Chapter 39: Don’t You Like It?

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Don’t You Like It?

Boss Tang was instantly displeased. "Look at you all fawning over her," he thought. "Even if she actually had the good stuff, none of you could afford it! It still has to be me!"

With that thought, he completely relaxed. He strolled over and ducked into a nearby general store, picking up a basin and pretending to examine it.

He couldn’t just head back to his own shop yet. There were so many other purchasing shops along this street. If someone beat him to the punch, he wouldn’t even have the tears to cry!

Huai Yu was quite surprised as well. Even though there were fewer people today, the fact that the staff had taken the initiative to greet her held a completely different significance. However, thinking about today’s bean sprouts, she felt a bit apprehensive.

The bean sprouts had been purified, and the water used to soak the beans had also been purified. Although she had deliberately used unpurified water when changing it over the past few days, she honestly had no idea what the Mutant Value would be. She hesitated for a moment.

Seeing her hesitate, the staff at the testing station immediately grew anxious. "Don’t worry, little sister! We swear to the heavens that we won’t breathe a word of this to anyone!"

All they wanted was for her to cut them some slack whenever she had good stuff they could afford. After all, it was already the norm for such premium items to bypass the ordinary market entirely.

Since they were so eager and she had to get the goods tested anyway, Huai Yu smiled sheepishly and pulled the basket of bean sprouts out of her woven backpack. She also had a bag of bracken, casually wrapped in a plastic grocery bag, which she pulled out and set aside.

The moment the basin on top was uncovered, the inspectors’ expressions changed. "Oh, bean sprouts..."

"Ah, bean sprouts..." The others also looked somewhat disappointed.

Huai Yu was a little confused. "Are bean sprouts not good?"

"It’s not that they aren’t good," the inspector explained as he placed them onto the conveyor belt. "It’s mainly because legumes iterate quickly, making them the easiest thing to buy on the market. But the thing with these plants is that they absorb an exceptional amount of pollution. If you aren’t careful, they just—HOLY CRAP!"

He stared at the certification podium, his eyes wide. "It’s Mutant Value 9 again?!"

Everyone knew that legumes were the easiest to plant but the hardest to grow well! The moment there was even the slightest bit of pollution in the soil or water, the plant would instantly absorb it. The vast majority of those on the market were fermented and broken down to be used as fertilizer—and even then, it was fertilizer with a high pollution level.

But now, someone had actually managed to grow bean sprouts with a Mutant Value of 9! The girl standing before them was undoubtedly from a wealthy family!

Who knew what kind of top-tier primeval seeds and high-purity water had been used... With resources like that, she could have done anything! Why did she insist on growing bean sprouts? Looking at Huai Yu again, she seemed completely oblivious to all this. She really was from a high-society family!

Clutching the freshly printed certificate in her hand, Huai Yu looked at the bean sprouts that had been carefully lifted onto the counter. Then, she looked at the staff members, who seemed to want to say something but were inexplicably dejected.

"Do you guys... not like bean sprouts?" she asked curiously. She wondered why they weren’t buying them. Seeing how enthusiastic they had been earlier, she had assumed they wanted to buy some of her goods again.

The inspector gave a bitter smile. "Of course we like them. Who wouldn’t like a Mutant Value 9? We just can’t afford them."

It was already a godsend that they had been able to buy her Mutant Value 9 wild vegetables for thirty points a pound last time. After several consecutive days of heavy rain, the prices of vegetables had doubled. Moreover, bean sprouts tasted far better than wild vegetables. Wild vegetables were just a novelty; most of them required special preparation to taste good. Bean sprouts, on the other hand, were crisp and refreshing no matter how they were cooked.

For the past few years, this exact flavor was what everyone had been missing!

Huai Yu didn’t seem to understand pricing, but these could easily sell for fifty or sixty points a pound on the market! They might have the thick skin to ask, but they didn’t have the audacity to take advantage of her like that.

Huai Yu nodded, deep in thought.

The very next moment, the inspector stared at the newly issued certificate and let out another, "HOLY CRAP!"

"How is this one a Mutant Value 9 too?! Is it even possible to have bracken with this kind of value in this weather?"

Huai Yu looked entirely clueless. "Huh? Is it that rare? My brother said this didn’t taste good and told me to bring it out to get rid of it."

GASP.

The group sucked in a collective breath of cold air.

A high-society family! A high-society family beyond their wildest imaginations! The little girl was definitely just here to experience the struggles of the common folk, wasn’t she?

Getting serious, the group quickly handed the certificates over to her. "Alright! We didn’t see or hear a thing today. Hurry up and head to the market."

Huai Yu nodded and obediently packed up her woven backpack, ready to leave. After a moment of thought, she pinched a few soft, soggy pickled bracken stems through the plastic bag. "Thank you, everyone. Take these home to have a taste."

The staff hadn’t expected such a stroke of luck! With a few stems of bracken, everyone could get two stems each. They could take them home to honor their parents and let their children have a taste. This was top-tier stuff! Sure, they could afford to buy one or two stems, but nobody would actually be willing to sell such a tiny amount to them.

Their moods rapidly shifted from disappointment to pleasant surprise. Now running around like headless chickens, they scrambled to find something to hold the goods. After a while, someone finally handed over an enamel mug.

"Me, me, me! Put them in my mug! Thank you! Thank you, Miss Huai!"

Huai Yu beamed. "Just call me Little Yu!"

Having gained some confidence in her future career, Huai Yu no longer felt bad about the better half of a bag of salt she had used up. She headed straight for Huaxia Gold!

Meanwhile, Boss Tang had already returned to his storefront with a satisfied heart after seeing the certificates being issued, wanting to avoid looking too desperate. Now, he was at the door, eagerly scanning the street.

"It’s not that far from the testing station to my shop. Why haven’t I seen her yet?" he thought.

"GASP! Did someone at the station swoop in and snatch her goods?

"Impossible. They’re all just ordinary people. None of them have the funds to buy such premium vegetables right now..."

His chubby body swayed back and forth in the doorway. After waiting for quite a while, he finally spotted Huai Yu’s familiar figure. All his previous dignified restraint vanished into thin air. As if he had skateboards on his feet, Boss Tang swiftly glided over to greet her.

"Little Sister Yu, you’re here?"

"I’m here," Huai Yu said, looking quite happy herself. "Mutant Value 9. Are you happy, Boss Tang?"

Boss Tang wasn’t just happy; he was so ecstatic he could practically swoon! To still have Mutant Value 9 produce after days of heavy rain—what kind of heaven-sent windfall was this?!

Setting aside whether he had sold or gifted her previous batch of wild vegetables, countless people had reached out to him through connections because of it, and so many powerful individuals now remembered his name! The points were a trivial matter; the connections and the display of capability were what truly mattered!

He ushered Huai Yu into his shop. Seeing that her basket was only half full, he actually felt quite disappointed inside. But the moment Huai Yu lifted the basin to show him, he instantly bounced up like a rubber ball, going BOING!

"Mutant Value 9 bean sprouts?!!!"

Without a second thought, he declared, "Sixty points a pound, Little Yu! This looks to be about four pounds. I’ll pay you the full market price today!"

Huai Yu’s eyes curved into a beaming smile. As expected of Boss Tang, he was truly so straightforward and decisive when doing business!

"Then, do you want the pickled bracken?" she asked, handing over the certificate.

Boss Tang’s eyes widened like brass bells. At this point, he could only nod numbly. "Sixty! Sixty for all of it!

"Little Yu, from now on, you are my own biological sister!"

Oh, goodness! He didn’t even dare to imagine how many people he would leave a lasting impression on once this limited supply of vegetables was distributed!