Zhou Beichen frowned. Although he was in the palace, one or two taels of silver for five strings of candied haws was really too expensive. How could ordinary people afford such a price?
No, it seems he needs to find time to investigate the people's sentiments, especially those of the small vendors.
"One tael of silver could have bought you over two hundred strings of candied haws, yet you're still asking for another tael of silver. Daddy, these candied haws are too expensive. I can't afford them. I won't eat them anymore."
"I say, even if you want to bluff people, you wouldn't do it this way."
Zhou Zhaonuan put her hands on her hips and glared at the small vendor, appearing unusually lively. Zhou Beichen couldn't help but smile at his daughter's angry look, and his suppressed mood improved a lot.
He would deal with this matter when he had time. Now he was out with his daughter, and he absolutely could not spoil her fun.
"Okay, then let's not buy any. There are plenty of candied haws for sale up ahead anyway."
The father and daughter chatted with each other intermittently, directly ignoring the small vendor. At the end, he smiled innocently and hurriedly offered a discount, "Hey, sir, how about ten cents a string?"
Zhou Beichen and Zhou Zhaonuan didn't look back either. What a joke! He was asking for a higher price. It was bad enough that he hadn't dealt with him yet, but he actually wanted him to buy his things. Forget it!
The father and daughter walked forward. Not far away, there was another candied haws stall. Zhou Beichen asked in advance.
"How much is a string of candied haws?"
The peddler was a simple and honest middle-aged man. When he saw the gorgeous clothes on the man in front of him, his eyes lit up, then dimmed, and he answered immediately.
"Six coins a string, ten coins for two strings. How many strings would you like?"
This price is very suitable, Nuannuan raised her head.
"Daddy, I want ten skewers."
Zhou Beichen nodded, and Deshun immediately came over from behind to pay the money.
"Okay, that's fifty cents in total. Keep it."
The street market was very large. In order to see if all the merchants here were like that small vendor, Zhou Beichen specially asked Deshun to buy a few strings of candied haws from a candied haws shop. Finally, when Deshun came back, he took away as many as fifty or sixty candied haws.
Zhou Beichen felt very happy as he watched his daughter running in front, looking here and there, and gradually becoming more lively.
He kept his eyes on Zhou Zhaonuan as he asked De Shundao who was walking side by side with him.
"how?"
"Sir, I've bought them all. Except for the one sold by the small vendor, the rest are all five or six coins a string."
While feeling relieved, Zhou Beichen smiled coldly and said, "Take my token and go to the county magistrate later. Tell him that the small vendors in the south of the city are raising their prices. Let's see how he handles it."
Speaking of which, the county magistrate of Zou County is a rare and honest official, but Zhou Beichen doesn't know why there would be such a businessman in his jurisdiction.
Deshun lowered his body slightly, his eyes darkening, "Yes, I'll be there in a moment."
At the same time, Zhou Zhaonuan was having fun nearby. After a while, the little girl came back with several candy figures. Zhou Beichen took a look and saw that it was the four of them. Thinking of Shen Nian'an's recent attitude towards his daughter, Zhou Beichen also had a lot of grievances.
Seeing the sweat on his daughter's forehead, it was obvious that she had run away. Zhou Beichen's expression became stern and he scolded her lightly.
"Look at you. It's still early. We have to walk around for a while. Just take your time. You're sweating all over. What if you catch a cold?"
She wiped it casually with a handkerchief. Zhou Zhaonuan was a carefree person to begin with. Seeing Zhou Beichen scolding her with joy in his eyes, she wiped the sweat off her face, ran to Zhou Beichen in a few steps, and naturally took his arm.
"Dad, I'm fine. Look at me, I'm strong and healthy. Do I look like someone who would catch a cold so easily?"
Zhou Beichen was caught off guard and a fan hit him lightly on the forehead, and he was furious.
"You're still so frivolous, have you forgotten how uncomfortable you felt last time you caught a cold and had a fever?"
Nuannuan stuck out her tongue and lowered her head to admit her mistake, which was rare.
"Daddy, I know about this. I'll be more careful next time. Can you please stop being so fierce? Nuannuan will be scared."
"Are you afraid?"
Zhou Beichen asked back. He couldn't deny it. If he said that his children were afraid of him, he would believe it, but he didn't believe the one in front of him.
As Zhou Beichen's personal bodyguard, Wang Da followed his master closely, never leaving his side.
Zhou Beichen, Zhou Zhaonuan and others walked forward aimlessly. Not far away, a two-story building above the ground appeared. Five large gorgeous lanterns were hung at the door. It looked like candles were lit inside, bright and beautiful in the wind.
Zhou Beichen looked up and saw three big words "Zui Honglou" on the roof.
There is only one Zuihonglou in Zou County. In fact, there are not only Zuihonglou in Zou County, but also in the streets of various places. As long as it is a prosperous county, there will be one or two Zuihonglou.
This is the largest casino and brothel in the country, with all kinds of beauties and gamblers inside.
There are singing and dancing performances and acrobatics.
After Zhou Beichen came to power, he originally wanted to wipe out the Zuihonglou, but then he thought, this is just like cleaning up corrupt officials, if the water is too clear, there will be no fish, and he can't clean it up no matter what, so he just acquiesced, which led to the Zuihonglou becoming bigger and bigger.
Because this place is not far from the capital, Zhou Beichen wanted to go in and take a look.
Deshun followed Zhou Beichen, and as they walked, he felt something was wrong. The place the young master was going to was Zuihonglou, and the princess was following him. This was absolutely not allowed.
Deshun was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and tried to persuade him in a low voice.
"Sir, the place ahead isn't suitable for us to go to. Besides, if the young lady goes there, I'm afraid it won't be...good."
Zhou Beichen turned around, his terrifying eyes fixed on Deshun. "Why, I want to go in and take a look. Do you want to stop me? Or do you want to die?"
Deshun's knees went weak with fear, and he forgot that they were in the street, and was about to kneel down to apologize. Zhou Beichen quickly pulled him up, and then looked at him, his tone surprisingly becoming normal.
"I'm not going in for fun. Why are you in such a hurry? As for Nuannuan, although she's a girl, as my daughter, she should be able to handle both the living room and the kitchen. If she doesn't dare to set foot in such a filthy place, what great things can she achieve in the future? However, it's a bit too early for Nuannuan to go now. Otherwise, Nuannuan, I'll let Wang Da take you back. With your brother here, he probably won't let your mother say anything unpleasant."
When Shen Nian'an was mentioned, the little guy was stunned. He was originally arrogant, but now, the little guy hung his head and didn't look happy at all.
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