The men laughed. 'Don't be afraid, my friend, it will be a very good thing for everybody, especially for you, as you will be near the station. And first of all you will sell us your produce and drive us. Let us begin at once, what do you want for your fowls?'
'I leave it to you, sir.'
'Twenty-five kopeks, then.'
Slimakowa looked at her husband. This was double the amount they had usually taken. 'You can have them, sir,' she cried.
'That scoundrel of a Jew charged us fifty,' murmured the younger man.
They agreed to buy butter, cheese, crayfish, cucumber, and bread; the younger man expressing surprise at the cheapness of everything, and the elder boasting that he always knew how to drive a good bargain. When they left, they paid Slimakowa sixteen paper roubles and half a silver rouble, asking her if she was sure that she was not cheating herself.
'God forbid,' she replied. 'I wish I could sell every day at that price.'
'You will, when we have built the railway.'
'May God bless you!' She made the sign of the cross over them, the farm labourer knelt down, and Slimak took off his cap. They all accompanied their guests as far as the ravines.
When they returned, Slimak set everyone to work in feverish haste.