The Vegetable-Selling Grandma

Behind the shantytown, there was a street called Market Street.

To put it nicely, it was called a market, but in reality, it was just two rows of stalls and shops selling goods.

There were no big-name clothing or shoe stores here, no fancy restaurants, and no well-stocked fresh produce sections.

What it did have were the daily necessities for the surrounding residents.

When Liu Muye was a child, he lived near a similar market street—a small street that filled his entire childhood memories.

As Liu Muye walked along, taking in the sights, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Not far away, at a vegetable stall, a young girl was energetically calling out to customers.

An elderly woman with graying temples sat beside the stall, watching the girl with a warm, affectionate gaze.

Thanks to the girl’s enthusiastic sales pitch, customers soon arrived. She deftly picked out the requested vegetables, packed them into plastic bags, weighed them, calculated the price, took the money, gave change, and handed over the goods—all with a bright smile.

Her movements were smooth and efficient, without a single wasted motion. If the customer paid by scanning a code, she could skip the steps of counting and giving change altogether.

Liu Muye stood at a distance, silently watching her work.

In just a few minutes, Han Juyou had completed several transactions. She was truly impressive—no matter how many customers came at once, she handled everything methodically, without a single mistake.

Once the stall was less busy, Liu Muye finally approached.

Han Juyou was counting the money in her waist pouch when she asked without looking up, "What vegetables would you like? The carrots are fresh today, and the potatoes are on sale..."

"I’ll take everything," Liu Muye’s voice rang out.

"Huh?"

Hearing his voice, Han Juyou froze for a second before suddenly lifting her head.

"How did you find me here?"

Her face broke into an irrepressible smile.

"I heard you checked out early, so I drove over to your neighborhood to look for you," Liu Muye said, then turned to greet the elderly woman sitting nearby. "Hello, Grandma."

"Hello, hello," Grandma Wang quickly stood up and took Liu Muye’s hand. "You’re Youyou’s friend, aren’t you?"

"Ah, yes," Liu Muye nodded.

Grandma Wang patted the back of his hand and smiled approvingly. "Good, very good. Such a fine young man."

"Uh..."

Liu Muye sensed that Grandma Wang might have misunderstood something, but he didn’t bother explaining—some things only got more confusing the more you tried to clarify.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Grandma Wang, Liu Muye turned to Han Juyou and pointed at the vegetables on the stall. "How much is left? I’ll buy it all."

Han Juyou rolled her eyes at him. "Young Master Liu, I know you’re loaded, but please don’t mess around here, okay?"

"How is this messing around?" Liu Muye said, baffled. "I’m helping you. The sooner you sell out, the sooner Grandma can pack up, and the sooner you can go home. Isn’t that a win-win?"

"..."

Han Juyou shot him another glare. "You can only help Grandma Wang this once. You think you can buy out her stall every single day?"

"Come on," Liu Muye grinned confidently. "I can have our family’s housekeeper come here daily to stock up on vegetables from Grandma."

Han Juyou waved him off impatiently. "Go away, go away. Don’t get in my way."

Though Grandma Wang didn’t fully grasp Liu Muye’s meaning, she still smiled kindly. "Young man, there’s no need to trouble yourself. If you want to buy in bulk, you’d be better off going straight to the wholesale market. You’ll get a better deal there."

Liu Muye immediately realized his mistake.

Grandma Wang wasn’t a farmer—she was just a vendor who bought vegetables wholesale from the market and resold them for a slim profit. His offer to buy from her directly didn’t make much sense.

No wonder Han Juyou had rolled her eyes at him.

Quickly stepping behind the stall, Liu Muye said to Grandma Wang, "Grandma, let me and Youyou help you sell the rest."

Grandma Wang stood up in protest. "Oh no, that’s too much. You’re here for the first time—I can’t have you working for me. Just relax."

"It’s fine, Grandma. Let him help. You should sit and rest," Han Juyou said with a smile before turning to glare at Liu Muye. "And who said you could call me Youyou?"

"What’s wrong with that?" Liu Muye teased, deliberately provoking her. "I’ll say it as much as I want—Youyou, Youyou, Han Youyou, Han Youyou!"

"You—!" Han Juyou clenched her fist, ready to hit him, but a customer arrived just in time. She settled for shooting him a fierce glare before instantly switching to a gentle demeanor to assist the customer.

This girl could change expressions faster than an actor—what a waste of talent not being in showbiz.

As Liu Muye mused to himself, Han Juyou snapped at him, "Hurry up and grab a plastic bag! Where’s your common sense?"

"Oh, right..."

Liu Muye hastily pulled a bag from under the stall and handed it to her.

By evening, the crowd had thinned. After 6:30 PM, the fresh produce stalls on Market Street began packing up.

Grandma Wang’s stall was nearly sold out. The fresher vegetables were stored in the fridge for the next day, while the less presentable ones were kept for her own meals.

While the two were busy, Grandma Wang slipped over to the nearby convenience store and returned with drinks, grilled sausages, and instant noodles for them.

"Young man, thank you for helping Youyou sell vegetables today. Here, have something to eat and drink. Take a break."

"Thank you, Grandma."

Liu Muye accepted the drink with a smile. He didn’t recognize the brand, and the first sip tasted like artificially flavored sugar water.

For a moment, it transported him back to his childhood.

Back then, drinks like this cost only fifty cents. Every day after school, he’d buy an ice-cold bottle from the old man at the newsstand and sip it while reading comics and novels. When he had no money, the old man would sometimes treat him.

The instant noodles, too, were a comfort—whenever he was upset or his parents were fighting again, the old man would share a pack with him.

Staring at the familiar, cheaply packaged noodles, a sudden pang of nostalgia tightened Liu Muye’s chest.

Han Juyou, munching on her sausage, noticed him holding the noodles without opening them and assumed the rich young master was too good for such lowly food.

"If you’re not hungry, give them to me!" she said, reaching to snatch the pack from him.

Liu Muye swiftly hid it behind his back. "Grandma gave these to me. Hands off."

"Fine, keep them. Hmph!"

Han Juyou turned away with a scoff.

Grandma Wang pulled out a plastic bag and began packing fresh vegetables. "Youyou, why don’t you take your friend to my place for dinner tonight?"

Han Juyou quickly waved her hands. "No, no, don’t trouble yourself. I’ll take him home to eat."

"Alright then." Grandma Wang handed Han Juyou a bag of freshly packed vegetables and said, "Take some of these home with you."

Han Juyou quickly waved her hands in refusal. "Oh no, Grandma, you should keep these to sell tomorrow. I’ll just take those wilted ones over there."

"Sell what? They’ll go bad by tomorrow. Take them while they’re fresh—go on, take them."

Grandma Wang shoved the bag firmly into Han Juyou’s hands, then pulled out some loose change from the waist pouch Han Juyou had taken off and counted out a hundred yuan for her.

"You helped me sell so much today—take this money."

"Grandma, I didn’t even pay you for the vegetables I bought yesterday. I really can’t accept this—keep it for yourself."

"Take it. You’ve helped me all day…"

As the two of them went back and forth, Liu Muye quietly slipped a few red bills from his wallet and tucked them under the waist pouch.

Once he’d done that, Liu Muye stepped forward, took the loose change from Grandma Wang’s hand, and pressed it into Han Juyou’s palm. "Come on, stop refusing. If Grandma’s giving it to you, just take it."

"See, Juyou? Your friend here has better manners than you." Grandma Wang beamed at Liu Muye.

"What are you doing?" Han Juyou glared at Liu Muye and whispered, "Grandma only makes a tiny bit selling vegetables all day."

Liu Muye leaned in and murmured, "Don’t worry, I slipped a few hundred under her waist pouch."

"…"

Hearing this, Han Juyou reluctantly nodded and finally accepted the hundred yuan.

"Young man, hold on a moment—I’d like a word with you."

Just as they were about to leave, Grandma Wang suddenly called Liu Muye aside.

…