CHAPTER 475: CHAPTER 24: THE CONSEQUENCES OF OFFENDING A WOMAN (PART 2)

The customer who got duped without knowing it seemed easy to fool. As soon as he heard there were high-quality truffles available, he hurriedly asked the boss to bring them out.

The boss looked around deliberately, ensuring no one else was nearby before covering his mouth with his hand and whispering, "I’m only selling these to you. You know, in the past, these were delicacies only the Emperor himself could enjoy."

After saying that, he brought out a tightly sealed small bag from the store and fumbled out a few bundles of mushrooms.

"Are these the truffles? They look different from the ones I had in Hong Kong last time," the wealthy customer scrutinized the bundles tied casually with straw, his certainty waning.

"Hey, of course they’re different. The ones you ate were cultivated; mine here are hand-picked from the mountain villa, not like the ones outside that get prettied up in nice packaging and then sold for an outrageous price. I’m an honest man, so I sell these truffles at a fair price of one thousand yuan per pound," the boss and the tricycle driver started their persuasive spiel.

"That’s really fair. Mushrooms selling for one thousand a pound, and they’re fresh too." Zhang Yiyi wasn’t familiar with what truffles were; in her mind, mushrooms were synonymous with shiitake mushrooms. Although dried mushrooms and the rare fresh mushrooms in the cafeteria weren’t cheap, they certainly didn’t cost one thousand per pound.

The two, learning from their previous experiences with confrontations, didn’t go directly to pick a fight. Xiao Xian, with the tricycle driver behind her back, stood in front of a row of roasted goods and asked, "Boss, do you have any hazelnuts for sale?"

The boss selling local delicacies glanced at the customers’ expressions and still hesitated. He had just made a small profit of over two thousand from the sale of local delicacies. A thousand-yuan-per-pound "truffle" might make the customers hesitate. He shot a knowing look at the tricycle driver before approaching Xiao Xian and her friend.

The local speciality shop was filled with various kinds of fungi and also plenty of nuts like almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts. With the living standards of Chinese people improving in recent years, there’s been increased focus on dietary health, especially concerning nutritious foods like nuts, which are rich in protein and trace elements; the sales have been getting better and better.

In this local specialty store, the best-selling item was the locally produced Chengde hazelnuts, which counted as one of the rarer products with less water content, identified only by discerning buyers.

"Coming right up, buying hazelnuts, are you? Yes, we have them, just a moment," the boss, seeing two female customers, dropped his guard and went to serve them.

"Boss, we bought some tasty open hazelnuts in the supermarket yesterday. We heard you sell them here and decided to come take a look," Xiao Xian said while picking up a bag of hazelnuts. The hazelnuts in this "fraudulent" store were all pre-packaged in bags, each containing about half a pound. The nuts were of a moderate size, and their shiny, oily surfaces made them look decent.

When Xiao Xian and Xuerou went camping on the mountain, they had bought several bags of local hazelnuts. The local hazelnuts were indeed a local specialty. The nuts were cone-shaped with a reddish-brown hue, crispy to bite into, and before the trip, Xuerou even instructed Xiao Xian to buy a few bags if they came across some with good quality.

"Yes, we have the best quality hazelnuts in our store. You’ll definitely come back for more after eating these," the boss showcased several bags of roasted hazelnuts.

"These are Chinese Hazels, right?" The boss was taken aback by Xiao Xian’s question. He had been selling hazelnuts for years and only knew that someone would pick, roast, and bring them to him; he had no idea what Chinese Hazels were.

"Yes, they’re Chinese Hazels," the boss bluffed, not knowing exactly what they were. As long as he could make money, any hazelnut was a good hazelnut to him.

"Let me see. No, that’s not right, Chinese Hazels are oval-shaped. And their surfaces are quite smooth. This hazelnut you’ve got here has fuzzy skin, and it’s cone-shaped. This looks more like a Rongbao Hazelnut to me," Xiao Xian deliberately weighed a pack of hazelnuts in her hand.

The boss inwardly cursed his luck, meeting a customer who knew her hazelnuts. Quickly admitting his mistake, he said, "My bad, my bad, I got so busy I mixed up the types. This here is a Rongbao Hazelnut, a speciality straight from the mountain villa. Emperor Kangxi was able to reign for sixty years just because he ate these nuts."

"That’s great, Rongbao Hazelnuts are affordable, only about thirty yuan a pound outside. Chinese Hazels are different, those trees are nearly extinct now. Let’s go by the price of Rongbao Hazelnuts, and give me five bags," Xiao Xian eagerly grabbed several packs, passing them to the boss as if she had found a bargain.

The boss of the specialty store twitched at the corner of his mouth. He truly wanted to smack himself in the face. His usual selling price was fifty per bag, but encountering an expert in hazelnuts, he had no choice but to take the hit – he still made a profit though, since he only paid eighteen yuan per pound from the supplier.

Meanwhile, the customer considering buying truffles listened to the bustling chatter from the women behind him. Seeing that they seemed knowledgeable about prices, he decided not to rush his purchase and started looking on from a distance.

"Hey, wait, boss, let’s try some first. You know, these roasted goods have to be fresh, otherwise they’re not tasty. This street looks so quiet, I’m not sure if your hazelnuts are the same as the ones from the supermarket," Xiao Xian said as she casually picked a few hazelnuts from a row and handed two or three to Zhang Yiyi.

Zhang Yiyi was taken aback; weren’t they here to expose a scam? Xiao Xian seemed to be caring about someone else’s business now.

Seeing Xiao Xian wink at her, Zhang Yiyi kept quiet.

She cracked open a hazelnut, revealing the kernel, and popped it into her mouth. With a crunch, she bit down. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)