Chapter 15: Searching for Granny Sun Again
After walking quite a distance from Guojia Village and seeing few people on the road, Guo Baiwen finally took one last look at the time on his wristwatch: 6:40.
Then he put this rare item away.
At this rate, he should arrive in the county town around seven o'clock.
This watch is what I got from checking in yesterday. Besides the watch, there was also a lighter and a set of red thermal underwear for my birth year.
He stored small items like thermal underwear and lighters, along with the rolls of toilet paper he had opened, in a wicker basket in his room.
This watch, however, is still quite important to him, who can't yet tell the time well by the sky.
Although the brand of the watch is not obvious, the functions on the dial are quite complete. It can not only display the time, but also show the month, day of the week, and function as a compass.
After each viewing, you still need to save it to the system repository first.
I wonder how long the battery in this watch will last.
While pondering the situation, he quickly finished the still-warm mixed-grain flatbread in the last few bites and entered the county town.
It's still early, and many shops around haven't opened yet. Only a few people are sitting in front of some breakfast shops.
There weren't many pedestrians on the street. He took out his key, opened the door, and went straight up to the second floor of the small building in the backyard.
Yesterday at Hu the carpenter's workshop, in addition to the furniture he had ordered, he also asked for two extra pine boxes with locks, which he placed in his room on the second floor of his new home.
Since these two boxes were made in advance and he didn't want any carvings, Carpenter Hu had Hu Qingshan and the others deliver them to him first.
He first placed the basket he was carrying on his back onto one of the wooden boxes, and only after making sure the doors and windows were closed did he begin the sign-in process for the day.
[200g of beef tallow hot pot base (4 small pieces, one serving) x1]
[Imitation Rabbit Fleece Blanket, Thickened for Winter, Washable, 100cm x 140cm, x1]
[1kg tub of whole milk powder for adults and seniors, x1]
Well, the system warehouse slots that I just organized are going to be taken up by eight of them again.
But he already has several hundred taels of silver. Why not open up a few more slots?
He pondered for a moment, then shook his head. Forget it, he still planned to use the excuse of going to the city for work to inquire about any nearby farmland he could buy.
However, although the three items drawn today are all quite useful, they shouldn't be taken out casually.
Chili peppers weren't uncommon at this time, but he had never seen so many spices used as a base for food when he went to the city to eat before.
He originally planned to use the storefront of his new home to do some small business.
Let's keep this hot pot base for now. If we get a lot of base later, it would be nice to make vegetarian hot pot skewers like the ones sold outside the school gates in my past life, which cost one yuan for eight skewers.
But I've mostly been looking around the north and center of the city before, and haven't gone to the east and south yet. I need to figure out what kind of business this shop is going to do first, and then make a decision.
However, this means that the clothes he is currently wearing are not very suitable for going to those places. He plans to go to the cloth shop or clothing store first to see if he can buy a couple of outfits, which he can change into each time he comes to the county town.
After all, respect one's clothes before one's character, and he understood the previous incident with the goatee.
This wooden box is perfect for storing his new clothes, saving him the trouble of carrying them around later.
It only has a clasp but no lock, so he needs to buy two more.
Just as he was about to leave, he saw Hu Qingshan and the others approaching. Guo Baiwen greeted them, "You're here so early?"
"There's a lot of work in the woodworking shop. If we can finish it sooner, we'll feel at ease too, Brother Guo."
“Then you go ahead with your work. Someone will come over to deliver lunch in a little while,” Guo Baiwen said, opening the door. “I have some things to do outside. No one will be home, so I’ll have to trouble you to keep an eye on things while you’re at it.”
"Brother Guo, what are you saying?" Hu Qingshan agreed, then asked another question, "Do you need us to lock the door for you tonight?"
"No, I'll be back as soon as I'm done with my work." Guo Baiwen thought for a moment, "If all goes well, I should be able to make it back to have lunch with you all."
"Okay, then you get back to work."
Watching the two men enter the house with their woodworking crates and timber, Guo Baiwen closed the door behind them before turning and walking toward the clothing shop.
The clothes he was wearing were also made of coarse cloth, and the color was grayish-brown, which was more resistant to dirt. Even though the clothes were a bit worn, according to the farming custom of "new for three years, old for three years, and patched up for another three years", they could still be worn for another three years.
When he arrived at the clothing shop, he knew that fine cotton cloth was more expensive than coarse cotton cloth because he had bought cotton quilts at the cloth shop before.
He decided to put aside silk and brocade for the time being and buy two sets of fine cotton clothes in different colors to alternate wearing.
He wasn't overweight, so the tailor measured him at the shop, picked out two colors he wanted, paid, and then the shop assistant brought out several pre-made garments for him to try on. Any parts that didn't fit were altered on the spot.
If you slightly tighten the waist or the hem of the pants, the fit will be better, and this little alteration won't take much time.
The shop assistant said it would be ready in just fifteen minutes, so Guo Baiwen wasn't in a hurry and started wandering around the clothing shop with his hands behind his back.
As he turned around, he saw several pairs of finished cloth shoes placed under the garment.
In Guojia Village, he saw that most people wore straw sandals because they could be woven from rice straw. Even if you didn't have rice straw, they were very cheap to buy, costing only one coin per pair. If you bought five pairs, you would get one free.
So whether they were used for work or as slippers at home, no one felt bad about wearing them.
Grandma Guo had previously bought cotton and twisted hemp rope with Xiaohua, intending to make several pairs of sturdy hemp shoes for them in the winter, so that they wouldn't have to worry about the soles wearing out easily when they walked a lot.
If a pair of hemp shoes like these were sold, they would cost twenty coins. Especially since Grandma Guo added a thin layer of cotton for warmth, they would cost at least fifty coins a pair.
However, cloth shoes, which require many layers of coarse cotton cloth to sew the soles, and the uppers are made of fine cotton cloth, were still a bit too extravagant for their family.
He squatted down and took a look. Most of these cloth shoes were grayish-white or khaki-yellow, which were considered relatively decent shoes compared to straw sandals and hemp shoes.
Seeing his interest in the cloth shoes, the shopkeeper of the clothing store introduced them, "These are all new shoes that were just made a couple of days ago. If you like them, young master, you can try them on."
"How much are these different colored cloth shoes?"
"The color of these cloth shoes doesn't matter; they're all the original color of cotton, and the price is the same. It's the uppers that matter. Young man, look at those on your left; they're full-length shoes. They can cover the entire foot, so they use more fabric, and a pair costs about five hundred coins."
"So expensive?" Guo Baiwen couldn't help but blurt out.
He just bought a whole set of cotton clothes for only eight hundred coins, which included the top, outer robe, and trousers. The shoes alone cost almost as much as the whole set.
"If you think it's too expensive, young man, you can also take a look at those cloth shoes on the right with shallow openings. These have a wider opening and they're only 180 coins a pair."
One hundred and eighty coins, and that's all.
The price of this pair of cloth shoes is more than the price of three pairs of hemp shoes that Grandma Guo made.
It still doesn't contain cotton.
No wonder everyone buys fabric and makes their own clothes and shoes at home; buying ready-made ones is too expensive.
But he didn't know how to make shoes, and he had already bought the clothes, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Then I'll take a pair of low-cut cloth shoes, this color. Shopkeeper, can you help me calculate the price?"
One thousand nine hundred and eighty coins, a trip to the clothing shop, and another two taels of silver are almost gone.
Just like in my previous life, the money in my hands really doesn't last long.
He negotiated with the shopkeeper again, and although he didn't get a discount in the end, the shopkeeper agreed to give him two extra square handkerchiefs made of fine cotton as a bonus.
It's better than nothing, I suppose.
After haggling over the price and altering the clothes, Guo Baiwen borrowed a spot in the clothing store, changed out of the clothes he was wearing, folded them up, and stuffed them into the basket on his back.
Only then, dressed in his new clothes and shoes, did he head towards the county government office.
He was going to find Granny Sun.
When they arrived, sure enough, Granny Sun was standing below introducing the house to people. She had probably just opened for business, so although she still had that friendly look, she seemed much more confident.
At least when the man with the goatee tried to steal customers from her, she could directly retort.
Having finally gained the upper hand, Granny Sun hadn't even had time to feel smug before she spotted the familiar young man standing not far away.
She glanced at him and noticed that Young Master Guo had changed his clothes today, so she came forward with a smile, "Young Master Guo, is there something you need from me today?"
“My mother-in-law helped me find a carpenter yesterday, and I haven’t had a chance to thank you yet.” Guo Baiwen said, taking out a bag of pastries from the basket on his back. He had bought them from across the street from the clothing store. “I didn’t know what my mother-in-law liked to eat, so I bought a pound of Ruyi cake as a thank you gift.”
"Oh, this, this, it's just a matter of a word, there's no need to thank me." Granny Sun declined twice, but seeing that Guo Baiwen was going to give it to her directly, she accepted it with a smile.
She glanced at it just now and realized that the pastry packaging belonged to Fangji Shop, a shop she wouldn't normally buy.
It's a rare treat to be able to eat this.
As the two were talking, the man with the goatee in the distance was about to step forward and continue arguing with Granny Sun when he got closer and saw Guo Baiwen's current attire. His expression immediately changed.
Then, looking at the pastries in Granny Sun's hand, he immediately understood.
I never imagined that after being a broker for so many years, I would still make a mistake.
But having become a broker, he wasn't one to care about saving face, so he joined in, saying, "Oh, young man, I knew you were quite handsome the moment I saw you the other day. You certainly wouldn't be interested in those houses in Locust Blossom Lane or Willow Lane. I wonder which house you're planning to look at today?"
"I'm not bragging, but I know all the houses in this county better than anyone else. Just tell me a name, and I'll take the young man to see it."
As soon as he spoke, Granny Sun got impatient, "You, Yang Dongqing! The young man clearly came to thank me, why are you getting involved?"
“Grandma Sun, you said yourself that the young man came to thank you, not to look at houses for you. Why can’t I help introduce him to someone?”
Guo Baiwen didn't have much affection for this opportunistic goatee. If he were just being sycophantic, that would be one thing, but he never told the truth. "I've already bought a house with Granny Sun, so I won't bother you with introductions anymore."
Seeing this, Yang Dongqing, with his goatee, knew that the matchmaker Sun had probably really made a house deal with someone yesterday. His face turned pale and he didn't want to continue arguing. He just snorted and walked away.
Granny Sun finally had a moment to spare, so she quickly led the person to an open space and then spoke, "I almost got taken advantage of by that Yang Dongqing again."
A note from the author:
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Today is the Ghost Festival (Zhongyuan Festival), and I heard there will be a total lunar eclipse and a blood moon, but I don't know if it's true. Please go home early tonight, everyone! [Please!]
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