Duan Mingjing hurriedly gave up, "Mom, I'm going to sell melons, how can I bother you? There's so much sun outside!" There are very few female queens registered in Beijing, and they can be counted on one hand.
, most of them are royal relatives and nobles, and are very rare. Even though Qiao Lan's title cannot be passed down, it is Huitian Jun who was personally awarded by His Majesty, a true third-grade female queen.
He has his own official uniform and etiquette, and can receive eighty taels of silver and sixty hulum of rice every year, as well as rewards from the palace during holidays and festivals.
When meeting an official with a lower rank than her, she must bow her head to greet her, otherwise it will be a serious crime of disrespect.
If Qiao Lan made any mistake, she would not be an ordinary official who could be interrogated. Instead, she would have to go to the capital to ask the Ministry of Punishment and senior officials from the clan to review the matter together, and then hand it over to His Majesty and a group of clan members for review.
As long as Qiao Lan is willing, no one would dare to have any objection if he wants to walk sideways in Tongzhou.
This is also the reason why Duan Mingjing is puzzled. Why does he have to sell melons himself when his own mother has become a third-grade queen and his family has become prosperous? There is not a single servant!
Qiao Lan didn't care what Duan Mingjing was thinking, she only cared about the melons that could not be eaten in the fields and would be wasted.
Qiao Lan had previously inquired with Mr. Song that there were few melon sellers in Tongzhou.
Nowadays, people mainly farm to make a living, and they rarely grow cantaloupes.
Wealthy families have their own gardens. They can grow food and drink in their own gardens and buy less from outside.
Even if there are families who specialize in growing melons, they are rare and pitiful.
Although it sounds like there is no market for cantaloupes, Qiao Lan is extremely confident in the cantaloupes she grows.
Zhuangzi sent melons in an oxcart early in the morning. The white, green and yellow melons were piled high. Zhuangzi's people also tied some straw ropes outside the cart to prevent the melons from rolling down.
Qiao Lan personally urged Duan Mingjing to get up and go out. Standing at the door of his backyard, Qiao Lan said a few more words, "If there are few people buying melons in the county, if you go to the inns and restaurants to sell them, just say that our melons are particularly sweet."
, it will definitely sell.”
Duan Mingjing nodded and kept his mother's words in mind.
Duan Mingqing was reluctant to go out to sell melons. But he couldn't refute what his mother said. He opened his mouth to express his grievances, but finally choked out, "Mom, I'm not at home.
The chickens need to be fed, don’t forget.”
Qiao Lan nodded. The chicken feed at home is all prepared, so you can just pour it in and feed it as you like. "Go ahead, I'll let them feed the chickens."
"Alas!" Duan Mingjing looked back three times. With the caution of having never sold melons before, Duan Mingjing embarked on the road of selling melons.
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After walking for a while, the sun slowly climbed up.
Duan Mingjing broke out in sweat and panted slightly. He held up his sleeves and wiped the sweat directly. He lamented in his heart that there were no seats on the trolley today?
After returning home, he must have a good talk with Coach Mo and ask him to build an ox cart with seats.
When a carload of cantaloupes arrived in Lantian County, Duan Mingjing's back was already wet with sweat.
Sun Ping, who was driving along the way, was no better off than Duan Mingjing. Seeing that Duan Mingjing was very tired, and there happened to be a tea shop open at the gate of the county town, he said to Duan Mingjing: "Second Master, there is a tea shop here.
, Second Master, go have a drink of water and rest!"
Duan Mingjing shook his head, picked up the water hyacinth from the side of the car, raised his head and poured it into his mouth. After drinking most of the water from the gourd, he wiped his mouth and said, "It's too expensive, so I won't drink it."
The water at his house is tea made from herbs collected by his mother. How can it be compared to other places?
When Sun Ping saw that Duan Mingjing was frugal, he stopped mentioning this issue.
After paying the entrance fee, Sun Ping asked Duan Mingjing: "Second Master, where should we go to sell melons first?"
"Go to the restaurant first!" Duan Ming said respectfully.
Just like Qiao Lan said, the melons grown in her own land are so sweet that they don't have to worry about sales. The shopkeeper of the restaurant took a few bites, asked about the price, and directly asked for fifty kilograms. A cart of melons went.
Less than one-sixth.
A pound of melons costs two cents, which is much cheaper than eggs. It is precisely because of the low price of melons that the restaurant owner is so generous.
It's rare to have sweets these days. Half a pound of brown sugar costs one or two cents. Even if you make snacks in shops, you don't dare to add sugar. Even if you buy the sugar at home, no one will open it and eat it.
But this melon was different, it was very sweet, and I was so bold that I bought it for ten yuan at a time, which was enough to feed the whole family.
Even if you don’t eat it at home, it’s very open and bright to give it to others.
Duan Ming came out of the restaurant, stuffed the coins into his purse, and then stuffed them into his arms.
Take Sun Ping through the streets and start selling cantaloupes!
"Melons are on sale! Cantaloupes are on sale, cantaloupes as sweet as honey!" Duan Mingjing shouted.
Today is not a market day, so there are not that many people in the town. There are still people from the mountains who come with scattered goods.
When he heard Duan Mingjing selling melons, a man carrying a basket came over.
"How do you sell this melon?"
"Two cents per catty, no negotiation!" Duan Ming said respectfully.
The price was paid by his mother. If he had set the price himself, it would have been higher! Although Duan Mingjing didn't understand what his mother meant, he still did it.
The man looked at the melons of different colors on the car and was obviously a little moved, but he was too short of money to buy these melons.
"There is a pheasant in my basket. How about I trade it for you for this melon?" the man said, taking out the pheasant with bright feathers from the basket.
It is very common for ordinary people to buy and sell things. Bartering is very common. If the man exchanges other things for Duan Mingjing, he will be excited, but if he exchanges for a chicken, he will not be so excited.
Duan Mingjing shook his head, "My family is not short of chickens."
Being rejected outright by Duan Mingjing, the man's face was filled with disappointment.
Duan Mingjing reassured him: "Wait until your chickens are sold before you buy them. I won't be able to sell out all my melons in a while."
The man felt disappointed, nodded and left.
After such an experience, Duan Mingjing became more confident and continued to shout hard.
Passing by the crowded alley, a round-faced woman picked and bought a few melons, and then went back to cut the melons amidst the urging of her children at home.
Duan Mingjing shouted at the spot for a while. Seeing that the others were unmoved, he continued to drive away.
After the round-faced woman returned home, she stood directly by the well in the backyard, washed the mud off the melon, made a cut with her blunt kitchen knife, and then split it into two pieces with her hands.
The unique fragrance of melon exploded in the woman's hands.
The child who was following him couldn't wait for a long time, and he was even more greedy when he smelled the smell. "Mom, are you okay? I want to eat it!"
"Mom! I want to eat too!"
The woman was stunned, she didn't expect the melon to be so fragrant. At the child's urging, she cut the melon into several pieces and distributed them to the children at home.
As soon as the children got the melon, they gnawed it quickly and were very happy.
The woman put down her kitchen knife, picked up a piece of melon and took a bite.
The sweet juice overflows in your mouth! So sweet!