Connie's house was already small, and with the new furniture gifted by Ira, it felt even more cramped.
So, she planned to take advantage of the weekend to sell off the clutter at her doorstep that she no longer needed.
This way, she could free up space in her home and earn some extra money, killing two birds with one stone.
Mike woke up early and, before heading to the technology lecture, helped move the large, unused furniture to the doorstep.
Similarly, Georgie and Missy, who had nothing to do on Saturday, were also called over to help.
Soon, with the efforts of the four, the old furniture and various items that were no longer needed were all moved to the doorstep, forming a temporary small flea market.
"Come, have some juice and rest for a bit." After all the old items were set up, Connie brought drinks for the three of them.
...
"Next, let's discuss something serious." Once they had rested sufficiently, Connie called Georgie and Missy over and said, "Mike is going to a lecture soon, so I hope you two can stay and help..."
Although the flea market at the doorstep was small, it had many items like golf clubs, pipes, and various small souvenirs. It would be impossible for one person to manage the sales alone.
Clearly, Connie intended to recruit Missy and Georgie as temporary sales assistants.
Seeing that the two children remained silent, which she took as their tacit agreement, Connie asked, "Do you know how to sell things and bargain?"
Missy and Georgie, who had never worked before, shook their heads simultaneously.
"Alright." Seeing this, Connie said, "Let me impart some experience to you..."
So, Connie began to teach them bargaining techniques: for instance, when someone wants to buy an item, you should first quote a high price, and after they make a counter-offer, negotiate a middle price.
This up-and-down negotiation would result in a price that both parties would find relatively satisfactory.
"How about it, did you understand?" Connie asked after imparting her sales experience.
However, Missy and Georgie, who were experiencing their first 'job,' were clearly going to disappoint her.
After listening to Connie's explanation, both of them still looked bewildered.
"Alright," Connie shook her head and said, "It's okay if you didn't understand. I'll be watching you during the actual operation. For now, you can go familiarize yourselves with the merchandise."
Just as the two children were about to 'work,' Georgie suddenly realized something was amiss. He stopped and shrewdly said, "Wait, you haven't told us what our pay will be."
Clearly, Georgie wasn't completely clueless; at least he knew that work should come with corresponding compensation.
And after Georgie's reminder, Missy also reacted. She cleverly said, "We want five dollars..."
"Yes, five dollars each," Georgie echoed.
"One dollar," Connie smiled and countered.
"That's too low," Georgie complained.
"This is the bargaining I told you about," Connie said with a hint of pride.
At this, Georgie seemed to understand Connie's intention. A light bulb went off in his head, and he said, "Four dollars!"
"Two dollars, no more," Connie said with a pained expression, as if she was losing a lot.
"How about three dollars? That's a middle price we can both accept." Georgie learned quickly, as if he had already grasped the essence of bargaining.
"Alright, I'm convinced, three dollars it is." Connie looked heartbroken. Then, she asked, "So, will you two be eating lunch here with me?"
"Of course," Georgie said casually, "I want beef pizza."
"Alright then, let me calculate..." Connie said, picking up a pen and paper nearby. After some writing and calculating, she continued, "Beef pizza is ten dollars. After deducting your wages, you each still owe me two dollars."
At this, Georgie and Missy, who weren't very sensitive to numbers, were both stunned.
"How can this be?" Georgie exclaimed in surprise.
"That's just how it is. If you don't believe me, see for yourself." Connie handed the calculation sheet to Georgie, and at the same time, she added, "I haven't even charged you for that bottle of drink yet."
Then, Georgie and Missy carefully looked at the paper in their hands and found that according to Connie's calculations, they indeed owed her two dollars.
Watching the two children's expressions of disbelief, Connie chuckled to herself, then pretended to be generous and said, "How about this, if you two are willing to help me for free, I won't ask you for money, how does that sound?"
"Quickly agree to her!" Missy, who was terrible at math, hearing that she wouldn't owe money, quickly urged Georgie, who was negotiating on their behalf.
"Alright, we agree," Georgie, not very smart, agreed to Connie's proposal.
In fact, he had been completely confused by her and didn't realize there was any problem with working for her and still owing her money.
Beside them, Mike, who had watched the entire show, finally couldn't hold back his laughter.
Truly, Connie's method of exploitation would make even capitalists shed tears.
Yet, the exploited party looked as if they had gotten a good deal.
This situation was indeed hard to bear.
And Mike's laughter finally made Missy and Georgie realize something was amiss again.
Just as Missy and Georgie were about to seek help from Mike, the smart one, Connie, feeling guilty, spoke to them first: "This is our 'battleground'; no outside help allowed."
At the same time, Georgie's father, driving his car, arrived with Sheldon in front of Mike.
"Mike, we should go now—" Sheldon rolled down the car window and called out.
It was clear that he took today's technology lecture very seriously; his appearance and clothes were meticulously prepared.
"Yes, Mike, hurry up. Don't be late for the lecture." As Connie spoke, she kept winking at Mike.
Mike, of course, had no interest in exposing Connie's scheme. He glanced at Missy and Georgie again, then, suppressing his laughter, got into the car.
After Mike drove away, Connie looked at Georgie and Missy and again pretended to be serious, saying, "Either help me for free, or you two each owe me two dollars. Choose now—"
Although Mike's subtle reminder made Georgie and Missy realize that something was wrong, they couldn't figure out exactly what it was.
So, after exchanging glances, Georgie still said, "We choose to work for free."
"Very good, then get to work," Connie clapped her hands, urging them.
By now, it was fully light, and many pedestrians on the street were attracted by the flea market at Connie's doorstep.
Meanwhile, in the car heading to the Texas Natural History Museum, Sheldon handed Mike a thin magazine and said, "This is the brochure for this lecture. It contains a lot of knowledge about carbon dating."
The lecture at the Texas Natural History Museum primarily focused on explaining how to use carbon elements to determine the age of an object.
Mike took the brochure, nodded, and began to read it carefully.
For such specialized lectures, people who attend usually do some homework beforehand. This is considered the most basic respect for the speaker.