Chapter 18 Purchase 2
Zhou Jin's original self had no idea about the current prices, and Zhou Jin was even less so. He thought it was normal to spend six taels of silver on a meal. However, when he went to the silver shop alone to exchange silver notes, he asked the clerk where the rice shop was and the current price of rice. He discovered that the purchasing power of one tael of silver was astonishing!
The clerk at the silver shop said that one tael of silver in this era could buy about two dan of ordinary rice. Zhou Jin knew that one dan at that time was equivalent to more than 180 jin in later generations, and two dan was more than 360 jin. In other words, one tael of silver here could buy more than 360 jin of rice in later generations. Zhou Jin remembered that before the end of the world, a jin of ordinary rice in the supermarket was about two yuan. If we calculate it at two yuan per jin, then one tael of silver today is equivalent to about 720 yuan in later generations.
According to this calculation, the meal fee for Li Mao and his yamen runners, including the room fee, was equivalent to more than 4,300 yuan. This is a very expensive meal in later generations, and it is no more expensive than staying in a five-star hotel and eating Michelin food!
But what shocked Zhou Jin even more was the three hundred taels that Old Man Zhou gave him. By that calculation, wouldn't that be the equivalent of over two hundred thousand yuan? No wonder he'd gnashed his teeth in resentment when he'd taken the money from his grandmother. No wonder the silver shop assistant was so shocked when he told him he wanted to exchange the three hundred taels of silver for loose change. As he left, he kept reminding him to be careful.
Fortunately, Zhou Jin didn't have to worry about his safety. As soon as he left the silver shop, he found a deserted place and put two hundred taels of the three hundred taels of silver he had exchanged into the space in the RV, leaving only one hundred taels of change on his body.
After knowing that silver was so valuable at that time, Zhou Jin planned to use 200 taels of it as bribes for future use, and the remaining 100 taels would be enough for him to buy supplies!
As for how to explain to Mr. Zhou when he gets back? That's hard to say. He just said that his three hundred taels can only buy back these supplies. If he doesn't believe it, he can just come with him next time.
As far as Zhou Jin knew, given how much Yayi Song hated wimps, even if his cheap grandfather had to ask him for help, it would have cost him a lot of money! His grandfather might not have been unaware of this, otherwise he wouldn't have let him come out as a representative so easily.
Ju Zhoujin estimated that his adoptive grandfather must have at least one or two thousand taels in his hand. The two hundred taels he bribed was nothing to his adoptive grandfather who had a huge sum of money in his hands. Besides, the money he took was originally the money given to them by his maternal grandfather, so he felt at ease taking it.
The first stop Zhou Jin went to to buy supplies was the grain store. He bought 300 kilograms of fine flour, 300 kilograms of fine rice, 20 kilograms of sesame seeds, 30 kilograms of soybean oil, and 20 kilograms of sugar. He asked the clerk in the grain store to deliver them to the back door of a small restaurant. This place was chosen by Zhou Jin in advance and it was very secluded. The clerk in the grain store thought that he bought so many things to supply the restaurant, so he didn't ask much. He unloaded the goods according to Zhou Jin's instructions and left.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Zhou Jin hurriedly put 100 kilograms of fine flour, 200 kilograms of fine rice, 20 kilograms of soybean oil, and 10 kilograms of sugar into the RV. Then he knocked on the back door of the small restaurant and gave the boss a bribe of one or two taels of silver, asking him to help him fry the remaining 200 kilograms of flour, sesame seeds, oil, and sugar in a big pot to make oil tea noodles.
The processing fee of one or two taels of silver was equivalent to the daily profit of the small restaurant, and it didn't cost anything, just some firewood. The restaurant owner readily agreed and even invited Zhou Jin to sit in the house and wait.
The small restaurant that Zhou Jin specially picked was a small shop that only had one store. It mainly sold breakfasts such as buns and fried dough sticks. It didn't cater to many people and was run by the owner and his family.
Because it mainly serves breakfast, there are naturally not many people at noon, with only one or two people buying buns.
Seeing that Zhou Jin wanted to make a lot of fried noodles, the restaurant owner simply lit up the two large pots in the kitchen. He and his wife each fried a handful and together they made oil tea noodles for Zhou Jin.
Zhou Jin drank the tea poured by the boss while sitting on a small stool in the back kitchen, watching the boss and his wife frying oil tea noodles. By the way, he asked the boss where in town he could buy a wheelbarrow. This was what Zhou Jin suddenly remembered when he saw someone pushing one when he went to the grain store to buy noodles.
At that time, the wheelbarrow was a very common means of transportation and carrying people among the people, especially in the north, and it played almost the same role as other livestock such as cattle, horses, and donkeys.
The wheels are made of wood, very tall and large, located in the middle of the wheelbase. The raised part divides the wheelbase into left and right sides. It can be used to carry goods or for people to sit, but the two sides must be kept balanced.
Between the two handlebars, a "wheel trip" is hung. When driving, it is placed on the shoulder, and the handlebars are held with both hands to assist the driver. Since the vehicle only relies on a single wheel, there is no need to choose the width of the road, so it can pass narrow roads, mountain roads, lanes, ridges, and wooden bridges. Two wooden sticks are fixed in front of the handlebars, so when tired, you can stop and stabilize the vehicle at any time without worrying about it tipping over. [Note 1]
Thinking of his two younger siblings at home and the food and supplies he would need to bring in the future, Zhou Jin felt it was necessary to buy a wheelbarrow.
The restaurant owner was a very shrewd man. When he heard Zhou Jin wanted to buy a wheelbarrow, he immediately said that his brother was a famous carpenter in the area. His shop was right next door, and the wheelbarrows he made were sturdy and easy to push. If Zhou Jin wanted to buy one, he could take him there immediately and give him the best price.
Because Zhou Jin was in a hurry to use the food, he was too lazy to compare prices. After the boss and his wife made the fried noodles and put them in bags, he followed the boss to his brother's shop. When he got there, he found that the restaurant owner was not exaggerating. The wheelbarrows sold by his brother were indeed very good, but the price was not cheap. One wheelbarrow cost three taels of silver, which was equivalent to more than 2,400 yuan in later generations.
In order to avoid being taken advantage of, Zhou Jin bargained for the price. Not only did he give up half a tael of silver, but he was also given two thick hemp ropes as a gift.
It seems that I must bargain when buying things in the future! Zhou Jin thought silently, this time it was equivalent to saving 400 yuan.
After paying the money, he pushed the wheelbarrow out and planned to go to the rice shop to pick up two bags of fried noodles. As a result, as soon as he came out, he ran into Zhou Zesheng, who had just come out of the rice shop, carrying a bag of rice with difficulty.
When Zhou Zesheng saw the wheelbarrow Zhou Jin was pushing, his eyes immediately lit up. He hurriedly asked him where he bought it, saying he wanted to buy one too. Remembering that Zhou Jin had just paid for the yamen runners' meals, Zhou Jin, thinking of helping him out, not only took him to buy a wheelbarrow, but also told him about how he made fried noodles with all the noodles he bought.
"After frying, these noodles not only don't spoil easily, but are also very convenient to eat. All you need to do is boil some water, mix it in a bamboo tube, and drink it whenever you're hungry. If you don't even have time to boil water, you can just eat it dry. It saves effort and time, and is perfect for eating on the road!"
This oil tea noodle was Zhou Yu's idea. When she was in high school, a roommate of hers often brought this stuff with her. She would make a bowl of it in the morning when she didn't have time to eat breakfast. Zhou Yu thought it was very convenient and delicious, so she asked her roommate's mother for the recipe and tried to make some herself.
Zhou Zesheng had a lot of money, but he obviously lacked life experience. Seeing that Zhou Jin was more experienced than his cousin, he immediately followed Zhou Jin in doing whatever he did.
Not only did he buy a wheelbarrow, he also went back to the grain store to buy refined flour, sugar, oil, etc., and asked the restaurant owner and his wife to help him make oil tea noodles. Then he and Zhou Jin went to buy some brown rice and flour, salt, water bags, oilcloth, bath beans, needles and thread, and each bought two coarse cloth quilts. He also went to the drugstore to buy some commonly used herbs for treating colds and fevers. Only after filling his newly bought cart to the brim did they walk towards the post station together.
On the way, they each bought twenty buns, ate three of them themselves, and packed the rest to take back home.
"Haha, this time it's all thanks to my nephew. I'm so much older than you, but I don't know anything about household chores. I was completely clueless when I came out. I thought I just needed to buy some rice and flour to take back for emergency. If it weren't for my nephew's reminder, how could I have prepared everything so well?!
Especially the oil tea noodles, I felt the fragrance after frying them, and I think they taste a hundred times better than the moldy porridge!
To be honest with you, my dear nephew, my uncle has a young son at home. He is only five years old and very weak. I originally thought that he would be injured in this exile, but now with this oil tea noodles, maybe there is still hope to save his life..."
Zhou Zesheng walked and talked to Zhou Jin, and he didn't know whether it was because he felt sorry for his young son or because he remembered the hardships after being exiled, but he actually wiped away tears as he spoke...
Zhou Jin saw this and quickly advised:
"Don't be too sad, uncle. There is nothing in this world that cannot be overcome. As long as people are still alive, there is still hope!"
"Haha, I'm sorry to have made you laugh, nephew." Zhou Zesheng also felt that it was a bit embarrassing to cry in front of a child like Zhou Jin. He quickly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and continued to thank him:
"My dear nephew, you're absolutely right. When you're at the end of your rope, you'll always find a way out! Yesterday, I was worried about my youngest son. Otherwise, I wouldn't have traded a goldfish with the yamen runner Song for the chance to go out. But today, I met my dear nephew, and he even taught me how to make oil tea noodles. Isn't that a lifesaver? Haha, so I have to thank my dear nephew..."
Oh my god, it turns out that Zhou Zesheng spent a goldfish on this trip!
Zhou Jin was completely shocked!
Since Zhou Zesheng spent so much, Zhou Fengsong must have spent a lot too, Zhou Jin thought, no wonder the two of them didn’t think of paying when they were at the restaurant, it turned out that someone had already paid the lion’s share!
Thinking about the opportunity to go out that he had exchanged for a few kilograms of loaches and two wild animals, and comparing it with Zhou Zesheng's little goldfish, Zhou Jin suddenly felt that he had made a fortune!
Including the supplies he bought, the money for meals, and the money for the wheelbarrow, all in all he spent on this trip was less than twenty taels!
But on second thought, it is not a long-term solution to always take advantage of Song Yayi's slight favor towards him. He must give Song Yayi some gifts in the future. After all, he still wants to follow him out in the future!
However, Zhou Jin couldn't decide what to give as a gift, but he definitely wouldn't give gold or silver. First, there would be many people who would give gold or silver, and it wouldn't impress Song Yayi. Moreover, he couldn't afford to give a small goldfish. Second, he couldn't bear to part with the silver in his hand.
If he wanted to give it to someone, he had to be willing to give it to him. But in Song Yayi's opinion, it was still a very good thing. But this was not the time to think about these things. Zhou Zesheng beside him kept thanking him, so Zhou Jin had to cheer up and deal with him first.
"Uncle, please don't thank me anymore. This little thing is nothing. It's been a difficult journey. If we don't help each other, it won't be easy to get through this difficult time, right?"
Zhou Jin followed the principle of more friends, more paths, so he helped whenever he could, after all, it didn't take much effort.
"Haha, my nephew is absolutely right. If you need help from me in the future, just let me know. I will definitely help you in any way I can! My eldest son is about your age. I will ask him to find you when we get back. You two brothers should get along well and help each other in the future!"
"Haha, okay! The same goes for my uncle. If you need help from your nephew, don't be so polite..."
The two men were talking as they pushed the wheelbarrow towards the post station. When they arrived, they saw that Zhou Fengsong had already returned. He had actually bought a cart like them, and filled the cart with brown rice and coarse flour. When they saw that they had also bought bedding and oilcloth, they realized that they had forgotten to buy them. Since there was still enough time, they hurriedly asked Zhou Jin to help him watch his things, and they ran to buy two coarse cloth quilts and a few meters of oilcloth.
When he came back, Li Mao and several yamen runners had finished their nap and came over. The post station had also moved out the things they purchased this time according to the list in the morning. Li Mao and several yamen runners took the list to check the supplies, while Zhou Jin and others helped to move the things and load them into the truck.
First, they carried more than a dozen sacks of fine rice and flour onto the mule cart, and then they carried a few baskets of fruits, vegetables, dried vegetables and other things, put them on the mule cart, and tied them up one by one.
Then half a pig, two whole sheep, a basket of salted fish, a basket of bacon, and several jars of various pickles were loaded onto the carriage. These were the food for the officials.
What was left were dozens of baskets of bran-mixed cakes and a dozen bags of brown rice, which were the prisoners' meals.
After the car was loaded, Li Mao checked the bill before ordering them to set off back. When they passed a delicatessen on the way, they stopped and bought five baskets of delicatessen and more than a dozen jars of good wine. This time Zhou Zesheng learned his lesson and took the initiative to check the bill, spending a total of five taels and six cents of silver.
After he paid the silver, Zhou Jin gave him his share, and together with the two taels that the restaurant had advanced him, he paid a total of four taels of silver.
But Zhou Fengsong acted as if he didn't see Zhou Zesheng spending money. He didn't say anything, let alone take out any money.
Although Zhou Zesheng didn't care about the extra 100 taels of silver, he was still angry at Zhou Fengsong's behavior. So on the way back, the two of them ignored each other and only spoke to Zhou Jin.
The author has something to say:
「Note 1」: Refer to the description of unicycle in Baidu Encyclopedia Unicycle.
Also: Cai Cai’s new novel “Fei Shi Yan Ran” has been updated. If you are interested, you can go to the author’s homepage to check it out…
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