Chapter 579: Meeting on a Narrow Path
"Popsicles for sale! Sugar, red bean, mung bean..."
A familiar vendor’s call drifted over. From a distance, she saw the popsicle man riding toward them. Tang Xiao’nan waved happily. The popsicle man already recognized her; the chubby little girl was a daily customer. She was a sweet talker and cute to boot.
"Mister, I’d like two red bean popsicles."
Tang Xiao’nan pulled a handful of change from her pocket. There were ten-fen, five-fen, two-fen, and one-fen coins. Her hands were too small to hold it all, and some of the coins fell to the ground. Tang Xiao’nan picked them up and gave the man a five-fen coin and a one-fen coin. The red bean popsicles were three fen each.
"Here you go!"
The man only took five fen. Since she was a daily customer, five fen was enough; he’d still make a profit. He handed Tang Xiao’nan two red bean popsicles with a benevolent smile, looking at her as if she were his own daughter.
"Thank you, Mister."
Tang Xiao’nan accepted it without fuss. ’Next time, I’ll buy three red bean popsicles and give him a ten-fen coin. He can keep the change.’
"Hurry on home with those, now. You’ve got to eat them quick."
The man patted Tang Xiao’nan’s head with a wide smile. ’This chubby little girl is so endearing.’
Tang Xiao’nan turned to leave but heard Jacqueline Spann’s voice. "I want two red bean popsicles, too."
Jacqueline Spann, who hadn’t been seen in a long time, appeared like a ghost. Her face was a little pale, and she had dark circles under her eyes. She shot Tang Xiao’nan a grim look, but Tang Xiao’nan ignored her and started unwrapping a red bean popsicle.
"Here you go. That’ll be six fen."
The man gave two popsicles to Jacqueline. He didn’t recognize her. He’d been coming to Millstone Peak for a long time and knew most of the village children. On a day this hot, even the poorest families would occasionally give their kids a few fen for a plain sugar popsicle, but he’d never once seen Jacqueline. ’And this little girl looks like she’s hard to get along with.’
Jacqueline took the popsicles but only gave the man five fen. She pointed at Tang Xiao’nan and said, "You sold her two for five fen."
In truth, she had come out a while ago. As soon as she saw Tang Xiao’nan, she had hidden behind a door. She had watched with her own eyes as the man took only five fen from Tang Xiao’nan. That, and the man’s benevolent smile, made Jacqueline’s stomach churn. ’Why should a total stranger smile so kindly at Tang Xiao’nan? That damn girl is fat and stupid. Everyone is blind!’
Jacqueline, who had only planned to buy one sugar popsicle, suddenly changed her mind. She decided to buy two as well, just to see how much the man would charge her. The result infuriated her. ’Why should he charge me six fen?’
’Does even the popsicle vendor look down on me?’
Jacqueline glared accusingly at the man. Her angry expression baffled him, but he still explained, "This little girl is a regular of mine. She buys from me every day."
’Of course regulars get a discount. You have to be friendly to do business. This little girl is buying from me for the first time, so naturally, there’s no special treatment. I only make a few li of profit on each popsicle; losing even one fen hurts.’
Seeing Jacqueline’s stubborn expression, the man sighed. "Alright, alright. Fine, you can have them."
He decided to give in. It wasn’t worth arguing with a little girl. So what if he lost one fen? Jacqueline’s expression turned smug. ’I was in the right, so of course, he had to give in.’
"Mister, I was short one fen. Here you go."
Tang Xiao’nan pressed a one-fen coin into his hand and smiled at him before turning to Jacqueline. "I gave the mister six fen. You must have seen it wrong."
Jacqueline gritted her teeth. ’Tang Xiao’nan definitely did that on purpose. That damn girl is just so infuriating.’