After breakfast, Xue Huan and Xue Yao set off for the town together, carrying Xue's mother's embroidery and the furs that Xue's father had previously tanned.
Xue's father, the pillar of the family, was gone, and the family's money was stolen. The family still had expenses, especially Xue Jun's medicine, which accounted for a large part of the expenses.
So Xue's mother hurried to finish the embroidery she had on hand so that she could exchange it for money.
Although Xue Huan had recovered the money and belongings that were stolen from her home, she was unable to tell her mother about it, so she could only go to the town. It just so happened that she also wanted to go to the town to take a look and buy some things.
The name of the town is Qingyang. Because it is adjacent to the canal, its geographical location is quite advantageous, and it gathers travelers and merchants from all over the country, so the town is very prosperous.
On both sides of the main street in the center of the town, there are rows of various shops such as wine shops, tea houses and inns. People come and go on the streets, and its prosperity is no less than that of some small county towns.
After the brother and sister arrived in the town, they first went to the embroidery shop and sold Xue's mother's embroidery.
There are seven pieces in total. The largest piece is a painting of flowers and birds in spring mountains that can be used as a screen. It is about the size of two desks put together. The remaining six pieces are embroidered handkerchiefs and purses, each of which is very exquisite.
As soon as the two entered, Madam Qiao, the owner of the embroidery shop, came up to them warmly and said, "Huan'er Yao'er is here?"
While taking the two of them to the back room, he also brought out several kinds of snacks and pushed them in front of them for them to eat.
Xue's mother's embroidery works have always been stored in this embroidery shop for sale. As time went by, she became familiar with Madam Qiao. Because of their similar interests, they have become old friends over the past ten years.
Mrs. Qiao treated the Xue family's children as her own descendants.
Xue Huan didn't hesitate and took a piece of peach blossom pastry to eat.
Madam Qiao next to her had already opened the bag she brought with her and took out the embroidery inside to admire it.
"Your mother's handicraft amazes me every time I see it. I don't know how she was born with such a pair of deft hands. Her embroidery is like a painting. Look at the eyes of this bird; they seem to come alive."
After admiring it enough, she put the embroidery away carefully and handed it to the maid beside her.
Xue Huan spoke up, "Aunt Qiao, my mother said that we won't consign it this time and will sell it directly to the embroidery shop."
If you want to sell embroidery to an embroidery shop, there are two ways. One is to consign it to the embroidery shop, and the money earned will be divided between the embroidery shop and the embroiderer according to a certain ratio. The other is to sell it directly to the embroidery shop, and the subsequent selling price of the embroidery shop has nothing to do with the embroiderer.
Simply put, one is profit sharing and the other is buyout.
Because Xue's mother's embroidery had no trouble selling, she had always chosen to share the profits. But this time the family was in urgent need of money, and consignment sales would take a long time, so this time Xue's mother chose to sell directly to the embroidery shop and get some money.
Mrs. Qiao immediately realized something was wrong. "What's wrong? Did something happen at home and you need money urgently? If you need money urgently, Aunt Qiao has some money saved and can lend it to you."
Madam Qiao was only the shopkeeper, not the boss, of the embroidery shop. Although she was a good friend of Xue's mother, it was impossible for her to deliberately buy her embroidery at a high price for personal gain. If she bought it at a normal price, Xue's mother would definitely suffer a loss.
That's why she offered to lend them money so that they could continue to sell the goods on consignment.
Xue Huan showed gratitude. "Aunt Qiao, a lot has happened at home recently, but it's okay. I'll come back to borrow money when we really can't make ends meet."
Madam Qiao chuckled and pinched her face, "Okay then."
After coming out of the embroidery shop, Xue Huan had 23 taels of silver in her wallet. For an ordinary family, 23 taels of silver was definitely a considerable amount of money. After all, most people's annual expenses might be less than 5 taels of silver.
However, for the Xue family, this money may not last long.
After all, embroidery is a job that is very tiring to the eyes and laborious. In the past, Xue's father felt sorry for Xue's mother and allowed her to embroider for a maximum of three hours a day, no more.
Now that Xue's father is not around, Xue Huan can't let Xue's mother damage her eyesight just to make money. She has to find a way to make money.
This is not difficult for her who has the Five Elements Beads, but she still needs to plan it carefully.
Next, the brother and sister went to a fur shop and sold some furs.
After completing the mission in the town, Xue Huan started to stroll around the town. Xue Yao followed her closely, and when they walked to crowded places, he would hold her in his arms. It was so warm.
Xue Huan's affection for this younger brother grew rapidly.
When passing by a medicine shop, Xue Huan went in and asked if they had ginseng seeds for sale. The clerk took out some, but Xue Huan saw that these were processed ginseng seeds, a medicinal material, not seeds that could be planted.
When the clerk learned that she wanted to buy ginseng seeds for planting, he said, "Girl, go to the grocery store and have a look. They usually don't sell this stuff."
After all, how could ginseng be so easy to grow? Thinking of getting rich from it was nothing but a daydream.
Xue Huan thanked him and pulled Xue Yao out of the pharmacy.
When they reached the end of the street, a grocery store appeared in their sight.
Zhouji Grocery Store.
There was a rocking chair under the eaves at the door, and an old man in a gray cloth gown was lying on it, basking in the sun leisurely. Beside him lay a yellow dog, also dozing with its eyes closed.
This man and his dog seemed quite relaxed.
Xue Huan brought Xue Yao into the shop. It was empty. There were many things placed on the two rows of shelves, from pots and pans to needles and thread. The variety of goods was quite complete, but the display was a bit messy and many things were covered with dust.
Looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a long time.
No wonder there's no one here.
Fortunately, the boss still has the mood to bask in the sun outside.
But maybe they are not short of money at all, and opening a grocery store is just a pastime.
After looking around, Xue Huan didn't see any seeds. Although she had given up hope, she still asked, "Boss, do you have any ginseng seeds for sale?"
Zhou Ao, who was sitting on the recliner, opened his eyes slightly when he heard this and casually pointed to the corner of the second row of shelves. "It's at the bottom, find it yourself."
Xue Huan walked over, squatted down, and saw a dusty porcelain bowl in the corner of the bottom shelf. There was a bunch of seeds in the bowl in a mess, sesame seeds, peanuts, soybeans, rice... all mixed together, and there were even small stones. Some of them could not be identified as seeds at all, and it was possible that they were not seeds at all.
She fiddled with the bowl with her fingers and accidentally touched the edge of the bowl. Her palm felt warm and the Five Elements Beads appeared.
This bowl... actually contains purple energy?
Afraid that the Five Elements Beads would be seen absorbing the purple energy, she quickly closed her palms, picked up the bowl with her left hand, and prepared to pay, buying the bowl of seeds and the bowl itself.
A bowl that can make the Five Elements Beads react must be contaminated with purple energy, which means that this bowl is either an antique used by a previous emperor or it came from the palace.
No matter which one it is, this bowl is very valuable, and she might be able to get a big bargain today.
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