As it trudged past Lin Yinan, she casually tossed a small piece of silver into the basin.
The brown bear looked up at her, its black and white eyes dull and lifeless, its pupils like dried-up springs.
Lin Yinan paused for a moment, and just as she was about to take a closer look, the little brown bear that had been asking for a reward had already left with the porcelain basin.
A gentle breeze carried an indescribable scent to my nose.
She frowned. The animal tamer was banging on his drum and had already started a new round of shouts.
The brown bear, mimicking a human's walk, obediently put down the reward money and dragged its slightly tired body towards the animal tamer.
More and more people flocked to the scene, and Lin Yinan was pushed along a few steps.
"Madam, there are too many people here, let's go."
Yun Shiyi and Qianwu stood guard on either side of Lin Yinan, each carrying a large bundle on their heads.
Lin Yinan led the two of them and forced their way out of the crowd.
"Madam, that bear's movements were so tamed, it was almost like a human, it just couldn't talk," Qianwu said excitedly, recounting the amusing thing she had just witnessed.
Lin Yinan knew that these little animals were very pitiful. In order to tame them, the animal trainers would use food or sticks to make them submit, and then they would practice day after day. If they didn't do it or didn't do it well, they would be beaten.
Through this intensive training day after day, students gradually master and perform complex behavioral skills.
When she was a child, she saw a video of a baby elephant being trained. In order to teach the baby elephant to stand upside down, the trainers tied the baby elephant with ropes and pulled it with chains, making the baby elephant support its huge body with its head and forelimbs to stand upside down.
If the baby elephants couldn't do it, they would be stabbed with spikes; it was a cruel and inhumane practice.
This is such a difficult thing, even humans would find it hard to do, let alone animals.
That's why Lin Yinan subconsciously gave him a small piece of silver just now.
The three walked out of the crowded street, and Yun Shiyi took the large bundle from Qianwu.
Freed from the constraints of carrying large and small bags, Qianwu bought every delicious food she saw along the way.
She used her savings to buy a lot of snacks, which she and Lin Yinan ate as they walked.
This scene made Lin Yinan feel as if she had returned to school and was shopping with her classmates.
"You stay here to protect the lady. I'll put the medicine away and come right back."
Not far from the place where mule carts were stored in the city, Yun Shiyi planned to put his things on the cart by himself.
"Okay, hurry back. Qianwu and I will wait for you here."
Lin Yinan saw a few tables and chairs set up at a roadside stall, with a sign that read "Fragrant Drinks," and there was no one there at the moment.
She sat down at an empty table and chair. "Shopkeeper, what kind of fragrant drinks do you sell here?"
"Xiangyinzi is a refreshing tea made by boiling plums, hawthorns, and some herbs. It's sweet, sour, and cool, perfect for relieving summer heat. Would you like a bowl, sir?" the shopkeeper said with a simple, honest smile.
"Then give me two bowls."
Behind the stall, a woman was washing the bowls that customers had drunk from, using a gourd ladle to scoop clean water from a bucket and rinse them repeatedly until they were clean.
The shopkeeper quickly served two bowls of reddish-brown tea to cool the body.
Lin Yinan picked up the glass and took a sip. The taste was light and refreshing, with a hint of sweetness in the sourness. After drinking it, her mouth felt cool. It must have been cooked with licorice and mint. It was indeed as refreshing and cooling as the shopkeeper said.
"Madam, this refreshing tea is delicious!" Qianwu was exhausted after walking for so long.
"It's delicious, so drink more."
Upon hearing this, Qianwu drank the remaining tea in her bowl in one gulp and said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, give me another bowl."
Okay.
The shopkeeper took out a small jar from the large water vat and quickly refilled Qianwu's bowl.
"Would you like another bowl, young lady?" the shopkeeper asked Lin Yinan solicitously.
"No need, I've had enough."
The shopkeeper, still smiling, said, "Please enjoy your meal, young lady."
They didn't have to wait long; Yun Shiyi returned quickly, and Lin Yinan also ordered him some cooling tea.
Qianwu and Yun Shiyi drank three bowls in a row before putting down their bowls. After resting for a while, the three of them continued their shopping.
While chatting with the shopkeeper, Lin Yinan had already found out where to buy rice, flour, oil, meat, and vegetables.
There are no poultry farms on Chi'an Mountain, and the guards and soldiers have been hunting wild animals for food. We need to buy them some meat to replenish their energy.
Turn into the alley that specializes in selling meat and vegetables; there are two meat shops here.
Lin Yinan spotted the first house immediately; a burly man was chopping bones with a cleaver.
According to the shopkeeper who sells fragrant drinks, the burly man's name is Song Da. Although he looks fierce, he is a good person and always sells meat in full weight.
"Shopkeeper, how much is the meat?" Qianwu stepped forward to ask the price.
Song Da stopped chopping bones. "Fifty coins a pound, the meat was just killed today, it's very fresh."
Lin Yinan frowned, "So expensive?"
No wonder there was so much meat on the cutting board; at this price, ordinary people would generally find it difficult to afford meat.
The grain hasn't been harvested yet. Only after the rice is harvested and the grain is sold will some people grit their teeth and buy some meat to enjoy a feast.
Song Da grinned and said, "Madam, this price is not expensive. A while ago, meat prices rose to sixty coins."
"Can you make it cheaper if I want more?" Lin Yinan directly started bargaining.
"How much?" Song Da's eyes sparkled.
Although this lady was simply dressed, the presence of guards and maids around her clearly indicated that she was no ordinary person.
Lin Yinan looked at another piece of pork on the table in his shop and said, "I'll take all of yours."
Song Da glanced at the sky; it was almost noon, and the people who had come to the market were almost gone, with even fewer people buying things in the afternoon.
He gritted his teeth, looking like he was ready to go all out, "Madam, I can see that you really want to buy it. It's forty-five coins a catty, and the pork bones and offal will be included. I'll just take a small loss."
"Boss, that's great! Weigh them all for me then."
Song Da ran to the back of the shop and called his parents out to help.
The family of three cut the pork according to Lin Yinan's instructions, put it into sacks, and weighed it. The whole pig weighed no more than 150 jin (75 kg).
A man with a shrewd yet lewd appearance approached, a fawning smile on his face, and pointed to his butcher shop.
"Madam, would you like some more meat? My shop still has some. Would you like to take a look?"
Following the direction of his finger, Lin Yinan saw the meat on his cutting board, which was slightly white, and water droplets were dripping from the edge of the countertop from time to time.
This person was selling water-injected meat.
Lin Yinan looked away and said expressionlessly, "No need, we've bought enough meat."
The man who was rejected was not angry, and still smiled and said, "Then, madam, remember to come and help me next time you come."
After saying that, he spat viciously at Song Da and the others in the shop and turned to leave.
Qianwu calculated the price and paid the money readily.
Ignoring the man's unreasonable provocation, Song Da gave Yun Shiyi a carrying pole to carry pork.
Passing by a fabric shop, Lin Yinan wanted to buy some fabric to make two outfits for Yun Shijiu.
She told Yun Shiyi to wait for her and Qianwu at a restaurant ahead.
The fabric shop was small, with only a few ready-made garments hanging in the store.
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