Chapter 25 Night Stroll in the County Town
The three of them ate until their bellies were round and full.
Originally, we planned to take a stroll in the yard to digest our food before going back to our rooms to sleep.
But Guo Baiwen suddenly realized that although the county government office was not as lively as in his previous life, it was not like Guo Family Village, where people rarely went out after dark.
He had returned home late twice before and saw people secretly setting up stalls on the ground to sell things while the shops were closed.
Since we've already come to the county town, and it's rare for the three of us to be together, even if we can't browse the stalls, we can at least take a walk around the north of the town to get a general idea of where we are.
"Want to go out for a walk?"
"Now? Isn't it too late?"
"It's not too late, you'll know once you stand at the door."
Hearing Guo Baiwen say this, Grandma Guo and Guo Xiaohua were somewhat skeptical, but they still stood at the door of the outer room.
Just by standing there and looking around, I noticed that there were still quite a few pedestrians on the street outside.
There were stalls selling wontons and sesame cakes on the street, and the lanterns in front of the grocery store and barbershop were still lit, indicating that they were still open for business.
Many people strolled around inside, and some even bought groceries and snacks from street vendors in small groups.
Even at night in Xiuning County, it's more lively than during the day in Guojia Village.
This was the first time Grandma Guo had seen so many people at night, and she couldn't help but exclaim softly, "My goodness!"
Guo Xiaohua had already started tugging at the sleeves of the two men, looking at one and then the other, her face full of impatience, "Let's go, let's go, didn't we say we wanted to go out for a walk?!"
Xiuning County is considered a relatively large county in this area, with a population of nearly 70,000 to 80,000.
There are dozens of villages like Guojia Village in the surrounding area. Even though it is surrounded by mountains, people from the surrounding towns and villages will gather in the town to buy New Year's goods because it is not far from the prefecture.
There are quite a few people during the day, and you can see all sorts of clothes. It's only at night that you can see pedestrians on the road, most of whom are locals from the county town.
However, there were also some weary travelers who had recently gone into the mountains and brought back a lot of things, or perhaps they had gone to the prefectural capital to buy some trendy items to bring back and sell in the county town before the festival.
Most of them would be handed over to grocery stores or other stalls for consignment, but some bolder ones, who didn't want to share the profits with others, would find a spot on the street under the cover of night to sell their wares.
The county government also specially designated a space for this group of people.
Sure enough, Guo Baiwen led Grandma Guo and the others to this spot.
You can see vendors setting up stalls along the city wall on this street. Some sell bowls and basins, some sell New Year pictures, some sell purses, and some sell couplets and red lanterns. In short, there is a wide variety of goods available.
Although the various hawking cries weren't as loud as during the day, the mixture still made for a somewhat noisy sound.
Grandma Guo stood to the side and watched for a while, then couldn't help but ask Guo Baiwen in a low voice, "They're so noisy, how can the people living on both sides of the street sleep at night?"
Guo Baiwen also lowered his voice, "Grandma, the county government has stipulated that we are not allowed to set up stalls after 7 PM."
The hour of Xu (戌) is around 9 PM, and it won't be noisy for too long.
"Besides, nobody stays here at night around here."
This night market street was specially designated by the county government. It is located on the long street in front of the county school. The road here is smooth and wide, so even if the space on both sides is occupied by stalls, it will not block traffic.
The county school's dormitory is supposedly on the other side, so there's no need to worry about disturbing others' studies at night.
Moreover, this street is close to the county government office, so when people come out to patrol at night, they can see it immediately.
Easy to manage.
This street is not long, only about a hundred meters long. In Guo Baiwen's opinion, it is actually similar to what you can see at the ancient bridge market that day.
The only difference is that one is daytime and the other is nighttime.
But for Guo Xiaohua and Grandma Guo, being able to stroll through the market at night is clearly a rare experience.
In the blink of an eye, he saw Guo Xiaohua heading straight for the stall selling silk flowers and hair ties. Feeling helpless, he was about to say something to Grandma Guo when he noticed that Grandma Guo was also squatting in front of a general store, looking at the bowls.
The Guo family used to use wooden bowls, and they never thought there was anything wrong with that.
After all, there are many people in Guojia Village who use wooden bowls.
But now that they've moved to the city, Grandma Guo looks at the brand-new kitchen and feels that the wooden bowls she's used for decades don't do justice to such a nice kitchen.
What's even more surprising is that they sell cheap and beautiful porcelain bowls here.
Grandma Guo looked at the celadon bowl, its color a pale green, again and again, but didn't dare touch it. After all, each one cost more than ten coins. After a long while, she finally turned to the black pottery bowl next to it. "How much is this?"
"Five coins each, and I can give you a discount if you buy a lot."
The stall owner clearly encountered customers who frequently tried to bargain; before anyone even brought it up, he offered to give them a discount.
Hearing this, Grandma Guo, who was still hesitant, made up her mind instead, "Give me four small bowls, four plates, two large bowls and two small cups."
The two haggled over the final price for a while, and during the break, Xiao Hua, who was looking at silk flowers, returned.
Her hands were empty, but her eyes were bright and sparkling. "I squatted there for a long time and finally figured out how the silk azalea flower was made!"
"I'll try arranging a few myself tomorrow. If they turn out well, I can take one back to give to Atao! That person said that azaleas are a fashionable style in the prefecture!"
He actually went to learn a skill—
Guo Baiwen only knew that Xiaohua liked these silk flower hairpins, but he didn't know that she had this skill.
If she's really good at these things, then if there's a chance later, we could send Xiaohua to a jewelry shop or a fabric store to be an apprentice and learn some skills to support herself.
As the two were talking, Grandma Guo came over and stuffed several plates and bowls into each of their arms, interrupting their conversation.
"They finally agreed! All this stuff for thirty coins." Grandma Guo even showed off the pair of chopsticks in her arms. "Look, there are free gifts too."
This price is ridiculous, isn't it already half price?
Guo Baiwen had a mix of laughter and tears on his face, but in his heart he felt that his decision to bring his family to live in the county town was a brilliant one.
Grandma Guo and Xiao Hua had never been this happy before.
The first day in the county town ended with the group becoming familiar with the two roads leading from their homes to the county government office and the city gate.
On the way back, Grandma Guo kept reminding them to be careful with the new tableware they were carrying, so as not to bump or knock it.
By the time we finally arrived at our new home, we had almost digested all the food in our stomachs.
They put their things away, and even lit an oil lamp for lighting, which was quite unusual, before washing up.
Guo Baiwen was about to follow Guo Xiaohua upstairs when he felt someone tugging at his arm from behind.
Turning around, I saw Grandma Guo.
She carried an oil lamp, her face serious. "Wenzai, Grandma has something to tell you."
Guo Baiwen's heart skipped a beat, and his mind raced. Had he been too complacent about moving into the county town today and forgotten something, which Grandma Guo might have noticed was wrong?
His mind was working, but that didn't stop him from gently sitting down on the stone bench in the courtyard, following his grandmother's lead.
Mentally prepared as if facing a formidable enemy, and without even mishearing, Grandma Guo suddenly asked, "Wenzai, we didn't have any extra money at home before, so Grandma never asked you about it—"
Uh-huh.
"Have you always wanted to go to school?" Grandma Guo's eyes were filled with mixed emotions.
Guo Baiwen had prepared various questions in advance, but he never expected Grandma Guo to ask this. He was a little confused and stammered, "Um, um? Ah?"
His appearance, as seen by Grandma Guo, was tantamount to confirming his desire to go to school.
Grandma Guo sighed, "Don't try to hide it from me anymore, I've seen it all."
"When you went to sell the white fungus today, you opened the wicker basket, and Grandma saw that there were a few books, some paper, and pens inside..."
Ah, I bought this when I came to the county town last time. I was going to use it to study the "True and Cursive Thousand Character Classic" to relieve boredom.
When Guo Baiwen was thinking about buying books, he also thought about learning to recognize traditional Chinese characters so he could practice calligraphy in his spare time.
He'd bought the book, writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone so long ago, but he hadn't even turned to a single page.
...But it's not his fault.
This is a mix of bad luck, house damage, and moving.
He was practically spinning like a top; he had no idea about the book or studying.
Ironically, I, who only intended to cram at the last minute, became the person in Grandma's eyes who was truly eager to study.
Guo Baiwen tried to explain, but no matter what he said, Grandma Guo seemed convinced that he was afraid of wasting the family's money, which was why he said he didn't want to go to school.
This idea was further confirmed when she went out to the night market today and discovered that it was near the county school.
Guo Baiwen never expected that what was originally just a casual outing would leave him with the impression of being a dedicated student.
But he did buy the books, and he did prepare the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Wanting to read and write is not a bad thing. Since Grandma thinks so, let her be.
"Grandma, I just wanted to buy a book to try and learn on my own. I thought that even if I couldn't learn it, it would be good if I could at least learn a few more words."
Seeing that his grandmother was about to say something, Guo Baiwen quickly added, "The family has only five taels of silver saved up. I've inquired and found that the tuition at the two private schools in the county town is at least three taels of silver a year."
He didn't specifically inquire about this.
Although Hu Qingshan is only two years older than him, their child was born last year.
Although it was still early, he had already planned to save money to send his child to school and teach him to read. Guo Baiwen only learned about this during a casual conversation between the two of them.
Although he knew that people married young in ancient times, this incident still shocked Guo Baiwen quite a bit.
He felt that he was still young, and that people of his age in Guojia Village had not yet started families. He did not expect that Hu Qingshan, who was about the same age as him, had already become a father at this age.
Therefore, he also noted down the details about the tuition fees for the private school.
Upon hearing that the tuition fee was three taels of silver, and thinking about the rent for this courtyard, Grandma Guo remained silent for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.
He silently patted Guo Baiwen's head, "Wenzai—"
A note from the author:
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