Shens family took Zi Qing to the vegetable market first. It was a bit late to go to the vegetable market at this time, so it took half a day to find a spot. The vegetables were very cheap at this time of year, with winter melons costing two cents per catty and pumpkins only one cent per catty. Since they didnt bring much, they sold out quickly, earning a total of 50-60 cents.

  However, several people bid for the half watermelon, with the highest price reaching 20 cents per catty. One of them looked like a steward from a wealthy family, making Zi Qing regretful. Why bring winter melon and pumpkin when you could have brought watermelon instead?

  After inquiring for half a day and using up half a days energy, they finally found the real estate agency. Inside, there were seven or eight tables with around ten people. Seeing Zi Qing and her mother dressed like country folk, several of them turned their heads away. However, two men approached and asked if they were buying or selling land. Zi Qing took out the watermelon, cut it in half with a knife, divided it into small pieces, put the other half back in the basket, and then invited them to taste it.

  "Wow, so sweet and delicious." Almost everyone who has eaten it says this.

  "Are you here to sell watermelons?" Finally, someone reacted. Zi Qing took a look at this person and felt that he was very astute, about 40 years old. Zi Qing glanced at her mother, Shen Shi, who seemed to have also taken a liking to him.

  "Excuse me, sir," Shen asked, "do you have any connections and whats the price?"

  "I need to ask around, I cant answer you right now. There are very few people growing this in this area, and even if they do, its not on the market yet. The price shouldnt be lower than 15 cents for now, but who knows what will happen later? In three days, I should be able to tell you how much your family can get. Come back in three days to hear the news."

  The mother and daughter agreed and came out. At this time, they felt that it was about an hour, so they decided to go back to the grocery store and see what happened.

  As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the grocery store, the shopkeepers face was eager, "Ah, youve finally come, our old master has been waiting for you for half a day, and he instructed me to find you. I turned around in circles at the vegetable market but couldnt find you."

  As soon as they entered the house, there was a man in his thirties standing there, with an extremely cold demeanor, even colder than Ziyings father. He was tall and thin, and Ziying didnt dare to look at him closely. The shopkeeper only referred to him as "Master East", without mentioning his name. However, Ziying disliked his arrogant attitude, which didnt seem like that of a merchant at all.

  "Our master says he wants to buy your watermelons, how many catties do you have? Our master will take them all. For now, hell give 15 cents per catty, after mid-June, he can only give 10 cents per catty, and for those that are ripe in July, its only 5 cents per catty." said the shopkeeper.

  "But we still have people selling at twenty cents a catty in the market, cant you raise the price a bit? Our watermelon is very sweet, and we guarantee to only sell it to your family. Moreover, our family has a lot of foreign potatoes, lets sell them all to your family." Zi Qing replied hastily. She felt that her mothers gentle personality was not suitable for haggling over prices.

  The shopkeeper glanced at Shens family and saw that she didnt intend to speak, but just looked at Zi Qing, so he understood what was meant.

  "Little girl, who are you fooling? How can it be possible that someone would give twenty cents, little kids shouldnt cheat people." The shopkeeper scolded Zi Qing.

  "Uncle, I didnt cheat anyone. Just now someone offered twenty, but he didnt say how much he wanted. Lets wait three days to see if its true. My mother was worried that he wouldnt want much, so she came to you. But you cant reduce the price by five cents per catty just because of one melon! My family is counting on selling all the melons to build a house. How about this: from now on, well prioritize selling our melons to you every year." Zi Qing said in one breath. It seems it had to be like this after all.

  Tzu-ching saw that the face of that certain someones family finally had a hint of relaxation, he looked at Tzu-ching with eyes as if seeing something interesting, yes, it was interesting.

  "How much do you think is suitable?" The master asked.

  "Alright, lets each take a step back and meet in the middle. Seventeen cents for five, how about that? Of course, if youre willing to give me half a cent more, Id be even happier, but then again, you wouldnt be happy." Zi Qings voice grew softer as she spoke.

  "Why dont you just say you let Wen go?" the host continued to ask.

  "Then I shouldnt be happy either. I think its very immoral to base ones own happiness on someone elses unhappiness, so lets just not give in to each other." Zi Qing replied.

  "Pfft." Zi Qing looked at the shopkeeper and laughed. "Girl, youve completely confused me."

  "Sorry, Im afraid weve made a scene. My daughter has always been outspoken at home." Madam Shen spoke up.

  "It doesnt matter, its actually quite interesting. Alright, little girl, youve also spent a lot of effort. Ive decided to base my unhappiness on your happiness, let you be happy and build a beautiful big house." The master stood up, indicating the end of the conversation.

  Oh yeah, Zi Qing stretched out his fist and jumped up, being extremely pleased with himself.

  "Thank you, Master. When can we go to transport the watermelons? Its best if its still your car, as its inconvenient for us in the countryside. Also, please dont spread this matter around. We have our own difficulties, and if our relatives at home find out, theyll all come to ask for help, which would be embarrassing for us. Besides, we really are relying on this sum of money to build a house and buy land. There are many children in the family, what can we do?" Shens wife explained.

  "This is naturally no problem. Its best to deliver the melons as early as possible, lets go now, and well send you back home at the same time. Well find someone who understands the business, he can tell whether theyre fresh or not. Boss Zhou, write a contract for them, from now on, sell the melons only to our family. Now its 18 cents, in early June it will be 12 cents, and by the end of June and July it will be 5 cents. Ill send Old Wu with you, bring the silver." The master instructed.

  The shopkeeper scribbled a few strokes and finished writing, Zi Qing took it over to read through once, nodded at her mother, and Shen Shi pressed a handprint. Zi Qing didnt see the expressions of the master and Zhou Zhuanggui, who were shocked that a countryside girl of five or six years old was already articulate, let alone literate.

  The landlord sent three vehicles, four people, a horse-drawn carriage and two donkey carts. At first glance, they didnt look like ordinary merchants. This was Zi Qings first time riding in a horse-drawn carriage, and she didnt feel very comfortable.

  Fortunately, Ziyings home is at the end of the village, and by going around from the beginning of the village without entering it, they were more low-key. At this time, the villagers were basically eating at home. Someone was carrying melons, so Ziying didnt have to worry. They carried a total of over 200, 2,238 kilograms, and Zhou Zhuang immediately took out his abacus and started calculating, "The total is 40,0284 wen." Zhou Zhuang took out four silver ingots worth ten taels each and still had to count the copper coins.

  "Thank you everyone, thank you for your trouble. The remaining change will be used to buy wine for everyone."

  Those three people looked at Zhou Zhanggui, and after a few rounds of pretending to decline, they agreed. They used a donkey cart to send the goods first, and Zhou Zhanggui and Old Wu stayed behind to guard them. Zi Qing overheard their conversation and found out that this batch of melons was going to be transported by land to Beijing, and the East House had shops in both the provincial city and Beijing. It seemed that the East Houses business was very large. Zi Qing didnt dare listen carefully and just cut a few slices of melon before leaving. When they left, they said they would come again in five days.