Perhaps because the end of the year was approaching, the market in the county town was much more lively than usual, and all kinds of goods were available. Without spending a long time, Cheng Ruyi selected two very beautiful donkeys, one gray and one brown.
Of course, besides their good looks, these two donkeys were also very strong and healthy, no wonder they were the most expensive in the entire market. The two donkeys together cost ten taels of silver, which was much more expensive than usual, but still several taels cheaper than buying a mule.
The key point is that these two donkeys seem to be very intelligent. As soon as they saw Ruyi, they came over on their own and rubbed their heads against her several times. Then their four big, bright eyes stared at her expectantly. Who could resist that?
Having bought a donkey, Cheng Ruyi naturally needed to match it with a vehicle. Her requirements for the vehicle were that it be sturdy and spacious inside, and have a low-key and simple appearance. In any case, the shock absorption effect she wanted most was impossible to achieve with current technology.
The car wasn't expensive, costing less than a tael of silver, and it was fairly decent.
After harnessing the donkeys to the cart, Ruyi began her ancient driving training. Fortunately, the two donkeys were very obedient and easy to handle, allowing her, who did not have a driver's license in modern times, to successfully drive the cart in ancient times.
With a car, everything became much easier, and my shopping spree officially began!
First, they need to buy large furniture. Although their family owns a furniture store, business has been so good these past few months that they can't spare the manpower to make furniture themselves. So they can only buy the necessary furniture first and make the rest later when they have time. These large pieces of furniture were ordered a month ago when they realized that it would be too late for Cheng Yan and the others to make them themselves. Now they only need to pay the balance, and the furniture will be delivered to their door.
This furniture shop is different from the Cheng family's family workshop; it's a chain brand from Fucheng, so the prices are higher. However, the styles are all the latest and most popular, and the materials and workmanship are indeed more exquisite than their own. Ruyi specifically chose this shop this time, also wanting to give her father a goal and reference.
Elm wood eight-treasure longevity canopy bed, fifteen taels each, just right for Cheng Yan; beech wood double-moon hole carved flower, bird, landscape and water canopy bed, twelve taels each, one for himself and one for Xu Cui; chicken wing wood six-poster floral canopy bed, ten taels each, one for each of the three children; plus a beech wood arched wall lingzhi pattern eight immortals table and eight matching chairs; and finally, a set of beech wood dragon holding longevity circle chairs and matching long table and tea table.
These few pieces of furniture alone cost one hundred taels, and they were only mid-priced pieces in the shop.
However, buying over a hundred taels at once is considered a big purchase in the county town, so the shop owner was very friendly and even gave her several exquisite jewelry boxes and a set of antique teaware, which together were worth several taels. Cheng Ruyi said she was quite satisfied with the shop owner's service.
After settling on the furniture, she moved on to the next shop. The new home lacked everything, such as various household items, kitchenware, tableware, pots and pans, and all kinds of water tanks and earthenware jars.
Next, I prepared to buy all kinds of food for the Chinese New Year, and took advantage of the low prices of food to stock up on some more.
And what's the New Year without new clothes? The women in the Cheng family aren't very good at handicrafts, so buying fabric themselves would be a waste of materials and they wouldn't have the time. So, some money has to be earned by others!
So Cheng Ruyi waved her hand and gave everyone a new set of clothes, a new cotton-padded jacket, and two pairs of cotton shoes. Actually, leather boots would be more suitable for winter, but fur coats are expensive and not something their family can afford for the time being.
However, this reminded her that she still had a lot of Wind Chaser rabbit fur stored at home. Perhaps she could take it to someone to process it into vests, hats, gloves, boots, etc. It would not only save money but also be more high-end than ordinary fur, after all, it was a spirit rabbit!
After buying clothes, she remembered that she also needed to buy bedding: two fine cotton quilts and one thick cotton quilt for each person. Since she had bought a canopy bed, she definitely needed to buy a bed curtain. She couldn't afford Xiangyun yarn, but there were other pretty and cheap gauze fabrics, such as moon white hibiscus ribbed gauze curtains, lake-blue jade pearl snow gauze curtains, and smoky gray bamboo pattern gauze curtains. They were all light and airy, not only breathable but also mosquito-proof, and could also be used as door curtains and window curtains. She decided to buy them all!
When I passed by the jewelry store, I suddenly remembered that my family members didn't seem to have any jewelry, so I couldn't help but buy some jewelry for a few of the women.
The magpie-on-plum blossom openwork silver hairpin is most suitable for Xu Cui. The silver-gilt flower tube bridge hairpin is understated yet elegant. Ruyi fell in love with it at first sight. The lotus and osmanthus pattern silver hairpin is very suitable for Lin Xiaoman. Each of the two little girls has a red plum blossom and pine branch gradient velvet flower hairpin. Wearing them will definitely make them look charming and cute.
Besides hairpins, she also bought various gold, silver, jade, and pearl earrings, as well as silk handkerchiefs and purses with various embroidered patterns. She would let them choose for themselves. If she had enough money, Cheng Ruyi would have almost bought everything she wanted.
Since the women all had jewelry, she couldn't show favoritism and insisted on gender equality. So she bought her father a jade thumb ring with auspicious and longevity patterns and Cheng Yunping a jade pendant with a wild goose and cloud pattern. Both were made of ordinary jade and were not expensive. On the other hand, she bought Cheng Mande a pair of silver bracelets with two exquisite bells, which were very lively and cute.
After days of continuous shopping, she finally managed to gather almost all the daily necessities, and the Lishan Villa was being decorated to feel more and more like home.
On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, the shops on the street began to close one after another. Only then did Ruyi finally remember that there was one place she hadn't been to yet, which was the bookstore.
The Cheng family actually had quite a few books, all left by Cheng Ruyi's deceased husband. However, most of them were books for the imperial examinations. At that time, Ruyi had no interest in these books, so she gave them all to Sun Wensui in accordance with her late husband's last wish. Only some storybooks were left with Cheng Yunping.
It is said that Huaishan County is home to the famous Lingshan Academy, which attracts many students every year, resulting in countless bookstores and study rooms in the town.
Since she was going to buy books anyway, her first choice was naturally the Sun family's Shaohua Bookstore. After all, she was a regular customer, and the shopkeeper and waiter all recognized her, so they would probably give her a discount.
Shaohua Bookstore is a large shop with three rooms facing the street on Nanqian Street. Since the surrounding area is full of scholars, business has always been very good. Even now that many people have gone home for the Chinese New Year, there are still a few people dressed as scholars carefully selecting books, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones in the shop.
"Madam Cheng, what brings you here at this hour? Are you looking to buy some Spring Festival couplets?"
Today's shop assistant turned out to be from SF Express. Ruyi couldn't help but ask curiously, "SF Express? What are you doing helping out at the shop?"
"Replying to Madam Cheng, Chengfeng, who usually takes care of things here, is sick today, and all the other shop assistants have gone home for the New Year, so I came to help out and fill in for him." As he spoke, Shunfeng familiarly took out some couplets for Cheng Ruyi to choose from. "These couplets are our best-selling items. Madam Cheng, do you see any you like?"
After casually selecting a few books, Cheng Ruyi had SF Express pack them up first, and then went into the bookstore to focus on choosing books.
She had a very clear idea of what kind of books she wanted to choose. She skipped the scientific research and poetry books and went straight to the travelogues and miscellaneous books. In the end, she chose a few travelogues that looked reliable, and also bought some history books and local chronicles. Finally, she picked up a few of the best-selling novels at the moment. She thought that this should be more than enough for reading during the Chinese New Year.
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