"Just watch, what's there to be afraid of?"

"Tsk!"

She shot him a glare, but instead of going left, she turned right, with the boy trotting after her. The two of them came to the stall, glanced over the pitiful goods, and said with a hint of disdain, "Two bottles of water, and one more corn."

"Corn is five yuan for two, you..."

"No need, just one."

"That'll be eight yuan in total."

The boy didn't have any small change, so he pulled out a hundred-yuan bill.

William Grant grimaced—he hated these big bills the most. He immediately opened his small waist pouch and started searching for fives and tens. He usually didn't carry much cash, and after rummaging around, he was still two yuan short. Embarrassed, he said, "Uh, I really don't have any change left. How about you buy something else?"

"Forget it, forget it, what else is there to buy here!"

The boy took the ninety yuan in change, stuffed it into his pocket a bit impatiently. The stall owner wasn't about to take a loss, so he grabbed a bag of pickled vegetables and picked up a tea egg, saying, "That's exactly two yuan, here you go."

"I already said I don't want it, you..."

"Ah!!!"

He was in the middle of speaking when suddenly his girlfriend let out a sharp scream. He quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Such a cute little squirrel!"

The girl pointed at a gray-furred squirrel in the tree, her eyes practically sparkling. The boy was exasperated and said, "Come on, is this your first time seeing a squirrel?"

"It's not the same, look how pretty this one is! Oh, I want to feed it... Right, boss, do you have any peanuts?"

"Uh..."

William Grant was really conflicted. He looked down at the pot of peanuts and said, "I do, but..."

"Alright, hurry up and give me some, I'll pay you!"

The boy doted on his girlfriend, but wasn't very friendly to others. He slapped down a twenty-yuan bill.

Seeing this, the stall owner had no choice but to scoop up a big handful of peanuts. The girl was super excited, grabbed a few, and ran under the tree, holding them up, "Little squirrel, here are some peanuts for you."

"......"

Fatty Brother tilted his head, also looking conflicted. He snuck a glance at the stall owner, and when he saw a slight nod, he scurried down the tree.

He still had some dignity, pretending to be a shy squirrel who didn't want to interact with humans, found the peanuts enticing but was too scared to eat them. He twisted and turned, refusing to eat.

In the girl's eyes, this was pure cuteness overload. She laughed, "Haha, don't be scared, these aren't poisonous."

"Come on, come on, these are for you!"

After being tempted for a while, Fatty Brother finally shuffled forward, carefully picked up a peanut, and started cracking it open with practiced skill.

"Xiaofei, come here, look, it's eating! It's so cute, I really want to catch one and take it home."

"......"

William Grant saw how excited she was, and three black lines appeared on his forehead: Impressive, my squirrel, does this count as a honey trap?

He silently complained, while the boy was even more speechless. He couldn't imagine himself, a grown man, squatting on the ground with his girlfriend, calling out and playing with a squirrel, so he pretended to enjoy the scenery, acting like he couldn't hear anything.

But as he looked around, his gaze landed back on that shabby stall: cheap bottled water, shiny red tea eggs, corn cobs old enough to lose their teeth, and some pitiful-looking sachets... Hm?

This scene was just too weird!

The boy was stunned. Looking closer, he saw that there were indeed three sachets placed in a box, each covered with a transparent lid.

"Boss, what are these?"

"These are Qingrui sachets. You can carry them with you or put them by your bedside. Want to take a look?"

"Oh, sure."

With that, William Grant grabbed a towel, carefully wiped his hands, then removed a transparent lid and picked up a sachet.

The boy took it with both hands, first giving it a small sniff, and his expression immediately changed. He switched to holding the tied end with his right hand, supporting the bottom with his left, as if cradling a treasure. His attitude was no longer casual, but very solemn.

Then, he lowered his head and took a deep sniff again, feeling a cool, refreshing scent slip into his nose and slowly spread through his mind.

Sweet, but not cloying; light, but not bland. Like a wildflower blooming on a cliff, unknown to anyone, swaying gracefully in the wind and rain.

"......"

William Grant stared at him without blinking, feeling a bit nervous.

Making incense was exhausting, and he usually only made it for himself or when he got an order. This was the first time he'd brought it up the mountain. Yesterday, he set up shop all day and no one was interested. But today, things were looking up.

After a moment, the boy looked up, feeling a natural, comfortable, and very pleasant sensation. His eyes sparkled, even brighter than when his girlfriend saw the squirrel. He asked, "How much is this?"

"Sixty," William Grant quoted, naming a price that reflected his hard work.

"Great, I'll take them all!"

Chapter 8 The Carter Family

Hm?

William Grant was taken aback, his eyes drifting from top to bottom, sizing the other person up.

About the same age as himself, fair-skinned, with sharp features, dressed in a light gray sporty casual outfit, jacket open, and wearing a pair of camel-colored hiking boots.

One look at those shoes—yep, the latest Wolf Claw model, at least five thousand yuan.