Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Kill Him with a Headbutt
The post station is ten miles away from Shanhaiguan. Because it is a fortress, there are no obstructions on all sides. Even at this distance, if the weather is good, you can still see the towering city walls in the distance.
Shanhaiguan at that time was majestic and magnificent, completely different from the weathered Shanhaiguan a thousand years later.
Gu Youan stood there and watched for a while, and when he had seen enough, he turned around and walked southeast.
The postman said that the coastal area over there is inhabited by fishermen. There is a market five or six miles down the road. If you want to buy something, just go there.
There were no other pedestrians on the road. When they reached a forest, Gu Youan disappeared briefly and then reappeared. When she reappeared, she was carrying a bamboo basket on her shoulder and twenty taels of silver in her arms.
It was almost noon now, and many people selling fish and shrimp had left the morning market. When Gu Youan arrived, there were not many good things left.
"Uncle, how much do you sell the fish in this tank for?"
The fishmonger recognized Gu Youan's accent and guessed he might have come with the caravan, so he didn't bully him. "Boy, these are fresh fish I caught early this morning. If you want any of these remaining fish, big or small, give me thirty coins and I'll take them all."
The fish in the tank were half dead, but Gu Youan didn't care about that. She would just freeze the sea fish she bought in the freezer.
"Can you clean it up?"
"Cleaning it up." The old man laughed heartily, revealing two black holes in his teeth, and said happily: "Boy, you know how to judge people. No one can compare to my skill in killing fish."
There was a dry goods shop under the eaves. When the shopkeeper heard this, he half-leaned over the counter and laughed out loud: "Old man Li is so bold. He's not afraid of the wind blowing his tongue off when he says this."
"When you're out at sea, you don't have to worry about strong winds; you have to worry about a lack of fish."
Gu Youan couldn't judge the quality of the old man's fish-killing skills, but it looked quite skillful. Gu Youan himself definitely didn't have that skill.
No buyers came, and the shopkeeper inside had nothing to do, so he said to Gu Youan, "Young man, can you eat all these five or six fish in one meal?"
"There are so many people in the family, maybe it's not enough."
The shopkeeper could tell from her accent that she was from out of town. He guessed she was part of a caravan, and immediately spoke with a bit more enthusiasm. "You want fresh sea fish? There's nothing good to buy in the market right now. If you don't mind the distance, go out from the east entrance of the market and walk towards the village. Some families have just returned from the sea and are sure to have some fish at home."
Gu Youan thanked the shopkeeper for his kindness.
The shopkeeper enthusiastically offered his services: "Do you want dried goods? I sell seaweed, dried fish, and dried shrimp at low prices. The more you buy, the cheaper it is. In the past, the caravans returning from outside the Great Wall always loved to buy from me."
Gu Youan looked around the seafood shop. It was a small shop and didn't look like one that often did business with big merchants. However, the goods in the shop were neatly arranged and very clean, which was pleasing to the eye. It was obvious that the shopkeeper was a serious businessman.
Gu Youan pointed at the dried kelp in the corner and asked, "How much is this?"
"Konbu, my kelp is different from others. I personally select it from fishermen's shops. Anything that isn't thick and clean isn't accepted. It's recorded in the Pharmacopoeia that kelp has the effects of softening and resolving phlegm, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling. It's a great food and medicine. I heard that in the capital, Luoyang, a pound of kelp can be sold for one or two ounces of silver per pound."
After patiently listening to the shopkeeper's boast, Gu Youan asked, "How much do you sell it for?"
The shopkeeper held up two fingers and said with a smile, "Kumbu is not easy to collect from the sea, and it takes some time to dry and preserve it. If you want a lot, I'll charge you twenty coins per pound."
"Ten cents."
The shopkeeper was anxious: "Hey, kid, how can you bargain in half? This pound of dried goods can make several pounds. A pound of dried goods is at least eighteen cents."
"Ten cents."
"No, fifteen cents a pound, that's my bottom price, no more bargaining allowed."
"Ten cents."
The shopkeeper immediately understood that this guy was not easy to fool, so he said, "Twelve cents, no less."
Gu Youan didn’t know whether the price was expensive or cheap, but she could read people’s faces. Seeing that there was indeed no less, she nodded and bought thirty kilograms.
The shopkeeper laughed immediately and said, "Wait a minute, little brother. I'll weigh it for you."
The shopkeeper went to load the goods with sacks. A few fish were killed here. The old man handed the fish strings to her and whispered, "If you buy them in the village, you can get a cheaper price. However, the kelp in the village is not carefully selected, so it doesn't look as good as the one in the store. The taste is the same."
Gu Youan thanked the old man and asked, "Do you have any kelp for sale?"
The old man smiled and said, "I have several dozen kilograms in stock. If you want them, I'll sell them to you for ten cents a kilogram."
Gu Youan didn't have time to go to the old man's village, so she declined. The old man felt a little regretful when he left, and asked her to go to Shitou Village in the south to find him next time when she was free.
Gu Youan bought thirty kilograms of dried kelp, carried a few slaughtered sea fish out of the market, took a walk in the woods outside, and then went to the fishing village in the east with an empty backpack. He happened to meet some fishermen returning to the village and bought dozens of kilograms of fresh fish and shrimp to take away.
The freezer was already filled with various frozen goods, and after these fish and shrimps were put in, it was completely filled.
After noon, Gu Youan went to the market again and bought a lot of dried fish and shrimp from the dry goods store he bought in the morning. He also bought two pounds of salt from the store privately, spending nearly ten taels of silver.
There was already rice in the space, so there was no need to buy more. When they arrived in Songjiang City, the stock would probably be enough for their family to eat until the beginning of next spring. The family could also take advantage of the winter to recuperate.
There was no place in the kitchen to store these dry goods, so Gu Youan piled the things on the counter of the Chinese medicine shop on the first floor. He turned around and saw the things that Youzi had bought for opening the store, including tables, chairs, benches, grains, vegetables, iron pots, paper towels, etc., which were now all cheap to her.
I don’t know what happened to Yuzu. If I knew she was missing, I don’t know how sad I would be.
Gu Youan went upstairs and dug out a worn quilt from the top of the wardrobe. He folded it and stuffed it into the backpack, then covered it with one of his father's old clothes.
Gu Youan had just come out of the space and saw two people walking one in front of her on the left. She quickly hid behind a tree, not daring to be seen.
After a while, Gu Youan turned his head and saw that the two men had not left. Looking closely, Gu Youan saw that they had stopped walking. One of them looked like Li Hongwen's concubine Zhang. Gu Youan did not recognize the other tall man, but he was definitely not a member of the Li family.
After waiting for a while, until the two men left, Gu Youan slowly walked back to the post station.
It was already mid-afternoon, and the four families didn't dare to stay outside, so they all returned to the post station one after another.
Living in the same house, Gu Youan could guess at a glance that each family had prepared a lot of warm clothes.
Tian's father and son and Gu Wen's father and son went out together and came back together. Both families bought a few half-worn cotton coats and trousers.
Just looking at the appearance, every piece of clothing and pants is covered with patches on top of patches. If you pinch them, you will find that the cotton core inside is clumping together. How can they withstand the wind and snow?
In the past, the servants in the family would have looked down upon such clothes, but now Bai held them in her arms as if they were treasures. "It's not bad, it can at least keep out the wind and snow. Have you bought shoes and socks?"
"I bought them. I bought some good shoes and socks, so I went to the pawn shop and picked out these cheap cotton-padded clothes. If the cotton isn't warm enough, I can stuff some reed fluff inside, which won't hurt either."
Tian Qingde took off the backpack on his shoulder. The shoes inside were all warm cotton shoes. There was even a pair of short boots made of mixed fur, which were specially prepared for Bai.
"The cold starts from the soles of your feet, and you're not in good health. I can't bear to see you get your feet frostbitten."
Bai couldn't help shedding tears when she saw the ugly pair of leather shoes. She secretly swore in her heart that she would not give up and must ensure that her whole family arrived in Songjiang City safely.
Mrs. Du came back holding Axuan's hand, holding a fish she had bought, and Axuan holding many shells she had picked up from the beach.
"Oh, where did this come from? Sister Bai, is this from your house?" Mrs. Du saw a backpack she had never seen before placed in the corner of the wall, and in the backpack was a half-worn quilt, and she couldn't help but exclaimed.
Bai smiled and said, "It's not mine, it's yours. Your An An bought it."
Mrs. Du's eyes lit up. She put the fish in the pottery jar and hurried over to look at the quilt. She couldn't help asking, "How much did it cost? Who was willing to sell it?"
Mrs. Du knew that there were quilts brought from home in An An's space, but those quilts were new. If they were taken out, they would definitely be taken away by the police before they could use them at home.
Last night, Mrs. Du was still thinking that a living person should not be suffocated to death by urine. If that didn't work, she would quietly buy a few old cotton-padded clothes, take them apart and fill them with the cotton wool from her own quilt, and then use the reed fluff she brought along to make a quilt to use.
This old quilt is good. I don't know what it's like inside, but the cotton wool outside can't even be seen as white. Although it's worth some money, it's not worth the officials tearing each other apart to grab it. The more Mrs. Du looked at it, the better she liked it.
Gu Youan coughed lightly and said, "I've spent all the money you left with me."
"It's not bad, it's not bad. I spent it anyway. Even if I go to Songjiang City, I still have to spend money to buy a quilt."
When we arrived at Songjiang City, we had new quilts to keep us warm, and the old one could also be used as a cushion.
On the surface, the Tian and Gu families were very frugal in buying warm clothes, shoes and socks, while the Su and Li families diagonally opposite were generous and each of them prepared warm clothes, except for the concubine Zhang, who was still wearing only a single piece of clothing.
In the evening, all the families returned. Officer Huang came over, counted the heads, turned around and left.
Fish and shrimp are cheap here, so everyone is cooking them today. I went to the kitchen, borrowed a knife, cut the fish into pieces, and then boiled them in a pot of water. It tasted delicious.
While cooking, Tian Erlang and Gu Wenqing were fiddling with something. Gu Youan leaned over to take a look, and Gu Wenqing whispered, "This is deer tendon. I bought it from a hunter who came from outside the Great Wall to sell skins."
Gu Youan understood and asked, "Do you want to make a bow and arrow?"
"Yes, I have this plan." But I haven't discussed it with Officer Huang and others yet.
While they were talking, the two children outside the door started fighting for some unknown reason. The boy from the Li family suddenly burst into tears with blood in his mouth.
Liu rushed out and cursed: "How dare you, little girl, hit my grandson? I..."
Mrs. Du rushed out like a tigress, shoving Mrs. Liu aside. "What do you want? Do you dare to hit my daughter? If you dare to touch Axuan, I will fight you to the death."
Liu was far less powerful than Du and was knocked backwards. Furious, she pointed at her concubine Zhang and cursed, "You lowly thing! Your mistress was beaten, and you didn't even step forward to help. Are you ready to die?"
Zhang was flustered and kept mumbling for a long time, unable to utter a word.
Li Wendan's biological mother, Liu's eldest daughter-in-law Xie, hugged her son with a heartbroken look. She looked at the Gu family and sneered, "Your girl hit my son, and you won't give me an explanation?"
Gu Wen picked up his little daughter and said, "Tell Daddy, why did they start fighting?"
A Xuan was furious and pointed at Li Wendan and shouted, "He's a bad guy. He stole my shells."
Liu scoffed coldly: "It's just a shell. How can you think it's something good? You are so short-sighted."
"Bah! I robbed, I robbed. Do you think there's any distinction between high and low when it comes to robbing things? Your family lacks good manners, and you're the first to complain. It's obvious that your ancestors were bad at heart. The elders were corrupt and took bribes, causing the Taihu Lake to burst its banks and killing tens of thousands of people. The younger ones just know how to be robbers year after year. There's not a single good person in your family from top to bottom."
Mrs. Du was furious. If Mrs. Bai hadn't stopped her, she would have kicked Mrs. Liu to vent her anger.
This was a very disgraceful remark, and Li Hongren's face immediately turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. Without waiting for Liu to retort, Li Hongwen angrily scolded Liu, "That's enough. If you can't speak, shut up."
As the noise was going on, the postman said impatiently, "If you don't want to live here, get out. If you annoy the adults living in the post station, you will suffer the consequences."
Being interrupted, she lost the energy to scold him again. She took her little daughter from Gu Wen's arms and went in. As she passed by the eldest daughter-in-law of the Li family, she snorted coldly, "A good dog doesn't block the road."
The eldest daughter-in-law of the Li family was so angry that she looked at her father-in-law and dared not open her mouth. She was so choked that she couldn't say a word.
Gu Wen said coldly, "Brother Li, we've been together for a long time. Let's not talk about the past. In the future, I hope you can take good care of the women and children in your family and avoid causing trouble."
Li Hongwen also felt ashamed, so he bowed and nodded slightly, then turned and went in.
A Xuan lay in her sister's arms and gave her two shells with a smile: "I picked out the most beautiful ones, these are for you, sister."
Gu Youan hugged Axuan and pinched her thin arm: "How did you hit yourself? Did it hurt?"
"He stole my things, and I hit him with my head, but it didn't hurt."
Gu Wenqing was helpless. His little sister just followed their mother's lead and only knew how to hit people with her head. It was not good for a girl to do that.
Gu Youan encouraged her in a low voice: "That's a good thing. If someone bullies you in the future, you should hit him back."
"Yeah, I remember."
It was a children's farce, and the Su family was watching from the side. Su Guang looked at his wife Lu meaningfully.
Mrs. Lu snorted. Didn't she know that the Li family was a villain? Didn't she know that Mrs. Liu needed to be disciplined?
But there are some things that you can just turn a blind eye to, and no one can bully her.
Liu was so ashamed that she took her anger out on her concubine Zhang. She scolded Zhang for not being able to do her job and not knowing how to take good care of the young master of the house. Not only did she scold her, she also pinched Zhang's arm hard.
In front of so many outsiders, she really has no dignity left as the mistress of the house.
Zhang's eyes were filled with tears as she secretly looked at Li Hongwen. Li Hongwen frowned and said, "It's getting dark. Are you going to cook dinner?"
Humph, Liu turned around and left.
Mrs. Du couldn't stand it and sneered, "Some people have been exiled, almost sent to the border to serve as camp prostitutes, and yet they still think they are noble people? They curse this and bully that all day long. If they were someone with a bad temper, they would spit in the pot."
Tian Erlang was amused and continued with a smile: "If it were me, I would make him eat wild vegetables cooked with urine and pancakes stewed with feces every day."
Gu Youan felt nauseous and looked at Tian Erlang speechlessly. Are you going to have dinner or not?
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