Chapter 12: His entire neck turned red.
Zhao Yunjing's face was gloomy.
If it weren't for the fear of implicating Zhou Mujiao, Manager Chen would have already taken that knife. He thinks he can sell the goods to him and make a fortune? Dream on!
"I won't sell it for three hundred coins a pound!"
Zhao Yunjing smacked Steward Chen on the back of the neck with the hilt of his knife, threw the limp Steward Chen toward Awang, and grabbed Zhou Mujiao with his other hand: "Let's go!"
Perhaps intimidated by Zhou Mujiao and Zhao Yunjing's ruthlessness, Manager Chen's men did not come after them.
The sun came out and shone on Zhou Mujiao's face, making her face look almost transparent. Every hair follicle on her face was clearly visible. A thin layer of sweat covered her face, and her hair on her forehead was a little damp.
The two pushed the wild boar meat all the way to the street corner before stopping. They each drank some water, stood and rested for a while until they recovered.
Zhou Mujiao asked, "Brother Zhao, which restaurant do you plan to sell this meat to?"
Zhao Yunjing thought for a moment and said, "Let's set up a stall at the market entrance. Forty coins a pound, we can sell them."
Zhou Mujiao is pretty, but what if she goes to another restaurant and encounters a scoundrel like Manager Chen again? She'll have to go back to the market stall, which will take up a lot of time. If she doesn't sell out today, it will definitely go bad tomorrow.
Zhou Mujiao shook her head: "Although this wild boar is not difficult to hunt, it took us a lot of time and effort to bring it from home. We only sold it for forty coins a catty, which is more than half of the money we lost. We will also be suspected of being a diseased pig because the price is too low. Once someone questions it, we will not be able to sell even half a catty of meat."
Zhao Yunjing pursed his lips. Zhou Mujiao's words made sense, but he would rather the meat rot here than let her face the embarrassment she had just endured.
Zhou Mujiao glanced at Zhao Yunjing, and could roughly guess his concerns. She rolled her eyes, walked to the corner, where there was a lump of soft mud. Zhou Mujiao added some water into it, then picked up a smear of mud and smeared it on her face.
The fair-skinned little girl suddenly turned into a dirty little cat.
Zhao Yunjing opened his mouth, then closed it again, as if this was acceptable.
"Does Hongyun Restaurant have a mortal enemy? Which one is it?" Zhou Mujiao asked.
Good Luck Restaurant.
"Then let's go to Good Luck Restaurant."
An ordinary hunter took a little girl, dressed in rags and with a dirty face, to sell her goods. Since Zhou Mujiao was young and her body had not yet fully developed, no one paid her any attention.
The manager of the Lucky Restaurant, surnamed Su, was a stern-faced man. When he saw the cartload of wild boar meat, he merely raised his eyelids and said nothing. He carefully examined the meat first, and only after confirming that it was not from a diseased pig did he reveal a slight smile: "Young man, what price do you want for this meat?"
Zhao Yunjing turned to look at Zhou Mujiao, who said crisply, "If Steward Su wants them all, then it'll be one hundred coins per catty."
Steward Su frowned: "Eighty coins for a mere fare at the market, that's too high for you."
“Hongyun Restaurant was going to give us 120 coins just now. If they could eat that much at once, we would have sold it to them.”
Zhou Mujiao turned around and said, "Forget it, let's sell them to Hongyun instead, and sell a little more to Yuelai Inn and Taoyuan Inn, that should be about right."
Manager Su wasn't in a hurry. The owner of Hongyun Restaurant was notoriously stingy; how could he possibly offer 120 coins?
Just then, someone shouted from the street corner, "Brother Zhao, we'll pay 130 coins for your meat!"
It was Ah Wang from Hongyun Restaurant!
Manager Su's expression changed, and he immediately shouted, "Young man, I'll give you one hundred and fifty coins! Ah Cai, come and weigh it!"
Ah Wang had already arrived and immediately raised the price: "One hundred and eighty coins!"
"Two hundred coins!"
"Two hundred and fifty coins!"
"Three hundred coins!"
Awang paused for a moment, and Steward Su immediately said, "He can't make a decision on anything over three hundred coins. Young man, I'll give you three hundred and ten coins. I'll take all of this meat."
Zhao Yunjing looked at Zhou Mujiao, who readily agreed, "Deal."
Awang left with a grim expression. Manager Su immediately sent someone to weigh it. It weighed a full three hundred catties, which is about one hundred taels.
Zhou Mujiao only took thirty taels and said calmly, "The price I originally wanted to sell it for was one hundred coins."
Manager Su looked on with admiration and stuffed all the silver back to Zhou Mujiao: "You bid one hundred, I'll bid three hundred and ten. We, Good Luck Restaurant, keep our word."
Zhou Mujiao handed the silver to Zhao Yunjing and said with a smile, "Manager Su has great courage. Good Luck Restaurant will surely be packed with customers from now on."
Manager Su's smile widened: "If you have any good stuff in the future, send it to me. I'll definitely give you a good price."
"Then let's have a pleasant collaboration from now on!"
Zhou Mujiao wiped the dirt off her face with water, revealing her clean face. Zhao Yunjing watched her face gradually emerge, his face flushed, and he quickly turned his face away: "Let's go to Huichuntang."
Passing by a clothing store, Zhou Mujiao pulled Zhao Yunjing: "Brother Zhao, we have money now, let's change our clothes first."
As the saying goes, "Buddha is made of gold, and people are made of clothes." Business people, in particular, pay attention to their image. If they went in looking so shabby, Huichuntang would definitely try to lower the price.
If they changed into new clothes and put on a show of power, the shopkeeper would have to think twice before trying to lower the price.
Zhou Mujiao pulled Zhao Yunjing inside. The shopkeeper glanced at them and came forward: "Gentlemen, would you like to have it custom-made or buy ready-made clothes?"
Ready-to-wear clothing.
Zhou Mujiao picked out three or four plain-colored dresses for herself and three for Zhao Yunjing. The two of them put on their new clothes and shoes, and looked even more elegant. The shopkeeper showered them with compliments: "Oh ho, young husband and wife, you've just gotten married, haven't you? You're such a perfect couple, so loving!"
Zhao Yunjing: "We—"
"Shopkeeper, do you have clothes and shoes for kids?"
Yes, yes, yes!
Zhao Yunjing pressed her down: "Just buy it for Xiao Wu. Shi Ba and the others can just alter their old clothes and wear them. There's no need to waste money. You might as well use this money to buy some rice, flour, and oil."
"We need to buy rice, flour, and oil, as well as clothes and shoes." Zhou Mujiao smiled and said, "I promised Shiba that I would make sure she eats well and dresses well, and I can't go back on my word. Besides, new clothes mean a new look, and maybe our family's luck will change from now on."
She said 'our family'.
Zhao Yunjing's face flushed again, and the tips of his ears also felt hot. He turned his face away and coughed awkwardly.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Oh, young man, are you shy? The tips of your ears are all red!"
Not only did the tips of his ears turn red, but the shopkeeper's playful tap made his entire neck turn red.
Zhou Mujiao smiled, her eyes narrowing.
It turns out Zhao Yunjing was shy. But she didn't say anything just now, so why was he shy?
Were all boys in ancient times this innocent?!
This clothing store is very affordable and has most of the basic necessities. Zhou Mujiao picked out three sets of clothes and three pairs of shoes for each of her four children, and then picked out three sets for Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao as well. When she saw that the clothing store also sold bed sheets and duvet covers, Zhou Mujiao remembered the thin, gray quilt that she had used last night and that was covered with patches, so she bought five more. She also bought a mosquito net when she saw that they had one.
All the stuff cost only twenty taels of silver in the end.
"Shopkeeper, we'll leave our things here for now and come back to get them later. Could you please look after this wooden cart for us as well?"
The shopkeeper took out a thick rope, tied the wooden cart to the stone pillar at the entrance, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, gentlemen, I'll take good care of it for you! Please come again next time. I wish you both a healthy baby soon and everlasting love!"
Zhao Yunjing stumbled and almost fell down the steps. Just as he was about to explain to the shopkeeper, Zhou Mujiao darted out beside him, shouting as she ran, "Brother Zhao! Come quick!"
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