"Haha, he is right. When we do business, we always emphasize honesty and fairness. Only in this way can we do business well. Privately, we have a good relationship, and he was right to recommend you to come to me." The shopkeeper said with a smile.
"Boss, I want to buy some oil and salt. Do you have any recommendations?" asked Yun the butcher.
"Come and look over here, fellow. This is the oil in our store. We have peanut oil, which is 320 wen per catty. Here is rapeseed oil, which is 300 wen per catty. The jar next to it is soybean oil, which is 200 wen per catty. The one in the innermost one is sesame oil, which is 500 wen per catty. Fellow, which one do you want?" asked the shopkeeper.
Butcher Yun heard the shopkeeper's quote. While prices had indeed gone up, they were still lower than the prices at the town's grocery stores before the famine. And there seemed to be plenty of stock here. People living in the capital city were truly lucky.
"Boss, when we were in the village, we used to eat peanut oil. However, the price of peanut oil is too high now. Let's buy soybean oil. Our village plans to buy 100 kilograms of soybean oil. Please give us a more favorable price." Yun the butcher said politely.
"Okay, they are all recommended by friends. I can also give you a discount. If you want 100 kilograms of soybean oil, I will charge you 180 cents per kilogram. This is indeed the lowest price I have given you." The shopkeeper said readily.
"Okay, boss, thank you so much. But I didn't bring the oil tank. Can you send me one?" asked Yun the butcher.
"No problem. One hundred jin is exactly two jars. I'll give you the jars. Also, how many jins of salt do you want?" the shopkeeper asked.
"What's the current price of salt, sir?"
"Salt is now three hundred coins per catty. Because it is all official salt, salt from outside cannot be shipped in under the current circumstances. We are selling our inventory, so the price cannot be much cheaper for you." The shopkeeper said apologetically.
After hearing the price the shopkeeper had quoted, Yun the Butcher secretly rejoiced. This price was fifty wen per jin lower than what Yun the Butcher had paid at the town's grocery store before fleeing the famine. Prices in the capital city were indeed quite low. The place Xiaobai's officer recommended was reliable. The grain store owner was reliable, and the place he recommended was even more reliable. He had met a good person recently.
"Okay, boss, I want 300 kilograms of salt. What price can you offer?" Yun the butcher said readily.
"Then I'll charge you two hundred and ninety coins per catty, fellow. One basket is exactly one hundred catties, and three hundred catties is three full baskets. It's just right, I'll give you the baskets as well." said the shopkeeper.
Butcher Yun took a look at the basket of salt. It was placed in a tightly woven basket. The salt was also wrapped in two layers of oil paper to prevent moisture. "Once we've sorted the salt back, we can use this basket as a storage space for other things," Butcher Yun thought.
"Okay, thank you, shopkeeper. You are so fair and kind. The price will be as you said. You can calculate how much it is and I will settle the bill for you." said Yun the butcher.
The shopkeeper worked on the abacus and figured it out in a moment. Yun Yiyi secretly did some mental calculations and it was indeed the number. The shopkeeper was quite honest, Yun Yiyi thought secretly.
Yun the butcher paid the bill to the shopkeeper, who then asked his assistant to help load the items onto the donkey cart, loading and securing them, and then covering them with a layer of oilcloth to protect them from the rain and keep them safe.
"Shopkeeper, do you know which cloth shop nearby has the best prices? I want to buy some cotton there. The temperature will get lower as time goes by, so we should prepare cotton clothes." Yun the butcher asked the shopkeeper.
"You asked me this, and I actually know. Fellow villager, turn the corner ahead. The first shop on the street ahead is a cloth shop. It's a chain store with many branches. The owner of that shop is a kind-hearted man who usually loves to give alms. During this drought, it was their owner who distributed porridge at the city gate. They were the first family to do so and were also one of the few that persisted the longest."
The other shop is the owner of the grain store where you bought your grain. He was one of the first to offer porridge and has been one of the longest-serving. He hasn't raised prices much on cloth, needlework, and cotton; the prices are very fair. The shopkeeper is also a very fair and kind person. Before the drought, when beggars came to his shop to beg, the shopkeeper would give them steamed buns and dumplings. He never turned them away, he said enthusiastically.
"Okay, boss, thank you for your recommendation. We will go to that store to buy cotton later. See you later." With that, Yun the Butcher said goodbye to the boss of the grocery store.
"Dad, the owner of this grocery store is a very nice person. I didn't expect that the owner of the cloth shop and the owner of the store where we buy grain were the first to give out porridge and were also one of the few that persisted the longest. I thought that the government was mandatory for rich families to give out porridge." Yun Yiyi sighed.
"There are still many good people in this world. Especially in this year, it is so rare to find people who are able and willing to do good. The porridge they distributed at the city gate tower helped feed many people. They are truly kind people." Yun the Butcher said to Yun Yiyi.
"Yes, Dad. When we become rich in the future, we will also help others." Yun Yiyi said firmly, clenching her little fists.
"Okay, Yiyi, Dad has been waiting for that day." Yun the Butcher said happily.
Butcher Yun and Yiyi Yun drove their cart around a corner and onto another street. This street was wider than the previous ones, and the shops on both sides were open. Many people were walking on the street. Butcher Yun and Yiyi Yun stopped the cart in front of the first shop. A young man came out of the shop and helped park the donkey cart. Then, he took some fodder and water to feed the little donkey. Butcher Yun and Yiyi Yun looked up at the shop sign, which read "Yuelai Cloth Shop".
Yun the Butcher and Yun Yiyi walked toward the shop. Inside, they found it large and beautifully decorated. The walls were cleanly painted, and several paintings and calligraphy hung on them. A row of tables sat against the center wall, covered in rolls of fabric. Against the eastern wall, a display case stood, with a coffee table and two chairs in front.
There were a few customers in the shop looking at fabrics, and a few shop assistants were busy explaining the products to them. Standing behind the counter was what must have been the shopkeeper. He was short, plump, and looked very kind. He was using an abacus, probably calculating the bills for a customer.
Yun the Butcher and Yun Yiyi waited for a while, until the shopkeeper finished, then went up to talk to him. The shopkeeper had also been paying attention to Yun the Butcher and his father for a long time. They didn't even look at the fabric when they entered the shop, just stood by the counter waiting for him to finish.
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