Chapter 2: Making connections with influential people and procuring supplies

Forty taels?

Only a fool wouldn't do something that pays more, but she looked very troubled. "This...isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Zou Yueru was determined to get the books and advised, "Zhang Xianmei, you are a kind person, but we still don't know where Liu Ergou is."

"She might not even come today, so why are you so fixated on someone who broke her promise?"

Of course, she didn't think Liu Ergou wouldn't come; after all, no student could resist such insightful interpretations. As for the three extra books of scriptures, she could sell them at a high price to other students who had already selected their scriptures—it was a win-win situation for her no matter how you looked at it.

“We sisters are honest people, and we love these interpretations very much. Why don’t you give them to us, dear sister?”

Zhang Ting pretended to agree and handed the book to the two of them. Zou Yueru also handed over her purse, which contained exactly forty taels of silver.

Zou Yueru feared that things would get out of hand if she waited too long. Just then, Liu Ergou came out after finishing his business and they met up. She gave her cousin a wink and hurriedly returned to her dormitory with her books in her arms.

Little did she know, just as she had said, there was no such person as Liu Ergou in the county school.

Ang Lee and his cousin grew up like brothers, so how could he not understand her thoughts? Not to mention that he himself had also had that idea.

Zhang Ting bid farewell to Ang Lee, but he stopped her and kept talking to her.

"It is fate that we meet, dear sister. Please wait a moment for my cousin. We sisters would like to be the hosts and have prepared a small feast to express our respect. Please do not refuse."

The two sisters were originally going to attend a poetry and literature gathering to expand their network, but unexpectedly, they ran into a friend of a scholar at the entrance and directly achieved their goal.

It is perfectly acceptable for Zhang's belly to be in a state of famine.

Zou Yueru left and returned quickly. In the dead of winter, a few beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She took out a handkerchief to wipe them off and complained to the two of them, "This county school doesn't allow us to bring pageboys or servants to serve us. It's so inconvenient."

Zhang Ting knew this. Some academies and schools did not allow students to bring servants or pageboys so that they could concentrate on their studies, because these servants or pageboys might be the students' godchildren or godmothers.

Along the way, the three men were of similar academic standing, age, and learning, and Zhang Ting was eager to please them, laughing frequently at the most amusing parts, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.

Zou Yueru and Li An greatly admired Zhang Ting's talent and were deeply saddened that she had given up the imperial examinations. They wanted to be her confidante and even sworn sisters.

When they arrived at Qingfeng Tower, it was already late afternoon. As soon as the delicacies were served, Zhang Ting ate with gusto, devouring everything in a flash, much to the astonishment of the other two.

"Zhang Xianmei is truly...a person of strong character."

"Yes, yes."

Zhang Ting was so hungry that he didn't care about etiquette and quickly emptied the table of food. He only stopped eating when he had some food in his stomach. Seeing this, Zou Yueru called the waiter to bring another table of food.

Zhang Ting wiped her mouth, looking somewhat embarrassed, and apologized to her newly acquainted best friends with a blushing face: "I was extremely hungry just now and was not very polite. I hope you two sisters won't hold it against me."

I thought to myself, the food at Qingfenglou is indeed as good as its reputation, it is extremely delicious.

Seeing that she was embarrassed but very honest, unlike those who were pretentious, Zou Yueru liked her even more and decided to befriend her. She raised her wine glass to toast her, saying, "My dear sister is so straightforward and honest. We, as her older sister, can't help but like her."

Zhang Ting returned the greeting with a smile, saying, "I'm glad you don't mind my rudeness, sister." With that, she finished her drink.

She had a good tolerance for alcohol, but the original owner of this body had never drunk alcohol before. As the alcohol took effect, it added a touch of charm to her beautiful face.

Zou Yueru and Li An couldn't help but sigh inwardly: If Zhang Xianmei's face were in the palace examination, even if her essay was slightly inferior, she could still gain an advantage and be selected as the third-ranked scholar.

Zhang Ting ate heartily, and although they weren't hungry, they also had a good appetite and ate some food.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Li An, unable to contain his curiosity, couldn't help but ask, "Sister, would you be so kind as to introduce me to Li Xianda?"

Having only just met, asking Zhang Ting for an introduction makes her seem like she has impure motives and is eager for quick success, which makes her feel somewhat ashamed.

Although Zhang Ting currently has a one-sided acquaintance with Li Shucui, she is the one who gave herself this identity while traveling, which doesn't stop her from making empty promises: "Sister Li is currently preparing for next year's imperial examination at the prefectural school, and I suppose she won't be returning to her hometown anytime soon. If she passes the exam and returns home in glory, I will definitely introduce you to her."

We'll talk about it three years from now.

Li An's face was flushed, and he excitedly toasted Zhang Ting, as if he could see Li Shucui returning home after passing the imperial examination and personally receiving him, and as if he could see himself passing the imperial examination and enjoying boundless glory. He was overjoyed for a moment.

As dusk approached and the county school was about to close, the three hurriedly said goodbye, all feeling extremely satisfied.

Having received a sum of money, Zhang Ting rushed to the rice shop to buy rice before it got completely dark.

The original owner of this body studied diligently and rarely went out. Now, many old shops in the county town have closed down, and new shops have opened, making things much worse than before.

Zhang Ting entered a grand and magnificent shop. It was bustling with people and doing very good business. He went in and asked what was going on, and found out that a shi (120 catties) of rice cost only five qian. They also sold flour, which was priced the same as rice. Since rice and flour were not easy to store in large quantities, Zhang Ting only bought one shi of each.

The owner was short in stature, with a plump and friendly appearance. He looked like a plump, white rice grain. Since he was a rice shop owner, he should be called Boss Rice, Zhang Ting thought to himself.

The other party saw that Zhang Ting was poorly dressed but did not look down on her. Instead, he smiled and stared at her with a gaze that made her feel uneasy. "Your Majesty, why don't you buy two shi of rice? One shi of rice will probably only last you a month or so. Wouldn't it be troublesome to come back and buy more later?"

Zhang Ting felt like a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered in her eyes. She clutched her newly acquired purse and said, "...No need, I'll just buy more when I run out."

Seemingly sensing her determination, Boss Mi didn't try to persuade her any further. He turned and instructed his assistant to weigh the rice and tell Zhang Ting to come and collect it when she left.

This made Zhang Ting raise an eyebrow; judging from her earlier demeanor, she thought Zhang Ting wouldn't give up easily.

After leaving the rice shop, I went to the oil shop next door. As I entered, I saw a plump, fair-skinned man waiting there with a smile.

Zhang Ting was stunned for a moment, thinking she had gone to the wrong place, but she quickly realized what was going on and joked, "Boss, your business is really booming and your wealth is plentiful!"

"I just bought rice from your store, so you'd better give me a discount when you buy oil."

Mr. Mi's smile remained unchanged. "We're just two small shops making ends meet, nothing to brag about. Since you're a new customer, you'll naturally get a discount. Our shop always gives you a complimentary set of condiments with every purchase."

That's an understatement, but these two shops are quite large, totaling about 200 square meters.

However, the seasonings were not cheap at this time, and Zhang Ting was curious why Boss Mi was willing to give them away as free gifts.

Oil was 51 coins per catty. Zhang Ting wanted 10 catties, which was exactly 5 coins over the limit. Boss Mi believed him and immediately told his assistant to go next door to get the seasonings to deliver to her.

Unexpectedly, the shop next door also belonged to Boss Mi. Zhang Ting felt a pang of sadness thinking about her own home, which even thieves would shed tears at the sight of it.

Zhang Ting took the seasonings and saw that there was a full pound of salt. The other seasonings were given as a gift, but only a small amount. That's why they say he's the boss.

After making money, Boss Mi became even more polite to Zhang Ting, and even told her to come back and buy more if she thought the seasoning tasted good.

What an interesting boss! He only recommends the condiments that come with the gift, why doesn't he recommend the main items like rice, cooking oil, and other staple foods?

Zhang Ting rented a mule cart and had the shop assistants help carry the goods up. Then he went to the clothing shop on the back street, which this time was finally not owned by Boss Mi.

She also remembered the shop owner, a well-dressed, plump middle-aged man. His deceased wife's surname was Lü, so everyone called him Shopkeeper Lü. He was a shrewd and cunning man with excellent tailoring skills. His two children also helped out at the shop, and they were doing very well.

When Zhang Ting arrived, Manager Lü and his daughter were taking inventory, while their son stayed behind to embroider, unable to show his face.

The store was spacious and grand, with a wide variety of products and exquisite workmanship. Zhang Ting was dazzled by the selection and finally ordered a six-pound quilt, two plain blue mattresses, two thick and fleece-lined robes, two pairs of cotton pants, two pairs of shoes, and two pairs of socks.

One of the robes was made of blue satin, which looked elegant yet luxurious. The saying "respect the robe before the person" applies here, so wearing it out would be very respectable. The other robe was made of ordinary maroon fabric and was on sale. The color was more resistant to dirt and was suitable for everyday wear.

The bedding was 1.2 taels, the satin winter robe was 3.4 taels, the maroon winter robe was 5 taels, the two cotton trousers were 4.5 taels, the two pairs of shoes were 1.35 taels, the two mattresses were 2 taels, and since Manager Lü saw that Zhang Ting had bought a lot, he also added two pairs of socks for her as an extra, totaling 4.1 taels, 8.85 taels.

This was no small sum. Manager Lü knew Zhang Ting's financial resources and teased her, "Oh, where did you make your fortune, Scholar Zhang? You should tell us. We're all acquaintances, let's get rich together!"

Zhang Ting smiled shyly at him and said, "My friend saw that I was down on my luck and gave me some financial assistance."

She went to the county school today and had dinner with Zou Yueru, Li An and others. She suddenly received a sum of money, and it was impossible to hide how she spent it.

When she said that, Manager Lü still didn't believe it. Birds of a feather flock together. What wealthy friends could this poor scholar possibly have who would be willing to help her?

Without going into details, Manager Lü first took out silk and carefully wrapped the brocade robe, then used ordinary scraps of cloth to wrap the rest of the items.

Zhang Ting bought a lot, which wasn't heavy but was difficult to carry, so Manager Lü's daughter helped put it into the mule cart.

During this time, Manager Lü's son came out and gave Zhang Ting a handkerchief, on which was embroidered a cluster of lush green bamboo, exquisitely crafted.

Zhang Ting happily accepted the gifts, marveling at how shrewd Manager Lü was in business, giving away not only socks but also a handkerchief.

Unexpectedly, Manager Lü and his daughter both glared at her. Still somewhat confused, she turned around and saw the young man who had handed her the handkerchief looking at her shyly. Zhang Ting suddenly realized something, "This...this is a freebie, isn't it?"

Shopkeeper Lü's lips twitched, but he couldn't deny it. He cursed Zhang Ting for being cunning in his heart, and snorted coldly, "It's an extra. Take care, Scholar Zhang. We won't see you off." With that, he twisted his son's arm and went back into the shop.

Manager Lü's daughter followed them back, and when she passed Zhang Ting, she glared at her fiercely with a dark expression.

Zhang Ting clutched the handkerchief, torn between two options. She sighed, wondering how she could possibly deal with the messy romantic entanglements of the original owner of this body.

He shook his head, having made an appointment with a craftsman to repair his house the next morning before returning to the village.

On the other side, Manager Lü pulled his son into the backyard, and his daughter followed. The two of them surrounded him and chanted scriptures.

"Xiao Lü, do you really have to marry that poor scholar? If you marry him, you'll suffer a lot, eating coarse food and wild vegetables!"

"Yes, Xiao Lü, you must listen to your father. That poor scholar has money but still owes a mountain of debt and doesn't pay it back. He just squanders it all. He's no good person!"