Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 47

“Stupid hardware store, I hate it!”

Qiao Qiao grumbled as he climbed into the car.

Song Tan chuckled and ruffled his hair, “It’s okay, sweetie. I didn’t like them either. Let’s try to visit them as little as possible from now on.”

Qiao Qiao pouted, touching the QR code on his chest, “They didn’t pay.”

“Don’t worry, our vegetables are so delicious that once they’ve tasted them, they’ll want more. Next time, Qiao Qiao, you’ll have to sell faster, and we just won’t sell to them!”

This wasn’t just to comfort him; Song Tan genuinely believed that people like her eldest cousin-in-law would brag about how they were doing the family a favor by paying the high price, “Twenty yuan a pound! If it wasn’t to support relatives, I wouldn’t spend that kind of money!”

Moreover, seeing how her eldest uncle’s family reacted today, they didn’t even believe the vegetables were worth twenty yuan a pound. If they ever came to buy more, it would be satisfying to refuse them in public.

Hmm, thinking about it was a bit satisfying. Was she being petty?

While Song Tan scolded herself internally for being unstable, Qiao Qiao was already grinning, “Yes! Don’t sell! Don’t let her eat!”

Then, his dark eyes looked at her, “Are we going home?”

Song Tan snapped back to reality, “We need to deliver vegetables to Eldest Aunt too. We should be fair, right?”

Qiao Qiao frowned even more, “Eldest Uncle, not good.”

He turned to look at the small basket of vegetables in the back seat and then hesitated, “But Eldest Aunt is better than the hardware store.”

…

Song Tan’s Eldest Aunt, Song Hongmei, married a city worker in the 1980s despite being a village girl. Her beauty and thriftiness caught her husband’s eye.

She was truly thrifty and good at managing a household.

Despite selling breakfast and her husband working a job, they managed to buy a large apartment in the city center for their only son, a testament to their hard work!

However, despite their wealth, the old couple still lived in their old unit’s family quarters.

The little pickup parked precisely in a small space in the family compound, avoiding any parking tickets. As Song Tan and Qiao Qiao got out, an auntie nearby hesitated and asked, “Are you relatives of Hongmei?”

Song Tan was taken aback, then saw the aunties carrying plastic bags with vegetables like green onions and garlic.

She nodded, “Yes, my eldest aunt is Song Hongmei. We brought some vegetables from home for her to enjoy fresh.”

Hearing this, the aunties smiled, “I remembered you from the New Year. I thought, whose children are they? How come both siblings are so good-looking? Later, I found out they were Hongmei’s relatives!”

The family compound had no secrets. Everyone knew Hongmei had a handsome but simple-minded nephew.

Although Qiao Qiao looked like an adult, his expression was different—and he had a Peppa Pig sticker on his face!

Seeing the vegetables in the basket, one auntie exclaimed, “Oh my, what fresh vegetables… Hongmei is so lucky to have such beautiful nieces and nephews. Young lady, are you seeing anyone?”

Song Tan: …

After a few rounds of polite conversation, they finally escaped the overly enthusiastic aunties. As they approached the unit door, she could still hear them murmuring:

“Hongmei’s niece and nephew are really good-looking.”

“I bet they’re hardworking too. See how she brought a basket of vegetables…”

“What are you saying? It’s not about being frugal to the point of poverty. Hongmei may be tight-fisted, but she’s still a good person, deserving respect as a couple…”

Song Tan laughed quietly to herself.

It seemed her eldest aunt’s reputation for being stingy was well-known!

…

Eldest Aunt Song Hongmei had just returned from the vegetable market.

For twenty years, she had been selling pancakes from a small cart near the family compound. She wasn’t famous, but everyone was used to her pancakes.

Her routine was precise: packing up the cart at ten, cleaning up, and going to the market by eleven. The timing was so accurate that it was impressive!

Most importantly, by eleven, the market vendors were packing up, selling leftover vegetables at discounted prices. Eldest Aunt Hongmei could swoop in and haggle fiercely, trying to get the lowest prices!

If she couldn’t bargain, she wouldn’t buy.

Picking up wilted vegetables was the last extravagance she allowed herself.

It was now half past eleven; some families might already be cooking, but not in Eldest Aunt Hongmei’s house.

Song Tan knocked on the door.

Her uncle was still two years from retirement, and their son was at work. Eldest Aunt Hongmei was surprised to see her:

“Tan Tan? What brings you here? Aren’t you working? Oh no, don’t take leave; you’ll lose money!”

She turned to Qiao Qiao, “My eldest nephew looks even more handsome. Come in, Eldest Aunt will get you some cookies.”

Eldest Aunt indeed got cookies—two packs of Wang Wang Snow Cookies, one for each sibling.

Song Tan couldn’t help but laugh; this was indeed the greatest gesture of sincerity from her eldest aunt!

Qiao Qiao was already skillfully opening the packet, saying, “Eldest Aunt, we brought you some vegetables.”

Eldest Aunt Hongmei looked at the small basket with five bunches of milk vetch and was genuinely pleased:

“Oh my! These are so fresh. We’ll have vegetables for lunch, but let’s not cook them all at once! We’ll have some tonight, some tomorrow, and some the day after. We can save money on vegetables for three days. I’ll just make some extra meat!”

She was delighted and quickly planned it out.

Only then did she remember, “Tan Tan, are you staying for lunch? If you are, I’ll cook these greens.”

Song Tan quickly reassured her eldest aunt, “No, Eldest Aunt, Mom is waiting for us at home. I wanted to ask if you know where we can buy ducklings. We’re planning to raise ducks back home.”

Eldest Aunt Hongmei thought for a moment, “I do. Wait here, it’s not far. I’ll take you there!”

“But Eldest Aunt, you need to cook…”

“It’s okay, it’s really not far. I’ll take you there! You youngsters don’t haggle when buying things; I’ll negotiate the price for you!”

She changed her shoes, grabbed the keys, and was ready to leave.

Song Tan: …

It truly was a flash; Qiao Qiao hadn’t even finished a single cookie.

But Eldest Aunt didn’t lie—it wasn’t far.

After leaving the family compound, they turned into an alley, passed through a seemingly locked gate that wasn’t actually locked, squeezed through a small alley, and finally arrived at a rundown, low-rise old courtyard.

Eldest Aunt knocked on one of the doors:

“Old Zhang, do you have any ducklings left?”

“I don’t sell wholesale! These aren’t pet ducks!” the man inside shouted.

Eldest Aunt was already impatient, “When have I ever brought someone to buy pet ducks? Hurry up, I brought my relatives to buy some. Give me a good price and don’t waste my time. I need to get back and cook…”

The man opened the door, looking aggrieved, “Sis, sometimes I wish you wouldn’t buy from me.”