The man was initially slightly disappointed, but seeing his wife's joyful expression, he stopped worrying about not having found the hairpin.
"Brother, hurry up and throw the bamboo rings. Maybe you'll win on the last few." Li Youran didn't show any coldness towards the customer for taking away valuable items; instead, she greeted the man even more warmly.
Amid cheers from the crowd, the man then successfully won a Fu Lu Shou (福禄寿) ornament.
"To get something worth nearly ten taels of silver for just one tael of silver is such a great deal!" The man happily accepted the Fu Lu Shou (Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity) ornament that Li Youran brought over, and left with his wife in joy.
"Give me a large bamboo hoop that costs one tael of silver."
"I'll also have a large bamboo hoop, one or two taels of silver."
The large bamboo rings were the most suitable; they were foolproof, and everyone wanted to buy the large bamboo skirts. Unfortunately, there were only two hundred available, so everyone had to wait in line.
"Girl, are we going to lose money?" Madam Li was getting a little anxious. Although she had received a lot of money, she couldn't afford to take away so many things!
"Mother, don't worry, these are just some worthless little things. The valuable ones are still displayed at the back." Li Youran gently patted Li Niangzi's hand, signaling her not to panic.
As the sun set and the weather grew colder, the number of people playing the ring toss game gradually decreased.
"I'm so sorry everyone, all the goods on the carriage have been taken by you, and I really have nothing to restock." Li Youran apologized and cupped his hands, saying, "See you at this place tomorrow, and regular customers will receive ten bamboo rings as a gift."
Upon hearing Li Youran's words, the crowd dispersed, thinking they would come back tomorrow to collect ten free circles.
"Girl, let's go back quickly, it's not safe." Li Dazhu said to Li Youran with an uneasy expression, tightly guarding the two large baskets of money.
In ancient times, public security was poor, and there were always envious people who harbored inappropriate thoughts. It was best to go back as soon as possible.
The family of three quickly gathered up the things on the ground, tightly guarded the two baskets containing money, and drove away in their carriage.
After they left, a peddler next to them also pushed his wheelbarrow away.
"Dad, hurry up and close the door."
"Here it comes."
Like thieves, Li Dazhu and his wife secretly carried the money onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and then locked the door tightly.
"Father, Mother, let's count how much money we have!" They poured the money from the two baskets onto the kang (a heated brick bed). There were copper coins, some loose silver coins, and even a few large silver coins weighing ten taels each.
One thousand copper coins equal one tael of silver. Li Youran counted until his hands cramped, but he had only counted four taels of silver.
Li Dazhu and Li Niangzi were much faster, and the couple counted out a total of fifteen taels of silver.
"Forty one-tael silver coins, nineteen taels of copper coins in total, and three ten-tael silver coins!" Li Dazhu said excitedly after counting the last piece of silver with trembling hands, "A total of eighty-nine taels!"
If I can earn eight taels of silver a month selling steamed buns, that's when business is booming. I might not be able to earn eighty or ninety taels of silver even if I work hard for a whole year.
"Daughter, you are so talented. Your father works hard all year and doesn't earn as much as you do in a single day."
“You didn’t say that back then. You even complained behind my back that the young lady didn’t consult you before buying so many goods.” After saying that, Madam Li seemed to have thought of something. “Young lady, quickly take out the capital and let’s calculate the net profit.”
"I bought thirty taels of goods from the general store, and the hairpin cost ten taels. But there are still some things left, and the hairpin is still here." Li Youran muttered to himself, calculating the cost. "Let's say it's thirty taels of silver!"
“Fifty-nine taels is quite a lot.” Li Dazhu said as he began to pack the money. “Girl, I’ll go with you to the general store to pay back the money, and while we’re at it, we’ll go to the money exchange to exchange the money for whole silver coins, or for silver notes.”
Li Youran mentally calculated the purchasing power of those fifty-nine taels of silver, which was roughly equivalent to fifty-nine thousand yuan in modern times.
Although it's a town on the outskirts of Beijing, its proximity to the capital means that housing prices aren't cheap, especially given the significant price increases in recent years.
As far as Li Youran knew, even the cheapest courtyard house cost over a hundred taels of silver. She would have to work harder to buy a house.
First, he went to the Zhou family's general store to pay off his debts, then bought a bunch of old goods, and then went to the money exchange to exchange the remaining fifty-odd taels of silver for banknotes.
Knowing that Tian Alang was about to take the imperial examination, Li Youran took out a set of writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone from the carriage, intending to go to the wonton shop first on her way back and give the items to Tian Alang.
Li Dazhu drove the carriage home with the goods, while Li Youran set off alone from the money exchange to the wonton shop.
Why is the wonton shop closed today?
"I went to the temple fair in the mountains." Li Youran met Tang Lei at the entrance of the money exchange and smiled, revealing her white teeth. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Um?"
"I won't help you for nothing, I'll pay you." Seeing Tang Lei's expressionless face, Li Youran assumed he was unwilling and hurriedly said.
Hearing Li Youran's words, Tang Lei's expression turned slightly unpleasant. "Woman, do you really think I'm that greedy?"
"Wait for me a moment, I'm going to the money exchange to get some silver." Tang Lei said and went into the money exchange. Li Youran looked at his limping back and noticed that his leg didn't seem as bad as before.
After waiting for a while at the entrance of the money exchange, Tang Lei came out carrying a bundle on his back, and Li Youran hurriedly got up.
"How did you get so much money?" Li Youran glanced at the bundle on Tang Lei's body. Judging from the protruding edges, it looked like a bundle of silver.
He wondered if the previous rumors were true, and that Tang Lei received a large sum of compensation every month...
Wang Xiangyu has really lost out. She gave up a wealthy husband and insisted on being with that pervert. Thinking of this, Li Youran showed a hint of a smile.
"I picked it for someone else." Tang Lei didn't continue the topic and started asking Li Youran what help she needed.
"that is……"
"I didn't expect you to have so many ideas." Tang Lei was slightly surprised when Li Youran talked about setting up a stall, thinking to himself that this woman was really smart.
“I noticed a few people staring at my stall with ill intentions, so I thought I’d ask you to be my bodyguard,” Li Youran said with a smile. “You don’t have to do anything, just stand there.”
Just by standing there, the cold aura emanating from him was enough to intimidate them.
“Alright, the blacksmith shop isn’t busy these days anyway.” Tang Lei stopped after saying that, turned to look at Li Youran, and continued, “My legs aren’t very strong, so I’ll ride up the mountain with you in the carriage tomorrow.”
“No problem.” Before Li Youran could finish speaking, she heard someone calling her name.
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