At that moment, Essie took it upon herself to bargain with the venders by the roadside.
"Sir, it's already noon and look at you vegetables. The leaves are turning yellow and the stems are
withering. If you don't sell it at 1.5 per kilogram, no one would buy it. Besides, the governor has already
sent his men to patrol around the streets," she urged with her arms crossed. Back then, Essie was
used to bargaining for her ingredients in the wet market, so this came naturally for her. Hearing her
latter words, the street vendor sighed. "Fine. Deal."
Essie grinned, displaying two dimples on the sides of her cheeks. Zac resisted the urge to snort. He
didn't expect her to be so stingy that she actually put some effort in convincing the man to cut the price
in half, but he liked a woman who valued her money. As long as she was willing to cooperate with him,
he would definitely give her a considerable compensation for her time with him.
Essie picked up three kilograms and gave the seller twenty dollars. The seller handed her 18.5 dollars,
three dollars more than what she should've gotten. She handed him the extra. "You gave me an extra
three dollars, sir," she explained kindly.
The man smiled. "There's not a lot of people who are as honest as you, you know."
"Honest money attracts honest customers," she stated.
Zac's lips twitched, satisfied with her doing.
They finally walked past the wet market. Even if it was already the afternoon, the place was packed
with different people. Zac didn't step forward. Seeing this, she had to go in and buy it herself. Essie
later walked out with bags of meat, bamboo shoots, and clam. She was even carrying a tray of eggs.
Zac thought that she couldn't cook to save her life, given that he had only seen her eat noodles and
buns at home every day. He decided to get back at her for insulting his abilities.
However, the events right after they got home turned out far different from what he imagined.
There wasn't any screaming, flying pans, or panicked running. In fact, Essie was very methodical when
it came to her cooking.
Although he was a tiny bit disappointed, he couldn't help but admire the serious look on her face as she
was panfrying her food. He knew that once she put her mind into it, she would do her absolute best. It
was a trait that attracted him the most.
Soon enough, two plates of dishes and one bowl of soup were placed neatly on the table.
When Zac tasted them, his eyes widened momentarily. They were very delectable. In fact, it even
suited his very picky taste buds.
Essie smiled. "Do you like it?"
"How do you know my taste?" he asked.
"I don't, but I'm talented enough to make a guess." She winked.
"About what?" Since they knew each other, they only had dinner together once or twice. He was
curious as to how she was able to guess what he liked.
Taking a sip of her soup, Essie cleared her throat. "The first time we had noodles in a restaurant, you
ordered the waiter to prepare bland noodles with mushrooms and cabbage. In fact, you even asked
him not to put too much of the soy sauce. That means you're not a man who likes too much flavoring.
When we were at the wedding banquet, you specifically chose fresh dishes. That's why I prepared
bamboo shoots and clams to align with your taste."
Zac's eyes twinkled in surprise. He was impressed.
Essie may look like a fool, but she was actually very observant. He liked her.
"Turns out marrying you wasn't so bad after all." He finally smiled. There was something about his
smile that erupted a fire inside her heart. Her lips twitched in response.
She lowered her gaze. "Well, you're a bad husband."
"Why?" He smirked.
"I, not only have to clean your room and wash your clothes, but I also have to cook for you. I've
suffered a lot."
"Actually, you can just do one thing." He flashed a playful smile.
"And what is that?" She turned towards him.
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