Qin Xiaoniang lifted the curtain, and a gust of cold wind blew in, making her shiver.
"It's only the beginning of autumn, how come it's so cold?"
“The Western Continent is not like the Central Plains. They don’t have hot summers. It gets cold as soon as autumn arrives. In addition, there are snow-capped mountains ahead, so there will definitely be cold winds. I’m not trying to criticize you, but you’re dressed too lightly. Didn’t you buy some new clothes? You should put them on quickly, then you won’t be cold.”
After saying that, Li Qiang's wife took out Qin Xiaoniang's set of clothes from the package.
But Qin Xiaoniang felt that they hadn't reached the bitterly cold region yet, and wearing such clothes now was a waste of their potential. If they accidentally tore the clothes while making a fire, wouldn't they be left without even a warm garment when they reached the snow-capped mountains...
With that in mind, Qin Xiaoniang declined Li Qiang's wife's offer.
After traveling for some time, the carriage finally entered a small village.
Xizhou doesn't get much rain, and the fields are irrigated with well water, so rice is generally not grown here; only some hardy vegetables are grown.
Zhang Xiu'e stopped the carriage on the path and gestured for everyone to get off and go to the fields to take a look.
"This village has a lot of land, so there must be many farmers, right?"
Li Qiang's wife excitedly jumped off the carriage, looked around, and replied with a smile, "That's perfect! We can buy quilts now!"
Seeing her excited expression, Song He'er couldn't help but laugh along. "Tian Niangzi, don't be too happy. What if the people in this village are stubborn old men and refuse to sell us the quilts?"
"Impossible. Why would anyone turn down money? These farmers only earn so little in a year. We'll just give them a little more money."
Qin Xiaoniang interrupted her, "Give us more silver. How much silver do we have anyway?"
"What's there to be afraid of? We got this carriage for free. At worst, we can just have Madam Zhang make the trip again. She's got the ability!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu'e realized that Li Qiang's wife was making fun of her again, so she stormed over and slapped her on the back. "You wretched woman, I've done so much for you, and you're just making fun of me!"
Li Qiang's wife chuckled twice and immediately moved closer, "Alright, alright, I won't say anymore. Let's hurry into the field and ask them what vegetables they've planted."
Everyone knew it was a joke, so they didn't take it too seriously. They packed their valuables and went into the fields.
It was midday, and many people who were working in the fields had gone home for lunch. Only two or three people were sitting in their makeshift sheds, eating radishes and chatting about everyday things.
Before Zhang Xiue could speak, Song He'er asked first, "Uncle, do you sell these things from your field?"
The farmer looked Song He'er up and down, and seeing that she was a young girl, he didn't make things difficult for her. Instead, he called out to the adults behind him, "Are you from out of town? What are you doing here?"
Qin Xiaoniang then stepped forward and calmly replied, "We're on our way to find relatives, but we ran out of food along the way, so we wanted to buy some nearby."
The farmer pondered for a while, then continued to ask, "If we go south, we'll reach the snow-capped mountains. Are you going to the snow-capped mountains to find your relatives?"
Qin Xiaoniang was stunned for a moment, unsure how to respond.
Seeing that she was embarrassed, Song He'er quickly replied, "It's not the snow mountain, it's the west side of the snow mountain, the border area."
Upon hearing this, the farmer believed him and nodded, pointing to a field not far away. "I only have potatoes, radishes, and cabbages here! But don't underestimate my cabbages; even on snowy mountains, they won't freeze and you can still eat them!"
Song He'er couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Did this farmer not even think before he started bragging? Where are the cabbages not afraid of freezing?
Even in the 1990s, when people were eating cabbage every day in December, they would wrap the cabbage roots in cotton quilts! How come he can go up a snow mountain and not freeze?
That's a complete exaggeration!
Following the farmer's gaze, Zhang Xiu'e waited a long time before politely replying, "Alright, let's have some of each!"
"You need to give me a specific number, how many kilograms, because our vegetables are all freshly picked. If I pick them and you don't want them, wouldn't that be a loss for me?"
Song He'er hesitated for a moment, then a thought flashed through her mind. She stepped forward, smiling at the farmer, "Why don't you give us shovels, and we'll go to the field and dig up potatoes ourselves? You can weigh out as many as we find! We'll take whatever we get!"
The farmer thought it was a good idea, but the land didn't belong to him alone; he needed to go back and discuss it with the other landowners.
"Then you all wait here. I'll go call someone and get you some baskets. Sit down. There are carrots here; you can each have a piece to try!"
The farmer wasn't stingy; he was actually willing to part with his few radishes. Song He'er watched his figure as he walked towards the thatched hut not far away.
Song He'er wanted to take advantage of this free time to buy a few quilts from someone else.
Rather than saying he went to buy a few quilts, he should have taken out a few quilts used by the servants of the General's Mansion from his own space and used them as substitutes for those bought from the farmers.
Thinking this, Song He'er said to Qin Xiaoniang, "Mother, I see a house ahead. You wait here while I go buy some quilts for us."
"You're so small, how can you go and get several quilts? Won't that crush your little body? Let your third aunt go with you!"
"Need not!"
Such a decisive refusal immediately startled the people around.
"W-what's wrong?"
"You all still have to dig potatoes and pick vegetables later, and then one of you has to stay behind to look after the children. How can you leave? I'll go by myself!"
“You silly child… Alright, go ahead! Remember, if they refuse to sell to you, don’t argue with them, just come back on your own.”
Song He'er had already memorized Qin Xiaoniang's words of advice perfectly, so she only listened to them briefly before happily leaving.
Song He'er first found a secluded spot and quietly took out six cotton quilts that the servants usually used from her space. To avoid attracting attention, Song He'er even picked out a few with patches, so that at first glance, they really looked like things used by farmers!
Song He'er carefully moved them onto the carriage and placed them there, then paused for a moment to kill time.
Only after Zhang Xiu'e and the others got into the ground with shovels did Song He'er happily walk towards them...
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