It wasn't just Fatty who was worried; Xiao Er was worried too.
“Madam, there are quite a lot of these things. Would you like to buy less this time? Otherwise, they won’t be bright and shiny if we don’t use them.”
"That's exactly right, some people pretend to be something they're not, they don't even know their own limitations!"
Look, there are even onlookers watching the spectacle!
"Brother, could you please calculate for me? We are refugees from the north, and we plan to head south. We need all of these things. Don't worry, money is not a problem."
Hearing her say this, without any hesitation about her refugee status, the waiter was filled with respect. He quickly calculated the bill, "Madam, it's twenty-two taels and six mace in total. Since you've bought so much, you don't need us to deliver it. I'll just round it down for you myself. Is that alright?"
This was the biggest concession he could make within the bounds of his authority.
"Of course, thank you so much!"
Finally, to the surprise of the troublemaking mother and daughter, Qin San Niang readily handed over the money and then asked Fatty to go to the backyard to catch the carriage, asking the waiter to help carry the cloth into the carriage. The cloth could be placed under the seat and wouldn't take up much space.
Seeing the straw sandals on their feet, the waiter thoughtfully gave them a large bag of scraps of cloth, which would be great for making shoe soles or insoles. Qin San Niang thanked him profusely.
Before leaving, Qin San Niang glanced at the mother and daughter, then strode away arrogantly.
Then they heard a woman's voice from behind, "Hey you, waiter, we bought so much fabric before and you never gave us a freebie. This time you'd better give us a lot more fabric, like that big bag from before."
"Yes, otherwise we wouldn't buy it here!"
“Madam, Miss, this treatment is only available to distinguished guests who purchase three or more bolts of cloth. If you buy more cloth, please don’t buy it one foot at a time. Also, please don’t always make us round down. I can ask the shopkeeper for permission.”
...
Qin San Niang didn't care about the mother and son's unpleasant affairs; she figured she'd never encounter them again.
The chubby girl, with a big smile on her face, got on the bus to sell grain.
There weren't many people at the grain shop, and the grain was indeed only 30% more expensive than the city guards had said.
Qin San Niang asked for two hundred catties of millet, two hundred catties of rice, and two hundred catties of flour. This flour was also dark flour, but it was much finer than the flour that Liu Shi had brought.
Fatty squatted down in front of the rice bran by the door and asked if I wanted to buy some. "Auntie, this bran is edible too. You can mix it into flour to make steamed buns. They're delicious and filling!"
"We won't eat this rice bran; it's too harsh on the throat."
"Auntie, buy some, rice bran is cheap. I can eat it if you don't want it, I have a big appetite," Fatty said sincerely. She had a big appetite, and it cost money. At home, her grandmother would give her mixed grain steamed buns, but with more bran than flour.
Qin San Niang patted Pang Ya's shoulder, thinking to herself how much suffering this child must have endured.
"No need for rice bran, your aunt can afford to feed you, and besides, you have to drive the cart, this has helped me a lot. You can eat whatever Dawa and the others eat." With that, she followed the shopkeeper to calculate the money.
The chubby girl was left standing under the sun, sighing and looking up at the sky, barely managing to hold back her tears.
This was the first time anyone had said such a thing to her except her mother, but her mother couldn't give her white flour buns either.
Fatty sighed again, "Third Aunt is a good person!"
Besides rice and flour, Qin San Niang also symbolically bought ten catties of sugar, ten catties of salt, and some oil and seasonings. She certainly didn't have enough salt, but she had plenty; this was just a cover. It was better for Fatty and her children not to know her secret.
"Fatty, what time is it?"
Forgive her, as a time traveler, for not having many skills, such as the ability to read the sky and tell the time.
Upon learning that it was almost noon, Qin San Niang decided against cooking. Besides, she wasn't sure if borrowing the inn's stove would be suitable; there were many people eating lunch, and there might not be any available cooks.
Seeing a vendor selling large steamed buns by the roadside, the vendor kept calling out, "Steamed buns, baozi, thin skin, big filling, so fragrant and oily!"
"Young man, what kind of fillings do you have for your buns? And what is this?" Qin San Niang asked, peeking out.
"We have two kinds of fillings: green beans and pork, celery and pork, and vegetarian. And this one is a sesame seed cake, made with sesame oil and salt—it's delicious! Would you like to try one, madam?!" It was midday, and the vendor was enthusiastically promoting his wares, which could be heard by passersby. Business was getting harder and harder; years of war had dwindled the money in people's pockets, making it difficult for them to afford proper meals. Luckily, his food was of high quality, and many of his customers were regulars who would occasionally come to buy a few to try.
"Hmm, it does smell really good, doesn't it, Fatty?" Seeing Fatty's conflicted expression, Qin San Niang teased her. She realized that Fatty's craving for food was extremely real, and eating with her made the food taste much better.
"Mmm, smells good!" Fatty nodded quickly, then seemed to remember something and shook her head again, "Auntie, we still have food left from yesterday, don't waste it."
It turned out that Wu had saved half of the big steamed bun from last night for her, and told her not to eat so much today.
Remembering her mother's words, Fatty quickly shook her head.
"It's alright, Auntie, Grandma, and Da Wa also really want to eat it."
"Young man, give me four green bean and pork buns, four celery and pork buns, and eight vegetarian buns, four of each. And what about the sesame seed cakes? Do they keep well? Give me twenty, and you calculate the price." This is almost enough for tomorrow's breakfast; if that's not enough, the supermarket has more. These buns are indeed good, and she'd like to try the sesame seed cakes since she'd never had them before.
The vendor's face was practically creased with laughter; this was a big deal.
"Alright, these meat buns are three coins each, and the vegetarian buns are three coins for two. These sesame cakes are a bit more expensive, they have sesame oil in them, and they're three coins each. That's a total of sixty-nine coins. How about I add a vegetarian bun for you, so that makes it seventy coins?"
"Okay, then wrap it up for me. Also, do you know which clinic is good?" I forgot to ask Manager Liu earlier, and only now did I remember.
"Then you've come to the right person. The Qi family clinic in Taipei is a reputable place, and Doctor Qi's medical skills are superb." Doctor Qi is his neighbor and a very good person.
As the vendor took the buns from the steamer, he spoke of Dr. Qi's benevolent medical skills, then wrapped them in oiled paper. She didn't know where he bought the oiled paper; if he had larger ones, she would have liked to buy some. Although supermarkets had shopping bags, it was too much trouble to take them out.
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