Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Sold Out

""These strawberries are so big—are they actually tasty?""

""Why are they so red? Did you dye them or something?""

As the crowd grew, so did the chatter. Good or bad, comments kept coming nonstop.

Xu Shuhua wasn’t shy, nor was she someone to be pushed around. As soon as she heard those remarks, she shot right back.

""These are genuine, top-quality big strawberries! They’re sweet, too! Dyed? Dyed with what? You try dyeing one and show me! See if you can get this color! If you want to buy, buy. If not, move along—what are you making a fuss here for?""

The person she snapped at wasn’t a pushover either. ""Hey! Old lady, what’s with your attitude? I can say whatever I want!""

Xu Shuhua rolled her eyes. ""Go ahead, say whatever you want! No matter what you say, my strawberries are still the best in the whole county!""

""Auntie, talking is easy. Why don’t you let us have a taste? If they’re good, we’ll all buy some! Right, everyone?""

Hearing this, Xu Shuhua paused for a second, but quickly responded, ""Taste? Sure, go ahead! You think I’m afraid to let you try? Who’s got a small knife? Lend it to me!""

""I have one!""

The woman who spoke was none other than the lady at the neighboring stall—the same one who had just bought a pound of strawberries.

Xu Shuhua took the knife from her, picked up a strawberry, and sliced off a piece. ""I’m just a small vendor—no way I can give each of you a whole strawberry. But everyone can have a slice. You’ll know if they’re good from just a taste!""

No one turns down a freebie. Whether they genuinely wanted to buy or were just there for the excitement, everyone in the crowd reached out for a piece of strawberry.

No matter how big a strawberry is or how thin Xu Shuhua sliced, there was no way everyone could get a piece. In the end, only about a dozen people got to try.

But Xu Shuhua figured that was enough!

Sure enough, as soon as the samples were gone, someone rushed up to her. ""Auntie, how much for the strawberries? What’s the price per pound?""

""One yuan twenty per pound! Don’t say it’s expensive—just look how big these strawberries are! And you just tasted them—they’re better than anyone else’s—""

""I’ll take two pounds!""

Xu Shuhua’s words got stuck in her throat, and she almost rolled her eyes from being cut off. But she quickly recovered and replied smoothly, ""You got it!""

As she weighed out the strawberries, she glanced at the customer—a young woman in her early twenties, dressed stylishly. It was clear her family was well-off; otherwise, she wouldn’t have bought two pounds without blinking.

The strawberries were weighed, but how to package them?

Just as Xu Shuhua was thinking, someone handed her a paper bag.

""Auntie, use this!""

Xu Shuhua looked up and saw it was the woman from the neighboring stall again.

""Great!""

Without hesitation, Xu Shuhua took the bag, packed up the two pounds of strawberries, and handed them over.

The young woman counted out two yuan and forty cents, took her bag of strawberries, and left.

No sooner had she left than the rest of the onlookers surged forward, all eager to buy strawberries.

Some wanted two pounds, some one, some just half a pound.

Xu Shuhua didn’t mind how much anyone bought. She weighed out each order, packed them in the paper bags from the neighboring stall, and handed them to the buyers.

The two baskets of strawberries looked like a lot, but with so many people buying, they were gone in no time—completely sold out."

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