When An Dashan came back, the family of three had breakfast. While Gao was packing, An Dashan went to harness the mule cart. After Gao had packed, the family of three went to the town. As time was tight, the three planned to buy everything in the town.
The three of them first went to the only clothing store in town. The owner of the store was sitting in front of the counter and taking a nap, bored.
Seeing An Dashan and the other two enter the house, he quickly perked up and said with a smile, "What do the three guests need to buy?"
Gao said, "I want to buy some thick winter clothes. Here are the sizes. Do you have them?"
An Ning helped write the measurements, because Gao didn't know how much her son had grown, so she asked An Ning to write them a little higher.
The boss took the size, looked at it, and said, "Yes, these pieces are all in this size." Then he took down a few pieces of clothing from the hanger.
Gao touched the clothes and found that they were very thick, but the fabric was cotton. Although cotton was more comfortable to wear than coarse cloth, it was not as strong as coarse cloth. In fact, Gao could understand this. After all, those who could afford ready-made clothes were relatively wealthy families. Gao asked, "Boss, how much are these clothes?"
The boss said, "Madam, our cotton-padded jackets are made of the finest cotton and cloth, so they are naturally more expensive. They cost eight hundred coins each."
Gao was surprised and said, "It's so expensive!"
An Ning felt that the price was probably a little high, so she said, "Boss, please make it cheaper, just 600 coins! I want all these clothes."
Before Gao could get over the shock of the eight hundred coins, she was shocked again by An Ning. Is it still possible to bargain like this?
The boss didn't expect the girl to bargain like that, so he said, "Little girl, you may not know that this cloth, cotton, and workmanship all cost a lot of money. So, since you want all of them, I'll give you a break and sell them for 750 coins each!"
Just as Gao was about to agree, An Ning said, "Boss, we can buy so much at once, which means there are many people in my family. We will come again next time if we need it. Besides, I also want to buy a few pairs of cotton shoes. If you don't agree, I can only buy the cloth and make it myself at home."
When the boss heard this, he gritted his teeth and said, "Little girl, six hundred coins is too little. How about you add a little more and charge six hundred and fifty coins a piece?"
An Ning thought about it and felt that the price was acceptable, so she nodded and said, "Okay, then Boss, go get us a few more pairs of cotton shoes, preferably leather boots."
The boss responded and turned around to take a few pairs of cotton shoes and sheepskin boots from the shelf. Since Gao didn't know how big her son's feet were now, she reported a few more sizes. An Ning didn't hesitate to ask for two pairs of cotton shoes and two pairs of sheepskin boots for each size. The three paid the silver and left the shop with a lot of harvest. The boss of the shop made 200 coins with tears in his eyes.
A few people came out of the clothing shop and went to the pastry shop, intending to buy some pastries and sugar that could be preserved. On the battlefield, sugar could be a life-saving thing.
After buying cakes and candies, the three of them went to buy a lot of lean meat. An Ning planned to fry more dried meat for An Yong. The treatment of being a soldier in ancient times was not very good, and there was also the risk of running out of food.
After buying everything, the three of them went directly to their grandmother's house. When they arrived, they found that everyone was at home. Seeing An Dashan's family of three coming, they stood up quickly. Wang said, "Why are you here today? Is there something going on?"
Gao said, "Mom, I'm here to ask you and Big Brother to help look after our house for a few days. We plan to go to the border to visit Dayong, and I'm really worried about him."
Wang fell silent after hearing this. After thinking for a while, she said, "Okay, I'll go and look after the house for you. Let your eldest brother go with you. Although the mountains are strong, one person can't take care of you and your mother."
Uncle Gao also nodded and said, "Yes, I'll go with you."
Cui opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, she closed her mouth and said nothing.
Gao was very touched, so she said, "Mom, don't bother Big Brother, the three of us can do it, and I have discussed with Dashan that we can't let you work for nothing, we will pay you."
Uncle Gao said, "Little sister, what are you talking about? We are a family, how can I let you pay for your work?"
Gao shook her head and said, "If you don't want this salary, I won't need you to look after the house anymore."
Wang thought for a moment and said, "Brothers should settle accounts clearly. Dalang, just listen to your sister!" After Wang finished talking to Uncle Gao, she turned to Gao and said, "Yingniang, you must take your elder brother with you when you go to the border, otherwise I will not agree."
Gao and An Dashan looked at each other, and when An Dashan nodded, she said, "Okay, let's take Big Brother with us." Then she said to Uncle Gao, "Then I'll trouble Big Brother."
Uncle Gao smiled and said, "We are a family, so we don't need to say thank you."
After discussing it for a while, they finally decided to let An Ning's uncle and grandmother Wang go to An's house to look after the door. Little Stone also wanted to go after hearing this, and finally Wang agreed to take Little Stone to An's house, while Uncle Gao accompanied An Dashan and the others to the border. An Dashan also agreed with them to pay them 60 coins a day.
Wang said, "Give the wages to the two brothers. Why should I ask for wages for guarding my own daughter?"
Gao Shi heard this and no longer insisted, thinking that she should be more filial to her mother in the future. After agreeing to set off the day after tomorrow and asking them to go to An's house tomorrow, An Dashan and the other two left.
Wang knew they were going to pack up, so she didn't try to stop them. Wang looked at the things An Dashan had left behind and said to her two daughters-in-law, "Do you two have any objections to this?"
Cui and Li quickly shook their heads. Cui said, "Mother, why would we have any objection? Not to mention that relatives should help each other, the salary Yingniang gives is much more than going out."
Cui was somewhat glad that she had not said anything just now. Although it would take more than a month to reach the border, it was relatively peaceful now. They were taking the official road and there would be no danger. Moreover, they would be paid 60 cents a day, which was definitely a good thing.
Li had even less objection. It was just a job of watching the door, not tiring, and the pay was so high. Only a fool would disagree.
Seeing that her two daughters-in-law had no objection, Wang nodded and said, "Take the meat to the kitchen. We'll have stewed meat tonight. Divide the cakes and sugar as well. Don't leave any for me. I'm old and don't like those things."
Cui and Li agreed and went out with the things, but they still left two boxes of cakes for Wang. After all, these were brought back by the sister-in-law as a filial honor to her mother.
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