Finally arrived! Zhen Wanwan felt like her feet weren't even her own anymore. She missed modern cars, high-speed trains, and airplanes so much!
The town was much more prosperous than the countryside. Zhen Wanwan looked longingly at the carriages of the wealthy, touched the hard stone in her sleeve. This was silver taken from the original owner's private treasury. She decided to make the most of it and decided to visit the place where cattle and horses were sold after entering the city.
Because the family had too much stuff, the Zhen family originally planned to only allow one person to enter the city, but Zhen Wanwan wanted to enter the city, so they added two more slots.
Grandma Li was worried about her daughter, so she went in with her. The two younger children were left to play with the Zhou family's children, while Grandpa Zhen and Wang Juhua stayed behind to look after the luggage.
Zhen Fugui, Zhou Dashan, and Zhou Xiaoshan went to the city together to purchase supplies. This time, they simply bought some medicine for treating colds and fevers, as well as oiled paper to prevent the items from getting wet in the rain.
Zhen Wanwan wanted to go into the city to find an excuse to take out the items from her spatial storage, and also to try her luck at the cattle and horse market. If she found a good ox, she would buy it!
"Mother, I want to go buy some clothes for the baby in my belly, and also buy some needles and thread," Zhen Wanwan said to Old Lady Li.
There was nothing she could do; this was her first time going out, and the original owner had only been here once before. Neither of them was familiar with Qing Shi Town, so they had to ask Old Lady Li where to buy things.
Grandma Li felt sorry for her daughter, but she didn't dare to say much. She just said, "No need for needles and thread. We already had some left at home, so I brought them all. Just pick out the clothes that Nini wore when she was little. Just buy two pieces of underwear."
In rural areas, children often wear hand-me-downs from older children. Nini's swaddling clothes were all hand-me-downs from Hu Zi when she was little. Zhen Wanwan didn't say much; she could take as much as she wanted from her own space, and she didn't need to be so frugal.
"I know, Mother."
The two walked together toward the West Market. There were fewer stalls along the way, and some of the stalls were run by poor families who wanted to sell their belongings in exchange for a few bites of food.
Zhen Wanwan suppressed her soft heart. She felt sorry for these people, but she had no ability to help so many. She could only harden her conscience and walk past their pitiful gazes.
Many shops in town are almost empty, and there are no small restaurants left. Only the largest restaurant in town is barely open, but it is also sparsely populated.
Zhen Wanwan looked around and noticed that several people dressed in the same clothes were hurriedly buying a lot of things, filling the carriage to the brim. They must be wealthy people who came out to shop.
"Wanwan, we've arrived. This is the most affordable fabric shop in town."
"Young lady, what brings you here today! This isn't market day!" The cloth shop owner and Old Lady Li were about the same age. A few years ago, Zhen's family had some money and often came to her shop to do business, so the two were quite familiar with each other.
"Oh dear, God is not letting us live! We are..." Old Mrs. Li squeezed out a few tears, expressing her confusion about the future.
The two chatted intimately, tears streaming down their faces, their hearts heavy with sorrow.
Zhen Wanwan thought about the clothes and fabrics in her space. She wasn't very interested in the items in the store, but she still randomly picked out a small piece of fabric.
Thinking about having to go to the cattle and horse market later, Zhen Wanwan couldn't help but urge Grandma Li: "Mom, my eldest brother should be done shopping soon, we should go find them."
Grandma Li knew that time was of the essence, so she politely said goodbye to the cloth shop owner, paid the money, and prepared to leave. She didn't know if she would have another chance to meet after this meeting.
The cloth shop owner's wife was also sentimental. She grabbed a batch of old cloth that was about 80% new and put it on Old Lady Li's basket, saying, "Take it back quickly. How can I take your things? This is money!"
"Young lady, please accept this. This batch is what we couldn't sell in previous years, so please don't look down on it."
Old Mrs. Li dared not accept it; she wanted to put the cloth back on her back.
"Oh, don't push me! We've known each other for so many years, and you're a regular customer. I'm so grateful to you for telling me this!"
After finishing her sentence, the shop owner said with some sadness, "I don't know if we'll ever have the chance to meet again after this farewell."
In the end, Old Lady Li couldn't refuse the cloth shop owner's offer and accepted the gift out of gratitude.
After leaving the house, Old Lady Li was about to head towards the city gate when Zhen Wanwan grabbed her sleeve and stopped her in her tracks: "Wanwan, what's wrong?"
Despite feeling the pain in her feet, Zhen Wanwan still voiced her thoughts: "Mother, I want to buy a horse-drawn carriage. Our legs are definitely not as fast as a horse's, and with this hot weather, it's easy to get heatstroke if we keep walking."
Hearing her daughter's words, Old Mrs. Li felt a chill in her heart and said angrily, "You girl, we have to divide a peck of rice into two meals, where would you get the money to buy a horse?"
Zhen Wanwan knew her mother had misunderstood, so she quickly explained, "Mother, please don't be angry. I wanted to buy it myself."
"You're going to buy it? Where did you get the money?" It wasn't that Old Lady Li didn't trust her own daughter. She had grown up under her own nose since she was little. How could she not know her own daughter?
Seeing is believing, so Zhen Wanwan found a corner and showed Old Lady Li her secret stash of money.
Grandma Li said she was more shocked than surprised! She asked in a panic, "Where did you get this money?"
It was obvious that Old Lady Li had misunderstood. Zhen Wanwan patiently explained where the money came from: "This was left by that person when I went to the county last time... and then..."
After hearing this, Old Lady Li did not relax. Instead, she felt sorry for her daughter: "Waaah~ What sins have we committed! It's pitiful that you have encountered such a terrible thing before you are even married."
Noticing the stares from those around them, Zhen Wanwan quickly comforted Grandma Li: "Mother, I'm not suffering at all. Let's hurry and find my eldest brother to go see him!"
Old Mrs. Li instinctively wanted to refuse the suggestion to buy horses, and she kept nagging and trying to persuade Zhen Wanwan along the way. Unfortunately, Zhen Wanwan had already made up her mind and it was impossible to change it, unless...
"What! The government has requisitioned all the horses?"
The vendor nodded and said, "Yes, the horses were taken away several days ago, and even the stronger oxen and mules were taken away."
This was something Zhen Wanwan hadn't expected; it seems the government had already made secret preparations after learning of Prince Yang's rebellion.
When Zhen Fugui came to town yesterday, he didn't inquire about this area, so he naturally didn't know that the cattle and horses had already been conscripted.
The two Zhou brothers were also surprised. It seemed that the war was very tense, and they needed to speed up their journey so as not to waste any more time on the road.
"There are no cattle or horses, but surely there should be one or two mules left!" Zhen Wanwan asked, unwilling to give up.
The vendor firmly shook his head: "No more..."
As a last resort, Zhen Wanwan asked reluctantly, "What about the donkey?"
Vendor: "You're too late! They sold out just before an incense stick could burn!"
Zhen Wanwan's heart sank, when suddenly she heard a pleasant voice: "You scoundrel, aren't you trying to rip us off? Give us our money back right now, I don't want it!"
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