Chapter 18: Bargain Hunter
Xu Nian and others did not go down the mountain immediately, but climbed over two mountains before going down the mountain.
After walking another ten kilometers down the mountain, the group finally saw a small town.
The town is not big but has a wide variety of stalls, which shows that it has not been affected by the drought.
After asking the uncle who was setting up the stall, they found out that this was Suihe Town. The group did not stay for long and went straight to the carriage and horse shop at the end of the town.
Although it was a horse and carriage business, there were only a few donkeys and mules inside, not even a cow. After asking, I learned that if I wanted to buy a cow, I had to go to the county town dozens of kilometers away.
Fortunately, they are not picky. Although cows will be of great use to them in the future, donkeys and mules are more suitable for hurrying and are much faster than cows.
Luo Jin'an left a total of 186 taels of silver for Xu Nian. In order to save money, everyone finally decided to buy the cheapest mule.
The five mules and six flatbed carts cost less than 60 taels in total.
The few days of rushing had eaten up all the remaining food, so a group of people went to the town’s grain store to buy some food.
The store is not very big, and there are not many types of grains inside. Moreover, the cheapest food sold here is a kind of food called gray flour.
The owner of the grain shop introduced that this is a kind of flour eaten by local people, which can be used to make various pasta, but the taste is not very good.
For those who have fled all the way, being able to fill their stomachs is already a blessing, so there is no need to consider so many other things.
But because of the limited space in the car, he only bought 1,000 kilograms of black flour, spending three taels of silver.
With food, people feel more at ease and their faces are not so sad.
The village chief also smiled when he saw the truck full of food.
"Xu's girl, think of the money you spent as a loan from us. Once you're settled in, we'll write you an IOU from each household and we'll definitely pay you back in the future."
Xu Nian did not refuse, as she knew very well the principle of repaying kindness with kindness.
"Grandpa Village Chief, the most important thing is that we can get to Lingshan County smoothly."
“That’s the truth.”
The village chief and several others carefully checked each vehicle, and all the food and household supplies were loaded into three vehicles.
Except for the six people who rushed to the car, everyone else could only sit in the remaining three cars.
But even so, it was still a little difficult for one mule to pull more than 10 people on average.
In the end, only women and children could sit on the bus, and the men were divided into two groups to take turns sitting, which greatly increased the speed.
After learning from the last experience of being caught in the rain, Xu Nian went to buy a dozen large sheets of oilcloth to prevent the food from getting soaked in water again.
After everything was ready, six vehicles slowly set off north.
This time we walked on an official road instead of a small path. Since we had already passed through the drought-stricken area, the road was relatively peaceful.
However, as we travel further north, the temperature gets lower and lower. Although it is not yet November, everyone has already put on their winter coats.
Because she had a car to ride during this period, Xu Nian had more time to enter the space, and now she has stored a lot of food and vegetables in her space.
But the food was only corn and sweet potatoes, and the rice was still heading in the fields. Planting this little rice almost made her tired like a dog, because she had to carry water from the stream bucket by bucket.
Because she only bought one bag of each vegetable seed, she saved the seeds from the vegetables she grew. Although the seeds grew well in the space, she was not sure how they would perform outside.
But it’s no use thinking about these things now. I can only experiment again when I get to northern Xinjiang.
"Nian'er, there's a county town ahead. Should we go buy some thick clothes? Otherwise, we might get sick easily from frostbite."
Xu Yaozu came to the car with his sleeves rolled up, sniffed and asked.
Xu Nian happened to have this plan, but not everyone went into the city this time, because everyone had to pay a one-cent entrance fee to enter the county town.
"Yaozu, just take your wife with you. Every penny you can save is a penny you can save now."
The village chief stamped his feet and sniffed as he spoke.
Everyone else nodded in agreement. The reason why Tian was asked to go was because they were buying clothes and other things, and a woman could go along to bargain.
"Oh, why don't I go? My sister-in-law is so stubborn that I won't be able to bargain down the price."
When Zheng heard that her sister-in-law was to go, she hurriedly said yes.
Although her sister-in-law was literate, she lacked a sense of vigor and vitality. In the past, she and Wang were the ones who went shopping every time.
As soon as Zheng finished speaking, Wang said angrily, "You idiot, is your brain frozen?"
Seeing Zheng's confused look, Wang couldn't help rolling her eyes. Whose younger sister-in-law and eldest uncle go out together? They are not afraid of being criticized.
Xu Nian understood what Wang meant. As she also wanted to go to the county town to take a look, she continued:
"Grandma, let me go with my dad. I will definitely buy some cheap and warm cotton clothes."
Wang originally wanted to say that she would go with them, but then she changed her mind and thought that her eldest granddaughter was protected by the mountain goddess, so maybe she would have some adventures.
Xu Nian followed Xu Yaozu into the county town, and the two went straight to the clothing store.
Although the shopkeeper did not look down on the two men because of their shabby clothes, he was not very enthusiastic either.
"How do you sell cotton-padded clothes in your shop?"
"That depends on what kind of fabric you want to buy and what thickness of cotton you want.
This is the cheapest item in the store, 180 wen. "
Xu Nian pinched it lightly and felt that it was about the same thickness as the one on his body, and the fabric was also the roughest linen.
"I'd like to ask the shopkeeper what kind of cotton clothes I should buy if the weather is in northern Xinjiang?
As you can see, we don’t have a lot of money, so the price should be low.”
The shopkeeper asked the clerk to go to the storeroom and get out two cotton-padded jackets. Xu Nian frowned when he saw that they were made of fine linen.
The shopkeeper explained, "In the northern border, you won't feel warm no matter what you wear, but this is enough to keep out the wind.
This kind of cotton coat originally costs 800 wen, but as you can see, it has some mold spots due to moisture, so I can sell it to you at a lower price."
Xu Nian also noticed the mold spots on the clothes. She picked them up and smelled them. The smell was not too pungent. When she got to the place, she washed them with the laundry detergent in the space and dried them thoroughly. They were no different from new ones.
Although Xu Nian was very satisfied, he still pretended to be embarrassed and asked, "This kind of fabric is not cheap, how much does it cost, shopkeeper?"
The shopkeeper sighed as he looked at the sniffing man and the sad-looking child.
"Give me one ounce of silver for these two pieces."
"I wonder how many more cotton-padded jackets like this the shopkeeper has?"
The shopkeeper didn't understand, but still replied, "There are more than a hundred pieces."
Thinking of the cotton-padded clothes stored in the warehouse, the shopkeeper also felt sad. He blamed himself for forgetting to inspect the roof of the warehouse.
"Shopkeeper, if I clear out all the cotton-padded clothes in your storeroom, you might be able to get a lower price."
The shopkeeper looked at the two people in front of him in disbelief. Could it be that this kid was making fun of him? He looked at the man who had remained silent the whole time.