The waiter hurriedly stopped him and said with a smile, "Miss, Miss, how much do you think is appropriate?"
Li Xiaomei stopped and said, "If it's 70 cents a pound, I'll buy it!"
The waiter made a bitter face and shook his head, saying, "Sir, this is not the price you should pay. This cotton is of such good quality that I can only give you three cents at most. Cotton of this quality will be sold at a different price in winter!"
"I bought a lot. Will you sell it to me at 75 cents per pound?" Li Yan asked.
The waiter hesitated for a moment and said, "Wait a moment, young lady. I'll go and tell the shopkeeper!"
Li Yan nodded, and saw the waiter trotting over to the shopkeeper who was greeting customers on the other side. He leaned in front of his own shopkeeper and whispered something. The shopkeeper nodded, and the waiter ran to Li Yan with a smile on his face: "Our shopkeeper agrees. Miss, the price is 75 coins per catty. How much do you want?"
Li Yan had seen this before. Her parents' cotton-padded clothes were yellow and stiff. If winter came, such clothes would not be able to keep out the cold.
Li Yan said directly: "Give me 20 kilograms of cotton!"
Li Xiaomei was frightened by her niece and pulled Li Yan: "Why buy so much! You won't need these to make a bed quilt!"
Li Yan said to her aunt, "It's best to buy more. I'm afraid these 20 kilograms won't be enough!"
Li Xiaomei advised: "We didn't bring anything to pack when we went out. Let's take all this cotton back. You can buy less first and we can talk about it next time!"
The young man listened to the conversation between the two and hurriedly said, "Don't worry, girl. We have sacks here and can give you two for free!" Just kidding, how can you let go of the business that comes to your door?
Li Yan was just worrying about how to take it back later, and this was exactly what she wanted: "Then weigh it for me, 20 kilograms!"
The young man got the news and got to work quickly.
After the cotton was weighed, the young man came forward with a smile on his face and said, "Miss, I'll pack it for you. It's one ounce and five cents of silver in total!"
Li Yan took out a five-liang silver coin from her bag and said, "Shopkeeper, can you give me some loose copper coins?"
The waiter nodded. The store had no shortage of strung copper coins. He found some strung copper coins from behind the counter and handed them to Li Yan.
Li Yan took the silver and put it into her shoulder bag. The originally light shoulder bag immediately became heavy.
After they left the grocery store, Li Yan asked Zheng Hui, "Do you find it boring?"
Zheng Hui shook her head and thought, 'How can shopping be boring? This is much better than sewing at home!' She glanced at the two people, each carrying a large bag of cotton, and said, "Do you want to buy anything else?"
Li Yan nodded: "I also need to buy some meat and a few packs of snacks!"
Zheng Hui followed the two of them to the meat market again. Li Yan and her group arrived late, and the meat at Zhu the butcher's stall was almost sold out.
It's almost the holidays, and everyone is busy shopping.
A few of them went to the dim sum shop again. The shop was not big, but there were many people queuing up.
Li Yan asked Li Xiaomei who was standing beside her, "Auntie, is this the pastry shop run by Uncle Wensong from our village?"
Li Xiaomei nodded. This shop was opened by the clan's eldest son, Li Wensong. Because of its fair prices and generous portions, it was deeply loved by nearby residents.
After they entered the room, Li Wensong, who was standing behind the counter, recognized Li Xiaomei and Li Yan at a glance.
He greeted, "What do you need, Erya? The best-selling mooncakes here are the five-nut and red bean paste mooncakes."
Li Yan looked at the various snacks on the wooden shelf behind the counter and said, "Uncle, give me two packs of each of these two mooncakes, and weigh me two kilograms each of peach cakes and peanut cakes. How much is it in total?"
Li Wensong packed the things neatly and handed them to Li Yan: "Four bags of mooncakes for eighty wen, four pounds of pastries for forty wen, so give me one hundred and twenty wen, and I'll give you a bag of sesame cakes to try."
Li Yan paid the money and accepted Uncle Wensong's kindness with a smile.
After they left the shop, Zheng Hui said, "I've been shopping with you all morning, and I'm hungry now. I heard Piaoxianglou has some new dishes, so let me treat you to a meal!"
Li Xiaomei awkwardly pulled Li Yan. How could she dare to eat at the same table with the county magistrate's daughter who invited her to dinner?
Li Yan patted her aunt's hand soothingly and followed Zheng Hui.
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