"The balloon in her hand is one she bought from me."
The old man was doing his best to sell his balloons.
No one at his original spot had been interested in buying a balloon...
The old man spotted the young man chatting with the girl who had bought a balloon from him earlier.
He didn't hesitate for long.
As soon as the girl left, he hurried over.
With the girl around, the old man worried she might talk the young man out of buying a balloon.
After all, boys generally weren't very interested in balloons.
When they did buy one, it was usually to give to a girl or a child.
Since the girl already had a balloon...
Why buy another one?
But people did say that birds of a feather flocked together...
The girl had bought a balloon.
Her friend, this young man, might very well buy one too.
The old man didn't want to give up on a potential customer who seemed so likely to buy.
He kept an eye on them now and then.
When he saw that the girl had left on her own, he was delighted and immediately went over to pitch his balloons to the young man.
"Young man."
The old man smiled broadly. "Why don't you buy one too?"
"Your friend already bought one."
"Wouldn't it be nice to have one each?"
"I'll give you a discount."
Xiao Xiao chuckled.
The old man sure knew how to do business.
"Sure."
He nodded.
It was only a balloon...
He didn't mind helping the old man out.
The old man's face lit up.
He'd been right.
Both the girl and the young man were good kids.
The old man grinned.
"Pick one yourself."
"Which one do you like?"