It was noon when they arrived in the county town, just in time for lunch. Since the two of them had eaten breakfast rather late, they headed towards the market first.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, even the market is busier than usual. At this time of year, the market would be half full, but today, despite it being a holiday, it is still packed with people.
After browsing around, Xu Han and Lu Chuan bought some dried seafood.
“Look, there’s a gentleman writing couplets over there. Let’s go take a look,” Lu Chuan said to Xu Han, pointing to a stall.
The two squeezed onto the stall, looked around, and then joined the queue.
When it was Lu Chuan and Xu Han's turn, Lu Chuan asked the old gentleman to write a few couplets for him, paid for them, and then left.
They walked and stopped along the way, buying a lot of random things. During this time, Xu Han also saw many vendors selling water chestnuts. The two exchanged a glance and understood each other's intentions.
They skillfully split up and bought up all the water chestnuts on the entire street.
Xu Han also made an appointment with an old man to bring more water chestnuts tomorrow, as she wanted to buy more and asked him to deliver them directly to Manxianglou.
After hearing this, the old man repeatedly agreed, and after it was settled, Xu Han went to find Lu Chuan.
After leaving the market, Lu Chuan took Xu Han to a pastry shop and bought a lot of pastries, some as gifts for Uncle Zhang and Uncle Li, and some for their own family.
Then the two of them went to the general store together. Every time they came to the county town, they had to visit the general store because there were so many things they needed to buy there.
I did another random shopping spree, buying everything I felt I needed. I also went to the grain store and bought another 2,000 jin of rice. With more space now, there's still room in the cellar, so buying more makes me feel more at ease.
The old food stalls in the county town also had very good food, so the two of them split up again and ordered takeout.
Anyway, I'm not going back tonight. I have plenty of time, so I can't let this trip go to waste.
We continued exploring the night market that evening. Now, every time I come to the county town, I have a fixed routine, with everything planned out clearly, including what to do at what time.
It's not easy to go down the mountain, so we can't let it be a wasted trip. We should buy everything we need. We don't lack money now, so the more the better.
After they got tired of walking around, Xu Han took Lu Chuan back to the inn to rest.
Because it was past noon when we arrived in the county town today, it was not appropriate to deliver the festival gifts at this time. Some families are very particular about these things, especially in ancient times when the rules were even more strict.
Unfortunately, I'll have to go tomorrow morning. After walking all day, I'll take a relaxing bath and then go to sleep.
The next morning, Lu Chuan rented a horse at the livestock market and went directly to Doctor Liu's house in Xujia Village with holiday gifts to get medicine for wounds.
Xu Han wanted to stay here and buy some more things at the market.
Lu Chuan could get there faster on horseback by himself; if Xu Han came along, they definitely wouldn't be able to go home today.
As the sky grew increasingly gloomy, we couldn't afford to waste any more time; if it really snowed, we wouldn't be able to get back.
After getting up, Xu Han went to the market again and bought some things. On her way back, she stopped by a bookstore and bought some red paper and other types of paper to keep at home.
I bought a few more calligraphy brushes, along with a new inkstone and ink sticks.
It cost a total of 8 taels of silver. No wonder ordinary families can't afford to send their children to school. Those with better conditions will send them to school to learn a few characters.
Some people in the village send their children to school, but very few people actually educate their children to be scholars, since it is really expensive and most families can't afford it.
After making the purchases, Xu Han went to the inn to wait for Lu Chuan to return, and also sorted out the gifts for the two elders.
Each basket contained five jin of beef, a jar of pine nuts, a small jar of kudzu root powder, a bag of mushrooms, a bag of dried bamboo shoots, a bag of dried vegetables, two pheasants, two wild ducks, and two wild ducks, along with two newly bought boxes of pastries. It was quite a valuable holiday gift.
Xu Han was tidying up these things when Lu Chuan returned. They set off as soon as the city gates opened, traveling quite quickly on horseback.
"You're back! Come and see what I've prepared for the holiday. Do you need anything else?" Xu Han asked.
Lu Chuan looked at it and said, "This is already very good. I didn't prepare this much in previous years! It's enough, no need to add any more."
Then the two of them each carried a basket on their backs and went downstairs. Lu Chuan then went to the backyard of the inn to push his wheelbarrow.
After placing the basket on the wheelbarrow, Xu Han and Lu Chuan began their journey to the pharmacy.
When they arrived, Uncle Zhang happened to be in the front hall and was extremely excited to see Lu Chuan and Xu Han.
"Uncle Zhang, we've come to bring you holiday gifts. We guessed you weren't home, so we came directly to the pharmacy," Xu Han called out warmly.
"You're here! Come in quickly, your Aunt Zhang is in the backyard!" Uncle Zhang called to the two of them excitedly.
After arriving at the backyard, he led Lu Chuan and Xu Han into the inner hall and said, "You've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you for so long."
"Did Uncle Zhang's trip go smoothly?" Lu Chuan asked.
"Successfully, this trip to the capital saw ginseng being sold at exceptionally high prices by those high-ranking officials and nobles. I made a total of 2,800 taels of silver on this trip alone. I did expect that they would be so rich that they would be scrambling to buy these ginsengs, but I really didn't expect to get such a high price."
"That's good. This is all thanks to Uncle Zhang," Lu Chuan said.
Uncle Zhang chuckled and said, "As agreed before, I'll give you both half. Wait for me to go get the money!" With that, he turned and headed outside.
Before the two could react, he quickly left the inner hall and returned carrying a tray.
“I’ve replaced it all with gold. Count it; this is your share of 1400 taels,” Uncle Zhang said.
"No, no, Uncle Zhang, we agreed at the beginning that we couldn't take that much," Lu Chuan quickly waved his hand and refused.
"What do you mean by 'agreement'? The ginseng I bought was already at a very low price. Of course, the profits should be split equally. Otherwise, I'd have to pay more! I won't do that!" Uncle Zhang said, declining the offer.
"It's all thanks to Uncle Zhang's efforts that we were able to earn so much money. If it weren't for Uncle Zhang, we wouldn't have been able to sell the ginseng at such a high price! Moreover, the journey and the bribing around must have cost a lot of money. Splitting it in half is really not right! It's not appropriate."
"Don't worry! I've already deducted the travel expenses. I won't let myself suffer a loss. This is all profit, so just keep it!"
“Alright, Uncle Zhang, we’ll accept it, but we really can’t accept that much. How about this: we’ll give you another 1,000 taels, and you can’t refuse anymore,” Xu Han also advised.
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