Chapter 19: Entering the Northern Frontier
Although Xu Yaozu didn't know why his daughter bought so many cotton-padded clothes, he still nodded to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper was delighted, but he still said, "After you buy it, we won't refund it."
Xu Nian smiled slightly: "Of course, but the shopkeeper should also tell me the actual price."
"Since you really want to buy them, I'll charge you 450 coins each and you can take them."
"150 Wen"
"You are teasing me, girl. How can you offer such a price? 400 coins cannot be less."
"200 Wen"
"Hey, come and count with me. 380 is my bottom line."
"250 is also my bottom line."
"250 wen is not enough for my capital."
"Shopkeeper, if you put it down again, all 250 coins will be gone."
"350 wen if you want it, take it away. If you don't want it, forget it."
"For 300 wen, you have to deliver the goods to the outside of the city."
The shopkeeper, who thought he was good at cultivating his Qi, was so angry that he blew his beard and glared.
Xu Nian saw that the shopkeeper was about to leave with his father without saying a word, but in the end the shopkeeper stopped the two of them.
"320 wen, little girl, you have to let me earn some money."
"It's just 300 coins, shopkeeper. Change your mindset. You made this 300 coins out of pocket."
The shopkeeper was so angry at Xu Nian's remarks that he laughed. He said in a hateful voice, "This is the first time I've seen a girl who is so good at bargaining. 300 coins is 300 coins."
In the end, the guy cleared out 125 cotton coats, plus the two on the counter, a total of 127 coats.
"Shopkeeper, why don't you just beat me up for the full 38 taels, and then the 100 wen will be considered as our friendship."
The shopkeeper waved his hand and said, "Whatever she said is the truth." Just think of it as the 100 coins he gave to buy himself a good mood.
Xu Nian told the boy where to send the goods and went to the clothing store with Xu Yaozu.
Before Xu Yaozu could recover from the sight of his daughter bargaining, he was dragged out of the door.
"Nian'er, where are we going?"
"Dad, go to the pharmacy and buy some ginger for everyone to boil to get rid of the cold. Otherwise, getting sick will be a big expense."
Xu Yaozu deeply believed this, but fortunately, the two boys from his second brother's family did not get sick during this period. So far, the Xu family has not discovered that the improvement of Xu Kang and Xu Jian's health is related to the dates given by Xu Nian.
After buying the ginger, the two of them left the county.
When everyone saw the two of them, they gathered around excitedly.
"Yaozu, why did you buy so many cotton-padded clothes?"
"I said I should go. How can the eldest brother and the eldest girl buy things? They must have been fooled."
"Second sister-in-law, please say less."
“…”
Everyone was asking questions at once, and Xu Yaozu had no time to interrupt.
It was Xu Nian who rescued her poor father.
"I bought all of this. I'll explain the details later. Everyone should put on cotton clothes to keep warm. I also bought some ginger.
Mother, please boil some water and make some ginger soup for us to warm up."
"Oh, why would you need your mother? Just leave this job to me."
The village chief's second daughter-in-law took over the ginger and went to work. Now all the food and supplies for all of them were provided by the Xu family, so they didn't have the nerve to let the eldest sister-in-law of the Xu family do the work.
What's more, when they arrive in the northern border, the eldest sister-in-law of the Xu family will be an official's wife, and they will have to rely on the eldest brother of the Xu family in the future.
After putting on their cotton-padded clothes and drinking the ginger soup, everyone felt warm. They loaded the remaining cotton-padded clothes into the car and continued on their journey.
The rest of the journey was almost all rushed except for the rest time for the donkey and mule, and even meals were squeezed into one meal a day.
However, as the weather gets colder, people can no longer stay outside overnight, so staying in a hotel at night is another expense.
Although we stayed in the cheapest dormitory, it still cost 80 wen a night.
At the end of November, everyone finally arrived in the northern border. Looking at the towering city walls, even the men who easily refrained from crying had tears in their eyes.
The village chief wiped his face and said:
"We are finally here. Let's wipe our tears and hurry into the city to settle down as soon as possible."
Everyone hurriedly packed up and then drove towards this strange yet longed-for city.
The people guarding the city gates in Northern Frontier were not gatekeepers but soldiers. When everyone arrived at the city gates, the soldiers carefully searched the items in each car and checked everyone's identity documents one by one.
I was surprised for a moment when I learned that these dozens of people came from Qingyun City in the south.
The village chief carefully inquired about the location of Lingshan County before leading everyone into the city.
Xu Nian looked at this northernmost city curiously. The buildings here lacked the exquisiteness and grace of those in the south, and were built in a more simple and elegant style.
People on the street walked in groups of two or three, and did not stay indoors because of the cold weather.
What made Xu Nian happy was that many of the stall owners on the street were women with their hair tied up, which showed that the local customs were more open and they were not against women showing up in public.
The people in the cars looked around curiously as the six cars swayed slowly toward the east.
The village chief asked the soldiers guarding the gate, and was told that Lingshan County was only 60 kilometers away to the east.
Sure enough, two hours later, everyone saw the boundary marker of Lingshan County.
The group asked as they walked until they arrived at the Lingshan County Government Office.
Xu Yaozu and the village chief took the letter to the county government office, and the rest of the people were waiting outside the county government office.
At this time, the county government's bailiffs had already noticed this group of people, and when they saw the two people coming over, they looked at them curiously for a few more times.
The village chief bowed and said, "I have something important to discuss with the county magistrate. I hope you can pass it on."
The yamen runner did not move but asked, "What's the matter?"
"We are fleeing from Qingyun City and want to settle down in Lingshan County. Here is a letter from the Chief Secretary to the County Master."
The bailiff was shocked when he heard this and did not dare to delay. He quickly took the letter, gave some instructions and went to the back yamen.
Lingshan County Magistrate Wu Zhiji was processing official documents in the back hall when he saw the bailiffs hurried in.
After hearing the report from his subordinates, County Magistrate Wu was also quite shocked. He took the letter and read it quickly. When he saw that the seal of the chief historian of the royal palace was signed, he became even more uneasy.
"Go and invite the person in."
After Xu Yaozu and the village chief walked into the back yamen and exchanged greetings, County Magistrate Wu first looked at Xu Yaozu, because the village chief had just performed the kneeling greeting, while Xu Yaozu had performed the bowing greeting.
After Xu Yaozu paid his respects, he took out the letter in his hand and explained.
"I am the candidate who was admitted this year. This is my letter of recommendation."
County Magistrate Wu nodded in understanding, took the letter from his master and began to read it. When he saw the chief secretary's seal again, he was no longer surprised.
Although he didn't know what the relationship between these people and Changshi was, he must make good arrangements.
Especially this Xu Ju, I wonder how the chief secretary knew that the post of chief clerk in the yamen is vacant. Could it be that there are spies from the palace here?
County Magistrate Wu was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He reflected on whether he had made any mistakes in his official duties in recent days. It was not until an incense stick of time passed that he slowly came to his senses.
This was a tough situation for Xu Yaozu and the other person who were waiting downstairs, as they thought there really was something wrong with the two letters.