Chapter 63 - 62: Our Madam

Chapter 63: Chapter 62: Our Madam

Huai Yu had no idea that a guest would soon be arriving at her home. Carrying a heavy bucket, she struggled to maintain her balance on the bus until it was finally time to get off.

It had been sunny for many consecutive days. At high noon, the trading market wasn’t too crowded. Huai Yu only waited two minutes before a familiar staff member led her inside.

When the bucket was opened, everyone froze in astonishment.

"GASP..."

"Not bad at all! Your family even managed to catch a fish? And it’s completely uninjured—you guys beat it into submission without leaving a scratch!"

"Exactly! A couple of days ago, someone brought in a rabbit. Good lord, the rabbit had a broken leg and the guy had a broken arm. It’s tough... truly not easy!"

"Incredible, simply incredible."

Huai Yu thought, "Beat it into submission? No, what kind of price are you guys paying just to eat a fish?"

Maintaining a shy smile, she waited for the Mutant Value results. While the machine hummed and buzzed, she placed the Pine Pollen onto the counter and asked curiously, "I wonder if fish is easy to sell right now?"

"It’s very easy to sell." The staff member tugged at his crisp uniform. "See this? A VIP from the Imperial Capital has arrived. I heard they even brought their family along, so there will definitely be plenty of banquets and receptions over the next few days. The prices for premium ingredients have already gone up a bit."

Huai Yu wasn’t interested in any VIP from the Imperial Capital, but she cast a hopeful glance at her Pine Pollen.

She wondered, "Since the VIP brought family, wouldn’t Pine Pollen face masks be even more popular?"

The testing machine spat out a card. The staff member took it and kindly reminded her, "Ask around a bit more; don’t sell it too cheap. This fish looks great, and if its Mutant Value is low, it might even get selected—GASP! A Mutant Value of 11?!"

Several people crowded around once again.

They inspected the fish in the bucket from every angle before nodding knowingly. "No wonder it’s so docile. I thought you beat it up... I never expected it was just because of a low Mutant Value."

"How can you say that so lightly? Doesn’t every place with a low Mutant Value end up completely surrounded by highly polluted things?"

"Exactly! Little Yu, don’t listen to him. A fish like this is incredibly hard to get. Whatever you do, don’t sell it cheap."

Huai Yu nodded earnestly, keeping their advice in mind as she packed up her things. Leaving the testing station, she headed straight for Huaxia Gold.

However, today there were actually two customers inside Huaxia Gold, a shop that was usually empty.

Standing at the entrance, Huai Yu peered inside. She saw a middle-aged woman with graying hair and fine wrinkles, though her complexion remained quite ruddy. The woman, accompanied by a young girl, was pointing critically at the items in the display case.

"Oh my, times are so hard right now, yet your shop is still selling this electronic trash... Tsk, bring it out and let me have a look."

Boss Tang’s chubby face was the picture of amiability, as if he hadn’t heard the disdain in her words at all. He brought out a red-and-blue game console, turning it on to reveal the opening animation.

"The intense pressure to survive nowadays is mostly just for ordinary people. A prestigious family like yours, Mrs. Wu, doesn’t need to worry about such things, right? Playing a few games to lift your spirits is perfectly fine.

"Look here, this game is incredibly fun. It’ll easily help you kill three to five months with no problem."

Huai Yu quietly peeked in from the doorway. Although the older woman had a good complexion and decent features, she gave off a distinct aura of meanness.

At this moment, she gave a nonchalant "Hmph" and commented, "This little character looks quite familiar. My son probably played this before..."

Boss Tang broke into an instant smile. "Oh! This ’Master’s Sword’ really has a stellar reputation. Wu Jiang—"

Before he could finish, the older woman let go, tossing the game console back into its box. "But I lectured him right then and there. This game is just electronic trash. Is this something he should be playing?

"If I hadn’t been so strict with him back then, he wouldn’t have secured the bright future he has today."

GASP! Huai Yu took a couple of secretive peeks, thinking to herself, "This older woman speaks incredibly harshly."

She didn’t know if the game was actually good or not, as she probably hadn’t played it before. But since Boss Tang could hoard so many of them, open such a large shop, and was often seen playing them whenever she visited... it proved they possessed a unique charm and were likely quite profitable.

If this older woman didn’t like it, that was her business. Why did she have to use such a condescending tone? It made it sound as if she was deliberately belittling people.

But a moment later, Huai Yu felt a surge of admiration.

Boss Tang didn’t look upset in the slightest. Instead, he simply retrieved the game console, put it away, and guided her to another display case. "You’re absolutely right. Without you, our Flower City wouldn’t be what it is today... Mrs. Wu, your child is a hero who hailed right from our Flower City. Every single one of us remembers that!"

As he was speaking, he glanced sideways and caught sight of Huai Yu standing at the shop entrance, causing him to pause mid-sentence.

"What is it?" Sensing the shift immediately, the older woman looked up.

Seeing Huai Yu standing there in old, worn-out clothes, carrying a large red bucket and wearing a woven basket on her back, her expression turned frosty.

But after a moment of thought, she said, "Little Tang, is this a customer of yours? It looks like she’s had quite a hard time."

Boss Tang maintained his pleasant expression. "Indeed! This is a young friend of mine. She probably found some good stuff and thought of me first... Mrs. Wu, would you like to take a seat in the VIP room in the back for a moment? Just in case she brought something valuable, I can filter it first and bring it straight to you."

"Don’t go through all that trouble," she said flatly. "Coming out to make a living at such a young age—people like her tend to have stubborn personalities and often don’t know what’s good for them... But she’s young after all. Forget it, call her in.

"We are all from the same hometown anyway. I’ll just consider it my good deed for the day.

"If she has something I actually need, buying it off her wouldn’t hurt."

Boss Tang didn’t bat an eye. He quickly walked to the shop entrance to usher Huai Yu in, whispering to her, "Huai Yu, you might feel a bit wronged in a moment, but please bear with it..."

Huai Yu instantly widened her eyes, her expression turning cautious.

In her mind, Boss Tang had the absolute best temper in the world, yet he was actually giving her such a warning...

She cast another stealthy glance at the older woman, thinking to herself, "No wonder I don’t like her. She really is that obnoxious!"

But then she suddenly felt happy again. "I knew it! I, Little Yu, am the most open-minded and generous person in the world! How could I possibly dislike someone for no reason?

"It must be because she was naturally this obnoxious to begin with!"

With this thought, her mind felt much more at ease, and she strode inside confidently with her bucket.

Before she could even get close, the older woman pinched a tissue over her nose.

The young girl beside her stepped forward. "Excuse me, please don’t come any closer. Mrs. Wu is quite sensitive. What on earth did you bring in here? Why does it smell so strong?"

Huai Yu’s eyes widened again.

She thought, "I’m carrying a bag of purified Pine Pollen, not a bag of dung! Everyone on the bus was saying how fragrant it smelled!

"Why are you the only ones saying it stinks?"