Free Web NovelChapter 30: Chapter 30: Meeting Again
Gu’er’s vegetables were selling fast.
The Aralia shoots, in particular, were a big hit.
Instead of selling the Aralia shoots by the pound, Gu’er sold them by the ounce.
The women buying vegetables were a little surprised, but they didn’t mind. Why? Everyone knew Aralia shoots were difficult to harvest. Gu’er only had about five pounds in total. If she sold them by the pound, a few people would buy up her entire stock. But by selling them by the ounce, everyone could get a little. Besides, a couple of ounces was enough for a stir-fried dish, so the arrangement worked for everyone.
Some customers who had bought from Gu’er before were particularly fond of her green onions.
Others who had only heard about how good the green onions were, and hadn’t planned on buying anything, still purchased some vegetables just to get the complimentary bunch.
Although she was busy, Gu’er was delighted. ’It’s all money!’ The sooner she earned enough, the sooner she could escape Zhou Mazi’s control. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
By noon, the number of shoppers dwindled, and Gu’er finally had a moment to rest.
She had already sold more than half, so she wasn’t in a hurry anymore. She took out a corn bun, sat on the side of her cart, and started to gnaw on it.
Gu’er struggled to chew the corn bun. Several times, she almost couldn’t swallow. She had brought two, thinking she’d have water with her, but the water had spilled. The corn bun was so dry that she had to force every bite down.
She was slowly chewing the last mouthful when, before she could swallow, she suddenly heard a voice. "Gu’er? Are you Gu’er?"
Zhou Gu’er froze. ’Someone actually recognizes me here? And it’s a man’s voice... It doesn’t sound like Sun Jiaming, so who could it be?’
As she was thinking, she choked on the corn bun in her mouth. She hiccuped, caught her breath, and gently wiped the corner of her mouth before turning around.
Standing before her was a handsome young man.
The young man had beautiful, sparkling eyes, like distant stars.
’It’s him.’
Gu’er recognized him. ’It’s the young man who bumped into me in the village the other day. He’s Auntie Fatty’s boy... now, what was his name again?’
For a moment, she couldn’t recall his name.
"It’s you. You... You are?"
The name was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t quite place it. Still, her eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. To think she’d run into an acquaintance here—and the one she had a good impression of, no less!
"I’m Liu Yuan. My aunt is from your village. Last time, in your village, I almost bumped into you. Don’t you remember?"
Liu Yuan explained himself, feeling a little disappointed. ’She didn’t even remember my name, but I’ve remembered her this whole time.’
But when he saw the delight that followed in her eyes, Liu Yuan understood she hadn’t forgotten him entirely. ’She remembers me, just not my name. That makes sense, I guess. We only met once, and she’s a young woman. It wouldn’t be right for her to be so quick to remember a man’s name.’ At this thought, Liu Yuan’s spirits lifted.
"Oh, right! You’re Liu Yuan. What are you doing here?"
’It all came back to her now. The boy’s name was Liu Yuan. She remembered him being quite shy last time they met. He seemed much more composed this time; at least he wasn’t blushing at the sight of her.’
"My house isn’t far from here. I just came out for a stroll after lunch. I was surprised to see you—I thought I was mistaken at first, but it really is you! What brings you to town to sell vegetables?" ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
As Liu Yuan spoke, he snuck a glance at Gu’er’s expression. When he saw no sign of suspicion, he breathed an inward sigh of relief.
In truth, Liu Yuan hadn’t just happened upon Gu’er while out for a walk as he claimed. He had come here looking for her.
After seeing Gu’er in the village, he had asked his aunt about her. He learned that Gu’er was Zhou Mazi’s adopted daughter and had a very tough life. He felt a great deal of sympathy for her. ’Such a wonderful girl, stuck in a family like that,’ he had thought. ’She must be miserable.’
Partly because Gu’er was so pretty, and partly because of her pitiful circumstances, Liu Yuan couldn’t forget her. He was at that age—young, passionate, impulsive, and beginning to long for romance. At that age, once a boy takes notice of someone, he doesn’t easily forget them. An image takes hold, and the thought takes root and begins to sprout. So even though Liu Yuan had only met Gu’er once, he remembered her vividly and often found his thoughts drifting to her.
A while ago, he’d heard his aunt talking about village affairs and learned that a scoundrel named Zhang Da had shown up with money, demanding to marry Gu’er. The news made him deeply uneasy. He couldn’t understand what was wrong with him. ’Why am I so hung up on her after meeting her just once?’ He told himself he was just indignant on her behalf—it would be a complete waste for a fine girl like her to marry a scoundrel. But he couldn’t share these feelings with anyone.
The other day, unable to help himself, he’d made a trip to the village. He claimed he was visiting his aunt, but as soon as he dropped his things off, he began wandering around, hoping he might just ’happen’ to run into Zhou Gu’er again.
’What would he do if he did run into her?’ He hadn’t thought that far ahead.
But after wandering for most of the day without seeing her, he felt a pang of disappointment. He couldn’t very well ask about her directly, and the frustration of holding it in was gnawing at him. Over dinner, his aunt brought up the gossip about Zhang Da’s proposal and how Zhou Mazi, surprisingly, hadn’t agreed. His aunt thought it was bizarre that a man like Zhou Mazi hadn’t taken the opportunity to sell his daughter. Liu Yuan, however, was secretly overjoyed that Gu’er wouldn’t have to marry Zhang Da.
At lunch today, he saw a dish of Aralia shoots with scrambled eggs on the table. He took a few extra bites and asked his mom if his aunt had brought them over.
His mom said no, she’d bought them. As she ate, she explained that she had been chatting with the young woman selling them. She’d asked which village the girl was from and, to her surprise, it was the same one his aunt lived in. So she asked whose daughter she was. When the girl said her father was Zhou Mazi, his mom struck up a longer conversation. The girl even gave her a complimentary bunch of green onions and some dandelion greens.
His mom remarked that the girl was a capable one and knew how to do business, but by then, Liu Yuan’s mind was already racing.
’Zhou Mazi’s daughter... and from his mother’s description... the person selling wild vegetables had to be Zhou Gu’er!’
Liu Yuan felt a restless flutter in his chest, as if a cat were scratching at his heart. He couldn’t sit still for a second longer. He hastily finished his meal, mumbled a word to his family, and rushed out the door.
From a distance, he spotted her silhouette by the cart and stopped in his tracks. He didn’t understand why his heart was beating so fast, or why a wave of joy washed over him. But he also felt shy. He hesitated for a good while before finally working up the courage to go over and call out her name.
Of course, he couldn’t possibly tell her any of this. It wasn’t that he was deliberately lying to her; he was just shy. He was afraid she would laugh at him if she knew the truth.
"I just figured that since vegetables have been scarce lately, I could gather some wild ones from the mountains to sell and earn a bit of hard-earned money..."
Zhou Gu’er gave Liu Yuan a smile, not suspecting a thing.
"Have you eaten yet? My family’s house is nearby. Why don’t... why don’t I treat you to a meal?"
Liu Yuan had originally intended to invite Gu’er to his home for a meal, but halfway through the sentence, he realized it might be improper and quickly changed his phrasing.
