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Chapter 163: Chapter 164 Shy Young Man_1
"Is anyone home?" A fair-skinned young man knocked on the door.
Qiao Duo’er nodded, "Who are you looking for?"
"I... I’m looking for Qiao Duo’er." The young man’s face turned red quietly.
For some reason, his heartbeat suddenly quickened, as if... it was because of the woman in front of him.
Her face was clearly mottled like quail eggs, and her skin was rather dark, but he could not take his eyes off her. Could it be because of her clear, sparkling eyes?
They seemed to draw people in...
Qiao Duo’er responded, "I am Qiao Duo’er. Do you need something?"
"I... I’m from Tofu Zhang Family. My name is Zhang Ziwen, my father asked me to bring you something new to try."
The young man handed the basket he was carrying to Qiao Duo’er, and as she reached out to take it, his hands began to tremble.
Not right... The Master said, ’Do not look at anything that is against propriety.’
How could he look at a lady’s arms?
Zhang Ziwen hurriedly looked away, but his eyes, uncontrollable, kept returning. What a dilemma!
Qiao Duo lifted the cloth and saw that it was filled with dried bean curd sticks.
Perhaps due to the underdeveloped colorants in ancient times, the sticks were slightly yellowish, lacking the deep color of later times.
This was indeed a good item!
Cold mixed, stir-fried, stewed, or used in soup, it was all delicious, especially since it was a purely green food product, the taste was definitely even better.
"Thank you. Does your family also sell this?"
Zhang Ziwen nodded, "Yes... we have it. My father’s intention was to ask if you would like some."
As a scholar, he felt it wasn’t quite right to market goods this way, but then again... they needed to earn money, otherwise his tuition fees would be unaccounted for.
"Of course, I want some. Have your father bring ten pounds over tomorrow," said Qiao Duo’er briskly.
Zhang Ziwen’s face turned red again, "It seems we don’t have that much. My father has only just learned to make it from someone else, afraid that no one would want it, so he didn’t dare make too much."
"Then bring whatever you have, and by the way, how much does this cost?"
Qiao Duo felt a bit helpless. Had the boy become so naive from studying? That he could blush just from talking to a girl? Sigh, can he even take a wife?
Zhang Ziwen awkwardly said, "My father didn’t tell me, but our stuff isn’t expensive, you can be assured."
Qiao Duo had been getting tofu from Zhang Family for a few days now. They were honest traders, so she didn’t inquire further. She just worried this young man’s head would droop to the ground.
"Then have your father bring the tofu tomorrow and bring this along as well."
Zhang Ziwen hastily agreed and ran off as if a ghost were chasing him.
Qiao Duo couldn’t help but say, "That child is really funny, he even forgot his basket."
"This Zi Wen is quite capable. He became a Scholar at just fifteen."
Hu’s Clan remarked. Who wouldn’t want such an excellent son?
Regrettably, she couldn’t have one.
If she had a son, perhaps she wouldn’t have ended up in this position, but as Qiao Duo said, dignity is earned by oneself.
And there were far more ways to vie for dignity than just having a son.
Qiao Duo nodded, oblivious to the unusual emotions of Hu’s Clan.
This Zhang Zi Wen could be considered a top scholar of Big Willow Village, so she forgave his tendency to blush when speaking to a girl.
The basket contained about two or three pounds of dried bean curd sticks. Qiao Duo thought it over and decided to soak most of it in water, saving the remainder to stir-fry for tomorrow’s lunch.
Stir-fried bean curd sticks with green peppers and a little meat sounded so appetizing that her mouth watered.
And with this ingredient, her business was sure to improve.
