bookrandom Chapter 81 Inquiry
Chapter 81 Inquiry
She refused decisively. Although she was dressed plainly, she had a tenacious spirit that refused to admit defeat.
Hearing that his daughter sounded a little angry, Shen Qingchuan quickly added, "Since it's a misunderstanding, it's good to talk it out. However, our home is far away, and I'm afraid we'll never be able to come to the county more than a few times in our lives. But I still want to thank you for your kindness."
He smirked, led the mule and drove the mule cart, carrying his daughter away.
As the mule cart gradually disappeared down the street, Xue Hanxing felt a slight pang of regret.
The whole family felt like the sky had fallen because of the kidnapping of his younger brother and the ransom demanded by bandits. His father was furious and anxious, smashing up the study and going out with a knife to search for him. He was almost insane and wanted to kill someone. His mother also cried herself unconscious several times. She had almost gone blind from crying these past few days. The government officials helped search the entire county town. But then his younger brother suddenly returned, brought back by a farmer and his daughter. What a coincidence!
Therefore, he suspected that the kidnappers, fearing that the authorities would find them and throw them in jail, instructed the father and daughter to send the kidnappers back to demand a "thank you gift".
It's because he's suspicious and narrow-minded that he's prejudiced against others!
Xue Hanxing turned and went back to the mansion, instructing his servants to go out and find his father, telling him that his younger brother had returned and that there was no need to continue searching.
……
Sitting on the mule cart, Shen Xiaotang looked at the shops lining both sides of the road and couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of mixed emotions, including nostalgia and nostalgia).
If only she could run a shop in this county!
With such a large customer flow, as long as you have capital and use your brain a little, how can you not make money?
The key problem is that we don't have money. Let alone buying a shop, we can't even afford to rent one now.
Ugh!
never mind!
Let’s take it step by step!
They found the largest herbal medicine shop in the county, with a signboard in black lacquer and gold lettering that read "Bai Cao Xuan" (Hundred Herbs Pavilion).
The name itself suggests a wide variety of medicinal herbs!
Even before entering, one can smell the faint aroma of herbs, and there are more customers buying medicinal materials and patients getting their prescriptions filled.
This Baicaoxuan is so much bigger and more impressive than Fengji Pharmacy!
Shen Qingchuan was stunned when he entered such a large pharmacy for the first time. He didn't even know which foot should step over the threshold first, and unconsciously started walking with the wrong foot.
"Tang'er, this pharmacy is so big, and the staff are all so busy. Will they even bother with us?"
Shen Xiaotang chuckled and immediately reminded him, "Dad, you'd better watch where you're going. If you fall in public, you'll be in big trouble!"
"Oh... okay, Dad's not very knowledgeable. This is the first time he's seen the world, and he's completely mesmerized."
Haha, her dad is like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden!
"Dad, don't be afraid. Customers come and go in this medicine shop. As long as we don't deliberately delay their business, they generally won't ignore us."
Shen Qingchuan nodded, thinking to himself that it was also his daughter's first time entering such a large herbal medicine shop, so how could she be so confident and not at all nervous?
Alas, her Tang'er is so capable, it's a pity she was born into his family. If she had been born into a wealthy family, she would surely be blessed.
Shen Xiaotang walked up to a busy shop assistant and asked about the price of turmeric. The shop assistant didn't even look up and replied, "Three and a half coins per ounce for bulk purchases, and a discount for bulk purchases, three coins per ounce."
Shen Xiaotang was immediately taken aback. The turmeric sold in the county for three coins per ounce. What was the purchase price?
She quickly asked a few questions, and the shopkeeper immediately looked up when he heard her asking about the purchase price.
Do you have turmeric to sell? Do you have a lot?
"Not now, but it will be available after the harvest. The quantity will be large, hundreds or even thousands of kilograms."
The shopkeeper's eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately said, "Normally, we buy in small quantities, and the shopkeeper charges two and a half coins per ounce. If it's several hundred or a thousand catties, you can talk to our shopkeeper and we can definitely get a higher price. But can you get this much turmeric?"
He looked the father and daughter up and down, and the surprise in his eyes instantly faded, replaced by disbelief.
Shen Xiaotang didn't bother to argue with him. After all, it was still a long time before the harvest, and since she came empty-handed, the shopkeeper would definitely not bother to talk to her about this, much less have her sign a receipt like Shopkeeper Feng did.
However, this made her even more certain that the price Manager Feng had originally offered was already very low, and that he had lost a considerable amount of money selling at a loss.
She became even more determined to come to town with her father to sell turmeric next time!
Afterwards, they looked for several butcher shops. Unlike Zhang's mobile butcher stall, there were several butcher shops in the county with fixed locations.
The meat inside is more plentiful and diverse, including not only pork but also beef and mutton.
The pig trotters alone, piled high in a large wooden basin to the side, were quite a sight.
She casually asked about the prices of pig's trotters at a few shops, and one butcher shop owner, who didn't even care about these pig's trotters, waved his hand and offered to give them a full estimate.
Shen Xiaotang did a rough calculation in her mind and found that a pig's trotter only cost seven or eight coins.
OMG!
If we buy more, wouldn't we be able to save a lot of costs?
And the seasonings, if we buy more in the future, can't we negotiate the price?
The town is not as good as the county seat. There are fewer shops and less to compare. Although the main purpose of this trip to the county was to send Xue Ruifeng off, they got the questions they wanted to ask, so the trip was definitely worthwhile!
After comparing prices, she found that the pork trotters sold by the butcher shop that was willing to sell in bulk were the cheapest and most cost-effective, so she asked her father to buy half of the pork trotters.
Six sticks cost forty-five coins.
Compared to the pork sold by Zhang, I saved fifteen coins at once.
Once I get the pig's trotters from Mr. Pork when I get back today, I won't need his son to help me with buying things anymore.
Shen Qingchuan only had sixty coins in his pocket. He spent forty-five coins on pig's trotters, leaving him with fifteen coins, which wasn't enough to buy anything else.
The first half of the day was short. They had already spent a lot of time in the town on their way here, and then wandered around the county for a long time. As noon approached, he gritted his teeth and took out eight coins to buy his daughter a bowl of wontons. He only had seven coins left in his hand.
Not enough for two bowls!
Even if it were enough, he wouldn't be willing to spend eight coins on a single bowl.
His daughter is still young and growing, and almost all the money in the family is earned by her. She has sacrificed so much for the family at such a young age, so he would definitely make sure she has a hot meal.
"Shopkeeper, a bowl of wontons, please!"
The woman selling wontons was middle-aged, with bright, sparkling eyes; she seemed like a shrewd and worldly person.
She smiled and said, "Young man, you two only want one bowl of wontons? That's not enough, is it? How about another bowl?"
I'm short of money, how can I ask for another bowl?
Shen Qingchuan quickly shook his head and declined, "No need, I'm not hungry, just make a bowl for my daughter."
Shen Xiaotang knew that her father only had seven coins left in his pocket, not enough for another bowl, so she immediately said, "Boss lady, could you give us an extra bowl?"
The father and daughter wanted to eat separately?
The middle-aged woman's face stiffened for a moment, then she smiled again.
"Okay, I'll get you an extra one when the wontons are ready."
Shen Qingchuan quickly said he didn't like wontons and wouldn't let his daughter share with him, saying he could go buy two sesame cakes from the side.
My father lived for over twenty years, and before the family division, he didn't have a single penny of savings. He had never eaten wontons before.
They probably haven't even smelled wontons before, how could they not like them?
It's obvious she's reluctant to eat it and is saying it on purpose.