Shopkeeper Feng observed the calm and composed demeanor of Gu Linchen. Although his clothes were worn out, his presence didn’t resemble that of an ordinary peasant. Mr. Feng thought to himself that he was not someone to be trifled with or easily deceived. “This ginseng has been well handled and preserved. However, it’s a relatively young one, only about a hundred years old. The price I can offer is two hundred taels.”

Though ginseng was rare, this price was indeed reasonable. Gu Linchen, having gained some understanding of the current currency in the past few days, realized that one tael could buy a lot of things. He had initially hoped for one hundred and fifty taels but was pleasantly surprised to receive fifty more than he expected. “The shopkeeper is fair. I’m happy to do business with you.” He handed the ginseng over to Mr. Feng.

Mr. Feng took the ginseng and, seeing how straightforward Gu Linchen was, burst into laughter. “I’m Feng. What should I call you? If you have any more medicinal herbs to sell in the future, you can come to Huichuntang. I’ll give you a fair price.”

Gu Linchen smiled back. “Shopkeeper Feng, I’m Gu Linchen. You’re a good person. You don’t look down on us ordinary folks, so I’ll definitely come to you in the future.”

In the end, Gu Linchen walked out of the shop with a hundred-tael silver note, nine silver ingots, and ten taels of loose silver. Feng Ge’er and Xige’er rushed over to meet him.

Suddenly, Gu Linchen turned back to Shopkeeper Feng. “Shopkeeper Feng, I’ll need a pound of ginger.” He remembered they had no spices at home.

“Of course, I’ll get it for you.” Shopkeeper Feng called for Xiao Zhu, instructing him to pack it up for Gu Linchen. Gu Linchen felt a bit of a sting when it cost two hundred wen, but he didn’t mind too much.

“Thank you, Shopkeeper Feng. We’ll be on our way now.” After taking the ginger from Xiao Zhu, Gu Linchen bowed respectfully and, holding Xige’er and leading Feng Ge’er, left Huichuntang.

With the silver in hand, Gu Linchen felt a newfound sense of confidence. Indeed, money brought security in any era. Now that they had silver, Gu Linchen headed straight for the grain shop. He bought a large sack of refined rice, white flour, and made arrangements with the shop assistant to pick it up later. Then he headed to the fabric store.

Upon entering the fabric store, Gu Linchen saw a few young ladies dressed in fine clothes, accompanied by their maids, selecting fabrics. The shopkeeper, with a flattering smile, served them. When he saw Gu Linchen, he didn’t approach to offer assistance.

“This fabric is good.” A young lady in bright red said, running her hands over a colorful piece of cloth. “This is new stock from the capital. The noblewomen and young ladies there love it, especially the one you’re holding. I hear even the wife of the governor is fond of it. I’ve only got a few bolts, so I called all the ladies to come see it.”

The shopkeeper, Xu, seemed pleased that the lady liked the fabric.

“Xu, you’ve thought of us! You always think of us first when good goods arrive.” A lady in pink added, “Sister, you’re young and beautiful. This fabric is perfect for you!”

“Hehe, you’re such a sweet talker.” The lady in red laughed. “Xu, please pack these two bolts for me.”

“I’ll take this one too, pack it up for me,” said the pink-dressed lady, selecting her own fabric.

Gu Linchen walked over to the children’s clothing section to pick out something for Xige’er.

“Lao Gong^[1]Husband,” Feng Ge’er called out, seeing Gu Linchen preparing to buy clothes for Xige’er. He stopped him.

“It’s fine, we have money now. Xige’er only has two sets of clothes, and they don’t even fit properly.” Hearing that it was for him, Xige’er immediately held on to Gu Linchen even tighter.

Gu Linchen picked out a yellow outfit embroidered with rabbits and was about to reach for it when he heard the shopkeeper’s voice. “Don’t touch that! If you dirty it, how can I sell it!”

Xu, having just sent off a few regular wealthy customers, turned around to see a farmer’s son about to touch the clothes. Seeing that they didn’t look like they could afford it, he spoke up to stop them.

Gu Linchen was displeased upon hearing this. This arrogant shopkeeper looked down on them. He stared at the man for a while, but said nothing. Instead, he turned and pulled Feng Ge’er with him, walking out of the fabric shop.

Xu, startled by Gu Linchen’s sharp gaze, thought to himself, ‘Is this the look a farmer’s son should have?‘

Gu Linchen thought, ‘You look down on me? Well, I’ve got money now. There’s more than one fabric shop in this town.’ “Let’s go, let’s check out the next shop.”

Feng Ge’er nodded. “Mm,” he also felt the shopkeeper’s unwelcoming attitude.

Around the corner, they saw another fabric store, the Li family’s shop. Gu Linchen and his companions walked toward it. This store, though not as large as the previous one, looked well-stocked. Upon entering, the shopkeeper greeted them with a warm and friendly smile.

“Guest, please come in.” The shopkeeper looked at Gu Linchen and asked, “Are you looking to buy fabric or ready-made clothes?”

Gu Linchen pointed to Xige’er and asked, “Shopkeeper, do you have any clothes suitable for my child?”

“Yes, we have clothes for both adults and children.” Shopkeeper Li led them to the back of the store. Indeed, there were clothes for both adults and children.

“Can I touch them?” Gu Linchen asked.

“Of course, Guest. How can you know the quality without feeling it?” Shopkeeper Li replied with a smile.

Gu Linchen picked out an orange outfit for Xige’er and asked him if he liked it. Xige’er nodded, saying he liked it. He had always been happy when his mother made him new clothes, and he had never worn new clothes like this before!

Seeing Xige’er so happy, Gu Linchen couldn’t help but smile. He then picked up a pink one and asked Xige’er again. Xige’er smiled and nodded. Gu Linchen helped him try it on.

“Feng Ge’er, you should pick out two sets for yourself,” Gu Linchen said, looking at Feng Ge’er.

“Lao Gong, I have clothes to wear. You don’t need to spend money on me. Just buy for Xige’er,” Feng Ge’er replied. His clothes were still wearable, and since he worked at home, he didn’t need fine clothes. He was concerned about wasting money on himself when Xige’er had so little.

“Pick something! You don’t have any decent clothes, and we’re in town today. Don’t refuse. As for the money, don’t worry about it,” Gu Linchen insisted.

Feng Ge’er finally chose two sets of dark-colored clothes. Gu Linchen, unable to bear it, helped him pick out a blue outfit and told him to try it on.

Indeed, clothes make the man. The blue outfit made Feng Ge’er look much more refined, though Gu Linchen thought he would look even better if he were a bit chubbier.

What Gu Linchen didn’t know was that Feng Ge’er felt very uncomfortable in the new clothes, worried about damaging them.

Gu Linchen picked out two dark blue outfits for himself and two for his parents. He also bought several bolts of fabric and cotton for making winter blankets. Initially, he had planned to buy ready-made ones, but since Feng Ge’er said he could make them, they decided to buy fabric instead.

At the checkout, the total was a bit shocking—it took almost ten taels of silver. Gu Linchen winced at the price but knew that these were necessities. He wasn’t sure if he’d paid too much, but as a President, he rarely used cheaper goods.

Gu Linchen arranged with Shopkeeper Li to pick up the items later. Shopkeeper Li, happy with the large sale, agreed and even offered to deliver the items to Gu Linchen’s home. Gu Linchen was relieved; he had been worried about how to transport everything back. He also asked if he could add a few more items to the delivery, to which Shopkeeper Li readily agreed.

As they left the fabric shop, all three had changed into their new clothes, smiling and happy.

“Lao Gong, let me carry Xige’er. Don’t tire yourself out,” Feng Ge’er said, noticing that Gu Linchen had been carrying Xige’er the whole time. Now that his worries were eased, he felt that if Gu Linchen had any other intentions, he wouldn’t have bought such nice clothes for him and Xige’er, and not just one set—there were still clothes left in the shop. He had even bought more than they had, and that made him happy.

“I can carry him, Xige’er is so light. If I get tired, I’ll tell you, don’t worry,” Gu Linchen replied.

Aside from selling the ginseng, Gu Linchen had come to the town to explore potential business opportunities. He couldn’t just live off of ginseng; he needed to find ways to make more money. Besides, some of the things in his space couldn’t be used right now, and he couldn’t keep exchanging ginseng for cash.

It was almost noon, and aside from some food vendors and vegetable sellers on the streets, there weren’t many people around.

Gu Linchen and the others looked around, stopping for a moment in front of each shop. When they came across a vendor selling candied hawthorn, Xige’er’s eyes followed the vibrant red skewers. They looked very tempting.

“Little one, would you like a skewer?” the vendor asked, noticing the child’s gaze.

Seeing that Xige’er was staring at the candied hawthorn without blinking, Gu Linchen asked, “How much is one skewer?”

“Sir, it’s two copper coins for a skewer.”

“Give me two skewers,” Gu Linchen replied.

“Alright!” The vendor quickly took down two skewers.

Gu Linchen counted out four copper coins and handed them over, taking the candied hawthorn. He gave one skewer to Xige’er and handed the other to Feng Ge’er. “Try it!” He guessed that Feng Ge’er would like it too—children from poor families rarely got to have such treats.

“Is it for me? I won’t eat it. You eat it, Lao Gong,” Feng Ge’er quickly shook his head to refuse. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to try it—he had heard as a child that it was very sweet and delicious—but he had never tasted it. However, today, his husband had already spent so much money on them. The two skewers of candied hawthorn cost four copper coins, enough for them to take an ox cart back home.

“You eat it! I don’t like sweet things,” Gu Linchen signaled for him to take it.

“Mom, it’s sweet,” Xige’er licked a little of the candied hawthorn. It was delicious, but he didn’t want to eat too much. Feng Ge’er then reluctantly took it. “Thank you, Lao Gong,” he said, lowering his head in embarrassment.

“Dad, eat,” Xige’er said, noticing that his father wasn’t eating. He tried to feed the candied hawthorn to Gu Linchen.

“Dad doesn’t eat it. Xige’er eats it, be a good boy,” Gu Linchen said, smiling. The child was really obedient.

Feng Ge’er took a bite, and it was indeed very sweet. It melted his heart.

… After nearly finish visiting the entire street, Gu Linchen felt a bit hungry. “Feng Ge’er, let’s find a place to have lunch before we go back,” he suggested. In his past life, his family’s business spanned many fields, but he had a passion for good food, particularly in the real estate and restaurant industries. Now, in this life, he planned to focus on that area as well. He remembered that there was a restaurant called “Xiang Ju Lou” on this street, the most famous one around, and he wanted to explore the local tastes.

“Mm,” Feng Ge’er nodded. He had no objections—whatever his husband said, he was happy to follow.

The three of them headed straight for the restaurant.