When Ge Erlin arrived at the main courtyard and was shouted at by Ge Erping who rushed out of the kitchen, he didn't get angry at all.

The Ge family attached great importance to the in-laws' meeting and prepared eight dishes well in advance. The eldest sister-in-law, Li, had prepared them early on. Except for the braised pork knuckle, which was bought ready-made, the fish had been stewed for a long time, the chicken stew with mushrooms was also ready and served, and a cold dish had also been cut up. There were also four hot dishes that were about to be stir-fried.

After leaving, the sister-in-law no longer needed to prepare food for the guests, so she took off her apron and went home.

Ge Erlin was in pain and hungry when he entered the hospital, so he grabbed his pants and went straight to the kitchen.

The fish was on a plate, the chicken was in a bowl, and the braised pork knuckle was also heated up. Ge Erlin then proceeded to show off.

Seeing his wife leave, Ge Dalin followed her back. Ge Erping, holding a broom, angrily went into the kitchen and started hitting Ge Erlin.

Ge Erlin was only interested in eating and didn't care at all about Ge Erping's anger.

Inside the main room, Old Man Ge only asked Old Lady Ge to prepare thirty taels of silver before sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) without saying a word, smoking a pipe.

"Where did we get thirty taels of silver? After scraping together the money, we only have eighteen taels."

"If not, let the second son spend a few years in jail."

In a short time, Old Man Ge looked at least ten years older.

...

Xiaoyue listened to the gossip along the way and felt that the time on the road passed very quickly. When they arrived at the edge of Hejia Town, there were many oxcarts parked on the road. Uncle Liang found a safe place to park.

Xiaoyue carried the basket filled with elm mushrooms on her back, and Liang Qi also carried the large basket. Xiaoyue originally wanted to carry the large basket herself, but then Liang Qi reached out his hand, and Xiaoyue smiled.

The two men carried the large basket on either side of each other.

Upon entering the town, it was packed with people, so Xiaoyue and Liangqi decided to go to the market first to sell the elm mushrooms.

They walked across the entire street; the market was next to the cattle and horse market. The two paid two coins for a stall, then found a spot, put down the elm mushrooms, and Xiaoyue looked at the bright yellow elm mushrooms in front of her…

Xiaoyue scratched her head and looked at Liang Qi, beckoning him to lower his head. Xiaoyue whispered in Liang Qi's ear, "Do you know how much this costs?"

Liang Qi stared in astonishment as Xiaoyue pointed at the elm mushroom, then shook his head in disbelief.

The two looked at each other and smiled, both dumbfounded. At this moment, Xiaoyue asked Liang Qi to watch the stall, took a handful of elm mushrooms, and walked out, her purpose being to see if anyone recognized elm mushrooms.

Xiaoyue hadn't walked far from her stall when she ran into a man who looked like a butler. He stopped her and asked, "Where did you buy your elm mushrooms? How much did they cost?"

Xiaoyue looked at the middle-aged man who resembled a steward, dressed in a gray servant's uniform, bowed, and humbly asked, "Brother, how much do you usually pay per pound for these elm mushrooms?"

The middle-aged butler-like man looked Xiaoyue up and down curiously, and asked doubtfully, "Twenty coins, or twenty-five coins, it's not fixed."

Xiaoyue smiled and thanked her.

The middle-aged butler hurriedly asked, "Where did you buy it from? How much did it cost?"

Xiaoyue glanced at the middle-aged butler and smiled. "I sell elm mushrooms. Come with me."

Once he got his stall, there were already people waiting for him. When Liang Qi saw Xiao Yue arrive, he breathed a sigh of relief and felt more confident. He asked loudly, "How much are the elm mushrooms per pound?"

"Twenty coins a catty."

Xiaoyue borrowed a scale from the person next to her and weighed out a pile of two and a half jin, which cost fifty coins.

They weighed another pile and then returned the scale to the owner, dividing it into several more piles according to the size of the items.

Xiaoyue asked the middle-aged steward, "How much can I take? Twenty coins per pound."

The butler pointed to Liang Qi's large basket, "These are all you need. Will you deliver them?"

Guan Xiaoyue weighed the goods on a large scale; they weighed a total of sixty jin, worth one liang and two qian of silver. She then hurriedly instructed Liang Qi to carry the basket on his back to deliver it to the steward.

Liang Qi took the money from the steward and went to deliver elm mushrooms to him.

Xiaoyue cleared out the space for the large baskets, and piled them up in several heaps, each weighing two and a half jin.

When Liang Qi returned with the delivery, only a small half-basket remained. He had already collected two taels and four mace of silver. Xiaoyue didn't plan to sell the remaining half-basket.

Liang Qi carried a large basket on his back and a large hamper along with Xiao Yue as they strolled through the market. Xiao Yue traded a small pile of elm mushrooms for eight chicks, and then traded two small piles of elm mushrooms for four geese and six ducks.

Xiaoyue glanced at Liang Qi, who handed her a large basket. Xiaoyue smiled and put the chicks, ducklings, and goslings into the basket.

Seeing that they had left the market and arrived in town, Liang Qi said to Xiaoyue, "I'll put the basket on the oxcart first, and we'll split the shopping. See you on the oxcart."

Xiaoyue stopped Liang Qi, and when they arrived at the farm tool shop, she bought another mat, put it in a large basket, and then let Liang Qi take it away.

Xiaoyue went straight to Tonghe Medical Clinic. When she arrived at the door, she found that there were quite a few people at the market who came to see a doctor and get medicine. She quietly put down her basket and sat down by the door.

The shop assistant had sharp eyes and already recognized Xiaoyue. Since there were many people buying medicine, he nodded to Xiaoyue, indicating that he would have to wait a moment.

Xiaoyue quickly waved her hand, indicating to the shopkeeper not to worry about him, and then looked at the examination table, where Shopkeeper Tong was taking pulses.

Xiaoyue sat there until past noon before Manager Tong could finally catch his breath. Without even taking a break, Manager Tong went straight to Xiaoyue.

Wearing the same yellow robe and sporting a wisp of beard, Xiaoyue greeted him with a smile, "Manager Tong, I brought you some elm mushrooms." As she spoke, she bent down and placed the remaining five pounds of elm mushrooms on the counter.

"It is said that these elm mushrooms taste incredibly delicious."

Shopkeeper Tong smiled and told the waiter to accept the elm mushrooms. Xiaoyue then took out five pieces of linden black gold.

Seeing that Xiaoyue was sweating profusely down her neck, Manager Tong went behind the counter, took out a cloth, and handed it to her.

The letter hadn't returned yet. Although Manager Tong had his own thoughts, he couldn't tell Xiaoyue, lest he make a mistake. He only hoped that Xiaoyue could come here to sit every time she went to the market and keep in touch.

Thinking of this, Manager Tong glanced at Xiaoyue; the more he looked, the more similar she seemed, including her style of doing things.

"Sigh!" Shopkeeper Tong sighed softly, picked up the linden black gold from the counter, put it on the scale and weighed it. It weighed three catties and six taels, and two taels and eight hundred and eighty coins.

Shopkeeper Tong gave her some silver, which Xiaoyue put into the money bag he gave her. She said happily, "I'm so lucky to have a money bag from the shopkeeper."

After everything was done, Manager Tong escorted Xiaoyue out of the clinic.

After receiving the silver, Xiaoyue went to Xingfei Fabric Shop and bought a bolt of cloth for fifty coins and a needle and thread for three coins.

As they approached the city gate, they encountered Chunyue and Shuiyue, a brother and sister. Xiaoyue gave them four coins to buy steamed buns.

When we arrived at the vegetable seed shop, we bought ramie seeds. We also saw some sesame candy for sale outside, so we spent five coins to buy some for Little Bean.

After everything was settled, Xiaoyue prepared to leave the city. Just then, Gao Yu ran up from behind, and Xiaoyue decided to leave with Gao Yu.

When Gao Yu reached Xiao Yue, he was taller than her. Looking down at her with annoyance, he asked, "Why didn't you look at my brother? He's waiting for you."