Chapter 344: Business

Chapter 344: Business
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Meat sauce?” Upon hearing that the meat sauce was homemade from Jiang Xia’s family, Wang Gang’s expression clearly showed some disappointment.
What couldn’t they eat in the county town? They could occasionally dine in a good restaurant. Could homemade meat sauce really taste better than restaurant dishes?
Jiang Xia must have sensed Wang Gang’s thoughts. Instead of hastily promoting her meat sauce, she took out a half-eaten jar of it from her basket in the same manner.
“Uncle Wang,” she said, “this jar of meat sauce was saved for lunch to be eaten with steamed buns. If you don’t mind, you can try it first.”
Not wanting to seem rude, Wang Gang accepted the offered jar. As soon as he opened the lid, an enticing aroma of meat wafted to his nostrils.
He was surprised. He had never smelled such fragrant meat sauce before. Just the aroma alone was enough to whet his appetite.
He dipped his finger into the meat sauce and put it into his mouth to taste it carefully. Not to mention that the taste was really delicious, it was probably comparable to the meat sauce in the restaurant.
But how would he know that the restaurant’s meat sauce was also purchased from Jiang Chuan?
Without having to guess, Jiang Xia knew what Wang Gang was about to say next. After all, she was very confident in her mother’s culinary skills.
Sure enough, Wang Gang exclaimed with surprise, “Little girl, how much are you selling this meat sauce for? I want it all!”
Jiang Xia pretended to be hesitant, “But money transactions aren’t allowed right now, are they?”
Even though trading was supposedly prohibited, the enforcement was lax. For the city management officers, it was merely a matter of turning a blind eye.
They could be described as idle personnel funded by the state. Every day they received a salary from the government to do the most laid-back job: maintaining public order.
Overseeing monetary transactions on the streets was also part of their duties. So, as long as Wang Gang didn’t penalize her, he could totally pay for Jiang Xia’s meat sauce in cash.
Jiang Xia was well aware of this, but she intentionally said so to let Wang Gang take the initiative and save her some trouble.
Wang Gang looked at the fragrant meat sauce, and the craving in his stomach was already aroused. He really wanted to buy it as soon as possible, but he didn’t mention the money. Instead, he followed Jiang Xia’s intention and asked,” Why don’t we do the same thing as last time on the bus? I’ll exchange it for something.”
After saying this, Wang Gang felt his pockets and pulled out a small stack of vouchers from his chest pocket, “I have vouchers here for five kilos of cotton. It’s worth seven or eight coin in the market. Is that enough for your meat sauce?”
It’s more than enough! Jiang Xia thought to herself. They sold the meat sauce to the restaurant for two coin per bottle. Here, she had three bottles. Exchanging it for five kilos of cotton was a great deal.
Moreover, this winter was colder than Jiang Xia had expected. The cotton they had previously bought at the Locust Tree Bay shopping mall was not sufficient. Zhou Lan had planned to buy more cotton in the county to make another quilt, but due to the lack of cotton vouchers, the plan was stalled. Today’s offer seemed like a windfall.
However, Jiang Xia did not show her excitement. She pretended to be clueless, intending to feign ignorance for a better deal.
“Well… Uncle Wang, I’m not really familiar with the exchange rates for these items. If 1 overcharge you for the meat sauce, that wouldn’t be right. My mom has always taught me never to take advantage of others, whether in business or anything else.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Gang didn’t find Jiang Xia troublesome. Instead, he was impressed by such maturity in a young child, further solidifying his intention to buy from her in the future.
He then shared his thoughts with Jiang Xia, “Indeed, you’re too young to make decisions. Go fetch your father and let him discuss with me. Tell him I buy a large amount of vegetables and can offer a better price than the sugar factory’s residential quarters. He can bring some over first for my colleagues to try. If everyone likes them, we’ll buy from him in the future.”
Jiang Xia was delighted upon hearing this. She had plenty of vegetables in her interspace and was wondering how to trade them. Now she had found a way. If she traded all of them, their family could become wealthy overnight.
When they first moved here, they had nothing. After some effort, they managed to sell vegetables and earn a few dozen coins. But that money quickly went into renovating and building their house. It was the first time Jiang Xia realized how quickly money could be spent. She began to value money more and now appeared to be quite the little miser..