Chapter 8, The 8th Inn's Big Purchase
After Yunyin finished tidying up the pots and pans, she asked Zhang Lin, "Did any caravans pass by today?"
While tamping the soil, Zhang Lin replied, "Yes, more than one caravan passed by today. You're right, my wife. Opening a restaurant here might make the business very good."
Zhang Lin said, "Some caravan members saw me setting up a stove and even stopped to ask me about it."
"Oh, what did you say?"
Zhang Lin scratched his head and said, "I will naturally do as my wife said and spread the word among those caravans so that they all know there is a food stall here."
Yunyin said, "Perfect timing. The stove will need to sit for a few days after it's finished. Once the contract is signed, you'll be in charge of purchasing. I'll take you to the town and the village to take a look first. After you're familiar with it, I'll put this part in your hands."
Zhang Lin stopped what he was doing and said, "You're going to entrust me with something this important? But I've never done this before."
Yunyin: "It's precisely because we've never done it before that we need to learn. When our food stall expands, you'll have even more responsibilities."
"I hope I haven't made the wrong decision," Yunyin said, looking at Zhang Lin. "Of course, if you don't perform well, I will also cancel the contract with you."
Zhang Lin repeatedly assured her, "Don't worry, Lady Yun, I'll do a good job."
After the sun cooled down a bit, Yunyin took Zhang Lin to Linjiang Village. Linjiang Village was starting to get busy, and as they passed through the village, they could see many people working in the fields.
It was already late February, and the winter wheat would be ready for harvest in just over a month. The villagers were taking advantage of the remaining time to weed, hoping the wheat could grow a little longer in the final stretch and yield a larger harvest.
In every field, people were working. Yunyin led Zhang Lin through the village and when they arrived at Sun Lizheng's house, Sister Qian was sweeping the yard.
Even Erlang, who used to study at home, was nowhere to be found. Yunyin asked Sister Qian and found out that he had gone to gather pig feed.
At this time, Sun Li was resting in the lobby. Yunyin pulled Zhang Lin to see him and quickly got the temporary household registration done. Sun Li also helped to get the employment contract done.
Yunyin thanked Sun Lizheng and then said to Sister Qian, who had been looking forward to her, "Sister-in-law, I've come to buy vegetables from you."
Upon hearing this, Sister Qian immediately put down her broom and said, "Coming, coming! I'll take my sister to the vegetable garden to take a look. If there's anything you like, feel free to take it. I'll give you a discount."
Yunyin told Zhang Lin to wait in the yard while she went to the vegetable garden with Sister Qian. By the time she returned with a full basket of vegetables, Zhang Lin was already chatting with Sister Qian's husband.
Yunyin and Zhang Lin each carried a full basket, one of which was filled with pickled cabbage. Since she hadn't brought a jar, Aunt Qian told Yunyin to take it with her and she would return it to her the next day.
Looking at all these things, she realized she couldn't possibly carry them all to town, so she quickly said to Sister Qian, "Sister-in-law, let's leave these things at your house for now. We still need to go to town, and we'll come back to get them from you when we get back."
Sister Qian patted her chest and said, "Alright, come find me when you come back. If I'm not home, just call out at the village entrance and I'll be back."
Yunyin made an agreement with Sister Qian and headed towards Pingjiang with Zhang Lin.
Linjiang Village is close to Pingjiang. Besides the official road, taking a boat across Pingjiang is the fastest way to get to the town from here.
However, the boat fare was not cheap, costing three coins per person and two eggs. Most farmers were reluctant to spend that money, preferring to walk half an hour to town rather than spend the money.
Yunyin paid six coins and boarded the boat with Zhang Lin. After he was settled, she said, "You can take the boat to town to buy things in the future. It will be faster that way. Once we buy a boat, we won't have to go through this trouble anymore."
"Wife, are you still planning to buy a boat?" Zhang Lin had never thought about this before. He felt it was a waste and quickly replied, "Wife, I can walk. Even without a boat, I can still buy what you want."
Yunyin glared at him and said, "It takes you an hour to walk there, but you can make a round trip by boat in half an hour. Which do you think is more convenient?"
"Besides, our place is in the middle of nowhere, so it's always a hassle to come to Linjiang Village to buy things. Having a boat is more convenient than a car. Once we grow vegetables, we won't need to come to Linjiang Village to buy them, but we'll still have to buy meat in town. It will be more convenient to build our own boat then."
Zhang Lin chuckled and said, "I don't understand. I just listen to Lady Yun. I do whatever Lady Yun says."
Yunyin said, "I'm just thinking about it. Buying a boat must be very expensive. I can't afford it now. I can only work hard to earn money in the future and buy a boat like the one the boatman has."
Zhang Lin looked at her with complete trust: "I believe my wife can do it."
After disembarking, she led Zhang Lin into town and knocked on the back door of Luo's Restaurant. The same waiter opened the door as before. Seeing that it was an acquaintance, he came over to greet Yunyin and then called someone to call the manager.
"Girl, you've finally arrived! If you hadn't come, I would have gone to Linjiang Village to look for you." Luo Man walked quickly from the front yard and called out loudly, "The mushroom sauce you gave me was very popular. I sent it to the county, and it was very popular with the students."
"I was just about to ask you to order some more, madam." Luo Man handed Yun Yin two thousand six hundred coins. "I'll need to trouble you to make forty more jars, ten of them vegetarian mushroom sauce and thirty of them meat mushroom sauce. I won't give you silver this time; it's more convenient to use copper coins when buying things."
Although Yunyin had guessed that the mushroom sauce might sell well, she didn't expect it to be so popular. She took the string of copper coins, put them in her bag, and said, "Thank you, Sister Aman, for thinking of me in every way."
"From what Sister Aman is saying, this sauce was sold to students at the county school?"
Aman smiled and said, "Yes, I heard it from the diners in town. They said the food at the county school was so-so. I thought it would be inconvenient for them to go out on weekdays, so this mushroom sauce would be perfect for them. I tried it, and they really liked it."
"Besides, this price isn't expensive for them, and their family is willing to pay it."
Yunyin: "I understand. I will do it as soon as possible and deliver it to you within ten days."
She pointed to Zhang Lin in the yard and said, "This is the person I hired. He will be responsible for delivering goods to Sister Aman from now on."
Luo Man looked at Zhang Lin carefully and replied, "I'll tell the guys, and you can have him deliver it to the back door as usual."
After declining Luo Man's invitation to dinner again, Yunyin left Luo's restaurant with Zhang Lin. Looking at the 2,600 coins in her hand, she decided to go on a shopping spree.
She couldn't wait to change her clothes. She had been holding back because she didn't have money before, but now she finally had the money to buy clothes.
Zhang Lin's clothes were also in terrible condition. Her sewing skills were mediocre, and after several attempts to mend them over the past two days, they were already tattered and could no longer withstand further patching.
Yunyin led Zhang Lin into a clothing store, which sold ready-made clothes, just right for their situation.
"Go and pick out two outfits," Yunyin told Zhang Lin to choose clothes, while she herself looked at the clothing of this era.
The clothing of this era was similar to that of the Tang Dynasty. Women all wore blouses and skirts, and the clothes in the clothing stores were also of these styles. Apart from the different colors, they were almost identical.
As for men's clothing, it was even simpler. Perhaps because this was a tailor shop in town, the men's clothing sold here consisted of round-neck short shirts and trousers that were practical for work, and the colors were also dirt-resistant.
Yunyin casually picked out two pieces of clothing in refreshing colors, held them up for a couple of seconds to see if they fit, and then asked the shopkeeper to wrap them up. Zhang Lin had also chosen his clothes and asked the shopkeeper to help him settle the bill.
These clothes were all made of linen, costing a total of 800 coins. Of course, this price was still a bit expensive for ordinary people, as they spun and made their own clothes, saving them a lot of money. If they were made of cotton or silk, they would be very expensive. No wonder the shopkeeper looked at her with surprise when she entered the shop; it was because she was wearing cotton, as ordinary people rarely wore cotton.
After buying clothes, they went to buy bath beans, jars for mushroom sauce, and other daily necessities. With a bunch of stuff, they took a boat back to Linjiang Village.
It was almost time for dinner, so Yunyin went to get her things from Sister Qian, and she and Zhang Lin carried a large pile of things home.
Carrying a huge pile of things, Yunyin gritted her teeth and persevered. She had to earn money quickly to buy a boat and a car so that she wouldn't have to rely on manpower to carry everything. It was a pity that there was no place to rent a car in town, otherwise she would have definitely rented one to take them back.
After finally moving everything down the hillside, Yunyin breathed a sigh of relief and said to Zhang Lin, "We won't cook today, let's just have some of the pancakes we bought."
Zhang Lin didn't think much of it. He ate whatever he could find, whether it was flatbread or rice, as long as it filled him up. He didn't care what he ate.
However, once he started eating the flatbread, he began to miss the pickled fish he had for lunch. Yun Niangzi's pickled fish was really delicious.
Thinking of the sauerkraut fish with flatbread, Zhang Lin quickly finished a flatbread.
On the other side, after Yunyin finished organizing today's big purchases, she said to Zhang Lin, "Ask Sun Dalang tomorrow if he can get any mushrooms. If he can, I need some."
Zhang Lin stopped eating his pancake and said, "There aren't any fresh mushrooms now, are there? I remember straw mushrooms are only available in May and June. I don't know about the other mushrooms."
Yunyin nodded and said, "I know. If we don't have fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms will do. If Sun Dalang doesn't know, you can ask Sister Qian. She might know more."
Zhang Lin nodded in agreement, noted down what he needed to buy the next day, and then returned to the thatched hut by the official road with the hot water.
After Zhang Lin left, Yunyin transferred the sauerkraut to the jar she had bought that day, and then carefully put the eggs away before going to the river to wash her clothes.
Yunyin lay on the pile of thatch, looking at the twinkling starlight, then glanced back at the thatched hut that was only half-built, thinking that she should hurry up and finish building the hut.
If all else fails, I'll have Zhang Lin go to Linjiang Village tomorrow to ask a few people to help build the house as soon as possible, so she can feel at ease.
Yunyin made up her mind and quickly fell asleep. She was awakened by the morning light shining through the gaps in the leaves and falling on her face. She yawned and prepared to wash up.
She touched the dress she had washed the day before; it was dry overnight. She quickly changed out of the clothes she had worn for several days.
After I finished getting ready, Zhang Lin came over.
Yunyin arranged for him to go to town to buy meat and bones, and handed him the money, saying, "When you come back, ask around in the village if anyone is willing to come and build a thatched hut. It'll cost ten coins a day, including meals."
Zhang Lin took the money and said, "Miss Yun, I can build houses too."
Yunyin: "I know you have other things to do, so let someone else build the house."
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