The two then went to a general store and bought salt and some pots and pans. The salt was not expensive, 20 coins per pound, but the salt grains were relatively large and the color was not pure, being yellowish.
Upon arriving at the grain store on the main street, Lin Yinan saw the village chief and Su Kunliang.
"This rice is incredibly expensive; how can ordinary people afford it?"
The village chief shook his head as he looked at the rice priced at two ounces per dou.
"Disasters were rampant, wars were constant, and the people suffered as a result."
Su Kunliang sighed, "This rice isn't just unaffordable for ordinary people; it's unaffordable for them too."
The waiter waved impatiently at the group, shooing them to the door.
"Go away, go away. If you can't afford it, leave. Don't block the store. We still need to do business."
Lin Zhaohui glared at the arrogant waiter, but dared not speak out for fear of getting into trouble.
Lin Yiheng didn't care about the waiter's attitude at all. He looked at Lin Yinan with gentle eyes, smiled warmly, and asked in a gentle voice, "Anan, what did you buy?"
"I bought some salt." Lin Yinan shook the basket on his back.
The village chief and the others hadn't bought any salt yet, but when they heard that Lin Yinan had, they asked, "How much is salt these days?"
Lin Yinan looked at Lin Yiheng, who cleared his throat and said, "Coarse salt is 20 wen per jin, and fine salt is 25 wen. The price hasn't increased much."
Where is the salt seller?
Lin Yiheng pointed out the direction to the group, and the group said goodbye to the brother and sister to go buy salt.
"Anan, it's still early. Is there anything else you need to buy?" Lin Yiheng glanced at the sky and silently estimated in his mind.
Lin Yinan recalled that Zhang Shi hadn't even been willing to give Qianxia and Qianwu two tattered clothes last time. "Brother, it's rare for us to come to the city. Let's go buy some fabric. Uncle and Second Brother often do heavy work, so their clothes wear out quickly."
"Let's go then."
Lin Yiheng led Lin Yinan through two alleys to the fabric shop that the clerk at the general store had mentioned.
The shop owner was a short, stout middle-aged man who was dozing off at the counter.
The fabric shop is small; you can see it all at a glance.
The shelves near the entrance are stocked with brightly colored silks and fine cotton fabrics, while coarse cloths and lower-quality cotton fabrics are placed in the least conspicuous corners, with a more uniform color palette.
Several sets of elaborate men's and women's clothing, made of fine cotton and silk, were hanging in the center of the shop.
Lin Yinan had already walked around the shop, but the shopkeeper was still fast asleep.
Lin Yiheng walked over and tapped lightly on the counter with his fingers. "Shopkeeper, how much is the fabric?"
The shopkeeper looked up, casually wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. When he saw the two people who had somehow entered the shop, he suddenly stood up from his chair, immediately putting on a fawning smile. He walked out from behind the counter and said enthusiastically, "May I ask which fabrics the young ladies are interested in?"
Lin Yinan pointed to the inconspicuous coarse cloth and cotton fabric in the corner and asked, "Shopkeeper, how much are those?"
The shopkeeper did not look down on Lin Yinan because he was referring to coarse cloth and cotton cloth. He said respectfully, "Coarse cloth is 80 coins, cotton cloth is 120 coins, and I will also give you some scraps of cloth."
Lin Yinan felt the price wasn't expensive, but she wanted to buy more to store in her space, so she asked the shopkeeper, "Can I get a discount if I buy more?"
"Girl, how much do you want?"
"I want them all."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he reached out and picked up the abacus on the counter, starting to frantically turn the keys.
Lin Yinan didn't rush him. She took a fancy to a few more cotton fabrics, white ones for her undergarments and light-colored ones for her close-fitting undergarments.
After patiently waiting for the shopkeeper to finish using the abacus, she pointed to the fine cotton fabric she had her eye on and said, "I also want those colors of fine cotton fabric. Also, do you have any cotton in the shop?"
It was hard to believe that this girl, dressed in ordinary clothes, was a big customer. The shopkeeper's face immediately lit up with joy. "Miss, you need a lot, so I'll give you a good price. It's just that the cotton is old stock from the bottom of the warehouse, and it's a bit yellowish."
"Is it new?" There shouldn't be any counterfeit cotton in this era, right?
The shopkeeper nodded vigorously, "Don't worry, young lady, it's brand new."
"How many are there? I'll take them all," Lin Yinan said generously.
Lin Yiheng opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak.
The young woman was simply dressed, but she was very generous with her money. The shopkeeper was a little embarrassed, afraid that she was just trying to fool him. "Really?"
Lin Yinan took out two gold ingots and placed them on the counter. "I never lie."
The shopkeeper picked up the gold ingot, bit it, and found it was real. His anxiety subsided.
"The cotton is in a warehouse in another alley. I'll take you there now."
Lin Yinan reached out and stopped the shopkeeper who was about to leave the shop. "Shopkeeper, wait a moment. Let's count out these fabrics I've picked out first, and then we'll go check the cotton."
"well!"
The shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his brow. He had been too hasty. Two years after he brought in that batch of cotton, he had only sold a small amount. He had originally planned to give it to relatives at the end of the year, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and he was finally no longer stuck with it.
This year, due to the war and poor harvest, people can't even fill their stomachs, let alone buy cloth to make clothes. He had wanted to quit for a long time, but unfortunately, there was a lot of stock in the warehouse.
He tried hard to calm himself, but his hands trembled slightly as he manipulated the abacus, betraying his nervousness.
The shopkeeper calculated the price, and Lin Yiheng thought it was a great deal, so Lin Yinan asked for a dozen more horses.
Finally, the shopkeeper busied himself moving the fabric that Lin Yinan wanted from the backyard to the warehouse.
As Yun Mo led Yun Yi through the alley, they inadvertently saw Lin Yinan take a bag of silver from his basket and hand it to the shopkeeper.
"Master, it's Miss Lin and her brother in the shop," Yun Yi said in a low voice.
A look of surprise flashed in Yun Mo's eyes. "Well, let's go take care of our business first, and then we'll meet them at the city gate."
The brother and sister inside the shop were unaware that Yun Mo was passing by in the alley.
The shopkeeper pulled out his own oxcart, loaded the cloth Lin Yinan had bought onto it, and took Lin Yinan to the cotton warehouse.
Looking at the warehouse full of cotton, Lin Yinan secretly sighed that he had made a good deal; the quality of this cotton was even better than the shopkeeper had said.
Faced with such a big customer, the shopkeeper bowed and followed behind, asking, "Miss, why are you here to take away all this cotton?"
Lin Yiheng looked at Lin Yinan; he really didn't know how to transport so much cotton back.
Lin Yinan understood immediately and said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, leave the key here. We'll arrange for a car to come and pick it up tonight. I'll leave the key here after we're done. How does that sound?"
He had bought the warehouse years ago, and the shopkeeper had no reason to hesitate, so he readily agreed. Pointing to a loose brick at the entrance, he said, "Alright, I'll come back to get the key tomorrow morning. Miss, you can put the key inside this brick at the entrance."
The two watched the shopkeeper leave, and Lin Yinan waved his hand, taking all the cotton and cloth in the warehouse into his spatial storage.
Even though he already knew about the wonders of the space, Lin Yiheng was still dumbfounded.
After collecting the items, Lin Yinan placed the key in the shopkeeper's designated spot, then carried the basket on her back and went with Lin Yiheng to the city gate to meet up with Yun Mo and the others.
When the siblings arrived, Yun Mo and Village Chief Lin were already waiting at the city gate.
Looking at the brother and sister who had nothing in their hands, Yun Mo's eyes held an unreadable expression.
Where is the fabric they just bought?
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