Pei Yao was already irresistibly tempted by the crabs hiding among the rocks on the beach.
The villagers of Liangshuijing don't particularly like eating crabs, which results in a large number of crabs on the coast.
Each one has large claws and a round body. You know, these crabs are plump with meat and roe, tender and delicious, and can be used to make many kinds of dishes.
Unfortunately, Pei Yao never had the tools.
Pei Yao insisted on buying crabs since she was in town, even though the price of iron was so high. She planned to make a lot of money back by turning the crabs into delicious food.
Moreover, this tool has many uses beyond just catching crabs.
Anyway, it's a very practical tool for beachcombing.
Pei Yao gave the blacksmith shop owner a detailed description, afraid that he wouldn't understand.
"It's like two ears on either side, and then blah blah..."
Blacksmith shop owner: "..."
"Girl, you don't need to make it so complicated. It's confusing me. I'll just ask you one question: is this the kind of fire tongs you want?"
The shopkeeper took out the pair of fire tongs he usually used to pick up hot iron and showed them to Pei Yao.
Pei Yao's eyes lit up, and she quickly nodded: "Yes, that's it! I need one pair, and another pair of scissors."
The shopkeeper didn't think they couldn't afford it just because they were dressed in rags. After all, fire tongs are made of iron and aren't very practical; not every ordinary person could afford them.
The blacksmith patiently explained, "These fire tongs weigh two jin and cost 160 coins, and the scissors cost 40 coins, for a total of 200 coins. However, you'll have to come back to pick up the fire tongs the day after tomorrow."
The fire tongs were not in stock, but the scissors were.
This kind of thing uses a lot of iron. Ordinary people usually just stuff firewood in with their hands when they start a fire. They can also use a stick to poke the fire where their hands can't reach. Who would spend that kind of money to buy this thing?
Only wealthy families would buy this tool from the blacksmith's shop to hold the embers when they burned charcoal in winter.
Pei Yao said it was fine, she could come and pick it up the day after tomorrow.
The two paid the money with great reluctance, then took the scissors and left the blacksmith shop.
Then they went to a place that sells pork. After walking for a while, they stopped at a pork shop where the meat looked relatively fresh.
Pei Yao: "Boss, how much is this meat?"
The butcher was a burly man with a fierce face. When he saw two women come to buy meat, he forced a not-so-friendly smile: "Fat meat is thirty-five coins a piece, lean meat is twenty-five coins a piece, and pork belly is thirty-one coins a piece."
So expensive!
Meat and grain were always very expensive, regardless of the dynasty.
Pei Yao thought that there was no oil at home, and they always boiled the food. She was worried that her family would not feel well if they did not eat oil for a long time.
Without oil and water, even bowel movements are difficult...
This is what Pei Yao can't tolerate the most!
Pei Yao: "Boss, cut four pounds of fatty meat."
She reluctantly asked the shopkeeper for four catties of fatty meat, which cost her 140 coins. Both of them were in pain when they paid.
The pork cost 140 coins, plus the 200 coins from the blacksmith's shop, bringing the total to 340 coins.
Making money is really hard, but spending it is like water flowing away...
Pei Yao couldn't bear to buy any more lean meat. This fatty meat was more cost-effective than lean meat; it could be eaten and used to render lard. The cracklings after rendering the lard could also be eaten.
Actually, there was pork fat available next to it at the time, which was a few coins cheaper than pork fat.
Although pork fat yields more oil than pork fat, the resulting meat scraps are not as tasty as those made from pork fat.
If you want to eat the pork cracklings after cooking the meat, then fatty meat is better.
Chen Fang didn't understand why Yao only bought this white, fatty meat, when the pork belly next to it was clearly tastier and cheaper.
But she felt that the girl must have her own plans, so she didn't ask.
As Pei Yao picked up her things to leave, she was suddenly drawn to a pile of pig intestines in the corner.
Pig intestines!
Goodness, this is an essential item for every female protagonist in a farming/farming novel who transmigrates to earn money at the start!
She had seen in many farming novels that the female protagonists would buy a whole bunch of meat in just two or three chapters, and some even had the shopkeeper give them a whole bunch for free because they bought a lot of meat.
Then those female protagonists in farming novels become rich by making all sorts of delicious pig intestine dishes.
So, in order to be able to eat delicious stir-fried pork intestines tonight, Pei Yao decided to take a chance.
She pointed to the fatty intestines in the corner of the table: "Boss, I'll take that. How much?"
After Pei Yao finished speaking, she waited for the shopkeeper to say: "It stinks and is worthless. I'll sell it to you for two coins."
Instead of hearing the shopkeeper's reply, he calmly said, "One set of pig intestines costs eight coins, and there are two sets here for sixteen coins. Do you want both?"
Pei Yao: "..."
It's so expensive, she should just get one set.
However, it's much cheaper than meat.
You really can't completely trust time-travel farming novels.
Pei Yao lowered her head, embarrassed: "Boss, I think this is a bit too much. I'll just take one serving and buy more next time if it tastes good."
One act of extroversion led to a lifetime of introversion.
The shop owner wasn't surprised. He picked out a slightly better bag for her and, worried that they wouldn't be able to eat it, kindly added, "This pig intestine has a strong smell. It's best to wash it several times with wood ash when you get home, and then it won't taste like much."
"Okay, thank you, boss." Pei Yao nodded and gratefully took the item and put it into the basket.
After buying this, the two continued strolling along the street and bought several more lidded earthenware jars, totaling twenty-eight coins.
I'm planning to pickle some vegetables when I get back; pickled vegetables are a must-have with rice.
They went to the grain store to buy some staple food, and the owner of the grain store did not neglect them because of their poor clothes.
Judging from their attire, they were clearly from a rural village. I was worried they might not be literate, so I thoughtfully explained the prices.
The grain shops here sell grain by the liter, and one liter is 1.5 jin.
Polished rice cost 45 coins per liter, yellowed old rice cost 25 coins per liter, and brown rice was relatively cheaper at 15 coins per liter.
For noodles, coarse grain noodles cost 18 coins per liter, while white flour cost 35 coins per liter.
After comparing prices, Pei Yao decisively chose four liters of brown rice.
Don't ask why I only buy brown rice; it's mainly because it's cheaper.
The two of them only had one hundred coins left. They'd even spent sixty coins on those five catties of brown rice!
The two of them had only forty coins left.
We'll have to take an oxcart to get back.
It was already 2:00 PM, and neither of them had eaten lunch yet. When they passed by a steamed bun shop, they each bought a meat bun to eat.
I bought three more for my family.
The meat buns cost two coins each, so that's ten coins in total. Now I only have thirty coins left.
The two stopped the car in time and dared not buy anything more.
Chen Fang carried a small basket of things on her back, and then each of them held a pottery jar that couldn't fit in the basket, standing at the entrance of the market waiting for Niu Qingshan to return.
Holding the pottery jar, Pei Yao looked at the still bustling market and sighed, "Money really doesn't last long. I didn't expect to spend so little so quickly. I still have so many things to buy."
Chen Fang also sighed, "Making money is really not easy, but spending it is like water flowing away."
After Chen Fang finished speaking, she looked at Pei Yao and asked, "Yao, shall we come again tomorrow?"
Pei Yao nodded: "Auntie, we seem to have enough snails left at home to make about three buckets. Let's make three buckets tomorrow. If we make too many, I'm afraid we won't be able to sell them since it's not market day."
Chen Fang affirmed, "It's enough, four buckets are enough."
The two stood there chatting idly for a while, and soon Niu Qingshan arrived.
Pei Yao invited the two to get into the carriage and handed Niu Qingshan eight coins, but Niu Qingshan refused to accept them, saying that the eight coins they had given him that morning were already enough.
Pei Yao forcefully shoved it into his hand and casually asked if he had time tomorrow, as they wanted to hire an oxcart to come to town.
Niu Qingshan said he would have time tomorrow, and even if he didn't have time later, Uncle Niu Er could still drive the oxcart.
Pei Yao nodded. Only the Niu family in the whole village had a car. She had just been worried about what would happen if Niu Qingshan didn't have time one day, but now that she heard him say that, she felt much more at ease.
Pei Yao asked Niu Qingshan how much it would cost to hire a car.
Niu Qingshan stopped being coy. He realized that Pei Yao would be taking the car often in the future, so he couldn't be coy every time he took the car.
Niu Qingshan said that normally, people in the village would hire him to take his oxcart to the town for fifteen coins.
Since it was a chartered vehicle, the oxcart driver would take you there and then wait for you to come back, which would waste almost a whole day's work. Fifteen coins wasn't unreasonable.
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