Salted Fish and Chicken

Chapter Forty-Four

Things were lively on Su Mingwei's side, but even livelier on Tang Jingran's.

Xiao Yi was an aging, washed-up pop king who had put on a little weight over the years. He was busy as a hired hand, especially among a group of aunties, and few people spared this busy middle-aged man a second glance.

The aunties did not pay much attention to current dramas either, and their memories were a little fuzzy. They could not recall the name of such a pretty young girl for the moment.

So the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious. I paid, you worked; I made requests, I paid extra. When I got bored, I turned around and bought a belt while I was at it.

Tang Jingran's side was different. He and Zhao Shiyao rented a speaker—mainly because they could not afford to buy one.

At first, Zhao Shiyao thought her charm was irresistible. She gathered her courage and sang a song, comforting herself that it was just a commercial performance. She had experienced this kind of life back when she was not famous.

Unfortunately, she had not been unknown for long, became famous too early, and had been out of touch with ordinary people's tastes for too long. People glanced at her, but few paid her any attention.

The girl was pretty, but the aunties had no time to look at her. The uncles were either busy stocking goods or selling them and counting money, wondering what to eat for lunch. They treated her singing as background relaxation and could not be bothered to look over.

Zhao Shiyao watched as a middle-aged man came over to buy vegetables. He asked how much the bamboo shoots in an auntie's bucket cost, and after she quoted a price, he cried that they were cheap.

He immediately grabbed a bag and poured the bamboo shoots in, water and all, then handed it to the auntie to weigh.

The auntie was overjoyed. Zhao Shiyao stared in disbelief. No matter how out of touch she was with ordinary people's lives, she knew the water in the bucket should not be priced together with the bamboo shoots.

She was so shocked that she even sang off-key.

The middle-aged man finally raised his noble head and glanced at Zhao Shiyao, looking somewhat disdainful. "If you can't sing, why are you setting up a stall? These days, just anyone can come out and make money." Then he paid and left.

Zhao Shiyao was left dumbfounded. She even forgot to snap back at him.

It was simply absurd.

The auntie beside her counted the money, carefully tucked it into her pocket, and sighed with a smile. "Men these days, coming out to buy vegetables, are just so easy." Every one of them was so innocent. They did not haggle, and they spoke so nicely. The aunties simply loved them.

"Can you even do this?" Tang Jingran squatted nearby, pulling his baseball cap lower.

Not a single person had come over yet. Zhao Shiyao had been completely useless.

Without all the added glow of fame, Zhao Shiyao was merely a beautiful woman who stood out in a crowd and caught the eye. Most people who saw a beauty simply thought, She's really pretty, then turned around and went back to whatever they had to do.

"You think you can do better? If you can, then get up there!" Zhao Shiyao, who had become famous young and turned into an online troll in middle age.

"I'll do it, then." When it came to singing, Tang Jingran was a professional.

He stood before the microphone, picked up the guitar, and had barely begun when several young girls gathered around, whispering to one another. "This guy... doesn't he look like someone?"

"He looks like my idol."

"I think so too."

Finally, one bold girl approached him and greeted him with a smile. "Handsome, can we take a picture with you?"

Tang Jingran looked up and smiled back. "Of course."

"..."

She said nothing.

Tang Jingran said, "Hm?"

"..."

She still said nothing.

Tang Jingran waved a hand in front of her face. "What's wrong?"

"Ah—" The girl let out a brief shriek. People nearby looked over, and she immediately covered her mouth and apologized. "Sorry, sorry." She was simply too excited.

She had thought she had merely run into someone who looked a lot like her idol and wanted to take a picture for her social feed. But now she had encountered the real idol! The real idol!

Even her voice trembled. "Ranran... is that you?"

Ranran was what Tang Jingran's fans affectionately called him. Tang Jingran had not expected to meet fans here either, and he froze for a moment. He placed an index finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

The girl immediately covered her mouth more tightly, widened her eyes, and nodded obediently.

Unfortunately, more and more people noticed them.

"That looks like Tang Jingran."

"No way, didn't he go film a show?"

"Maybe it's right here in Shangyang Village."

Tang Jingran was quickly surrounded. Zhao Shiyao stepped forward in time and explained that they were filming a show, and that their purpose today was to make money. Anyone who wanted a photo with Tang Jingran could get one for ten yuan.

The fans' eyes lit up. Only ten yuan!

Normally, even getting an idol's autograph through scalpers cost more than ten times that much. This was practically bargain-bin pricing! End-of-day wilted-cabbage pricing at the market!

"I want one!"

"Me too!"

"Don't push. Line up and keep some order." Zhao Shiyao directed the crowd while pulling out her payment QR code to collect money.

Then she became depressed. Why had no one asked about taking a photo with her?

Zhao Shiyao cleared her throat. "Ahem, you can take photos with me too. They're discounted, only ten yuan." She thought she was worth twenty yuan. This was a massive discount already!

Yet no one paid her any attention. They all crowded around Tang Jingran without sparing her even a glance.

Fortunately, the fans were still polite. Seeing that this auntie collecting payments, they politely called her sister and said, "Sister, your phone screen is off. Could you turn it on? I need to scan the code."

Zhao Shiyao: "..." Aaaah, she was furious. This show was going to give her crow's feet.

But her body honestly turned on her phone anyway and let them scan the code.

After lingering in the open space for a long time, Jiang Hansheng and Li Wenchuan watched others go from dejected to rich, standing beside an electric pole without saying a word.

They truly had no idea what they were supposed to do. After thinking for ages, they were left speechless.

Li Wenchuan went over the skills he possessed. He could ride horses and shoot arrows, and he was somewhat proficient in music. But there were no conditions for the former, and no instruments for the latter, so those were out.

Jiang Hansheng could hardly debate a whole crowd of scholars at a market... He might as well learn to perform crosstalk on the spot. He could sing a little, but that was no longer original.

As people in the entertainment industry, copying someone else's gimmick was absolutely unacceptable, especially on the same show.

Li Wenchuan hugged his chicken and simply squatted down. He sighed. "Your dad might not be able to afford to raise you..."

"..." Jiang Hansheng's mouth twitched. "When did it become your child?"

Li Wenchuan looked up at him, opened his mouth slightly, then lowered his head without speaking.

Wasn't it because this old man had brainwashed him yesterday? He had accidentally misspoken just now.

Before Jiang Hansheng exposed himself, Li Wenchuan was determined to give this man the cold shoulder. After so many years of friendship, what exactly was he thinking? The more Li Wenchuan thought about it, the angrier he became. His hand petting Coo Coo grew heavier, making Coo Coo raise its head and cluck in protest.

"Young man, that hen of yours looks nice. How much are you selling her for?" An auntie stopped, her eyes sizing up Coo Coo.

In her eyes, one could practically see recipes that might leave Coo Coo in pieces: mushroom chicken soup, stir-fried diced chicken, spicy chicken wings, pickled-pepper chicken feet, and more.

"Cluck cluck cluck!" Coo Coo was terrified.

The auntie was delighted. "This hen's got spirit. It runs around in the mountains, doesn't it? The meat must be delicious." Chickens that ran around in the mountains had the firmest meat, much better than those fed on feed.

"No, it doesn't..." Li Wenchuan tried to explain.

"I can see you've raised it well. Name a price. If it's reasonable, I'll buy it," the auntie said generously.

"This is my pet." / "This is his child."

Li Wenchuan and Jiang Hansheng looked at each other. Then they changed their words in unison. "This isn't my child." / "This is just his pet."

"..."

Auntie: "..."

"Forget it. If you're not selling it, then you're not selling it." Why did young people these days refuse to do business even when it came to them? What a pity for that hen.

Before the auntie had even left, someone else arrived in front of them.

"Move aside, move aside! If you're not setting up a stall, don't take up space!"