Reborn as the Villain's Wife, I Shine in 80s
Chapter 39 - 038 Blossom of the Heart

Chapter 39: 038 Blossom of the Heart

What a beautiful voice, clear and captivating...

"Sir, would you like to try one first, to see if it suits your taste?" Tian Sangsang enthusiastically offered him a piece of mung bean cake.

He hesitated but took it, pinching off a small piece with his fingers and savoring it carefully.

Even his fingers are so attractive, with distinct knuckles—slender and pale.

And the way he eats, so elegant.

Then, under the sunlight, his dark eyes glimmered faintly as he smiled slightly and said, "It’s delicious."

Sangsang felt a spark of joy in her heart and attentively wrapped up the items for him. She considered taking out the caramel cake to offer as well, but one look at this man told her he was a true connoisseur, so she decided against it.

He carried the package and was about to leave.

"Sir." Holding the cash in her hand, Sangsang glanced around and whispered hopefully, "Can I exchange for some fabric tickets with you? I, I..."

He didn’t say a word, silently taking out two fabric tickets from his wallet and handing them to her. Sangsang returned the cash to him as well.

His wallet was stuffed full, and Sangsang couldn’t help but glance enviously. This man was definitely not ordinary.

A dreamboat of the 1980s—so handsome, it was almost overwhelming!

Sangsang pressed her dry lips together tightly, clutching the fabric of her clothes as she mustered her courage: "By the way, sir, what’s your name? You’re my first customer today..."

He cast her a light glance, and it nearly made her knees give way.

"Sir, don’t misunderstand, I just... um... sorry for intruding on your right to privacy with your name."

In a daze, she thought she heard him chuckle softly: "Xu Yiyuan."

Xu Yiyuan.

"Xu Yiyuan..." She unconsciously murmured his name aloud.

The man, who had already turned around, glanced back at her with mild surprise. "Is there anything else?"

"Ah!" Sangsang stared at him blankly, her face burning hot. "No, nothing. Have a safe trip."

It wasn’t until the man disappeared into the distance that Sangsang slowly regained her composure.

"Ah, I’m doomed. It’s like the soul trapped within my thick, dark shell is about to break out."

She extended her salty "pig hand" and gave herself a hard slap. "Tian Sangsang, you pig! What’s wrong with you? Haven’t you seen enough dreamboats in modern times? Why is your heart racing for a native dreamboat from the 1980s? Ever since you started working, you’ve been playing along and putting on a front. How many years has it been since you felt something like this? Calm down—you always scorn girls who fall head over heels for someone. Can a face put food on the table? Obviously, the answer is yes!"

Meanwhile, murmurs of conversation rose again around her.

"Mr. Xu actually bought her stuff!"

"If Mr. Xu bought it, it must be good."

"What’s she selling? I’m going to take a look."

"I’ll go with you."

"..."

A few middle-aged women, dressed slightly better, stood in front of Tian Sangsang’s stall.

"Young lady, what are you selling here? Oh, are these pastries? They look so pretty," one woman said.

"I shaped these myself, into little animals—they do look nice, don’t they?" Sangsang replied sweetly.

"How much are they?"

"Sweet potato steamed cakes and crab-filled soup dumplings are five cents each, mung bean cake is one yuan and twenty cents per catty."

"What’s a sweet potato steamed cake? And why does it say crab-filled before the soup dumplings? These mung bean cakes are so beautifully shaped, all little animals..."

Then, everyone started chiming in, asking questions one after another. Sangsang could only explain to them patiently—there was no choice, after all, customers were like gods.

The earlier woman nodded. "I see now. But I’m not sure if they taste good. If I buy them and the kids don’t like them, it’ll be such a waste."

"That gentleman earlier only tried a small bite. Here, you can sample the mung bean cake for free. Try a piece, ma’am." Strictly speaking, Sangsang should’ve called her "Aunt," but she deliberately called her "Ma’am" with a cheerful smile.

"Look at your sweet mouth. I’m already so old," the woman said happily, tasting the mung bean cake, which was delicately fragrant and sweet. "Alright, I’ll take a catty of these mung bean cakes. A yuan and twenty cents is a bit steep—young lady, can’t you give me a little discount if I buy more?"

"Ma’am, I run an honest business. You know, the pastries at the supply and marketing co-op cost one yuan and fifty cents per catty. Mine are just one yuan and twenty—really not expensive, and no room for price cuts. Besides, the co-op’s pastries aren’t nearly as refined as mine, right?" Truthfully, she was already taking a slight loss selling the mung bean cakes at this price.

The woman had indeed bought small pastries from the co-op before, such as sugar cakes, which cost one yuan and fifty cents per catty but weren’t as tasty. So, she stopped bargaining and made the purchase.

Sangsang wasn’t lacking anything—except fabric. In her hidden stash, she had only found clothes so far, with no fabric bolts because she hadn’t searched thoroughly. Plus, most of the clothes in her stash were high-end brand names, costing hundreds or even thousands apiece, which quickly used up her ration currency if she tried trading them.

But now, buying fabric required fabric tickets. By contrast, people in the county and town had lots of tickets. Sangsang noticed the woman didn’t seem surprised when she mentioned exchanging for fabric tickets and casually handed them over. Apparently, exchanging grain tickets at the market had already become an unwritten rule.

While they made the exchange, Sangsang seized the chance to ask, "Ma’am, who’s this Mr. Xu you were all talking about? Why does everyone..."

The woman immediately said, "Young lady, you must be from the countryside, right?"

Oh come on, she really was from the countryside—this woman’s observation skills were sharp.

"Mr. Xu’s family is one of the most prominent in our town. There are too many people here now, but their house is on South Third Road—a neat little home surrounded by flowers and grass. It’s quite impressive. You’ll see it when you pass by on your way home."

Sangsang let out an "Oh," pretending to understand. "So he’s a teacher in our town—no wonder you all call him Mr. Xu."

"He’s not a town teacher," the woman corrected. "Mr. Xu teaches high school in the county. He comes back during holidays to visit his daughter, Qianqian."

Daughter? Such a young man already had a daughter! Sangsang couldn’t hide her astonishment, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.

Hearing her gasp, the woman shook her head. "Young lady, you seem to know nothing about this. Everyone in our town knows this. Let me tell you—"

Leaning closer conspiratorially, the woman continued, "Mr. Xu’s wife passed away during childbirth. He’s a man with a lot of heart—handsome and kind. Many women in town dream of marrying him and becoming Qianqian’s stepmother, but he hasn’t been willing to remarry."

Sangsang let out another "Oh." She thought to herself, for someone so good-looking, kind, warm like sunlight, wealthy, educated, and with such charm, it wasn’t surprising that women wanted to marry him.

Thanks to Xu Yiyuan’s indirect help, her goods sold quickly. The departing woman even stuffed a crab-filled soup dumpling into her mouth, exclaiming, "Young lady, how did you make these buns? They’re so flavorful, like eating a meat bun while sipping crab broth—absolutely delicious!"

Hearing that, people around her hurried over to ask for prices. Sangsang let them sample the mung bean cakes, and everyone who tasted them agreed they were excellent. By the time Aunt Zhong returned with a bundle of odds and ends, only two sweet potato steamed cakes were left at Sangsang’s stall.

"Wow!" Aunt Zhong was startled. "Sangsang, where’s all your stuff? Sold out?"

"Yes, Aunt," Sangsang said with a beaming smile. "You were right. I met a distinguished customer who bought more than half, and the rest just sold on their own."

"That’s great!" Aunt Zhong said. "I told you, your cooking is so good, there’s no doubt people would want to buy it."

Sangsang glanced at the fabric tickets in her hand. Earlier, that man had given her one ticket for five units and another for three, while the woman had given her one for five units. The rest of the transactions had been in cash, amounting to three yuan and twenty cents, which was quite decent.