Chapter 173 Please Eat Sweet Potatoes

Zhang Xingwang looked at the steaming sweet potatoes in front of him. They all looked malnourished, as thin and slender as cucumbers. They were far worse than the ones provided by Brother Tong. He estimated that they would taste ordinary. However, he remembered the old saying: since he was here, he would not eat them anyway.

Turning to the unhappy Bai Xiaoya, he said:

"Hey... Sister Bai, it's my treat. You can eat as many sweet potatoes as you want."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaoya rolled her eyes at him unhappily, then lowered her head and began to pick sweet potatoes. In fact, there were only four roasted ones, so there was nothing to choose from.

At this time, the little girl next to her, who was full of expectation, pointed at a bigger one and said to Bai Xiaoya:

"Sister, buy this. It must be delicious."

After listening to this, Bai Xiaoya nodded without comment, indicating that this was what she wanted. After hearing this, the old lady quickly wrapped it in a piece of yellow paper and prepared to weigh it.

At this time, Zhang Xingwang found the little girl quite interesting. He wondered if she was pointing at an older girl on purpose. It seemed that she was also an old hand at selling sweet potatoes.

However, after looking at the little girl carefully, he felt a little bit reluctant. Seeing that the little girl's eyes were fixed on the remaining three roasted sweet potatoes, he swallowed his saliva inadvertently.

When she noticed that Zhang Xingwang was looking at her, she lowered her head a little shyly and rubbed her fingers a little nervously.

Only then did Zhang Xingwang realize that the little girl was only about eleven or twelve years old. The clothes she was wearing were obviously "lengthened". Her two little hands were red from the cold and her palms were black, but she was still fair, tender and cute. Just like the roasted sweet potatoes, she looked malnourished.

Looking at the little girl's appearance, Zhang Xingwang suddenly remembered the first time he met his fourth and youngest sisters. At that time, the two younger sisters looked similar to this little girl. Then his mind suddenly jumped, and he smiled and said to the little girl:

"Little girl, call me brother and I'll treat you to sweet potatoes, okay?"

The little girl looked at Zhang Xingwang with a hint of stubbornness in her eyes. She turned her head and said nothing for a long time, which made Zhang Xingwang quite embarrassed. Bai Xiaoya, who was standing by, glared at Zhang Xingwang fiercely, then handed the sweet potato she had just bought to the little girl and said generously:

"Sister will treat you to a meal. Don't call him brother. He is not a good person."

Zhang Xingwang felt that he was also a bad talker, but he was just coaxing the little girl to call him brother, and it was not a big deal, so how could he become a bad guy?

Suddenly, his temper flared up. What's the harm in being a bad guy? He continued to say to the little girl:

"If you call me brother, I'll buy you a few more, okay?"

The little girl was obviously moved after hearing this. She looked at Zhang Xingwang for a long time without saying anything. At this time, the old aunt beside her interrupted and said:

"Don't mind it, little brother. This girl is stubborn and a little stubborn...

Before the old lady finished speaking, the little girl seemed to muster up her courage and whispered "Brother" to Zhang Xingwang. Not to mention that her soft voice was much more pleasant than Bai Xiaoya's heroic voice.

Zhang Xingwang looked at the stubborn little girl and felt that he had gone too far in joking. But what the old lady said was a bit biased. Appearance is justice. She is so cute, how can she be called stubborn? She has personality.

He asked about the price, paid for four sweet potatoes and the food coupons, and then walked away dejectedly amid Bai Xiaoya's sarcasm.

The little girl who looked at him stubbornly and the old lady who was smiling happily were left behind. After they were far away, the old lady smiled and said to the little girl:

"Don't look at it. Your brother is a good man. You don't have to drool over sweet potatoes today. Thanks to you, we can go home now."

The little girl listened to the old aunt's words and nodded unconsciously, then felt embarrassed.

Under the guidance of Bai Xiaoya, Zhang Xingwang walked for more than ten minutes and finally arrived at the market.

The market is quite remote and looks like a narrow alley with a high wall on one side and a fairly dense forest at the back. It is a good place to steal things, but I don't know what the people who chose this place were thinking.

I thought Bai Xiaoya was relatively reliable, but when we were almost at the door, she said solemnly:

"The roasted sweet potatoes just now don't count. The benefits I received must be redeemed separately tomorrow."

"Why doesn't it count? I already paid for it."

"The little girl calls you brother, and what does it have to do with me if you treat her to a meal?"

"I gave three away. Yours was given to others by yourself."

"I do not care!"

"You can't afford to play..."

Just as he was about to go in, a cool breeze blew in from the woods nearby, bringing with it a bone-chilling chill. Zhang Xingwang shivered and immediately decided to just take a look and then go back quickly.

After all, it is not easy to go out in such a cold weather. Just find a place. Today is not the time for shopping anyway, and it is not convenient for Bai Xiaoya to be here.

Then the two of them entered the market. This market was much more professional than Sanye’s. They didn’t even charge an entrance fee. However, it seemed that they had arrived a little early, and there were only a few people in the market.

There was nothing on the stalls. After walking around for a while, they saw only a few old men selling dried mushrooms and pine nuts at the edge of the woods, calling them to come over and have a look. The wind was getting stronger and stronger, and Zhang Xingwang could hardly bear it.

After spending two cents to buy some pine nuts for Bai Xiaoya, Zhang Xingwang suggested going home, planning to buy some warm clothes tomorrow.

They urged Bai Xiaoya, who didn't want to go back yet, and escorted her all the way back. On the way back, they didn't see the old lady selling sweet potatoes and the little girl. They probably had finished selling the sweet potatoes and went home.

The next morning, when Zhang Xingwang was about to go out for a walk, he saw Bai Xiaoya waiting at the door.

The person who called herself "Sister Bai" told him that she was waiting for him to redeem her benefits, and she even took half a day off for this purpose. If he didn't come down, this "Sister Bai" was going to break down the door.

The main reason is that Zhang Xinwang mentioned last night that we should buy some warm coats and hats. The coat from Yanjing is indeed not suitable for the local climate here. I shiver when the breeze blows.

There was no need to buy cotton-padded clothes and trousers. Since his second sister knew that he was going to Northeast China, she took apart a quilt overnight and took two days off to sew them for him.

He was also given a pair of very thick long cotton boots. The soles were made of old cowhide bought from the manager of the pigeon market. It was said that they were the manager's most precious treasures and they were bought with two bottles of medicine.

As a result, when Bai Xiaoya heard that he wanted to buy a hat, she immediately asked him tentatively if she could exchange the benefit for a hat. Looking at the half-new hat on her head, Zhang Xingwang agreed casually. He didn't expect that he would keep it in mind.