"Newly arrived brown rice is thirty coins a peck, polished rice is fifty coins." The shopkeeper crushed a rice weevil crawling on the ground with his foot. "The sack on the east side is last year's rice, twenty coins will do."
The moment she lifted the sack of old rice, a faint musty smell wafted out.
The rice grains had an eerie bluish-gray hue, and several clusters of dark green mold clung to the pile of rice like moss.
The rice next door was snow-white and plump. Although the price didn't matter to her, her family would definitely ask her all sorts of questions if she bought it.
"Chen Mi..." Before Lin Cuiying could finish speaking, the shop assistant suddenly grabbed a wooden shovel and stirred the pile of rice.
The moldy gray rose up and danced in the sunlight, startling her so much that she took a half step back.
"Young lady, don't be greedy for cheap prices," the waiter said in a low voice, poking the water seeping from the bottom of the burlap sack with the tip of his wooden spatula. "This rice has been soaked in rainwater; it'll taste even worse than pig swill when cooked."
Lin Cuiying hadn't originally intended to sell the old rice; she just wanted to ask why it was being sold when it was in such a state.
A cough came from afar from the rice shop owner, and the clerk immediately put on a smile: "How about a bushel of unpolished rice? Mix in some bran, and it'll last a few more days."
This guy is pretty honest. Lin Cuiying pointed to the brown rice and said, "Give me two bushels."
In that era, a dou (a unit of dry measure) of rice weighed less than five jin (another unit of dry measure), unlike today where a dou of rice weighs about twelve jin.
Buy two bushels of rice, and your family will be able to eat for about half a month.
Of course, if you cook porridge every day, you can eat it for even longer.
The waiter picked up a wooden scoop and scooped rice into the rice bin, the edge of the scoop hitting the edge of the bin with a dull thud.
Brown rice mixed with chaff was poured into a rough burlap sack, and the rising dust covered the worker's face.
He spat out the bits of shell stuck to the corner of his mouth, quickly tied the bag shut, and the veins on the back of his large, calloused hands bulged.
"Watch closely—" The shopkeeper picked up the sack and hung it on the iron hook of the scale beam. The weight rope trembled and slid precariously along the markings.
"Two full dou!" A few grains of rice were still stuck to the bottom of the wooden dou, but he scraped them off with his fingernail and they fell back into the sack.
Lin Cuiying took out sixty coins and handed them over. The shop assistant hurriedly carried the sack to stuff them into her basket.
The brown rice made the bamboo strips creak under the weight, and she had to hold onto the wall to avoid being pulled off balance.
As the sun climbed over the eaves, a fragrance suddenly wafted into her nostrils.
The moment the steamer basket on the street corner was lifted, white steam carrying the aroma of meat wafted straight into people's stomachs.
"Freshly steamed meat buns! Five coins each!" The stall owner banged his iron ladle against the cutting board, oil splattering onto his coarse cloth apron.
Lin Cuiying's throat moved, and she realized that her stomach was empty.
The copper coins clinked against the earthenware pot. Her fingertips brushed against the still-hot oil paper package. "I'll have one with meat," she said, then added after a moment's thought, "and one vegetarian too."
The piping hot bun was tossed twice in the palm of my hand, and the crack it opened gushed out a glistening broth.
She sucked on the broken opening, her tongue burning from the heat, but she couldn't bear to let go—it was the first time she had tasted meat since transmigrating, and she even sucked the oil dripping from between her fingers clean.
Lin Cuiying quickly swallowed the vegetarian bun, then said, "Could you please make five more meat buns as well?"
The stall owner deftly lifted the lid of the steamer, exclaiming, "Young lady, your family is thriving!"
Lin Cuiying took the oil paper package and stuffed it deep into her basket, then handed thirty-three copper coins to the stall owner.
"One steamed bun per person, not too many, not too few."
After counting the coins with a smile, the stall owner started calling out again.
Lin Cuiying continued shopping with her basket on her back. She bought some cabbage and radish seeds at a general store, and also some seasonings.
There weren't many seasonings available in that era; they were mainly salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.
Yesterday I took a quick look around the kitchen and found that the salt jars in the house were almost empty, so I bought a little of everything, which cost me more than sixty coins.
Seeing that she had bought enough, Lin Cuiying prepared to go home.
Just then, a commotion broke out on the street as someone pushed a wooden cart past, carrying two bamboo cages filled with steaming hot food. It was a vendor selling cooked food.
"Braised pork hock—freshly made braised pork hock—"
"The aroma of meat fills the streets; even immortals would tiptoe to take notice!"
The driver banged on a gong and shouted to attract customers, while a skinny man beside him held up half a pork knuckle and kept moving into the crowd.
Lin Cuiying glanced at the braised pork knuckle; it looked bland and unappetizing. She then picked up her basket and started walking back the way she came.
After arriving at a secluded spot and finding no one around, he put the basket along with the things he had just bought into his spatial storage.
Although the basket was filled with so many things, carrying it was not a problem for her.
But why not save energy if you can?
There were many people coming and going on the street, so Lin Cuiying wasn't in a hurry and strolled home slowly.
Not far from leaving Shiqiao Town, the system's bubble sound appeared again.
[Host, someone is following you!]
Lin Cuiying didn't stop walking and asked in a low voice, "How many people?"
Six.
"so much?"
If it weren't for the system notification, Lin Cuiying would have been completely unaware that someone was following her.
It seems they've become a bit complacent since transmigrating.
The system continued, "[Are some of them acquaintances?]"
"An acquaintance? Who is it?"
She had only been in this world for two days, and the only people she knew were her family and those shameless people in Shangdu Village.
[It's those guys who escaped from Cangshan Mountain. They brought help this time. They probably spotted you in town and specifically chose your route back, when there aren't many people around, to deal with you.]
It turned out to be Lai Pichun and a few other scumbags from yesterday. Lin Cuiying narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists.
Unexpectedly, they not only didn't give up, but also called in reinforcements.
Lin Cuiying's fingertips brushed against the patch on her cuff. "Did these people bring any weapons?"
【Two machetes, four wooden sticks~】The system's cheerful tone at the end sounded like it was reciting a menu.
A dead branch suddenly broke in the distance. As she bent down to tie her straw sandals, she caught a glimpse of half a gray cloth corner flashing behind the bushes.
At that moment, footsteps suddenly became more frequent behind them, and six dark figures came from the side road to surround them.
"Lin Cuiying, you didn't expect to see me again, did you!" Lai Pichun swung his machete, which was gleaming.
The scarred man beside him banged a wooden stick against his palm, and a stench of decay mixed with the smell of alcohol hit him.
Lin Cuiying took a half step back, then suddenly pointed behind the crowd and cried out in alarm, "The officials are here!"
The three men turned their heads in unison, while the other three remained motionless.
Scarface spat: "Do you think men are virgins? This trick..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Cuiying suddenly launched an attack on him.
She grabbed the other person's wrist with her right hand and twisted it hard, while her left hand caught the falling wooden stick.
"How's that?" The wooden stick was still warm from her body. As Lin Cuiying spun around, she landed the stick directly on Scarface's body.
As the wooden stick struck Scarface's shoulder blade with a dull thud, Lai Pi Chun's raspy voice boomed: "You all better watch yourselves! This woman knows a little kung fu!"
The cold glint of the machete reflected a sneer in Lin Cuiying's eyes.
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