Chapter 9 Improved Carriage
"Put them together?" This was said by Li Jialan.
After looking at Wu Gui, Wu Yue said, "Put them together."
They all knew in their hearts that at this moment they could only survive if they worked together, otherwise no matter how much money they had, it would be useless.
Not to mention, openly they shouldn't have a penny.
Zhou Yunshu looked at the gold, silver and jewelry piled on the table and suddenly felt that although they were exiled, their family was still quite wealthy.
"You don't have to put it all together. Each family can put out 1,000 taels and keep the rest for themselves."
After Li Jialan and Wu Gui took out one thousand taels, Zhou Yunshu took out another thousand taels and put it in there.
She secretly put the one thousand taels into the space when she left the palace.
"Shu'er?"
"Just this once." Zhou Yunshu said.
There are too few people in the second room, and the first room occupies twice as much as the second room, so it should have an extra share.
"Everyone knows how we left the capital, so before we got rid of the people following us, the only money we had publicly was the money I pawned my jewelry and the money I took out from the palace."
Everyone nodded.
"The public money is managed by my sister-in-law."
Fang Huiwen nodded and put away the three thousand taels of silver.
"Mother, you and Dongge stay at the inn to look after the children and keep an eye on Grandmother and Second Aunt's health. Sister-in-law, please take inventory of our current belongings."
Li Jialan and Fang Huiwen nodded.
"My second sister-in-law and I are out buying some things. Is there anything you want to buy? We'll buy it for you."
Li Jialan thought for a moment and said, "Let's buy some oilcloths. Even though it hasn't rained for a long time, it's still good to put them up at night to block the wind."
So that no one else would catch a cold.
"good."
"Sister, I want some needlework." Fang Huiwen said.
"no problem."
Wu Gui looked at her mother-in-law, "Mom, is there anything you want?"
Wu Yue shook her head, "Be careful."
"Um!"
Fang Huiwen took out five hundred taels from the three thousand taels of silver notes he had just put away and handed them to Zhou Yunshu, "Take it. I'll keep the account."
Fang Huiwen has a photographic memory, which is why Zhou Yunshu asked her to be in charge of the money and inventory of supplies.
After arranging Li Jialan and others, Zhou Yunshu and Wu Gui went to their grandmother's room before leaving.
Ji Mingzhu had already taken the medicine and lay down. Zhou Yunshu and the others did not enter the room, but only asked Nanny Wang if there was anything they needed to bring.
Nanny Wang glanced around the room and whispered to Zhou Yunshu, "Don't buy too much."
Zhou Yunshu raised her eyebrows slightly, then nodded and said, "I understand, Madam."
It seems that grandma has some plans.
Unable to buy a lot of things, Zhou Yunshu thought of modifying the carriage of the mule cart so that it would be a little more comfortable during the long journey.
When the two men went downstairs to get the mule cart out, they saw the four disguised soldiers who had been sitting in the lobby of the inn stand up.
It seems that he intends to follow them.
Seeing that they were going to follow, Zhou Yunshu simply stepped forward and said to the four people in surprise, "Can you help me?"
"……good."
With just one word, the people who were originally ordered to monitor the Zhou family's departure instantly became followers of Zhou Yunshu and the others. Zhou Yunshu even said that this was to make it easier for them to monitor herself.
There were four disguised and muscular soldiers following them. Even though Zhou Yunshu and the others went directly to the mixed horse market, no one dared to approach them and talk to them.
Zhou Yunshu took Wu Gui directly to the most famous carriage and horse business in the Great Zhou Dynasty. As soon as they entered the door, the shopkeeper came up to them attentively.
"What would you two ladies like to buy?"
The shopkeeper was a little surprised. After all, it was rare for young ladies from wealthy families to personally patronize a carriage and horse business like theirs. Usually, they would ask the housekeeper or servant to do it.
Zhou Yunshu didn't care about the shopkeeper's thoughts. She said directly, "I want to change carriages."
The carriage Chunque bought was an ordinary one, which was a bit crowded for four adults.
Zhou Yunshu wanted to change to a carriage of similar size to Ji Mingzhu's, so that it would be more spacious and more comfortable for long journeys.
When the shopkeeper heard this, he immediately smiled and said, "You two ladies have come to the right place!"
"Our carriage and horse business is spread all over the country. Even many carriages for the princes and ministers are custom-made from us."
Zhou Yunshu knew it, otherwise he wouldn't have come directly to their carriage company.
"I want something ready-made, large, and with lots of storage."
The shopkeeper asked, "Do you want a carriage pulled by one horse, or two horses?"
"one."
The shopkeeper knew what was going on and said, "Miss, please come this way."
The backyard of the carriage company was a large open space. In addition to Zhou Yunshu and others, there were also many guests looking at the carriages.
The shopkeeper had a clear goal and took Zhou Yunshu directly to the larger carriage.
"This carriage can easily accommodate six people, and there's even room for two people at the shaft. Most importantly, it's a strong yet lightweight carriage, and there's a separate space at the back for luggage."
The shopkeeper demonstrated to Zhou Yunshu how to use the carriage while speaking, "The luggage compartment at the back can be opened from both the outside and the inside of the carriage."
"There's space for luggage under the seats in the carriage, and there's also space in the middle for a charcoal stove."
The shopkeeper got in and pulled the two seats toward the center. "If you're traveling long distances and need to stay outdoors overnight, you can lower the support pole under the shaft. The carriage will be fixed like a small house. Pull the left and right seats apart and it will become a bed."
All of this is based on the premise that there are guards outside, otherwise no one would sleep in the carriage so carelessly. Who knows what might happen in the wilderness.
Zhou Yunshu was very satisfied with the carriage. "How much is this?"
"This carriage is the latest model designed by the best craftsman, and the materials used are also the best, so, eighty-eight taels of silver."
"Fifty taels, we want two."
The shopkeeper was obviously stunned when Zhou Yunshu was bargaining, because people like Zhou Yunshu, who were obviously from a wealthy family, usually paid directly, so why did she bargain so hard?
Not only the shopkeeper was stunned, but also the four officers and soldiers who had been following Zhou Yunshu were stunned.
One of them had a somewhat stiff expression. How come he didn't know before that the princess was such a good person at living.
"Miss, you're joking. Our cost is more than fifty taels. Eighty-five taels is really the cheapest."
"Sixty taels."
The shopkeeper: “…”
"Seventy-five taels is the best deal. If you don't think it's suitable, the carriage next to us for sixty taels is also fine, but..."
Before the shopkeeper could finish, Zhou Yunshu said, "Seventy-five taels is seventy-five taels, but you have to give us a new set of cushions and curtains."
The shopkeeper: “…Okay.”
After the transaction was finally completed, the shopkeeper looked at the two carriages in front of his store and the sixty taels of silver in his hand and fell into deep thought.
He sold two popular carriages, but in the end he only got sixty taels of silver!
Yes, those two carriages were ignored by him.
The owner of the carriage and horse business was in a depressed mood, but Zhou Yunshu was in a very good mood.
She knew in her heart that if she hadn't had the four disguised officers and soldiers following her, she would never have been able to do so smoothly.
The owner of the carriage and horse business didn't know his own origins, so he was so tolerant of him.
After leaving the horse market, Zhou Yunshu went to buy everything Li Jialan and Fang Huiwen wanted, and also bought 100 kilograms of flour, 100 eggs, and 20 water bags.
The closer she got to Luzhou, the more severe the drought became, and she had to find a way to store more water in the space.
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