Chapter 18 Arriving at Jing City_1
In the back yard of Xiangmanlou, Manager Wang watched as his workers hauled in baskets of large radishes with great pleasure. He immediately had a chef cut open a radish the size of a mixing bowl, and with a crisp sound, the radish was easily split in half. Transparent juice slid down the knife edge, and a faint sweet aroma wafted out.
Manager Wang couldn’t help but take a bite of the radish. It was crisp and sweet, surprisingly more delicious than those that had endured frost and snow in winter. After a few more bites, he looked meaningfully at Mo Yan and said,
"I thought that radishes this time of year, even if they could grow so big, would not taste good. I didn’t expect that the young lady’s home could grow such delicious radishes during this season,"
Confronted with the implication of his words, Mo Yan pretended to be oblivious and played dumb, "It’s just my family’s luck! We’ve tried in previous years, but no matter how carefully we tended to them, they wouldn’t grow. This year, we barely took care of them, yet we ended up with all these. It’s strange to me too!"
Manager Wang had intended to probe whether she had a secret technique; if possible, he was willing to pay a large sum to acquire it, so his own people could grow radishes, and in summer, he could offer his guests radishes, a unique treat in Longshi Town.
Seeing that he wanted to ask more, Mo Yan put on a hopeful expression and said, "How about I write down the process of growing these radishes? If Manager Wang wants it, I’ll sell it to you for fifty taels of silver."
Manager Wang choked at her words, looking speechless at her greedy little appearance, and immediately lost all such thoughts.
Mo Yan bowed her head, laughing like a sly fox.