Chapter 720 — The Joy of Haggling

Those girls clearly had no idea how the market worked; they started picking out goods without even asking the price, and thought they had stumbled onto a fat sheep — but the one who would actually pay was standing behind them!

"One-fifty won't do. One-eighty... one seventy!" The boss was about to say one-eighty, but then thought better of it — lest people hear it as one hundred and he end up losing money for nothing — so he hurriedly corrected himself to one seventy.

Actually, he could sell at one seventy; he would just make a little less. It was only that he had expected to rake in a big profit, and now he would earn even less than usual — the gap was too great, and he could hardly bring himself to accept it. As for one fifty, that was close to his cost, and selling at that price was hardly worth the trouble.

"One fifty, and no more. I used to sell this stuff myself," Wei Zhao said, then pointed at a nearby stall that also sold clothes. "See that brother over there? He and I used to set up our stalls together south of the bridge!"

As Wei Zhao spoke, the stallholder happened to look up, saw Wei Zhao, paused a moment, and then recognized him. "Brother, you're back again? Has your wife had the baby yet?"

"Not yet. I just came out to wander around a bit!" Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"Then go on about your business — I've got customers here, so I won't chat with you!" The stallholder nodded to Wei Zhao and went back to tending his own stall.

Those few words between Wei Zhao and the other stallholder left this boss somewhat dumbfounded. He had not expected Wei Zhao really had done this trade before, and he felt rather helpless. "All right, since we're in the same line, you must know the wholesale price too. What you're offering, one fifty, is the wholesale price — I'd barely make anything. How about you add ten? One sixty?"

"Fine." Wei Zhao nodded and took out his wallet to pay.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu suddenly discovered that haggling was tremendous fun. In the shopping malls before, apart from getting a discount with a VIP card, they had never enjoyed this kind of pleasure in bargaining.

Watching Wei Zhao bargain, the two of them imitated him, and at the next few stalls they began cutting a swath on all sides. Not everything could be bargained down to the floor price, but what astonished Wei Zhao was that, with Shen Yushu there playing along, many things were bargained down even lower than he had expected!

Still, what they mostly enjoyed was the fun of haggling — and they bought a pile of useless things. Hair clips alone, they bought more than ten, and since they could never use them all, they gave several to Tang Zhi.

Tang Zhi hadn't wanted them at first, but Wei Zhao nodded to signal that she could accept, so she took them. Still, she felt a little awkward, as though she owed them a favor.

"Sister Yaoyao, what's that over there? It looks like fun?" Shen Yushu asked, pointing at a spot not far away.

Gu Mengyao looked up and saw a crowd gathered there, throwing sandbags at something. "It looks like a game — you throw sandbags at things, and whatever you hit, you get."

Games like this were often seen in movies; usually the good prizes were placed farther back, not easily hit.

"Let's go take a look too?" Shen Yushu was intrigued.

"Don't bother. It's all a con. The things in the back are rigged. My mom and I have been running a stall on the night market street for over a year now, and I've never seen anyone win the big prizes in the back. Only the little things in front can be hit, and they're worth next to nothing."

"No way? Maybe it's just that they're not good at it?" Shen Yushu saw that many people were playing, and it did not look rigged.

"That's just my guess — maybe they're simply unlucky," Tang Zhi said, seeing that Shen Yushu wouldn't listen, and there was nothing she could do.

"My luck is superb. I'm going to take a look." Shen Yushu grabbed Gu Mengyao and ran toward the stall.

"The two of them don't come to places like this often, do they?" Tang Zhi shook her head helplessly.

"Probably never been before." Wei Zhao sighed. "Actually, the young lady is rather pitiful. Apart from Xiaoshu, she has almost no friends, and the two of them live very fixed lives and go to very fixed places. They rarely try anything new."

"You know her quite well, don't you?" Hearing Wei Zhao talk about Gu Mengyao, Tang Zhi felt a faint discomfort.

"Heh..." Wei Zhao shrugged. "The young lady probably doesn't have that kind of feeling for me. The reason she gets in a huff with you is just her little pride."

"Oh?" Tang Zhi was taken aback for a moment — this was the first time Wei Zhao had addressed this matter head-on.

"Once you've spent enough time around them, you'll figure it out," Wei Zhao said. "The eldest lady is actually a very lonely person. She doesn't let anyone in easily, but once she does, she doesn't want to lose them lightly. I suppose I count as her friend now? Either way, she thinks slightly more of me than she does of most people."

Tang Zhi nodded. Everyone had their own burdens to bear. If Wei Zhao was telling the truth, then Gu Mengyao, though seemingly born into wealth, actually had no real pleasures to speak of — the fact that haggling at a night market could become entertainment spoke volumes about how monotonous their lives were. "She wouldn't be like the rich kids online — street racing, flaunting wealth, or chasing thrills?"

"You'd know just by looking, wouldn't you?" Wei Zhao shrugged. "They don't even like driving their own cars — they always have someone chauffeur them. Why would they enjoy street racing? And as for showing off money, do you think they're any different from you?"

Tang Zhi shook her head. It did indeed seem to be the case. Unbeknownst to her, her impression of Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had improved considerably.

"Enough of that — let's go catch up with them." Wei Zhao pointed toward Shen Yushu, who had already begun playing the sandbag toss, and said.

"She did go play after all — that ten yuan is down the drain." Although Tang Zhi's family had undergone a sea change thanks to Wei Zhao's intervention and was no longer as destitute as before, Tang Zhi had never developed lavish habits. She still spent every cent with care, never wasting a single penny on anything unnecessary.

Ten yuan bought ten sandbags, and Shen Yushu tossed them all away in no time, yet her haul was meager — apart from a pencil holder, she won nothing at all.

Wei Zhao glanced at the pencil holder. It wouldn't sell for more than three yuan at a wholesale market, which meant Shen Yushu had lost seven yuan in just a few moments. Of course, that was nothing to her.

Gu Mengyao tossed more slowly. She had only thrown three sandbags, but she had already won a phone charm.

"Sister Yao Yao, let me throw for you!" With her own sandbags spent, Shen Yushu set her sights on Gu Mengyao's supply.

Gu Mengyao naturally wouldn't fuss over such trifles. She nodded, signaling that Shen Yushu was free to throw as she pleased. RO