After a seven-day carriage journey, Qingyan felt sore all over. If she hadn't gone to her space to rest occasionally, she would have ended up like Consort Tong, only able to rest on her bed.
After several days of commotion, they were finally able to stop the ordeal of traveling by carriage. In the afternoon, they were able to board the dragon boat heading south of the Yangtze River.
"Little darling, take everything from the carriage. We'll be on the ship for about a month." Yin told Su Peisheng and Su Lan to pack, and then he took Qingyan to stroll around a nearby small town.
That day happened to be market day in the county town. The lively atmosphere made Qingyan's lips curl into a slight smile. On both sides were farmers who had brought their goods from home to exchange for some silver. Seeing that Yin and Qingyan were dressed in bright clothes, they hoped that the two of them would stand at their counters.
"I want that!" Qingyan saw a place selling small shrimp. A large wooden basin was filled with many small shrimp. If they were made into shrimp cakes, they would be very delicious.
"Fourth Brother, this is pretty good!" Qingyan looked at Qingyan with a smile. These things all tasted excellent.
Normally, in the palace, which servant would be so foolish as to dare to use such a thing to fool people?
Yin looked down and was immediately speechless. These tiny shrimps were obviously inedible; only the turtles that the Ninth Prince kept in the Prince's quarters were edible.
He was about to refuse, but seeing the excitement in her eyes, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
"Grandpa, how much are these?" Qingyan stared at a large basin of small shrimp. Today, she fried up a lot of them, intending to make them a good snack.
"A whole basin of that?!" The old man looked at the food, his mouth moving slightly. "We can't eat all of it, and it can't be kept overnight!"
Qingyan instantly felt that the old man was honest in his business dealings. She glanced to the side and saw some rather large crabs.
Aren't hairy crabs only found in Yangcheng Lake?
"Is this a river crab?" Qingyan pointed to it.
"Yes, this big basin will do for 20 copper coins. I can't give you the wooden basin!" The old man looked at the shrimp. He had thought that since some noble people had such pets, selling some shrimp would be a good thing, since these things didn't cost any money anyway.
"We'll take all these crabs too!" Yin said helplessly, following behind Qingyan. "Old man, we'll take both of these wooden basins. Here's the deal: 50 copper coins for each basin."
The guards behind them had already taken out copper coins and started to pick up the two wooden basins in front of the old man.
"Just take it to the small kitchen." Su Peisheng's eyes lit up; it seemed that the Fujin (wife of the emperor) was prepared to do it herself.
Qingyan caught a glimpse of the old man's excited expression out of the corner of her eye, and couldn't help but feel a little bitter. In their eyes, a few dozen copper coins were nothing, but for an ordinary farmer, it might be a month's living expenses.
After Qingyan finished explaining things to Yin, he left, but a short whistling sound could be heard behind him.
"Old Ning, you've met a benefactor! You sold them all at once!"
"Yeah, I'll try to get some of these next time. I really met a benefactor!"
Qingyan smiled. They were leaving that afternoon, so they definitely wouldn't be able to buy anything next time they went to the market.
Seeing Qingyan's lavish spending, the vendors on both sides began to enthusiastically hawk their wares. Suddenly, she spotted a batik fabric stall ahead and quickly walked over. She noticed some irregular white flowers on the dark blue fabric.
This immediately attracted the attention of Qingyan. These coarse cloths were rarely available, and the bed sheets and other items they used were mostly silk.
"I want this cloth too, I'll put it on the bed when we get back!" Qingyan's little hands touched the coarse cloth sheets of several colors, feeling that they were very similar to modern coarse cloth bandages. It seemed that there wouldn't be any problems with them.
Yin fell silent. He wouldn't stop the little guy from buying whatever he wanted; these rough little things had a unique kind of wild charm.
"Don't buy too much, just one or two kinds!" There were many snack stalls outside, one of which was selling osmanthus cakes made by people from Yangzhou. Before coming out, Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong had repeatedly ordered that Qingyan should not buy these kinds of food that she could eat directly. She could only look on with a pout.
Later that evening, the guards who had come out with her had already made two or three trips to put away the things, but Qingyan was still not satisfied. She was still carrying dried eggplants, dried green beans, some pork belly, dried bamboo shoots, and other dried goods that the farm women had been drying...
Yin glanced at the small basket Su Lan was carrying and couldn't help but want to facepalm. Did this girl think he was the one who came to do the shopping?
"Let's go!" Yin was determined not to embarrass himself any further, so he quickly grabbed Qingyan and headed towards the dragon boat.
The stall owners who visited were all beaming with joy. They not only bought several baskets of dried bamboo shoots and dried vegetables, but also complained about buying pork from two stalls.
"Little Darling, we're about to set off, and the Imperial Household Department has made all the preparations!" How can we just buy these things casually? What if there are any problems?" Yin shook his head helplessly; Little Darling had too high expectations of everyone.
Qingyan smiled. The stalls she bought from weren't places where she could be bribed; they were mostly stalls run by people she knew. The two pork stalls were especially popular with locals, so there was absolutely no problem.
"You don't have to eat!" Qingyan snorted coldly, went straight into the small kitchen, and directed Sulan to quickly clean out the small shrimp.
Following Qingyan's instructions, several low-ranking palace maids in the small kitchen used a special shredder made by Qingyan to shred radishes. The shredded radishes were even better than those of ordinary imperial chefs, and most importantly, they were faster.
The imperial chefs who came to help saw a glimmer of hope and couldn't help but think that if they served the Fourth Princess well during this time, they would definitely try to get close to her when they returned.
"In a moment, do as I say. Stew the meat, add the soaked dried bamboo shoots and dried green beans, and make sure to stew it in a clay pot. Send one portion to the Imperial Ship, one portion to Prince Zhi's ship, and keep one portion for yourself. Remember to follow the rules of the manor and put the bone broth directly into a pot to simmer. When you're on night duty, add some of the sweet potato starch you brought. Don't remove the heads and whiskers from the small shrimp; just mix them with shredded carrots and flour and fry them!" Qingyan explained everything clearly before turning and leaving the kitchen.
After coming out, Qingyan, following Consort Tong's instructions, no longer cooked himself, but gave all the instructions step by step before leaving to do his own thing.
Stepping into the cabin, she was surprised to find that the interior was decorated according to her courtyard, and even the study on the outside was prepared on a one-to-one basis.
"So, do you like it?" Yin came up behind Qingyan and couldn't help but laugh when he saw the little guy's surprised look.
"Everything was prepared according to my courtyard?" Qingyan smiled.
Yin nodded. They would be staying here for almost a month. Having a familiar environment would at least help her sleep better, unlike in the carriage where she was constantly awakened by nightmares! (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)
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