Chapter 50: Rarity Commands Value
The woman was suddenly embarrassed by what she remarked, her face showing confusion as she lowered her head, her voice barely audible, “These corn kernels are a bit small, and the ground corn isn’t fine enough, but they are cheap…”
“Yeah, they are indeed cheap.” Su Mulan returned the corn kernels to the woman, clapped her hands, noticing there was not a speck of dust on them, and smiled, “They are also quite clean.”
“I sifted these myself, very clean. You won’t need to clean them again after buying,” the woman smiled, almost ingratiatingly, at Su Mulan.
The bursting-type corn kernels were small and hard. If ground into flour for consumption, the texture wouldn’t be good. It was difficult to sell this type of corn, and the woman seemed quite anxious.
“Yeah, not bad,” Su Mulan nodded, “How many catties (units of weight) of these corn kernels do you have in this basket?”
“Not much here, just over thirty catties,” the woman replied tentatively when Su Mulan asked, “If you want them all, I can sell you thirty catties for twelve wen (ancient Chinese currency).”
“Alright, I’ll take them all,” Su Mulan set down her slung bamboo basket, “Weigh them out, if it’s the right amount, just pack them into my basket.”
“Alright!” The woman was both surprised and delighted. Since she didn’t have a scale of her own, she borrowed Su Mulan’s. She carefully weighed out the corn kernels and packed them bit by bit into Su Mulan’s bamboo basket.
When the basket was about ninety percent full and all the corn kernels were packed, the final weight came to thirty-one catties.
The weight was satisfactory, so Su Mulan took out her money pouch and counted out twelve wen to give to her.
“Thank you, thank you,” the woman hurriedly tucked the money into her pocket.
“Buying and selling, fair exchange, there’s no need for thanks,” Su Mulan said, “By the way, are these corn kernels grown in your own fields? They’re quite different from the usual ones.”
Upon hearing Su Mulan’s question, a shadow passed over the woman’s face, and she sighed, “It’s a mistake on my part as the head of the household. I believed some drunken talk that these corn kernels are rare and valuable, so planting them would bring in good money.”
“But as it turned out, they’re difficult to manage, yield poorly, and it’s hard to sell the harvested corn. It’s been a real headache.”
“I see,” Su Mulan nodded slightly, her lips curling into a smile, “However, I really like these corn kernels. The ones I bought from you this time should last me a while. When I need more in the future, how should I find you?”
Not only did she sell out the corn kernels she brought this time, but the fact that the buyer wanted more of these inferior corn kernels from her home made the woman’s excited cheeks blush.
She hurriedly replied, “My family lives in Hexi Village. My surname is Du, and my husband’s surname is Zhang and his name is Zhang Wuhe. We live at the entrance of the village, with a big paulownia tree at the door. If you want to buy corn kernels, you’ll recognize it at a glance when you come to Hexi Village.”
“Great, I’ve noted it down. If I need more in the future, I’ll come to find you in Hexi Village.”
Su Mulan agreed, “However, I’m not sure when I’ll finish using the ones I bought this time. If someone asks for a price and wants to buy during this period, you don’t need to keep them specially for me. If I take too long, it might delay your selling of corn kernels and earning money.”
Normally, hearing such words, one would think it’s just a polite remark, laying groundwork for a future purchase of corn kernels. If she doesn’t end up buying later, it doesn’t make her words insincere. It can be said that this is a very smooth-sounding statement.