Chunxiao looked at the map in his hand and asked, "How much do you want this map for?" Its accuracy wasn't important to her. She couldn't locate it anyway. She just wanted to see where she was and where the next one would be. At least she knew her location and what was around her.
The driver smiled slyly and said, "It's not expensive, just one tael of silver."
"One ounce of silver? That's all?" Shuwen looked at the driver. "Isn't this just a piece of paper? Who knows how many copies it's been made of. You're selling it for one ounce of silver? That's a rip-off."
"Hey, little brother, if you don't want to buy it, then don't buy it. I'm not forcing you to buy it."
"I'll buy it." Chun Xiao took out a tael of silver and said, "Can you give me the blueprints?"
The driver took the money with a smile and handed over the picture respectfully, "I like straightforward people like you, girl."
Xingfu also couldn't stand his scheming behavior, "It's only because our young lady needs it, otherwise who would spend a tael of silver to buy a piece of scrap paper from you."
The driver was not angry and put the money into his inner pocket, saying, "I am selling this to people in need." After making the money, he happily started to eat his meal.
Chunxiao began to look at the blueprint. Today they arrived at Wei County. According to the route, the next county to go is Wuling County. Beyond Wuling County is Wanfeng County of Tongzhou. Beyond Tongzhou Prefecture is Dongjiang Prefecture. Hejian Prefecture is next to Dongjiang Prefecture.
Chun Xiaochu took a quick look at the map and put it away. After dinner, they continued on their journey.
"Hey, we haven't finished eating the oranges and pears at home yet. I should have brought a few out earlier. I hope Meiman won't eat them and let them rot."
Xingfu chuckled and opened his big bag, "Miss, I brought you several, please take a look."
Chun Xiao exclaimed, "Oh my!", somewhat surprised. "I was wondering why your bag was so big. It turns out you packed so many things, including snacks from home. Oh, Xingfu, you're so thoughtful. You wouldn't have taken it out if I hadn't told you, would you?"
"I thought I'd give it to you when you wanted to eat it, miss. Would you like an orange or a pear now?"
Shuwen reached out and took an orange without hesitation, "It's so cold in this cold weather, it makes my teeth cold."
"You're afraid of the cold, so why are you eating it?" Chun Xiao looked at it and said, "You should eat a pear. Oranges are convenient and can be eaten anytime. I plan to plant a few fruit trees on the farm in the future so that we don't have to buy fruit anymore."
"Aunt, the orange tree in your yard bears sweet fruits, but there are too few of them."
"This is only the first year of fruit production. There will be more next year."
"Then I'll ask my father and second uncle to plant a few on the farm, so we'll have enough to eat in two years."
The car swayed all the way, and finally arrived in Wuling County on the 4th day after rushing.
"Wuling County and Wanfeng County are adjacent to each other. Wanfeng is right after Wuling. We will arrive there tomorrow. Would you like to spend half a day strolling around Wuling before setting off, or should we continue walking? We will reach Wanfeng tomorrow morning." The driver finally stopped rushing on without asking for opinions.
After discussing, the few of them decided to continue on their journey. As long as they did not leave Qingzhou, it would be meaningless for them.
The driver smiled and said, "Okay, let's keep going."
This time they took the official road and rested at the post station at night.
The post station was built at the junction of the state capital to facilitate the travel of merchants.
We set off early the next morning and arrived in Wanfeng County around noon.
They took the road and led them into the city. The driver stopped the carriage at the horse shop's base and said, "Everyone, this is our shop in Tongzhou. If you need anything, you are welcome to come to our horse shop again."
Chunxiao and his companions paid the money, expressed their gratitude to the driver, and took out 5 cents of silver as a reward. The driver was naturally happy and told them about the recent situation in Wanfeng County. He also reminded them that if they wanted to do business or inquire about information, they could stay at the Nanbei Inn in the south of the city.
After thanking him again, Chunxiao took Shuwen and Xingfu to the south of the city to find the Nanbei Inn recommended by the coachman.
"Where did you stay before?" Chunxiao asked Shuwen curiously.
"We didn't stay at an inn, but at the home of a cotton buyer. He was very welcoming and, after we had agreed on a price, he insisted on letting us stay in his house. However, the cotton collector was indeed wealthy, and his house was particularly large."
"I guess they're afraid someone might snatch your cotton away halfway. Is cotton from Tongzhou really that expensive?"
"I don't know what the price is now. We can find out by asking this afternoon. Aunt, how are you going to find it?"
"Let's find a place to stay first. Then we'll go to the shops this afternoon to get a feel for the prices here. We'll go to the pawnshop tomorrow."
After walking for almost half an hour, they finally found the North-South Inn on a street in the south of the city.
I originally thought that this Nanbei Inn was a common inn, but when I arrived I found out that the simple name was the only thing that made it simple. The decoration was not simple at all. I asked about the room rates and found out that the cheapest one was 500 Wen per night.
"Is this driver going to bite us?"
"Miss, do we want to stay here? It will cost one tael of silver a day." It's too expensive.
"There must be some truth in what the driver told us. Let's stay here first and see how things go. If it doesn't work out, we can move on." Chunxiao gave two taels of silver, one tael of silver being a deposit, and booked two of the cheapest rooms.
Although it is the cheapest room, the layout inside still looks very upscale, with seats, tea and water available, and the quilt is relatively thick.
"Sir, there will be a stage in the main hall at 5 p.m. It's all free, you can go and watch."
As soon as she entered the door, she saw a stage in the hall. She thought it was a place to eat, but it turned out to be a stage.
"Thank you for the reminder, little brother."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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