In addition, I also selected two types of incense beads and incense cones with stronger fragrances. The incense cones can be burned in an incense burner to fumigate the house, while the incense beads can be put in a purse and placed in the wardrobe so that the clothes can be scented.
While choosing a fragrance, Meng Zhao also saw a rare item, a hand-carved incense ball. Seeing that Meng Zhao was interested, the shop assistant took it down and handed it to her, indicating that she should press the clasp in the middle.
Meng Zhao reached out and pressed it open, only then could he see the structure inside. In the center of the incense ball was a small disc with a burning incense cone on it. The disc was specially designed so that it could remain stable even when shaken.
This means that even if you wear it on your body, you don't have to worry about the spices inside spilling out when you walk around.
The ancient craftsmen were indeed highly skilled. The incense ball was small, not much bigger than a plum, but the patterns on it were very exquisite, which is rare even in modern times.
When Meng Zhao asked the price, it was indeed quite valuable. This incense ball was made of pure silver and was hand-carved. Even a highly skilled craftsman would have to work for several days and nights to make it, not to mention the many ingenious details hidden inside.
But Meng Zhao really liked it, and if she gave it to her mother, Xu Yunrong would definitely like it very much too.
So she gritted her teeth and bought it. The incense ball alone cost eight taels of silver, and the spices she chose were also quite expensive.
Meng Zhao immediately realized that she had chosen the wrong profession. She was struggling to sell starch, and it would take her hundreds of kilograms to buy just a few ounces of spices.
Moreover, her starch is very easy to replace, unlike the fragrance. As long as the formula is not leaked, it is basically impossible for others to make the exact same one.
It seems that if she's planning to do anything in the future, she should try to choose things with high barriers to entry.
After leaving the incense shop, Meng Zhao went to several food shops to buy gifts for Shen Qingze and Shen Qingyu. There was no need to put much thought into their gifts; just choosing some delicious food would suffice.
Meng Zhao specially selected several local specialty pastries. With the weather getting colder, these things would keep longer and wouldn't spoil even if they were delayed on the road for a few days.
As for Meng Dashan, the choice was even easier. Besides his wife and children, his favorite things were good food and wine. Meng Zhao went directly to the local wine shop and selected two jars of the best wine, which would surely satisfy him.
When they returned to the inn, Meng Zhao and Chen Yun each had several items hanging from their bodies, and Xu Ping and Gu Yun quickly came to help them.
"Cousin, you're buying so many things, why don't you let Gu Yun and me come along?"
Meng Zhao replied with a smile, "Why are you two following us when we girls are picking things out? You can't tell the difference between good and bad anyway."
Gu Yun chimed in, "At least we could help carry some things. This wine jar is so heavy; we should have had Shen Yun call us to carry it."
Meng Zhao rubbed his shoulders and sighed, "Sigh, I didn't expect to buy so much at once. Once I started buying, I couldn't stop."
Spending money feels so great! It's just a pity she doesn't have enough money yet, so she feels a bit constrained when buying things. When she has more money, she'll definitely take a carriage ride to go shopping next time; that would be truly exhilarating.
The next morning, after breakfast, the group drove their donkey carts but did not return the way they came. Instead, they took a detour to nearby Hongnong County.
They brought 3,000 jin of starch with them when they came. They couldn't go back empty-handed. They heard that potatoes were cheap in Hongnong County, so it would be a waste not to bring some back.
Without a village head or anyone to guide them, they had to resort to the simplest method: asking everyone they met for directions.
"Hey folks, do you have any potatoes? We buy potatoes, want to sell them?"
Meng Zhao thought she looked like a good person and spoke quite warmly, but after asking a few people, they all ran away as soon as they saw them, as if avoiding a plague. Meng Zhao guessed that they probably thought she was a scammer.
So later, they went straight into the village to the place with the most people, parked the car, and then asked.
"Fellow villagers, we're here to buy potatoes. Does anyone here want to sell?"
Judging from the large group's numbers, no one ran away this time. The group that had been chatting idly just moments before looked at them suspiciously, and one of the bolder ones asked, "How much do you pay for potatoes?"
Seeing this, Meng Zhao smiled and replied, "Five coins for four catties, fill the cart to the brim."
This was the market price that Meng Zhao had found out. Normally, if she came to the village to buy directly, she would find someone to sell even if she set the price at one coin per pound. But Meng Zhao felt it was unnecessary, so she paid the market price instead.
Upon hearing the price, the man's eyes widened, and he asked again, "You're buying it here?"
Meng Zhao nodded. "Of course, I'll just load it onto the truck and take it away." He then took the scale out of the truck.
"Look, I've brought all my tools. If you have any potatoes at home, bring them over. I'll pay you on the spot."
As soon as she finished speaking, the villagers who had been gathered around them all rushed home. Soon, villagers carrying baskets, winnowing baskets, and shoulder poles came out, all filled with potatoes.
Meng Zhao and his group quickly got to work, weighing the goods right at the village entrance. Some of the laborers were responsible for bagging the goods, while others were responsible for loading them onto the cart. Meng Zhao and Shen Yun changed into their work clothes and waited until the weight was measured before settling the money with the villagers.
“Auntie, this basket of potatoes weighs 40 jin in total. At five wen for four jin, this is fifty wen. Please count it.”
The old woman took the copper coins from Meng Zhao with her withered and slightly trembling hands. After counting them several times, she carefully put the coins into her bosom, picked up the empty basket, and walked home.
She's an old woman who can't earn any money at all. She can only make a living by tending her small plot of land. She always eats whatever she grows in the field. Other crops don't produce much grain on this land, but potatoes are the best she can grow.
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