With a snap, the chain broke, and Zhang Xiu'e dismantled the pair of shackles.
Li Qiang's wife exclaimed in surprise, "I said, Zhang Niangzi! I never knew you had this skill!"
"Hey, I'm very capable. Besides doing business, I can do any kind of physical labor!"
In no time, everyone was freed from the shackles and could walk normally.
Song He'er glanced at everyone's clothes and said, "Everyone, turn your clothes inside out so no one can see the 'prisoner' character on them. Once we've sold them, we'll each get a clean set of clothes to change into."
Exhausted, Zhang Xiue sat down on the ground, panting heavily. "The soldiers said that if we don't arrive in the desolate land of Xinzhou by the agreed deadline, our families will all be beheaded."
Song He'er didn't take it seriously. She took out the map from the soldiers and replied, "Without the soldiers' beatings, we'll be able to travel much faster. As long as we follow the directions on the map, we'll be able to reach Xinzhou ahead of schedule."
Qin Xiaoniang walked closer and took a look. Seeing that it really was an item from a soldier, she was instantly incredulous. "Hey, He'er, when did you get this?"
"The officers and soldiers lost it, so I just picked it up!"
Su Yu's wife smiled and said, "With someone as clever as Fifth Sister in our group, how can we not reach Xinzhou?"
Qin Xiaoniang breathed a sigh of relief and reminded everyone, "Alright, let's think about the money first. Without money, we won't even be able to cross this river..."
“What the young lady said makes sense.”
Song He'er does have money, but she can't openly take it out right now; she should plan ahead.
Moreover, the journey is long and arduous, and all sorts of disasters could happen. If they run out of money now, how will they survive in the wilderness?
“I think there must be fishermen on this river. As long as we catch some fish and sell them, we’ll definitely be able to raise enough money for the boat fare,” Song He’er suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu'e's face lit up with joy, and she excitedly replied, "Fishing is great! I love fishing the most!"
"This river is very deep, we can't just grab it with our bare hands, we need a net!"
What is a net bag?
After thinking for a while, Qin Xiaoniang replied, "It's similar to the trap nets used to catch rabbits in the forest..."
Song He'er nodded: "My stepmother is right, that's probably what it looks like."
"Then let's braid a net out of hemp rope, cast it into the river, and try to catch as many fish as we can..."
"good!"
With everyone working together, they disassembled all the hemp ropes used to pull the carts and, in less than an hour, wove a fishing net of moderate size.
Song He'er took a bucket, squatted in the shallow water, and waited for an opportunity to catch the fish that swam ashore to breathe.
If you really wait for the fat fish to bite on their own, it would probably take a whole day to catch a few dozen fish, and ordinary crucian carp don't sell for much money.
Song He'er suddenly remembered that before she left, she had put a water tank containing mandarin fish from the general's mansion into her spatial storage. Now, if she took out two mandarin fish from the tank, wouldn't she be able to sell them for ten strings of cash?
Thinking of this, Song He'er quietly took out two medium-sized mandarin fish from her spatial storage and put them into her bucket.
When Li Qiang's wife came over, she was startled by the living creature in the bucket.
"Fifth Sister, what kind of fish is in this bucket? I've never seen it before."
"The book says that this fish is called Songjiang perch, also known as mandarin fish, and it can sell for four guan per jin!"
"Four strings of cash?"
"Yes, Madam Tian, you've managed the household for so many years, surely you've seen fish like this before? Our General's Mansion has bought them before, haven't we?"
Li Qiang's wife shook her head: "I'm not the housekeeper, I'm the head of the household. I usually only do the rough work that the servants do, and I've never seen this fish before."
"Alright then, please keep a close eye on things, Madam Tian. If you spot any fishermen passing by on the river, be sure to stop them."
"certainly."
After saying that, Li Qiang's wife began to look for the boat.
As luck would have it, about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn came, and a fishing boat did indeed sail from the other side of the river toward us.
Li Qiang's wife waved in that direction, and soon the boat headed in that direction.
The leader was an old man with a white beard, who looked like a fisherman who often sailed on this river, followed by a strong young man.
As they approached the shore, he spoke casually, "Ladies, what brings you here? This is a fishing boat; we don't carry passengers."
Song He'er smiled. "We're not here to ride on your ship, but to do business with you?"
Upon hearing this, the white-bearded old man stroked his beard and smiled, "I wonder what kind of business you wish to do with this old man?"
Song Heren brought the fish from his bucket to the old man so he could see them.
Immediately, the old man's face lit up with amazement: "Is this a Songjiang perch?"
"You have good taste, it's genuine!"
"I've been sailing on this river for over thirty years and have never seen a Songjiang perch. I've heard before that this river is connected to a tributary of the Songjiang River upstream, so it must be a top-quality fish that came down from upstream..."
Song He'er went along with it and replied, "Yes, I was lucky, but we've run into some difficulties and urgently need money. Otherwise, we should have kept such a valuable fish for ourselves."
The old man nodded, pondered for a while, and then asked, "How much do you want to sell it for, young lady?"
"These two fish must weigh at least four catties. Even at four strings of cash per catty, that's sixteen strings of cash. But since you know your stuff, I'll give you a discount. How about fifteen strings?"
The burly man behind him thought the price was too high and stood up to retort: "Are you robbing me?! You want to sell these two worthless fish for fifteen strings of cash?"
Upon hearing this, Li Qiang's wife immediately became displeased. "Young master," she said, "how can you call our fish 'bad fish'? Take a good look! This is a species you might never encounter in your entire life of fishing!"
"you......"
The old man stopped the strong man, stepped forward to examine the fish in the bucket carefully, then reached out and scooped one out to weigh it in his hand. Seeing that it looked good and seemed lively, he had no choice but to speak again: "Young lady, I see that you are an honest person. How about we each compromise and give you ten strings of cash?"
Seeing that he was interested in buying, Song He'er carefully considered the options in her mind before replying, "Fifteen strings of cash, not a penny less. I can give you some fish, which were just caught!"
The old man really wanted to buy it, and having no other choice, he had no choice but to reluctantly agree: "Alright."
Upon hearing this, Li Qiang's wife happily ran to Zhang Xiu'e's side to get the fish.
Zhang Xiu'e and Qin Xiaoniang, who were unaware of the situation, were startled by the scene. They stared at the boats for a long time before following Li Qiang's wife over.
The old man inspected the seven or eight crucian carp in the bucket. Seeing that they were quite large, he didn't say anything, instructed the strong man behind him to pay, and then turned the boat around and sailed away...
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