CHAPTER 172: CHAPTER 172: BARGAINING

172 Bargaining

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dong was taken aback. "Why do you ask? Are you going to sell jewelry?"

Zhao Zhitong snorted and said confidently, "Mother doesn’t have any jewelry, and Father doesn’t buy any for her. When I grow up, I want to buy hairpins for Mother to wear."

Zhao Dong couldn’t help but laugh. "Do you have money? That gold and silver jewelry is quite expensive, you know."

Zhao Zhitong immediately raised her little head with pride. "Of course, I do! I’m very rich!"

Zhao Dong smiled. "Alright, let’s go. We’ll go buy hairpins for your mother~"

With that, he quickened his pace. Zhao Zhitong, on the cart, immediately burst into giggles, and Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu quickly ran after them.

「West Market.」

This was the county town’s large marketplace. Stalls lined the streets, offering a wide variety of items. There were stalls selling steamed buns and filled buns, straw hats and raincoats, as well as shoes and clothes; the selection was quite diverse.

Naturally, there were also stalls selling rouge, powder, hairpins, and other jewelry.

Zhao Dong pushed the cart, instructing Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu to hold onto their two little sisters tightly.

"Uncle, don’t worry. We’ll definitely watch over our little sisters," Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu promised, each holding a little sister’s hand as they weaved through the crowd.

Zhao Zhitong was so excited she couldn’t sit still, wanting to run and look at every stall. Spotting one selling rouge and powder, she grabbed Zhao Cheng’s hand and trotted over.

The stall owner, seeing they were just a few young children, wasn’t particularly enthusiastic. He merely said politely, "Come take a look, best quality rouge and powder here."

Zhao Zhitong blinked, her voice childlike. "We’re not buying rouge and powder."

The stall owner said, "Not buying? Then don’t just stand there. Look at you, you’re getting in the way of my business."

Zhao Zhitong found the stall owner’s tone unpleasant but still said, "I’m not buying rouge, but I want to buy hairpins! Boss, do you sell hairpins here?"

She then stood on her tiptoes, trying to see the items on the stall.

Seeing her struggling, Zhao Cheng picked her up.

Now, Zhao Zhitong could finally see everything clearly. On the left were rows of rouge and powder, while on the right, hairpins, earrings, bracelets, jade pendants, and other jewelry were neatly arranged.

Zhao Dong had also walked over by now. Because he was pushing the cart, he could only stand and watch them from a distance.

The vendor said, "Here, these are all top-quality jewelry."

Zhao Zhitong glanced at the vendor, then her gaze fell upon the varied styles of jewelry, her eyes wide and round. "Xiao Ge, Sister Yaya, which one do you think looks good?"

Zhao Yu and Zhao Ya began to choose seriously.

Zhao Yu first picked up a hairpin with tassels and asked, "What about this one? Is it pretty?"

Zhao Zhitong shook her head. "This tassel is too long. Mother probably won’t like it."

Zhao Ya thought for a moment, then picked up a silver hairpin without tassels. "Little sister, what about this one?"

Zhao Zhitong took it and examined it.

At this point, the stall owner, seeing that no adult had come over (though Zhao Dong was actually right behind them), smiled and asked, "Little ones, who are you buying a hairpin for? Do you have money?"

Zhao Zhitong nodded and said enthusiastically, "We’re buying a hairpin for our mother as a gift! Don’t worry about the money; of course I have some!"

Then she asked, "How much is this one?"

The stall owner smiled casually. "This one? Twenty taels of silver! Hmm, seeing as you’re just kids, I’ll be honest with you and give you a fixed price: fifteen taels. This is pure silver!"

Just then, Grandpa Bai, from within the space, spoke up, "Tongtong, he’s lying to you. That’s not pure silver; at best, it’s iron. It’s only worth about thirty coins."

Zhao Zhitong exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, thirty coins! And he’s asking me for twenty taels! He’s so crooked! Hmph, what a rip-off artist!"

Grandpa Bai was amused by Zhao Zhitong and chuckled. "The stall owners in this marketplace are all like that. You have to haggle to buy anything. If they come across someone who doesn’t know any better, they can cheat them and make a huge profit."

Zhao Zhitong pouted her small lips and huffed at the vendor, "Don’t you try to fool me! This isn’t silver at all, hmph."

With that, she put the hairpin down. "Big Brother, let’s go look somewhere else."

The vendor couldn’t help but look at the children in surprise. I didn’t expect this kid to know so much!

He quickly said, "Hey, what kind of talk is that, kid? I’m a businessman; I value honesty the most! How could I cheat you? If you don’t want that one, come look at this! A top-quality Hetian Jade hairpin, only ten taels of silver!"

When the vendor opened the brocade box, Zhao Zhitong’s eyes lit up. It wasn’t because it was truly fine jade—after all, she wouldn’t know the difference.

It was simply that the hairpin was exquisitely carved, depicting a plum blossom.

Zhao Zhitong immediately picked it up, examining it carefully. Then she asked Zhao Cheng, Zhao Yu, and Zhao Ya, "Is it pretty?"

They all nodded.

"It’s pretty," one of them said. "It will definitely look beautiful on Aunt."

Zhao Zhitong grinned. "I think so too."

The vendor quickly started praising the hairpin to the skies, finally saying, "This hairpin, selling it to you for ten taels of silver, isn’t expensive at all. That’s a truly sincere price."

Of course, Zhao Zhitong didn’t believe this rip-off artist. He’d dared to claim twenty taels for a hairpin that was only worth thirty coins just moments ago! So, she asked Grandpa Bai, "Grandpa Bai, how much should I try to bargain this hairpin down to?"

Grandpa Bai stroked his beard. "This hairpin is indeed jade, but it’s not Hetian Jade. It’s not worth ten taels of silver. At most, it’s worth about three taels of silver."

"Oh, then I know what to do," Zhao Zhitong said, indicating she understood.

Then, blinking her eyes, she said to the vendor, "One tael of silver, and I’ll take it."

The vendor looked as if he were choking, his face flushing red with anger. He said incredulously, "This hairpin is worth ten taels of silver, and you want to buy it for just one tael? Are you kidding me? Go on, shoo! Go play somewhere else."

With that, he reached out, snatched the hairpin back, and put it into the box.

He must have been muddled, he thought. How could these little kids possibly have any money? And yet, I’ve been wasting so much time talking with them.

Just then, Zhao Dong, who had been listening all along, spoke up. "Tongtong, what’s wrong? If it’s not pretty, I saw a jewelry shop up ahead. Let’s go take a look there."

Although Zhao Zhitong really, really liked that hairpin, she showed no sign of reluctance and immediately smiled. "Okay~! Let’s go look at other stalls."

Only then did the vendor realize that the man who had been standing by with the cart was actually these children’s guardian.

Although Zhao Dong’s family wasn’t dressed in expensive clothes, they were neat and clean, and their clothes looked new. They didn’t seem like people without money.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have wasted my time with these kids in the first place, the vendor thought.

So, he immediately put on a smile. "Ah, so their guardian is here! When doing business, it’s all about making friends; the price can always be discussed. But one tael of silver is truly a bit too low."

Zhao Zhitong pouted, crossing her small arms over her chest. "Then I’ll add one more tael. Two taels of silver. If you don’t sell it for that, I don’t want it. It’s not that pretty anyway."

The vendor said, "Well now, young girl, you certainly have a silver tongue. But two taels is really too little. I can’t possibly sell it for that. How about you add a little more?"