Youqing smiled; this child was quite interesting.

What if I buy it at four times the price?

The child fell silent. Four times the price!

“Abu and Eji will be back in a little while. Tell Abu and the others later if you would like to come in and have some water.”

Kangxi and Youqing went into the herdsman's home, which was actually a yurt.

The yurt was small and a bit messy inside. In the small space, there was a large communal sleeping area with a plank bed, and it looked like a family of several people lived together.

It's clear that this family is having a very difficult time.

Youqing continued, "Are there four people in your family?"

The child's face darkened upon hearing this: "Last year, there was a younger brother who didn't make it through the winter."

Youqing said, "I'm sorry."

The child said, "It's alright, we people here are used to it." Used to not being able to get through the harsh winter, used to the sudden loss of life.

The child spoke these words in a very flat tone, making it sound like such a common occurrence. However, it was clear that the child wasn't devoid of emotion; he was simply too naive to accept that people died in winter.

Youqing felt a pang of sadness, sighed inwardly, and didn't ask any more questions about his family. Instead, she began to inquire about their daily livelihood: "Do you rely entirely on herding for a living?"

"Pretty much. We raise sheep. A few years ago, someone came to buy wool. Although the price was cheap, it gave us an extra source of income, which made things much better, but it didn't significantly improve our lives."

They still couldn't afford to eat and wear.

wool?

Youqing remembered; it must have been her who made that wool yarn.

The wool yarn is indeed nice, but the raw materials seem a bit too cheap.

Youqing asked about the price of wool. It was sold by weight, and it cost two coins per pound. A sheep doesn't have many pounds of wool, so it was indeed too cheap.