The other families had paid for their food along the way, and Qin San Niang wouldn't let them go hungry! As for whether they made a profit or loss, she didn't think about it too much. After all, she had helped them along the way. It was a matter of mutual assistance, and she could see that these families were grateful for her kindness!
When Wu Chunhua heard that she needed to buy more rice and flour, she thought to herself, "Don't we already have some at home?"
That's true. These people have been eating without restraint lately, and the food is plentiful, so the grain is being consumed too quickly!
Wu Chunhua sighed inwardly. These days, they were eating nothing but dry rice, and each meal was the amount she used to eat in a day, maybe even more. She would have to be more careful when cooking in the future, using less rice and less oil! Since buying the land, she had hardly any money left, and she could only feel a little better by working twice as hard!
"Alright, sister-in-law, don't even think about saving rice and flour! Not to mention the adults, even the kids have suffered a lot on this journey. My little one is already stunted! Take advantage of this off-season to make sure he gets some extra nutrition, otherwise we'll be busy again!"
Qin San Niang knew exactly what she was thinking, so she said it jokingly.
However, in her opinion, she had indeed suffered along the way and hadn't eaten anything good. She had basically made it through by eating wild vegetable pancakes and drinking coarse rice porridge.
Although the meals were occasionally improved by providing some roast chicken or pork for everyone, each person could only get a few bites, and most of the time the food was cold. As a result, our gastrointestinal tracts inevitably became unhealthy after the journey!
Wu Chunhua was embarrassed. How could Third Sister see through her thoughts? So she hurriedly declared that she dared not do it!
They knew in their hearts that Third Sister was a capable woman, and as long as they and their son worked hard with her, they would never have to worry about food!
As for eating a few extra bowls of rice? They don't mind, and I'm not a stingy person! Don't act like a timid wife; it makes you seem petty and disliked! Just accept it generously and get back to work!
The shopkeeper hadn't expected that the customer would buy so much more grain before the deal was even finished. He agreed to wait a moment and went to weigh the rice and flour with a smile. After weighing them, he added two extra handfuls of each item. Although it wasn't much, it made him feel better!
"Madam, wheat flour is eighteen coins per catty, rice is nineteen coins per catty, and cornmeal and sorghum flour are cheaper, all at twelve coins. That's a total of four qian and nine taels of silver. Adding the grain and vegetable seeds you selected earlier, I've rounded it down for you, so it's a total of six taels of silver!"
Ah Jin, the shop assistant, quickly calculated the price, his abacus clicking away. It seemed he wasn't just a shop assistant, but also a capable manager! He was a real talent!
"Alright, here's six taels of silver, but I'd like to trouble you to deliver it to the carriage shop in the south of the city!" Qin San Niang requested.
This is quite a lot of stuff, and the women couldn't carry it all. Besides, shops usually offer delivery, as long as the location isn't too remote.
Sure enough, upon hearing her say that, Ah Jin quickly nodded in agreement. The carriage and horse shop in the south of the city was only a short distance from the shop, so it wasn't a problem at all! Even if it were a more distant place, they would still have to deliver such a large amount of goods!
"How will we find you then?" Ah Jin asked. "If you ladies still want to go out for a stroll, how about we set a time?" After all, food is a rare commodity, and if anything goes wrong, I can't bear the responsibility!
Thinking that there were indeed many things missing at home, Qin San Niang nodded in agreement and said, "We do need to buy some things. Then I'll trouble you to deliver them in an hour. We'll meet at the carriage and horse shop in the south of the city!" There was only one carriage and horse shop in the south of the city, and she believed that Ah Jin wouldn't deliver it to the wrong place.
After leaving the grain store, Qin San Niang and her companions headed straight for the cloth shop. Although they didn't plan to buy cloth, it was still necessary to buy some needles, thread, and other such items.
These things are available in supermarkets, but they are different from the needles and thread we have now. The best embroidery needles of this era are much more exquisite and can cost up to ten or more taels of silver! Even ordinary ones cost about one or two taels of silver. Of course, Liao Hongying doesn't need such high-end needles; she'll just say that an ordinary sewing needle will do! But even an ordinary sewing needle costs more than twenty coins, as expensive as a pound of flour!
No wonder Liu was so careful with her needlework when they fled; it would be a real shame to lose such things! Liao Hongying's needlework was probably lost on the way; otherwise, a needle could be used for a long time with repeated polishing, and if properly stored, it could last for more than ten years without needing to be replaced.
After buying needles and thread, Qin San Niang went to the meat stalls with Wu Chunhua and the others. There weren't many restaurants and hotels in He County, but the street stall industry was very developed! For example, there were quite a few meat stalls, seven or eight of them lined up from south to north!
At the busiest meat stall, a burly man in a single layer of clothing was wielding his knife with practiced ease, chatting and laughing with the women who came to buy meat.
"Aunt Wang, I know your eldest daughter is getting married in a few days. You're here to buy meat, right? Oh, don't worry, we're old acquaintances. I'll round down the price for you. Consider it a small gift for your niece's wedding!" After saying that, the man cut off a small piece of lean meat and put it into the aunt's basket.
"Oh dear, how could I accept that? Alright, come over to my place for a drink in a few days!" Aunt Wang said with a smile, clearly very considerate of this small favor. Of course, the drink was just a figure of speech; the butcher wouldn't actually go! That would take a lot of nerve!
Unexpectedly, even something like this could stir up a hornet's nest; a sharp sound rang out from the side.
"Wang Daniu, you can't just round down the price for Wang's family, give me a discount too! My family has always bought meat from you!"
Seeing that Aunt Wang had gotten a good deal, the sharp-tongued woman was furious! She quickly squeezed to the front and asked for a pound of meat, then said the same thing to the butcher.
Wang Daniu continued working with his hands, and said to her with a forced smile, "Sister-in-law, you may not know that Aunt Wang is from my own clan! This extra gift is not superfluous! Her eldest daughter is practically my niece!"
"How about I give you a discount next time you buy a few more pounds? After all, this is just a small business for me. If I round down every pound of meat, it'd be like doing charity, haha!"
“Yes, those two are relatives, from the same clan! Why are you so eager to take advantage? You’re just buying a pound of meat and you’re still making a fuss about it,” another old woman said.
She was just standing in line when this slippery, opportunistic woman beat her to it! The old woman was furious! If it weren't for the crowds and her own desire to save face, she would have cursed her out!
The woman who had been scolded was about to retort, but then she remembered that the other woman was the oldest on the street, and that she had several strong men in her family. If she angered her to the point of collapsing, she would have to pay for her medical expenses! So she could only angrily take the meat, fling it aside and swaying away!
Qin San Niang glanced at it and saw that the pork at her family's meat stall was the freshest. Even though it was cold, it was still steaming, so it must have been slaughtered not long ago!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com