Her Cultivation Diary-Chapter 1929 - 1712: Cousin Steps Up

In the end, it was Old Zhao who turned the tide.

Earlier, he thought no one was interested because it had been quiet, but now he saw even the people from the barbecue stand were joining the fun and squeezing in—

Actually, many of them didn’t know what the water caltrop tasted like, but seeing so many people scrambling for it, there had to be a reason, so they joined in too.

The more people there were, the more anxious everyone became, and they shouted even louder.

The five kids, two big and three small, were instantly bewildered, with only Qiaoqiao having a bit of experience—

But how much should they sell?!

Finally, Old Zhao came rushing over, holding up skewers:

"Limit purchase, sell 100—50, sell 50 per person!"

As soon as he said this, Yun Danqing was the first to feel wronged: "50 doesn’t divide evenly..."

At one yuan for three, how do you sell 50?

Chen Chi was there counting on his fingers, looking aggrieved—he was progressing slowly and wasn’t familiar with multiplication or division yet.

Old Zhao quickly awkwardly corrected himself:

"Then sell each person 20 yuan’s worth! Crunch crunch ... 63, right? Crunch crunch..."

He was biting the cabbage skewer in his hand: Oh my, it’s so tasty!

Sweet and spicy, it had all sorts of flavors, even the stems were delicious, crunch crunch...

He chewed with such relish that he could hardly speak. The regular customer nearby looked at his undignified state, swallowing saliva unconsciously:

"Old Zhao, we’ve been regulars for so long, haven’t I always paid you the full price for even a single green onion? Can’t you get us a couple of skewers of this?"

The barbecue customers didn’t understand but also asked, "What spices are in this that make it so fragrant? You’re really not planning to sell these?"

Old Zhao wiped the cabbage skewer clean, feeling awkward: "Guys, it’s not that I don’t want to be sincere, it’s just that I’m eating someone else’s food, how can I have the nerve to take and eat?"

"We’re not asking for it for free, we’ll pay for it! If you don’t let me try a bite tonight, I don’t think I’ll sleep well at all."

"Exactly! We know your prices, just name your price!"

Old Zhao was still holding two greasy meat skewers, hesitating on how to refuse.

But before he could think it through, the regular customer who first paid for 20 yuan worth of water caltrops already squeezed out of the crowd. Seeing him there in hesitation, without a word, he took a bite—

"Ah!"

Old Zhao let out a terrible cry, startling everyone as if he, a strapping man, had been suddenly kissed on the street!

But looking at his anguished expression, it seemed this was worse than being kissed!

"My lamb skewer!!!"

The regular customer also looked a bit embarrassed—

It was an impulse, just an impulse! After being here for so long, who could blame him for succumbing to the enticing aroma?

And Old Zhao, holding a skewer but not eating, spinning around, it wasn’t very sanitary!

He wasn’t afraid of getting a stomach ache, so what’s Old Zhao fussing about? Plus, he only nibbled off the top piece of the skewer!

But soon, his embarrassment was replaced by bewilderment—

"This meat..." Chew chew chew.

"Damn, this meat..." Chew chew chew.

"Old Zhao..." Chew chew—

It disappeared.

The crowd watched him, eyes full of anticipation.

And he swallowed it, then fell into a daze.

Old Zhao already regarded him with wary sorrow, and without another word, stepped back two paces, holding the skewer horizontally, the two skewers—well, now one and two-thirds of a skewer—clamped between his teeth:

"How can you do this? I’m kindly trying to limit purchases for you..."

Speaking, he felt something was off, and changed to: "I’m kindly trying to mediate for you..."

Not right either!

"I’m kindly here trying to distribute for you, and you act like this!"

But the other party didn’t respond, instead looking eagerly once more: "Old Zhao, I’ve bought from your shop for so long, biting the bullet even if it was expensive. But honestly, what about this meat you’re eating today, why?!"

This accusatory speech prompted nearby customers to ask impatiently: "Forget that, just tell us if it’s good or not, this aroma is too tantalizing!"

But the other was already in agony: "Delicious! Such a delicious thing, I only had one bite, this lamb is so tender and fresh, without any mutton odor, yet it’s something different..."

At this moment, the desire to become filthy rich reached its peak.

If he had enough money, he’d throw a fortune at it, not believing he couldn’t secure this barbecue stand!

But now, seeing Old Zhao quickly drag the skewers across his cheeks, leaving greasy, shiny marks, with both skewers shoved into his mouth...

Even more agonizing!

Hearing this, everyone was getting restless.

Those barbecue customers who didn’t understand why, still patiently waiting for the kids to count water caltrops, were astonished by this scene, with many already pulling out their phones...

Old Zhao grew anxious immediately.

If a fight broke out over the skewers, he would be deeply guilty!

Could he ever have such a good thing happening again next time?

Far away, observing the commotion, Song Tan softly said: "Brother Yanping, it’s your turn."

Her cousin was clumsy cutting meat tonight, not efficient at washing vegetables, and even less so at carrying buckets of water compared to the eager hardware store owner, so his mouth just kept blabbing, chatting around.

But taking care for a thousand days is used at a moment of need.

This moment was the highlight of Zhang Yanping.

He didn’t do anything, just carried a stainless steel basin and walked over slowly—it was shiny, metallic, and looked intimidating.

And since it was a thin basin, knocking on it was loud but harmless, both reliable and safe.

Most importantly, the mafia boss was reluctant to admit: If a customer really got riled up, he could put the basin on his head...

With this thought, he felt much safer, and shouted loudly: 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"What are you all doing!"

In any case, at this moment, the scene quieted down.

The big light provided by the plumbing store owner shone from behind, reversing the light, making his figure even more imposing.

His half-lit face took on a ferocious look under the streetlamp, and the atmosphere at the scene became tense all of a sudden.

Two customers who had just turned in from the alley to buy water caltrops paused, turned around, and quietly retreated back into the darkness.

Only Qiaoqiao was counting the water caltrops—since there was a limit of 20 yuan, they just filled each bag with 63 pieces—

Hesitating and frowning:

Brother Yanping looks so fierce, won’t everyone stop buying water caltrops?

Old Zhao was also startled, looking at his bare iron skewer, then at the customers who had just eaten his skewers, and lastly at the intimidating Zhang Yanping...

"Forget it," he turned around and pushed Zhang Yanping back: "It’s not easy for anyone..."

"Everyone just likes your barbecue too much..."

"No intention to buy, really! Just got carried away praising it, didn’t hold back..."

In the crowd, several people took out their phones and started typing rapidly:

[Don’t come! The barbecue here is damn good! But the people around the barbecue are mafia!]

[!!!]On the other end of the phone, someone was alarmed: "Shouldn’t we call the police?"

The person hesitated for a while, sniffed, and looked again at the hesitant people ahead, not sure whether to buy water caltrops:

[Nah, these people are grilling by skill—and I haven’t even bought my water caltrops yet!]

Friend: ...

In general, the lively atmosphere cooled down all of a sudden, only Qin Beibei and others were oblivious, and when they saw the crowd stopped moving, they raised their voices and shouted again:

[Water caltrops for sale, 3 for 1 yuan! Fresh, crisp, and sweet water caltrops]

Hehe, it’s her turn to shout!

...

Even more bewildered than the customers who couldn’t get barbecue were the viewers in the live streaming room:

[Qiaoqiao, do you remember you’re still live?]

[It’s late at night, show us something we actually want to see, just staring at a basket of water caltrops won’t cut it]

[What was all that noise about earlier? Too many people talking, couldn’t hear clearly]

[Seemed like something about limited sales and allocation...]

[Damn! Does Teacher Qiaoqiao mean to tell us that in the future, buying things in the shop will require allocations?]

[That seems to be what she means, it was hard to buy before, now they’re going all luxury brand on us...]

[What does allocation mean]

[Means that if you want to buy a pound of silver ear fungus, you first need to buy two ounces of tea, three packs of sweet potato strips, and four portions of potatoes to qualify for the silver ear fungus... right?]

[???]

[You don’t want this type of allocation?!]

[Exactly! I can!! I accept! I can even allocate two portions!]

[What’s going on, you’re just starting to allocate? Is this a proper live stream room? What exactly are they selling? Are they innovating this much with farm products now?]

[I just got here, why does this live stream room feel off?]

[I agree, the camera’s on a couple of baskets of water caltrops, and they’re being continuously sold, the water caltrops beneath my eyes are disappearing bit by bit]

[Am I the only one who thinks it’s weird to sell these so quickly late at night?]

[The people talking are noisy and it sounds like some rally meeting, and sometimes they even mention barbecue...]

[What’s up with this small live streaming platform and these hosts? I clicked and saw there are 1.3 million fans]

[Is this live stream room legit?]

Qiaoqiao was busy and sweating, surrounded by the now silent crowd, she was numb from counting.

Fortunately, Zhang Yanping’s intimidating presence was strong enough, many people had quietly left without buying anything, only Old Zhao’s customers were still coming in droves...

So many! Too many people buying!

Hands big and small reached into the baskets, counting and packing, even the most food-craving He Tuo couldn’t smell the barbecue aroma anymore.

They were surrounded by so many adults, tall and numerous, the aroma didn’t reach and was absorbed away beforehand.

Oh dear, all he saw in the crowd were legs, legs, legs, legs...

He Tuo anxiously asked, "How much have we sold? Enough to buy barbecue tonight?"

Yun Danqing had long been counting numbly, even Chen Chi flipping the payment code back and forth was numb, and now they only looked down at the bottom of the basket at the remaining water caltrops.

The experienced children said: "Less than twenty yuan left..."