a scam. The things in the back are rigged. My mom and I ran a stall on the night market street for over a year, and I never once saw anyone win the big prize at the back. Only the little junk up front ever gets hit, and it isn't worth anything."

"No way. Maybe they're just not good at it?" Shen Yushu saw plenty of people playing, and it didn't look rigged to her.

"That's just my guess. Maybe they're simply unlucky." Seeing that Shen Yushu wouldn't listen, Tang Yun could do nothing.

"My luck is amazing. I'm going to check it out." Shen Yushu grabbed Gu Mengyao and ran toward the stall.

"Those two don't come to places like this often, do they?" Tang Yun shook her head helplessly.

"Probably never, before." Wei Zhao sighed. "Actually, the young miss is rather pitiable. Apart from Xiaoshu, she hardly has any friends. The two of them live very fixed lives, go to the same fixed places, rarely try anything new."

"You seem to know her quite well?" Hearing Wei Zhao talk about Gu Mengyao, Tang Yun felt a faint discomfort.

"Heh..." Wei Zhao shrugged. "The young miss doesn't actually have that kind of feeling for me. The reason she gets prickly with you is just her little pride."

"Oh?" Tang Yun was taken aback. This was the first time Wei Zhao had addressed the matter head-on.

"Spend enough time around her and you'll understand," Wei Zhao said. "The young miss is actually a very lonely person. She doesn't easily accept anyone, and once she does, she doesn't want to lose them. Right now I suppose I count as her friend? At any rate, she finds me easier on the eyes than most people."

Tang Yun nodded. Everyone had their own troubles. If what Wei Zhao said was true, then Gu Mengyao, for all that she seemed to live in a wealthy family, had little joy to speak of — if haggling at a night market could become entertainment, you could imagine how monotonous their lives were. "She's not like those rich kids people talk about online — street racing, flaunting their wealth, chasing thrills?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Wei Zhao shrugged. "They don't even like driving themselves; they always have a chauffeur. How would they enjoy street racing? And as for flaunting wealth — do you think they're any different from you?"

Tang Yun shook her head. It really did seem that way. Imperceptibly, her impression of Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had improved a great deal.

"Enough of that. Let's go over and watch." Wei Zhao pointed at Shen Yushu, who was already playing the sandbag game.

"She went and played after all. Ten yuan down the drain." Though Tang Yun's family had been turned upside down by Wei Zhao's intervention and was no longer as poor as before, she had never acquired extravagant habits. She still counted every penny, and wouldn't spend a cent more than she should.

Ten yuan for ten sandbags. Shen Yushu finished them in no time, but her haul was meager — apart from a pen holder, she got nothing at all.

Wei Zhao glanced at the pen holder. It sold for three yuan at most in the wholesale market — meaning Shen Yushu had just lost seven yuan in that short time. Of course, that was nothing to her.

Gu Mengyao threw more slowly, only three sandbags, but she'd already won a phone charm.

"Sister Yaoyao, I'll throw for you!" Shen Yushu had run out of her own sandbags and was now eyeing Gu Mengyao's.

Naturally Gu Mengyao wouldn't quibble over such things with Shen Yushu. She nodded, indicating she could throw as she liked.

Fastest updates. For pop-up-free reading, please visit.