Xu Jinhuan thought about how he needed to buy a batch of cotton-padded clothes, so he chuckled and accepted his underlings' offer. After all, he couldn't use his spatial ability in front of others, could he?
Then I'll trouble these two to be the loader/unloader.
“An Er, you’re skilled in martial arts, so you should drive the carriage. If we suddenly encounter danger, you’ll be able to react in time,” Ma Wencai said with a smile.
An Er nodded upon hearing this, not finding anything wrong with what he said.
Xu Jinhuan looked at Ma Wencai, who was walking into the carriage with a happy expression, and asked in confusion, "Why are you so happy?"
Ma Wencai whispered, "Boss, you don't know, ever since Xia Zhiying rode in your carriage, she's been showing off about it all the time, as if she's the only one with this honor."
This made us all want to ride in the boss's carriage, so we could show off a little.
Xu Jinhuan paused in his tea-drinking motion, his eyes conveying the same question: "Are you all alright?"
This group of people are over a hundred years old combined, how can they still be so childish?
Xu Jinhuan shook his head with amusement, "Now that you're riding in my carriage, you don't need to envy Zhiying anymore. Sit down and listen to my arrangements."
Upon hearing this, Ma Wencai indeed became much more serious. "Boss, I'm listening to you."
Xu Jinhuan thought for a moment and said, "After we enter the city, you and An Er will go to different clothing shops and buy back all the cotton-padded clothes that the shopkeepers have stockpiled. I'll wander around by myself first."
"Huh?" Ma Wencai looked at Xu Jinhuan in surprise. "Then, boss, you're not all alone?"
Xu Jinhuan pointed at Ma Wencai, then at himself, and said, "Who do you think is more lethal between the two of us?"
Ma Wencai chuckled dryly, "That goes without saying, of course it's you, boss. You took down a bandit with a single blow back then, let alone now."
Xu Jinhuan smiled and said, "So, you and An Er go ahead and do your shopping. I'll come find you later. You can keep this money for now, half for each of you."
After saying that, Xu Jinhuan handed Ma Wencai a money bag.
Ma Wencai skillfully weighed the money bag in his hand and found it to be light. He looked at Xu Jinhuan with suspicion, as if he wanted to ask if the money for the purchase was a little too little.
"Open it and take a look," Xu Jinhuan said.
After Ma Wencai opened it, he saw several silver notes. He took them out and found that each one was worth one hundred taels.
"Don't worry about the money. Just spend it as I gave you. The cotton-padded clothes you collected might come in handy," Xu Jinhuan said calmly.
Ma Wencai nodded seriously, "I understand, boss. Since we're buying so many, I'll definitely try to get a discount, or ask the shopkeeper to give us a few more cotton-padded coats."
Xu Jinhuan nodded approvingly. Although Ma Wencai was sometimes unreliable, he had his own clever tricks when it came to business, so she was still at ease leaving the purchasing to him.
"Boss, we've entered the city. Where are we going now?" An Er asked respectfully from outside the carriage.
Xu Jinhuan pulled back the carriage curtain, nimbly jumped down, and said to An Er, "You go with Ma Wencai to the clothing shops in the city. I'll just wander around for a bit first."
"ah?"
An Er stared blankly at Xu Jinhuan's departing figure, having thought he could take this opportunity to show his face in front of Xu Jinhuan and leave a deep impression on her.
That way, when they distribute benefits to loyal underlings in the future, they'll remember him.
But why does Xu Jinhuan act so unpredictably?
"Stop looking. Since the boss has made the arrangements, let's do as he says. If you want to impress the boss, just do what he tells you to do. It's the same if you do what he tells you to do."
Ma Wencai, having shed his composure in front of Xu Jinhuan and Xie Datou, glanced at An Er beside him and said in a calm tone.
"Huh?" An Er looked at the drastically changed Ma Wencai with a blank expression. In the past, he thought Ma Wencai was like a fool, but now he felt that he was the fool.
Ma Wencai glanced at An Er speechlessly and instructed, "Go and find out which street has the most clothing shops, then continue on your way."
“Okay.” An Er realized that he was still not suited to using his brain; he was better suited to completing tasks by obeying orders.
Ma Wencai watched An Er's busy back and proudly raised his chin. "Tch, he thinks he can replace us old folks? In his next life!"
However, in order to complete the task assigned by the boss more smoothly, I still need to tell An Er some talking points.
Otherwise, if he gets led by the nose by the shopkeeper of that clothing store, wouldn't it be the boss who loses money?
Therefore, after An Er returned, Ma Wencai began the first training session on communication skills.
After the master and apprentice talked for about half an hour, Ma Wencai finally released the dizzy An Er and let him drive the carriage towards the clothing shop.
At this moment, Xu Jinhuan casually found a teahouse and sat down.
"Waiter, how much is a pot of tea?" Xu Jinhuan asked curiously.
It's worth noting that after experiencing a heatwave, many places were without water, so the fact that there were still teahouses open in this county town was quite a surprise to Xu Jinhuan.
The waiter at the teahouse said with a bright smile, "Sir, our shop has been the same for ten years, a pot of tea costs thirty coins."
Xu Jinhuan asked in confusion, "Didn't prices go up during the drought?"
The waiter, his smile unchanged, said, "Sir, you must be from out of town. Because we sometimes experience droughts in the summer, we're used to storing water, and every household has dug their wells very deep."
So even with this drought, we still have water to drink.
At this moment, someone called for the waiter at the teahouse. After the waiter told Xu Jinhuan what was going on, he turned and left.
A short while later, the waiter brought another pot of tea and gently placed it in front of Xu Jinhuan.
"Sir, please have some tea."
Xu Jinhuan sipped his tea leisurely while listening to the idle chatter of those around him.
"What? Another rebellion has broken out?" said a scholar-looking man.
Another scholar beside him sighed and said, "Brother Ding, watch your words. A few hundred farmers are hardly a rebellion. At most, they've become outlaws."
Brother Ding sighed helplessly and said, "Yuan Yong, now I understand what it means to be a scholar who is utterly useless."
My emperor is incompetent, and this calamity has befallen us; I can only watch helplessly as the country crumbles step by step.
Lu Yuanyong patted the other man's hand and said seriously, "Brother Ding, please be careful with your words. If someone with ulterior motives hears you, your career prospects may be ruined."
Brother Ding smiled sadly and said, "Nowadays, officials in the court protect each other and promote only the sons of aristocratic families. How can we talk about an official career?"
As for grain prices, since the disaster began, they have skyrocketed. Now a bushel of rice costs one or two taels of gold. If this continues, survival will be a problem.
Lu Yuanyong said helplessly, "If it weren't for Magistrate Shen's constant obstruction, the price of grain would probably have doubled again. What a pity..."
Brother Ding also sighed heavily, "Yes, what a pity..."
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