The one asking them was an auntie who sometimes bought one cup from their stall. She also had a stall set up in this village market, but the location was a distance away from the Xiao family’s stall.

Zhou Anran and Xiao Yuyan smiled kindly at the woman. They knew that she was merely asking out of concern.

The moment the auntie finished her question, Shun Zi also looked over, seemingly waiting for their answer.

He also had been wondering about it, but his attention was completely taken away by the sight of the Xiao’s family’s decent harvest. Unlike other farmers, the paddy rice actually seemed more plump and most grains heads were full.

"Hello, Auntie," Xiao Yuyan greeted the auntie back.

Zhou Anran also greeted her kindly before she explained. "We have been quite busy with harvesting our paddy rice."

The auntie had a look of understanding, and her face turned into an expression of resignation. "Sister Zhou, how’s your harvest result? How many jin in total? In our fields, the harvest is less compared to the previous batch."

Zhou Anran smiled, knowing she shouldn’t speak so much. She let out a sigh, and replied gently. "It’s still a decent harvest. Our family can still have something to eat with it."

Upon hearing the last sentence, the auntie threw a look of pity to Zhou Anran. She was aware of her condition—raising five kids by herself.

She also thought that Zhou Anran’s family harvest was also similar to other farmers. That was until her eyes landed on the stalk of paddy rice in Shun Zi’s hand.

With hesitation, she asked, "Is this your harvest, Sister Zhou?"

Shun Zi subconsciously stepped back a little upon sensing the intense gaze of the woman. He had been waiting for these two to finish their conversation.

The quality of the grain made him pretty satisfied, and he was ready to make an offer to Zhou Anran.

"How come your grain heads are still so full? Just this one stalk also has more grain heads..." The auntie muttered in slight amazement. She grabbed the stalk from Shun Zi and began to inspect it.

Shun Zi’s eyes twitched when he saw this. He reached out to grab the stalk of paddy rice from the auntie, but the latter moved quicker, deftly dodging him.

"Look at these grains, so plump and golden!" The auntie exclaimed as her hand traced the grain’s outer shells.

She picked one and pinched it, revealing the sight of rice inside. Her head snapped to Zhou Anran. "Sister Zhou, your grain actually has such high quality, so full and big."

A few people who were stationed to look out for decent harvests immediately looked over upon hearing the auntie’s enthusiastic exclamations. Their curious gazes immediately gave Shun Zi a sense of crisis.

Before he knew it, the auntie’s hand had grasped Zhou Anran’s wrist, and she pointed at a thin middle-aged man not far from them. "You should sell your grain to him, Sister Zhou. He offers a high price. I sold mine to him too. After I asked around, he offered the highest price."

Shun Zi’s temples throbbed again at the blatant poaching in front of him. Does this woman remember that he still exists?!

"Wait, how can you do it like this? I am already talking to Mrs. Zhou, you know?!" Shun Zi’s chest heaved up and down slightly. Yet, during his anger, he still remembered that Zhou Anran had told him to call her Zhou instead of Xiao.

Merchant Yang’s people had made an assumption on a way of addressing based on the twins’ surname, not knowing that her husband was no longer in the picture.

The auntie gave Shun Zi a sidelong glance. "What price can you offer? Are you going to cheat Sister Zhou? We know you market scouts are unscrupulous people, hmmph!"

"She hasn’t even started to check the prices offered by other market scouts, yet you are so confident she will agree to your price!" The auntie continued to scold Shun Zi.

Shun Zi snorted, and he retorted, "How about you? Aren’t you the same? You directly lead Mrs. Zhou to another market scout without letting her find out the price from other market scouts first."

With hands on his hips, Shun Zi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Don’t tell me are you colluding with that market scout? Do you get a commission from him if he purchases goods at a lower price?"

The auntie widened her eyes at the treacherous accusation. Her hands flailed around as she faced Zhou Anran, shaking her head fiercely. "Sister Zhou, don’t listen to him. He is slandering me! I am not such a person!"

Seeing that the auntie and Shun Zi were about to come to blows again in a verbal fight, Zhou Anran immediately stepped in to intervene.

"Sister, it’s alright. Since we have come to Old Shun, we will negotiate the price with him first." Zhou Anran told them.

The auntie sighed, and she glared at Shun Zi’s triumphant face.

She rubbed her temples and patted Zhou Anran’s wrist. "Fine, fine, I won’t argue with him any longer. Just make sure to watch out carefully, Sister Zhou. These market scouts aren’t good people at all!"

After that, the auntie left.

Shun Zi took a deep breath. He had managed to snatch the stalk of paddy rice back from the auntie. Otherwise, that woman might have brought that thing with her!

He immediately put on a smiling expression when he turned to face Zhou Anran again. He was well aware that some market scouts were eyeing her grain!

"Mrs. Zhou, let’s discuss the price. I offer you ten copper coins per jin, how about it?" Shun Zi examined Zhou Anran’s expression closely.

"Shun Zi, isn’t the price too low? Mrs. Zhou, we can offer you eleven copper coins per jin!" The other market scouts saw an opportunity and suddenly butted in the conversation. "We can add more bonus if you sell us in high quantity!"

The few other market scouts swarmed around, each offering their prices.