Rather than saying he is sentimental, it would be more accurate to say he has a kind of fastidiousness about morality.
Having lived this life, all he wants now is to live a peaceful and prosperous life with his wife and children. As for taking the imperial examinations to become a Juren or Jinshi? Should he take them or not? He should, but he doesn't necessarily have to be the top scholar. Wouldn't it be good to pass the Jinshi examination as a junior scholar? Anyway, he plans to live a carefree life. So why not use some tricks to become a minor official in a remote area, so he can protect his family and enjoy a carefree life!
Knowing that the family needed to buy some grain, Gu Qingshan followed them to the grain store. He also wanted to buy grain, and this time he planned to buy some wheat flour and japonica rice, since Madam Qin didn't seem to like coarse grains and had been feeding them refined grains.
After buying the grain, Liao Hongying went to the cloth shop next door and bought some cotton and linen cloth, which could be used to make clothes and shoes. Remembering what Liu and Wu Chunhua had mentioned about kapok, she quickly bought some more. The child and husband only had one old cotton-padded coat that they had worn for many years, and all of these needed to be made...
While they were making their purchases, Qin San Niang was also at the charcoal shop.
"Hey buddy, you're saying your charcoal is only three copper coins a pound?!" Qin San Niang was quite shocked. Yesterday she inquired and found it was four copper coins a pound, which she already thought was very cheap. Three copper coins a pound was incredibly cheap! This was unbelievably cheap! Before, in Guocheng, she bought it for six or seven copper coins a pound!
The young man explained in a low voice that the price was just enough to cover costs. The charcoal business was not doing well these days, and many people didn't have any money. Even those who did had money had bought grain instead.
As for the cold winter? No problem. There are many mountains inside and outside Luochuan City, and those mountains are full of dead wood. Just gather a handful, and it will be enough to burn for a day. So the price of charcoal has come down, and the owner plans to quickly sell off this batch of charcoal to make room for other businesses.
"Then give me a thousand catties!" She now has a spatial ability, and a thousand catties of charcoal is almost enough to burn in the winter! It's just right to store it in a corner of the backyard.
Hearing that she wanted to buy so much charcoal, the young shop assistant's eyes instantly lit up with eagerness. Although three coins a pound was a low price, they could still make a profit if she bought so much. Their wages for the month were secure, and they might even get a commission!
After confirming several times that she really wanted to buy a thousand catties, the shop assistant quickly had his companion load it onto the cart for her. This time, Qin San Niang came in a horse-drawn carriage; she could drive a carriage quite well now, although it wasn't very fast.
Thinking about the wasteland in the space, if it were to be cultivated in the future, I might need to buy some grain seeds, vegetable seeds, and so on. Taking advantage of the convenience, I went to the seed store next door and bought a lot of grain and vegetable seeds, seeds that the supermarket I hadn't bought before. Although the wasteland in the back couldn't be planted for the time being, the front yard could be used to grow vegetables.
After they settle down in Jiangnan, and buy farming tools, they will need to cultivate the land, so these seeds will certainly not go to waste.
After everyone had finished packing up, it was almost noon, so they quickly settled the bill with the shopkeeper.
Thinking that the shopkeeper and his wife had served him very well these past few days, Qin San Niang gave him another twenty coins as a reward. This made the shopkeeper's wife very happy, and she instructed the shop assistant to fill their water bags with water and feed the livestock well.
With a crack of Gu Qingshan's whip, the three carriages slowly drove toward the city gate.
The winter sky was overcast. Three carriages moved slowly along the official road, the creaking of their wheels jarring against the open fields. From a distance, it resembled a winter landscape painting, except the people in the painting were far from leisurely.
"Auntie, Third Aunt, the sky is a bit gloomy. It looks like it's going to snow." Wu Chunhua said worriedly, looking at the sky. In her hometown, it would probably have already snowed by now.
Liu rubbed her leg. With the hot water bottle warming it, she could hardly feel the pain in her injured leg anymore. This was all thanks to her daughter's filial piety. She had thought the journey would be incredibly difficult, even life-threatening, but now she was like a wealthy landlady, not only not having to walk, but also having a hot water bottle when it was cold, and meat and noodles to eat when she was hungry. Sometimes she even wondered if this was really a refugee's journey.
Qin Sanniang, who was driving alongside Pangya outside the car, also looked up at the sky and thought to herself, "I really miss the weather forecast!" She wasn't afraid of the snow falling, but she was worried about heavy snow blocking the mountains. However, she wondered if it would snow as heavily here as it did in the north. In any case, they had to speed up their journey.
Liao Hongying's carriage was at the very back of the caravan. Since no one in the family could drive, He Xiucai took on the role of coachman. Fortunately, he was skilled at driving a carriage. After a morning of practice, he gradually became more stable, starting from a shaky start. He was quite quick to get the hang of it!
Inside the carriage, Little Tiger, who had just finished drinking his milk powder, was already fast asleep. The little one was sleeping a lot and had been eating well lately, so he was getting enough nutrition. His little face was quite chubby, and he smelled strongly of milk. Even He Mingzhe liked to hold his little brother.
Looking at his father who was driving the carriage outside, He Mingzhe looked on with envy and asked, "Mother, can I drive the carriage with Father?"
"Zhe'er, it's too cold. You're still so young; it wouldn't be good if you caught a cold," Liao Hongying gently comforted him, afraid of waking her sleeping youngest son. While the little one slept, she still needed to hurry and make cotton-padded clothes for everyone, as her husband and the others were still wearing last year's clothes, which were not enough to keep them warm. That's why she was so opposed to her eldest son's idea of going out to catch the carriage.
Turning her head and seeing the disappointment in her son's eyes, she couldn't bear it anymore and sighed, "Zhe'er, after your mother finishes making your new cotton-padded coat, I'll let you go out with your father to catch a carriage for a while, okay?"
"Really? Okay, okay! Then Mother, you'd better hurry up and make it."
"Shh." Liao Hongying put a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet. "Don't wake your brother, or you'll be waiting a long time for your cotton-padded coat."
He Mingzhe quickly covered his mouth and nodded vigorously, feeling very excited. He dared to get closer to his father now. His father used to be very strict and urged him to read and write every day. The two of them had never been this close. Since they fled from war, especially after his father recovered from his illness, he had become even more loving towards him!
"It's so cold!" He Yingyuan unconsciously warmed the hand warmer in his hands, thinking that Madam Qin really knew how to enjoy life. If she hadn't reminded him, he, a grown man, would never have thought to buy such a thing. As for Liao Hongying? She would think of it, after all, she followed Madam Qin and the others every day and knew that Liu Shi usually used a hot water bottle to warm her legs. However, she didn't think her family needed to buy one. They had to be frugal and couldn't afford to waste anything. Having a carriage was good enough!
In the end, He Yingyuan persuaded him to buy a hand warmer and a foot warmer, as well as several hundred kilograms of charcoal, which would be enough if they used it sparingly on the road.
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