This is an experience gained from staying in a hotel.
"How about we get a few rooms later? Or we can get two, and my younger sister can stay in one, and the three of us can squeeze in."
Yan Dashan frowned and said, "It's okay to squeeze in, but I'm afraid this quilt is not big enough."
"It's okay, the three of us can sleep together. It won't be cold if there are more people sleeping together. I'm afraid we will stay in the county town for more than just one day, so we'd better save as much as possible." A lot of money has been spent on building a house recently. The money has not been properly accounted for yet, and there is still a lot to buy later.
Yan Dashan nodded and said, "Then let's squeeze in. We'll have two rooms."
The oxcart soon reached the county town. Once inside, they headed straight for the Yunlai Inn as planned. They were lucky to find three rooms available, all on the edge of the building. Theirs was right at the very edge of the first floor, next to the large bunk bed. It was a bit noisy, but it was only for the night, and the value was what mattered.
"It will be dark for more than an hour. Should we go find the herbal medicine vendor first or the dental shop first?"
Chunxiao shook her head. "We need to ask about the medicinal herbs first, but not today. It's not a good idea to go in the afternoon. Let's go around the county first. I heard from Shuwen that you haven't done much shopping in the two times you've been here. We don't have much time now, so if we can't get things done, we can still take a stroll."
"I want to go and see it too. I haven't been to the county town for a long time. I want to see how different it is from before."
The four people left the inn and walked towards the center of the county town. The county town was worthy of being a county town. The streets were neat and clean, and the shops on both sides were tall and beautiful. It was the end of the year, and there were many people doing business and buying things.
"Auntie, there are lights on here at night, and there are many people selling things. It's very lively."
"Didn't you say you've never been there? How do you know they light up at night?"
"Before, my father wouldn't let me go out at night, so I took the opportunity when he was trying to gather information to sneak around and have a look." Shuwen glanced at his father secretly, "I haven't been to any other places."
Chunxiao saw a stall selling woolen gloves. When she asked the price, she was told it was 2 taels of silver. She was so scared that she quickly put the gloves down and left.
"The things in this county are so expensive." Dahai saw a stall in the distance selling tiger-head shoes. They looked so cute that he couldn't help but walk over, squat down, pick them up and take a look.
"Sir, these are hand-sewn by my wife at home. They are finely crafted. Buy a pair for your little one. They are very comfortable to wear. Look how soft they are."
Chunxiao and the others also walked over.
"How much are these shoes for?" Daha looked at the shoes and really liked them.
"It's not expensive, only 400 coins."
"400 wen is not expensive." They only need 80 wen to buy a pair of shoes in town, but this pair of shoes for the little baby costs 400 wen.
"Sir, look at my thread. It's all fine silk. The flowers on it were embroidered stitch by stitch. It took a lot of effort. 400 coins is not expensive at all."
"You're saying 'four, four'. It's too unlucky during Chinese New Year. How about this? I'll buy a pair for 200 wen."
Chunxiao had never seen Yan Dahe buy anything before, and she didn't expect that he could bargain and even cut the price in half. She was quite surprised.
The stall owner waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, I don't even have enough money for 200 coins. No, no, no."
After some bargaining, I bought the shoes for 280 Wen.
It can be seen that Yan Dahe really likes that pair of shoes.
The three of them walked for half an hour from the inn to the end of the street, then turned and walked into another street. When they returned, it was already dark. The three adults all had things in their hands. How could they not buy things while shopping, especially when they saw so many dazzling things.
We had dinner at the inn, and then went back to our rooms to rest.
Early the next morning, not long after Chunxiao finished washing up, Yan Dashan and others came knocking on the door.
The four decided to find a herbal medicine merchant to ask about the herbs. In fact, there were several people they were looking for, and the eight herbs were not bought from one person. Yan Dashan first took them to the alley east of the county town.
"The man here is named An. He has the cinnamon and fennel we want." Yan Dashan went forward and knocked on the door.
A woman opened the door and was startled when she saw them. "Who are you looking for?"
Yan Dashan had seen him before. "Aunt An, we went to Uncle An to buy some medicinal herbs. We've been here before." He pointed at Shuwen and said, "This is my son. We were here together before. Do you remember him?"
The woman looked at them carefully and said, "Oh, I remember you. You were here before, but my husband went to the countryside to collect goods and is not at home."
"When will he be back?"
The woman shook her head. "It's hard to say. Sometimes it's a few days, sometimes it's more than ten days. Where are you staying? If he comes back, I'll send you a message."
"Thank you, Auntie. We will stay at the Yunlai Inn for two or three days. If Uncle An returns in the next two days, please let us know. Thank you."
It was a bad start. After the first place didn't go well, they went to the second place. Fortunately, the owner was at home this time. However, when they asked about the medicinal herbs they wanted to buy, they found that the price had doubled compared to last time. They all knew that the price of medicinal herbs might increase, but they didn't know it would double. They politely said goodbye to the boss and went to another place to ask. Only then did they realize that the medicinal herbs nowadays are no longer what they used to be. In some places, they are even more expensive. In the afternoon, they only bought about 100 kilograms of ginger, cardamom and angelica each. They had no choice but to go around to the second store to buy 100 kilograms of pepper.
All the things were transported back to the inn. It was getting late, so they had dinner at the inn. Chunxiao then suggested taking Shuwen out for a walk.
The two brothers had to watch over things at home, so I asked them to take care of their own safety.
When the two came out, it was already dark and lanterns were lit everywhere outside. Chunxiao took Shuwen and walked around and asked for directions until they arrived at Wen Lake in the county town. It was said that this place was the most lively at night. You could buy a boat ticket with money. There would be food and opera performances on the boat.
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