The man cupped his hands, his smile deferential. "We're hunters from the nearby Magpie Mountain Forest Farm. We grew these trees ourselves, originally for winter firewood."
"But as you must know, Miss, the drought these past few years was so severe that bodies littered the ground. So, we all discussed it and decided to sell the forest farm we had leased."
"We're going to dig some pits on the farm to store water. Normally, this wood would sell for ten taels of silver a pound. But, well, it rained unexpectedly a few days ago and soaked all our wood."
"Wet wood is useless for burning, so we thought we'd try our luck and see if anyone wanted to buy it for wood carving. Are you interested, Miss?"
A few onlookers had gathered to watch the spectacle. After listening, they burst out laughing.
"You're not being very honest, are you? This wood is soaked. How can you still try to trick someone into buying it?"
