Chapter 18: The Bargaining Expert

Xu Nian and the others did not descend the mountain immediately. Instead, they crossed two more peaks before making their way down.

After traveling another ten kilometers, they finally spotted a small town.

Although the town was not large, it had a variety of stalls, suggesting that it had not been affected by the drought.

After asking a vendor, they learned that this place was called Suihe Town. Without lingering, they headed straight for the carriage and livestock market at the end of the town.

Despite being called a carriage and livestock market, the place only had a few mules and donkeys—there wasn’t a single ox in sight. When they inquired about it, they were told that if they wanted to buy an ox, they would need to travel to a county town several dozen kilometers away.

Fortunately, they were not picky. While oxen would be useful in the long run, mules and donkeys were better suited for travel, as they were much faster than oxen.

Luo Jin’an had left Xu Nian with a total of 186 taels of silver. To save money, they all agreed to buy the cheapest mules available.

In the end, they purchased five mules and six flatbed carts, spending less than 60 taels.

Their remaining food supplies had been completely consumed during their journey, so the group went to a grain store to restock.

The grain store was small, with limited varieties of food available. The cheapest option was something called gray flour.

The shopkeeper explained that it was a local type of flour used for making different kinds of noodles, though its texture was not the best.

For those who had been fleeing for their lives, simply having something to fill their stomachs was already a blessing—taste was the least of their concerns.

Due to the limited space on the carts, they bought only 1,000 jin (approx. 500 kg) of gray flour, which cost them three taels of silver.

With food in their possession, everyone felt much more at ease, and the worried expressions on their faces began to fade.

Seeing the carts filled with supplies, the village chief also smiled and said,

“Xu family girl, consider the silver we’ve spent as a loan from you. Once we settle down, each household will write you an IOU and repay you in the future.”

Xu Nian did not refuse. She understood the saying, “A favor of a single grain is repaid with a bucket, but a favor of a bucket breeds resentment.”

“Grandpa Village Chief, the most important thing right now is for us to reach Lingshan County safely.”

“You’re right.”

The village chief and a few others carefully checked each cart. In the end, they managed to fit all the food and personal belongings onto three carts.

This meant that aside from the six people driving the carts, everyone else had to squeeze into the remaining three carts.

Even so, each mule was pulling over ten people, which was quite a burden.

To ease the load, they decided that only women and children would ride on the carts, while the men would take turns walking. This arrangement would help increase their travel speed.

Having learned their lesson from the previous rainfall, Xu Nian also bought a dozen large oilcloths to prevent their food from getting soaked again.

Once everything was ready, the six carts slowly set off toward the north.

This time, they traveled on official roads instead of small paths. Since they had already passed through the drought-stricken areas, the journey was relatively peaceful.

However, as they continued northward, the temperature dropped lower and lower. Even though it wasn’t yet November, everyone had already put on their winter cotton coats.

With carts to ride on, Xu Nian had more time to enter her space. By now, she had accumulated a considerable stock of grains and vegetables inside.

Most of the stored grains were corn and sweet potatoes, while her rice plants were still growing. The effort of planting rice had nearly exhausted her—it had taken her countless trips to fetch water from the stream, one bucket at a time.

Since she had only bought one pack of each type of vegetable seed, she made sure to save some seeds from her harvested crops for replanting. The vegetables inside her space grew exceptionally well, but she wasn’t sure if they would thrive in the real world.

There was no point in overthinking it now—she would have to experiment after they reached Beijiang.

Just then, Xu Yaozu approached her cart, wrapping his arms tightly around himself to keep warm. Sniffling, he asked,

“Nian’er, there’s a county town ahead. Should we go in and buy some thicker clothing? If we don’t, we might catch a cold from the cold weather.”

Xu Nian had already been thinking the same thing. However, this time, not everyone would enter the town, as they had to pay an entry fee of one wen per person.

“Yaozu, you and your wife should go,” the village chief said, stomping his feet to keep warm. “Right now, we need to save every wen we can.”

The others all nodded in agreement. The reason for sending Tian Shi along was that they were buying clothes, and having a woman accompany them could help negotiate a better price.

“Oh dear~ Maybe I should go instead. With Sister-in-law’s temperament, how could she possibly haggle for a lower price?”

Zheng Shi immediately objected upon hearing that her sister-in-law was the one going.

Although her sister-in-law was literate, she lacked the boldness needed for bargaining. In the past, every time they went shopping, it was always Zheng Shi and Wang Shi who took the lead.

As soon as Zheng Shi finished speaking, Wang Shi rolled her eyes and snapped, “You fool, has the cold frozen your brain?”

Seeing Zheng Shi’s bewildered expression, Wang Shi couldn’t help but let out a sigh. What kind of sister-in-law would go out alone with her brother-in-law? Did she not fear people gossiping about them?

Xu Nian immediately understood Wang Shi’s implied meaning. Since she also wanted to visit the county town, she spoke up,

“Grandmother, I’ll go with my father. I promise I’ll buy the warmest clothes at the best price.”

Wang Shi originally wanted to go herself, but after some thought, she changed her mind. Her eldest granddaughter was under the protection of the Mountain Goddess—perhaps she would encounter another stroke of good fortune.

Thus, Xu Nian followed Xu Yaozu into the county town, heading straight for the clothing shop.

Although the shopkeeper did not look down on them for their tattered clothing, he wasn’t particularly welcoming either.

“Shopkeeper, how much for your cotton-padded jackets?”

“That depends on what kind of fabric and thickness you’re looking for. This one here is our cheapest option—180 wen.”

Xu Nian pinched the fabric lightly. It felt about as thick as what she was wearing, made from the coarsest burlap.

“Shopkeeper, considering the cold weather in Beijiang, which type of cotton-padded jacket would you recommend? You can see that we don’t have much silver, so we need something affordable.”

The shopkeeper signaled for an assistant to bring out two more jackets from the storage room. When Xu Nian saw that they were made of fine burlap, she frowned.

The shopkeeper explained, “No matter what you wear in Beijiang, you’ll still feel the cold. But this type blocks the wind well enough. These jackets were originally priced at 800 wen each, but as you can see, they have some mildew stains due to dampness. I can sell them to you at a lower price.”

Xu Nian examined the mildew spots and took a sniff. The smell wasn’t too strong. If she washed them with the detergent from her space and let them dry properly, they would be as good as new.

Though she was quite satisfied, she pretended to hesitate. “This kind of fabric isn’t cheap, right? Shopkeeper, what’s your price?”

The shopkeeper sighed as he glanced at the shivering man and the worried children in front of him.

“Give me one tael of silver for both.”

“Shopkeeper, how many of these jackets do you have left?”

The shopkeeper looked puzzled but still answered, “Over a hundred pieces.”

Thinking of the stack of moldy cotton jackets in his storage room, the shopkeeper sighed again. It was his fault for forgetting to check the roof for leaks—what a mistake!

“Shopkeeper, if I take all of your stock, could you lower the price even further?”

The shopkeeper stared at the two of them in disbelief. Was this child joking? He then turned his gaze to the silent man standing beside her.