Chapter 316: No Extravagant Expectations
In the evening, Li cooked a good meal. The thing that hunters have the most is wild game, especially the autumn harvest season, when wild game is the fattest. Li bought two rabbits and cooked a big pot of rabbit meat.
Zhulan asked Li to send a bowl to the Liu family.
Zhang Sanni was very nervous, she didn't want to expose her lie, luckily Li acted as if she didn't know her, Zhang Sanni felt relieved, after careful consideration she realized that it must be Zhou Yang who had told her that.
She had long discovered that the Zhou family did not like trouble and would not take the initiative to cause trouble, so Zhang Sanni was completely relieved.
After Zhulan and the others had dinner at the Liu family, she went to the main house of the Liu family with Zhou Shuren under an umbrella.
Old man Liu was smoking a pipe, while Mrs. Liu Zhang was sewing shoe soles.
Liu Zhang greeted Zhu Lan as she came in and asked, "Madam, why are you here at this hour?"
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "My boss and I heard from the escort that our village is a famous hunter village. Winter is coming soon, and I want to find some top-quality furs, so I came to ask if you have any top-quality furs."
Liu Zhangshi couldn't make the decision, so she had to look after the head of the household.
Mr. Liu put down his pipe and asked, "Madam, do you want fox fur or mink fur?"
Zhulan knew that the Liu family had good furs when she heard this. "Fox fur or mink fur will do."
Mr. Liu said to his wife, "Take it out."
Liu Zhang put down the shoe in her hand and said, "Hey!"
Mr. Liu explained, "Last year the market was good, and the squeezed furs were sold last winter. It's rare to get fox skins in a year, and we got two this year. We were lucky. I'm asking the hostess to see if there's anything you like."
Old Man Liu hoped to sell it. Hunters like them depended on luck to catch good furs. They expected to earn more from good furs in a year. However, the shops in the city that specialized in selling furs were the ones who bullied hunters like them, even if the market was good. The price is not too high, and they also want to sell it separately, but the stall is either taken away or the price is lowered by some housekeepers, so they might as well sell it directly to the shop!
The village quite likes the passing caravans, but unfortunately few of them stop. However, every time they stop, they will sell some furs, unfortunately they buy too little, but the price is still good.
Liu Zhang brought out some furs, two fox skins, and Zhulan liked them at first sight. They were both red fox skins, and two top-quality mink skins. Zhulan asked the price, "How much do these cost?"
Old Man Liu knocked on the door with his pipe and said, "I don't want anything too expensive. It's cheaper than the ones in the shop. Fox skin is 20 taels each, and mink skin is 12 taels each."
Zhulan recalled the prices at the Pingzhou fur shop: top-quality fox skin was thirty taels of silver each, while inferior mink skins started at ten taels of silver.
Zhulan was calculating in her mind. This was much cheaper than the store. Then she thought about the fur dealers' purchase price, which was even cheaper. This business was really lucrative. No wonder there was a monopoly. "I want all four. Does anyone have any good fox skins? I want to buy a few more."
Old Man Liu smoked another pipe. "No more. There are a lot of rabbit skins in the village. Foxes are hard to catch. This year, only our family caught foxes and foxes. Other families sold their skins last year."
Zhulan's wish to save more tickets was shattered, but being able to buy four tickets was already very good, which would be nice to keep as a dowry for the girl at home or as a gift.
Zhou Shuren kept talking, staring at the old man with his remaining eyes, and said with a smile, "There should be better furs at home."
Old Man Liu dealt more with businessmen and seldom with scholars. Although there were scholars who came to his house every year, they were always arrogant. His house had also been occupied by an old man who carried heavy loads of people. In his impression, the old man who carried heavy loads of people always walked with his head held high.
This was the first time he spoke to the old man. After a moment of silence and digesting the old man's words, Mr. Liu squinted his eyes and thought to himself, how did the old man see that?
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, we are buying with sincerity. If we have good leather, we will definitely give you a fair price."
Mr. Liu winked at the old woman and said, "You are a scholar, I can trust you."
Liu Zhang was delighted because the price of the four skins today was twenty taels more than what she had sold them to the purchasing merchant!
Zhulan waited for a while before she saw the skins that Liu Zhang took out, two white fox and deer skins. Zhulan blinked her eyes. They were really white fox and deer skins. They were eighty taels each in the Pingzhou fur shop. Sometimes, when you wanted to buy something, it was out of stock!
Old Man Liu was depressed. He couldn't tell what the host and his wife were thinking because they had no expression on their faces. He was in a dilemma. He thought for a while and said, "White fox skin is hard to find. I shot it three years ago and I haven't seen it since. I'll give you 70 taels a piece."
He didn't dare let anyone know that he had won. The merchant who was going to buy it would definitely bargain for it. It would be good if he could sell it for forty taels each. If others knew about it, it would be troublesome. He had been hiding it all this time, so it would be good if he could get rid of it today.
Zhulan looked at Zhou Shuren, who nodded imperceptibly. These two rare white fox skins could be excellent gifts if used properly.
Zhulan spent two hundred and four taels to buy six furs and even emptied a box to store the furs.
The rain stopped in the middle of the night, and they could continue their journey the next day. After breakfast, Li took Xinghua to pack their luggage.
The Liu family made a lot of money from Zhou Jia last night. Liu Zhang made some dumplings in the morning and sent them to Zhulan on the way to eat. The dumplings were filled with wild boar and cabbage.
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were the last to get on the carriage. Zhulan opened the curtain and looked back at the Liu family. She happened to see Zhang Sanni saluting her. She understood what Zhang Sanni was saluting her.
Zhulan smiled. This girl was a rare person who could see the reality clearly and also knew how to seize opportunities. Zhulan let down the curtains. Of the girls she met after traveling through time, Zhang Sanni and Wang Rong never yearned for an illusory future, but always grasped the reality. That was why they could fight for their own happiness step by step in the harsh environment.
This time when she returned to Zhoujia Village, she also met Wang Rong. Wang Rong was calm and peaceful, with a constant smile on his face. Even Zhou Wangshi praised him.
This morning, she was also observing the Liu family. The Liu family was a rare kind-hearted family. Although Zhang Sanni's husband was not good-looking, he helped Zhang Sanni fetch water.
In ancient times, if a woman could find a husband who loved her, her future would not be bad.
Zhu Lan leaned her head on Zhou Shu Ren's shoulder, lifted Zhou Shu Ren's hand, and put her own hand on top, holding the small hand with her big hand. Zhu Lan curled her lips and said, "It's great to have you."
Zhou Shuren shook his hand back, "I should have said that."
He thought more than once, what would have happened to him if Zhulan hadn't saved him? Would he have died? Or traveled through time?
Zhulan smiled and said nothing more. Zhou Shuren also smiled and held Zhulan's hand tightly.
Because it was raining and the road was mountainous, the carriage was not moving fast, and it was not until the evening that we finally got out of the mountain area. There was still some distance to the post station, but fortunately, we were out of the mountain area, so there would be no danger even if it rained again.
The journey afterwards was not smooth. It was the autumn harvest time and there was more rain. After several heavy rains, the carriage had difficulty moving forward.
When Zhulan had nothing to do, she would lie by the car window and watch the farmers harvesting crops in the muddy fields. In ancient times, there were no machines and everything depended on manpower. The farmers' work became even harder after several heavy rains.
She should be thankful that this is not a disaster year. At least this year is another bumper year, although there was a little more rain during the autumn harvest.
Zhulan was worried about her hometown, "I don't know if it's raining in my hometown? I'm still counting the days. Xuemei is about to give birth."