Chapter 11 Selling Oranges
After two days and one night of travel, the Sun siblings finally arrived in the provincial capital.
The escort agency escorts things to the city, and also escorts people. When they reach the city gate, the people who travel together go their separate ways. It's like taking an intercity bus. When you get to the station, everyone gets off. As for where you go, you figure it out on your own.
When the Sun siblings arrived at the station, they were all dazed. Looking at the bustling and lively city, they felt a little timid. The city was too big, and the city gate was too majestic, which made people feel scared!
Sun Chunlan had asked someone before she came. If they wanted to sell things at a high price, they had to go to Dongcheng. However, ordinary people were not allowed to enter Dongcheng. So she suggested that the brother and sister go to Xicheng to sell the things. There were many wealthy families there, and as long as the things were delicious, they would be willing to spend a lot of money to buy them.
Following instructions from others, the Sun siblings unknowingly dragged five large baskets of oranges into the city. The city does not charge an entry fee for individuals, but it is different for those who sell things. The gatekeeper asked the siblings if they were bringing in oranges to sell.
Aunt Sun bravely said that when she came to the city to visit her relatives, she brought some local specialties from her hometown to give to her relatives. She also took out several kilograms of oranges from the basket and gave them to the people guarding the city gate.
The guard at the city gate saw that they were in a state of distress, as if they were bringing worthless things to their relatives to beg for money, so he waved his hand and let them go.
The brother and sister thanked him profusely and pulled the cart into the city in a daze. As they walked, they asked people how to get to the west city.
According to the instructions of others, the two walked and stopped, and went around and around, but still couldn't find Xicheng. They thought of selling it on the spot, but when they heard that it was 20 wen per catty, everyone shook their heads and cursed the Sun brothers and sisters for eating kohlrabi and selling tangerines for 20 wen. They were crazy about money.
Actually, it's not the fault of the passerby who asked the price. A pound of sweet oranges is 5 wen, which is considered high, because pork is also 10 wen per pound. The ordinary oranges are priced at 20 wen. Anyone who buys them is a fool.
Some people who have tasted citrus fruits think that the taste is unique and worth the price, but unfortunately they are short of money and have to say goodbye.
After squatting for an hour, they only sold 1 kilograms. The brother and sister looked at the sky. It gets dark early in winter, so they wanted to find a dilapidated temple or an abandoned house to spend the night, and then ask people how to get to Xicheng the next day.
Someone told them that this was the South City, and it would take an hour to walk to the West City, and they would not be able to reach there even after dark.
So I decided to find a remote and deserted place to spend the night and set off early tomorrow morning.
Pulling 5 large baskets of oranges, I walked slower.
The two men searched everywhere but still could not find the dilapidated temple or the shabby, uninhabited house.
As for staying in a hotel, the two siblings didn't even think about it. Even the food they had in the city was the dried sweet potatoes they brought from home.
When you are hungry, you can eat some dried sweet potatoes. When you are thirsty, you can get water from the well. Save on food, accommodation and money.
As the sky got darker, the small vendors in the city went home and the shops closed one after another. It was cold in winter, so people went home early.
Sun Chunlan's lips turned bitter with worry. How come she couldn't find the dilapidated temple? The city was the city, there was no spare house, and people lived in the dilapidated houses.
Sun Boming was also afraid. He pulled the cart tremblingly, not knowing where to go.
At this time, three young men passed by.
Sun Chunlan bravely stepped forward and asked, "Sir, is there a land temple nearby?" Although the land temple in Sunjia Village was a yellow mud house, it was large and could accommodate people. The Sun siblings thought that the land temple in the prefecture was similar.
It was He Erlang from the He family who was walking towards them. Seeing a man and a woman shivering with cold, he asked, "What are you talking about? The Earth God Temple?"
Following behind him were the servants of the He family, who also looked at the Sun siblings strangely.
Sun Bomin said honestly: "Brother, we want to find a land temple to spend the night, where is it?"
Sun Bomin is a sincere man who won't lie, so he stated his purpose directly.
Sister Sun secretly thought that it was not good and her brother was too stupid, but since everything had been said, she could only smile helplessly.
He Erlang didn't know why, maybe it was fate, he felt compassion and said with a smile: "There is a land temple nearby, but we can't let you stay overnight."
Pointing to a small house not far away, which was one meter long, wide and high, he said: "That's the land temple, take a look."
The Sun siblings were dumbfounded and remained silent for a long time.
The two servants looked at them with pity and said, “There is no temple here for you to spend the night. You will have to sleep on the street tonight.”
He Erlang looked at the panic-stricken Sun siblings, thought for a moment and said, "If you trust me, then come with us. I have a house for you to stay in for one night."
After a pause, he said, "No money."
After saying that, just leave. It’s up to you whether you follow me or not.
The Sun siblings would definitely not follow. They have no relatives or friends, so who would follow someone for no reason? Coming from the countryside is innocent, but not stupid.
When the He family servants saw that the two had not followed, they said sincerely, "We are the Guangnan He family, the kindest family. Come with us quickly. We will not do anything to you."
After taking a look at the two people, they seemed to be siblings. They had four different facial features. The brother was average looking, but the sister was graceful and pleasing to the eye.
Seeing that the siblings were not coming, He Erlang kindly said, "It might rain tonight. Even if you don't come, you should find a place to stay quickly."
The sky is overcast and grey, and it looks like it will rain tomorrow if not tonight.
Sun Chunlan was anxious and knew it was going to rain, so she kept looking for a land temple or a dilapidated house with a roof over her head.
Looking at the three people in front of him, they didn't look like bad guys, so he bravely said, "Thank you, Mr. He, we'll go."
Thinking something was wrong, he and his brother ran as fast as they could. The men and women of the farm family were very strong, and the three men in front of them were thin and weak, not even as tall as his brother. If they fought, two against three, they would not lose.
He Erlang walked in front with two servants, and the Sun siblings followed behind the back door pulling a cart.
The He family servant asked curiously, "Where are you from? Are you selling oranges here?"
5 big baskets of tangerines are so eye-catching, but you don’t need to give so many as gifts.
Sun Bomin was simple and answered all questions. He said that he came from Sunjia Village and walked for two days and one night to the city to sell oranges. However, people in the city thought it was too expensive and refused to buy.
He Erlang asked curiously, "How much are the oranges?"
Sun Bomin said embarrassedly: "20 cents a pound"
Not to mention the He family servants, He Erlang was also shocked by the price. He widened his eyes and said, "20 wen a jin? It's surprising that anyone would buy it."
The He family was considered a wealthy family, and the oranges they ate were no more than 5 wen per pound. Who gave these two siblings the courage to sell them at 20 wen per pound?
Sun Chunlan was not convinced and whispered back: "My oranges are unique, there are none in the city, and selling them for 20 wen is still cheap."
Although the words were spoken in a low voice, the other four people still heard it. The He family servant was just trying to reason with this country girl.
Just as he was about to speak, He Erlang said, "We're here, Lai Fu, arrange for them to live in the empty house in the west."
He Erlang bowed to the Sun siblings, then walked into the He family with another servant opening the door.
Lai Fu took Sun Chunlan to a large courtyard on another street, opened the door, walked in, found two empty houses next to each other, and said with a smile: "You will live in two rooms."
He stared at the 20-cent tangerines again and said kindly, "When someone calls you to eat, go out and eat. If someone asks, just say that the second young master asked you to."
Without saying anything else, he left quickly.