Chief, don't hit me in the face

Chapter 10: Sweets Are a Woman’s Natural Lover!

“How can I tell without tasting it?” The grocery store owner was quite shrewd. Combined with Xia Ye’s earlier mutter, he figured the kid was refusing to let him taste it because he was afraid the owner would guess the answer correctly and claim the thousand gold. “The Great Prophet has considered this very issue, so if you want to taste it, you’ll have to pay one knife coin!” Xia Ye explained. “What?” The crowd jumped to their feet. “A whole Dao coin just to taste a mouthful of your blackish red sand? Why don’t you just go rob someone?” Xia Ye completely ignored the insults and accusations. “I’ll try it!” The owner hesitated for a moment, but eventually pulled out a knife coin. “Are you sure?” Xia Ye looked at the coin with a face full of disgust, but inside he was overjoyed—his first earnings were in hand. To be honest, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t a little stingy, but Xia Ye’s expression was so over-the-top that it made the owner feel even more confident in his chances of winning. “I’ll try it!” The owner roared and was about to strike. “Wait!” Xia Ye stopped him, then pulled a small stone spoon from his pocket and scooped out a pinch of brown sugar about the size of a peanut. The grocery store owner wanted to curse. “One Dao coin buys ten jin of grain, and now you’re giving me a single grain of rat droppings? No, it might even be smaller than that!” “You don’t have to taste it!” Xia Ye was about to casually pour the brown sugar back into the container. “Wait, I’ll taste it!” The owner gritted his teeth and snatched the stone spoon away: “I’ll just see what’s so special about this strange thing you bought with one Dao Coin.” The brown sugar melted on his tongue. The shopkeeper, whose face had been contorted with fury, suddenly froze as if turned to stone, then an involuntary smile spread across his face. Sugar triggers a sense of pleasure in the brain! “Holy crap, no way!” “Is it really that amazing?” “What the hell?” A crowd was staring at the grocery store owner, thinking that given how furious he’d been, he’d at least have to break this kid’s leg. But who would’ve guessed that the moment that strange substance touched his tongue, he’d start laughing. This scene left many people so stunned their jaws nearly hit the floor. “Is it sweet?” Xia Ye chuckled softly. “Mmm!” The shop owner nodded. “Does it smell good?” No one can resist the aroma of sugar. “Mm!” The shop owner nodded again. “Does it make you feel happy?” Xia Ye knew she’d succeeded. “Mm-hmm!” The owner was practically groveling. “Congratulations! You’re the third person in the world to have tasted this rare delicacy!” Xia Ye dropped another bombshell, adding weight to the deal and making the boss feel like he’d gotten a great bargain. Wow! The crowd erupted in gasps of amazement. “Really?” The shop owner licked his lips, savoring the taste, a hint of pride spreading across his face. “I’m the owner of the Chun Sun Grocery Store—the goods are genuine, and I never cheat my customers!” You have to admit, this guy has a real knack for business—he even knew how to seize the moment to boost his reputation. It’s just a shame that everyone was only interested in the strange object. “What does it taste like? Sweet?” “Haven’t you ever had it before?” “Is it honey?” A crowd jostled and scrambled to surround the owner, asking questions. “It’s way better than honey. It has a slightly gritty texture at first, but then it becomes smooth—like lying on a soft, smooth sandy beach—and then comes the sweetness, as if your whole body were immersed in golden honey!” The shop owner closed his eyes, speaking as he savored the memory; his rapt expression prompted a chorus of people around him to swallow audibly. Gulp! Some people couldn’t help but reach up to wipe their mouths. Xia Ye was speechless. He really wanted to ask, “Were you a foodie before? Did you only become a grocery store owner after getting an arrow in the knee?” “I want to try some!” “Give me a spoonful!” “Give me some first!” Among them were business owners, tribal heroes, and noble onlookers—one Knife Coin was no big deal to them! “Are you trying to scam us?” It’s that girl with the nightingale-like voice again! “Let me make this clear: the reason the Great Prophet charges a fee is to weed out those who are just trying their luck. If you’re not confident, don’t even try!” Xia Ye explained. “Cut the crap. Hurry up and give this young master a taste!” Rich kids like this are a constant in every era. He tossed a handful of knife coins onto the table. The silk-clad teenager snatched the spoon, wiped it a few times on his clothes, scooped up a spoonful, shoved it into his mouth, and then held his breath for what seemed like an eternity. Just as everyone was worrying whether the kid might suffocate, he finally exhaled a long breath. Phew! “Delicious!” A huge smile spread across his face. Savoring the taste, the rich kid reached out for another spoonful! Xia Ye quickly stopped him. “What? Worried I won’t pay?” The silk-clad youth raised an eyebrow. “I have every confidence in Young Master Xia Zhitang’s character!” Xia Ye paid him a compliment, deliberately pronouncing the name loudly to capitalize on his celebrity status. After all, the son of the Xia Clan’s Grand Shaman was only unknown to outsiders. “Hmph!” Xia Zhitang snorted smugly, “Then why are you stopping me?” “The Great Prophet displayed this rare item so the young lady could identify it. You’ve already eaten it all—what am I supposed to do now?” Xia Ye gave a wry smile. “You’re right!” Xia Zhitang smacked his lips. “Then I’ll have one more bite!” In the end, Xia Zhitang took a full five bites before stopping—not because he didn’t want any more, but because it was so sweet it was cloying. With this celebrity effect, people began crowding forward—especially the women, who went absolutely wild. “Don’t push! Give me a bite first!” The owner of the Chun Sun Grocery Store—who had been complaining just moments ago that he was getting the short end of the stick—spread his arms wide, firmly staking out his spot like a dog guarding its food. “Don’t push—line up and come one at a time to taste it!” It took Xia Ye quite a while to get everyone to line up, pay, and then be fed a spoonful with a stone spoon—it felt a bit like he was a zookeeper. No one left; those who’d already tasted it were discussing it, and those who hadn’t were asking questions. But not a single person felt they’d gotten the short end of the stick—after all, no one had ever tasted anything this sweet before, except for honey! “If I were to make chocolate, wouldn’t you all go crazy?” Xia Ye looked at the sack full of knife coins with a satisfied smile—this was the power of ingenuity! Among the crowd, quite a few women were even secretly lining up for a third time—after all, sweets were their natural lovers! “My daughter has never tasted anything this sweet before. I’d like her to try some too.” It was the owner of the Spring Bamboo Grocery Store again, putting on a look of deep paternal love as he held out a handful of knife coins toward Xia Ye. Some quick-witted people’s eyes lit up, and they immediately pushed their way forward. “You want to buy this to have someone identify it, right?” Xia Ye asked skeptically. “No! Absolutely not!” The owner hurried to defend himself, his face full of righteous indignation—he was practically about to swear on his ancestors’ names—but inside, he seethed with indignation. “If my wife dared to spend even one Dao coin to buy red sand for our daughter? I’d smash her head in! We’re not that extravagant!” The shopkeeper must have forgotten how wildly he’d been waving his knife coins just moments ago to snatch up a mouthful of red sand. “I wanted to refuse, but the Great Prophet had already anticipated this situation. He said that no matter how it’s done, as long as you identify the wondrous object, you’ll be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces!” Xia Ye curled his lip. With their ulterior motives so easily exposed, everyone blushed a little, but upon hearing the rest of his words, they grew excited again. “He really is the Great Prophet—his foresight is uncanny!” The crowd was deeply moved, their hearts filled with even greater awe and admiration for the Great Prophet. “Look, his true colors are showing, aren’t they?” It was the girl with the oriole’s voice who saw right through the heart of the matter—in the end, weren’t they just trying to sell some rare item? Too bad no one heard what she said. No one believed that a poor kid from the slums could see through their little tricks—it must have been the Great Prophet’s wisdom. Xia Ye’s youthful, fifteen-year-old face, combined with his unabashed display of emotions, was highly deceptive; by all accounts, he appeared to be an innocent, naive teenager with little experience of the world. “We’re running low on these rare items, so you’ll have to line up to buy them—first come, first served!” With just those words from Xia Ye, the crowd began jostling and shoving again, scrambling for a good spot near the front. Clink! Bronze knife coins were tossed into the burlap sack like a stream, clinking out a crisp sound—truly melodious, as if the coins were singing! “Fifteen days from now, right here, I’ll be waiting for your answer on behalf of the Great Prophet.” Xia Ye emphasized the word “I” to assert his presence, just in case anyone tried to cause trouble. “All right, I’m off to buy what the Great Prophet asked for!” Having received the answer they wanted, the onlookers gradually dispersed, each still wearing an expression of lingering curiosity—they’d certainly witnessed quite a spectacle today. “Huh, that kid’s really got a sharp mind!” The girl with the nightingale-like voice watched Xia Ye’s retreating figure and curled the corner of her mouth: “These Blade Coins technically belong to the Great Prophet. Without that excuse, people would have been suspicious if he’d gone shopping.” “What a perceptive observation, young lady!” The elderly servant behind her praised her. He had long since noticed several greedy glances from the crowd fixed on Xia Ye—after all, with such a large sum of money in hand, he was bound to attract covetous eyes. If it weren’t for the fear of that “Great Prophet,” Xia Ye would surely have been robbed. Therefore, spending the money immediately and exchanging it for items that were useless to bandits or impossible for them to carry away easily was the wisest course of action. “This is a Ruler’s Core that a hero brought back from an ancient ruin—a hundred knife coins is already a bargain!” Before Xia Ye had even walked twenty meters, a hoarse voice bellowed out, loud enough to be heard half a block away. Xia Ye turned his head and saw a gaunt old man setting up a stall by the side of the street. “Just look at these patterns—the luck contained within them is sure to give rise to a magnificent Ruler’s Tower!” As the old man spoke, he kept stealing sidelong glances at Xia Ye. Xia Ye deliberately took a few steps forward, and the old man’s voice grew even more urgent, afraid of letting a big catch slip away. “Hehe!” Xia Ye chuckled softly. This old man was clearly eyeing his pile of Blade Coins, hoping to make a killing off him, while the poor boy was still trying his best to haggle. “Young man, I can see you have a unique bone structure—you’re bound to achieve great things in the future. I have a Dominator Core here that would be very helpful to you!” The old man clearly wasn’t skilled at reading the room; seeing that Xia Ye wasn’t making a move, he had no choice but to take the initiative. “Judging by your age, you’re probably going to take part in the Blood Survival Trial, right? You’ll need to prepare cores for all four of the major foundational structures besides the Ancestral Altar—and I’ve got plenty of good stuff here!” The old man grinned broadly, looking just like a goldfish vendor trying to swindle a young boy. Nine times out of ten, vendors like this were con artists, peddling random junk dug up from ancient ruins to fool young people. Xia Ye didn’t want to waste his time, but just as his gaze casually swept over the stall, his left eyelid suddenly twitched slightly.