He looked at the rice; it was crystal clear, while the rice sold in the rice shop was dull in color and could not compare to the rice in the market trading system.

Zhao Xian walked over carrying a bag of rice and handed it to the woman.

"Three catties of rice. Take a look. This rice was bought from the government office. It's better than the rice in town."

The woman happily took the bag of rice, opened it, and was stunned. The rice inside was like pearls, round and plump. She had never seen such beautiful rice before.

"Scholar, what kind of rice is this? Is it very expensive?"

"The rice bought from the government is better than the rice in town, and it's more expensive. You don't need to worry about that. Take it back and cook porridge for your mother."

"Thank you, sir. The wild mushrooms and the basket are all yours."

Zhao Xian nodded, picked up the basket, and left.

The woman left only after the scholar had left, carrying the bag of rice. She felt she had made a great deal.

Zhao Xian arrived at an empty alley and exchanged the basket of morel mushrooms for 336 coins, immediately feeling the weight in his pocket.

In high spirits, he picked up his basket and wandered around the town, continuing to learn about market conditions.

Ahead was a salt shop, with a huge, eye-catching sign that read "Salt".

Zhao Xian knew that at that time, the salt trade was controlled by the government. Private individuals who traded salt had to obtain government documents; otherwise, they were considered to be selling smuggled salt and would be sentenced to prison.

The shop wasn't very big; inside were three large vats containing different types of salt.

Coarse salt costs 50 coins per pound.

Fine salt costs 100 coins per pound.

Refined salt costs 300 wen per jin.

Coarse salt is actually just crushed salt, containing some mud and sand. It is darker in color and has a slightly bitter taste.

Fine salt is coarse salt that has been filtered and crushed again, turning it into white granules with virtually no bitterness.

Refined salt is fine salt that has been further processed to be whiter and is very similar to the salt that modern people eat, except that it is not iodized.

Ordinary people could only afford coarse salt, those with better conditions could choose fine salt, while only high-ranking officials and nobles could afford refined salt.

Fortunately, the price of salt did not rise during this famine, which may be related to government control.

Zhao Xian checked the system and found that the price of salt was ten copper coins per pound, and the quality was equivalent to the refined salt in the salt shop. The price difference was too big.

Zhao Xian dared not sell the salt from the system. If he were caught, he would be charged with selling smuggled salt. The key was that he could not reveal the source of the salt.

After going around the circle once, Zhao Xian had a better understanding of the situation.

There was a barbershop ahead, and the old man cutting his hair was smiling at him.

"Scholar Zhao, would you like a haircut? Your beard needs a trim." The original owner of this body was a regular customer of this hair salon, and the old man greeted him warmly as soon as he saw him.

"Get a beard trim?"

Zhao Xian then remembered that some ancient people had a habit of grooming their beards.

"Yes, you always get your beard trimmed whenever you come to town. You've said it before: you can skip meals and drinks, but you must trim your beard regularly."

Yes, the original owner had this fetish, but he didn't. He wanted to look in the mirror and see what the original owner's beard looked like.

He stepped into the shop, and the old man immediately followed, beaming.

There were no glass mirrors in the shop, only a small bronze mirror.

Zhao Xian knew that this was in ancient times, before glass had been invented, let alone glass mirrors; having a bronze mirror was already quite good.

He picked up the bronze mirror and began to look at himself. Although it wasn't very clear, he could still see his face.

The original owner was a scholar who never did farm work. He looked fair-skinned and had delicate skin, and he was indeed well-maintained, considering that he was only twenty-four years old this year.

But the goatee under his chin was too much of an eyesore. Zhao Xian didn't understand why the original owner liked this goatee. It not only made him look old, but also made him look sharp and pedantic.

"I'm shaving off my beard, I won't grow it anymore."

"Shave it off, no more repairs?" The old man found it hard to believe, thinking he had misheard.

“I said I’ll shave it off, so what are you staring at?” Zhao Xian said irritably.

"Okay, okay, I'll shave your beard right now," the old man finally realized.

In no time, the beard was shaved off and the face was shaved.

The old man stared blankly at Zhao Xian; this was no longer the scholar he used to be.

Zhao Xian picked up the mirror and carefully examined himself. Wasn't this great? He looked more than ten years younger, a real handsome guy.

Zhao Xian was quite satisfied with his appearance, but his long gown was too conspicuous. He wanted to change it immediately, but he held back, thinking that if he changed too much, others would not be used to it.

He paid fifteen coins for a haircut and left, leaving the bewildered old man behind.

It's getting late, time to go home, my family is still hungry.

He bought five kilograms of rice, two kilograms of pork belly, ten eggs, and some vegetables through the system. After thinking for a moment, he also bought some seasonings.

He calculated that the total cost was 210 coins, and he had 126 coins left in his pocket.

These things filled the basket perfectly, and it felt heavy in my hands. It would take more than half an hour to walk back. If I had known it would be like this, I would have bought more when I got back to the village.

There should be vehicles available at this time; it would be much easier to take a horse-drawn carriage back to the village.

He walked quickly towards the town entrance, where there was a temporary parking area.

There were no more horse-drawn carriages at the town entrance, but there was an oxcart belonging to Liu Erleng from the village. He often used the oxcart to deliver goods to the town, and when he returned empty, he wanted to take a few people back with him to earn a few copper coins.

Liu Er was stunned to see Zhao Xian walking towards him, staring intently at him.

Zhao Xian shaved off his signature goatee, which changed his appearance somewhat, but he recognized his signature long robe.

It wasn't until Zhao Xian walked up to the oxcart and handed him a copper coin that he realized what was happening and gave a simple, honest smile.

In the past, Zhao Xiucai never rode in an oxcart because he thought it was dirty; he only rode in a horse-drawn carriage. But today, the scholar got into his own oxcart, which greatly surprised him.

After Liu Erleng saw Zhao Xian get into the cart and sit down, he flicked the bamboo pole in his hand, and the old ox started to move, pulling the cart towards the village.

Although the oxcart is not fast, it is still faster than walking.

There were two other people on the oxcart: Widow Liu from the east end of the village and Mr. Fang, the village's private tutor.

The two looked at Zhao Xian in surprise, wondering what was wrong with the scholar today. He had been unconscious at home for a day and a night, and when he woke up, he looked completely different. This was unbelievable.

"So it's Mr. Fang, my apologies for not recognizing you." Zhao Xian cupped his hands in greeting to the old gentleman.

Although Mr. Fang was over sixty years old, he was still a student who had passed the imperial examinations, while Zhao Xian was a scholar who had passed the county-level imperial examinations, and his academic qualifications were higher than those of the old man.

Mr. Fang dared not delay and quickly bowed to Zhao Xian.

"So it's Scholar Zhao, my apologies for not recognizing you."

After that, the two had nothing more to say.