Chapter 5 The money is too little!
Grandpa spoke, and the little boy could no longer resist, wolfing down his food.
The allure of convenience for children remains unchanged throughout history.
The noodles were finished in no time.
The old man ate only a small bowl of noodles, giving the rest to his grandson, leaving not even a drop of soup.
Sunzi Zhao Xiaoer's belly was bulging, but he was still licking the bowl with a look of unsatisfaction.
Jiang Ling then asked, "Grandpa, what day is it today? Why are so many people heading up the mountain?"
"The shop owner just moved here, so they might not know. Today is the ninth day of the lunar month, and Bailong Temple on the mountain is holding a temple fair. Everyone is going there to pray for blessings. I took my grandson there early and just got back."
"Oh, it's a temple fair."
Today is the ninth day of the month, so what day of the month will we meet?
"Does that old man go up the mountain to pick mushrooms every day?"
"No, mushrooms only grow when the soil is moist. It hasn't rained for the past few days, except for the first day of the lunar new year when it rained all day. On the second day, I wanted to go up the mountain to try my luck, but I didn't expect there to be so many mushrooms. I got so caught up in picking them that I forgot the time, which is why I came here to ask the shopkeeper for some water."
The second and ninth days of the lunar new year. Seven days have already passed!
But for her, it was only a dozen hours!
Time flows almost ten times faster here than in modern times!
Through Jiang Ling's seemingly casual conversation, they finally learned that the village was originally called Jishui Village, and that the village was inhabited by families surnamed Chen and Zhao.
And this old man is Zhao Sheng from Zhao Family Village.
The nearest town is about ten miles away. It takes more than an hour to walk there.
Before leaving, Jiang Ling grabbed a handful of White Rabbit milk candies and stuffed them into the child's hands.
The old man insisted on giving money, and Jiang Ling couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she only accepted five copper coins.
Under the blazing sun, the early summer temperature was somewhat muggy, and I was slightly sweating.
Jiang Ling dared not change out of her long-sleeved shirt; her current attire was already considered outlandish for this dynasty.
If you go out wearing shorts and a t-shirt, who knows what might happen.
Jiang Ling put the five copper coins in her hand into the drawer, planning to exchange them for money when she had saved enough.
Just then, a woman in a pink dress, who looked to be only in her early twenties, walked in, followed by a girl dressed as a maid.
"What kind of shop is this? Why is it decorated so strangely? Does it sell food or goods?"
The woman in the pink dress surveyed the shop with an arrogant gaze. Her clothes were gorgeous, adorned with jewels and hairpins. She was clearly a wealthy person.
Business is in!
"This small shop is a general store; we sell everything from grains and oils to rice and flour, and daily necessities. What would you two young ladies like to order?"
The woman in the pink dress looked around suspiciously, but didn't say what she wanted.
She just found everything here very strange; the boxes and packaging were things she had never seen before.
However, the maid following behind her couldn't help but speak up, "Madam, what good things could this deserted village general store possibly have? Let's go to Xiangbaoge in the city instead; they have the most complete selection of cosmetics and face powder in the whole town."
It turned out she wanted rouge and face powder, things that her little shop didn't have much of.
The woman in the pink dress didn't say anything and continued to move between the shelves on her own.
She came in because she smelled a special fragrance.
Otherwise, why would the dignified second wife of the Chen family condescend to walk into this deserted village shop?
She walked through the entire shop, and this row of shelves had the strongest aroma.
But she couldn't understand any of the packaging here, and when she thought about what she wanted, she felt ashamed to ask.
"Shopkeeper, you have everything here?"
"It has everything."
Compared to the needs of ancient times, everything was readily available. Even if something wasn't available, it could be bought immediately.
The woman in the pink dress glanced around again, and seeing that no one was watching, she leaned closer to Jiang Ling and whispered, "Do you have any scented soap? Preferably something with a strong fragrance. Something that can mask... mask..."
She originally came to attend the temple fair.
Unfortunately, the weather was hot and humid today, and she was covered in sweat just from walking up the mountain.
It would be fine in winter, but it's summer, and the smell on my body just can't be covered up.
To avoid the smell spreading, she has been trying to avoid moving around as much as possible.
But the strange looks and laughter from the ladies in the distance stung her ears even more.
We had only been up there a short while, and hadn't even had a chance to explore the temple fair before we hurriedly came down.
Moreover, the master stopped coming to her room in the summer!
She has a face that could rival the beauty of fish and geese, so why did God give her this unique scent!
As soon as she got close, Jiang Ling could smell her scent.
It's only early summer now; I can't even imagine the smell during the hottest days of summer.
This condition was virtually incurable in ancient times unless treated with modern surgery.
Fragrant soap is simply scented soap.
"Please wait for me a moment, young lady."
Jiang Ling selected two kinds of soaps with particularly strong fragrances from the back shelf.
She initially thought the fragrance was too strong and no one would like it; if a sensitive person smelled it, they might feel dizzy and nauseous.
They put them in the back row, but they didn't expect that their customers would come so quickly.
Jiang Ling handed her the box. "One smells of osmanthus, and the other of rose. Which one would you like, miss?"
The girl eagerly took it. Even through the box, she could smell the enticing fragrance!
She felt no discomfort whatsoever; on the contrary, she was overjoyed.
It has a very distinct floral scent, with the osmanthus scent being stronger and the rose scent being sweeter.
It has a flavor several times stronger than the scented soap from Xiangbaoge!
This is exactly what she wanted!
Xiangbaoge claims to be the biggest cosmetics shop in the city, but it doesn't even have the scented soap she wants!
I bought the most expensive one, but the fragrance disappeared in less than an hour after I finished showering. I'll never go there again!
She's rich, but she's not stupid!
"Shopkeeper, I'll take both of them! How much?"
"As for the price..." Jiang Ling hadn't figured out how to price it yet, since it came so suddenly.
The maid behind her called out, "Look carefully, this is the second wife of Master Chen. She has no shortage of money for you. Our lady doesn't even blink an eye when buying things from Xiangbaoge, let alone the things from your desolate little shop."
The wife of the official, then there's no need to be so polite.
"One hundred coins per piece."
"Xiao Cui, give me the money."
...Too little!
After seeing off the wife of the official, it was almost noon.
Jiang Ling's biological clock was starting to give out.
I earned 205 coins today, which is enough.
But the thought that if she sleeps for eight hours, three days will pass in this world.
She felt it was a bit too wasteful.
————
Inside the carriage, Chen Yuanwai's second wife, Wang Yue, happily held two boxes of soap and urged the driver to hurry on their way.
Upon returning to the Chen residence, he didn't even bow to the First Madam as she passed by, and rushed straight to the bathhouse.
The maid Xiao Cui hurriedly instructed the servants to boil water for the second mistress to bathe.
Before the water was even halfway up, Wang Yue couldn't wait to take off her clothes and jump in.
"Xiao Cui, come quickly and help me scrub my back!"
She took the osmanthus-scented soap and rubbed it vigorously under her armpits, then instructed Xiao Cui to take the rose-scented soap and rub it on her body.
The temple fair wouldn't end until late afternoon, so she could still make it there after taking a shower. She was determined to avenge her previous defeat today!
"That little slut from the Chen family isn't as pretty as me, and she's always laughing at me for my smell. She was the loudest laughing person at the temple fair today! If this scented soap can help me get rid of this smell, even if it's only for two hours, that'll be enough! I'm determined to teach her a lesson!"
As Wang Yue spoke, her hands never stopped moving. She mechanically repeated the movements, and instantly, the entire bathhouse was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus and roses.
Xiao Cui held a rose-scented soap and helped the Second Madam scrub her back. She was more sensitive than the Second Madam, and the strong fragrance made her feel a little dizzy.
"Don't worry, Madam. This scented soap is so strong that it will definitely overpower your body odor. When the time comes, just stand next to Madam Chen, and she'll be the one who feels ashamed!"
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