Xinyuan Sixth Team.
Near Kansu Gully, Gu Boyuan was inspecting the quality of a sack of fritillaria outside a family's home.
"The fritillaria is good, nice and fresh, but you could at least wash it." After examining it, Gu Boyuan said somewhat helplessly, "This is the third time I've bought fritillaria from you, isn't it? I've told you before, the cleaner and drier it is, the more it's worth.
"You can run around the mountains and dig up this much fritillaria, so why can't you think to wash it?"
"Heh, heh, heh." The owner of the fritillaria was named He Wanbing, and he merely chuckled.
His clothes had several patches, his hair had not been cut for a long time, and his face was covered in stubble. Though he was not yet forty, he looked even older than Old Gu.
The yard had no gate and not a single decent farming tool. Two children, one over four and the other over six, were playing jacks with stones in the yard.
Their clothes were just as shabby. Every so often, they glanced at the people conducting the transaction outside, their eyes full of curiosity, yet they did not dare come out to look.
There were two adobe rooms, and the faint sound of a child crying came from inside.
"All right, all right. I know your family's having a hard time, so I'll stop nagging. Come on, let's weigh it. These bulbs are a decent size. I'll give you ten yuan a kilogram."
The price of fritillaria had risen, and Gu Boyuan adjusted his prices accordingly when he bought it door to door. He had met He Wanbing on his first trip here to buy fritillaria. While making his rounds back then, he had heard there was fritillaria in Kansu Gully,