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“Yes, Master.” Tan Erqian smiled as he carried the Lingzhi mushrooms in the basket into the house.
Shopkeeper Bai followed and turned to enter the room.
About an incense stick’s time later, Shopkeeper Bai took out four hundred taels worth of silver notes and handed them to the two brothers.
The brothers held the silver notes in their hands, feeling immensely excited.
This was the first time in their lives they had ever touched so much silver, something they would never have even dared to dream of on ordinary days.
Seeing their stunned expressions, Shopkeeper Bai took a sip of tea from a cup beside him, and slowly said, “Silly children, it’s just four hundred taels. When you’re older, you’ll come to understand what real wealth is.”
Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian slowly raised their heads, staring at Shopkeeper Bai with wide, confused eyes.
They truly didn’t know what real wealth was, but in their hearts, no matter how much silver it was, as long as it could ease the burden on their parents and make them less worried, it would be considered real wealth.
“Alright, alright, put the silver away properly.”
Shopkeeper Bai patted their shoulders and said.
Tan Erqian slowly regained his senses and handed all the silver notes over to Tan Yiliang for safekeeping.
Tan Yiliang carefully tucked the silver notes into his chest.
Shopkeeper Bai glanced out the window, lost in thought for a moment before saying, “It’s not safe for one person to carry so much silver back today. How about I send someone with you?”
Tan Yiliang immediately refused, “No need, no need. I can go back by myself.”
Seeing his quick refusal, Shopkeeper Bai thought for a moment and said, “How about this, you can take my carriage back. It’ll be faster, and you won’t be delayed on the road.”
Tan Yiliang was about to refuse again, but Shopkeeper Bai continued, “Consider this carriage as my gift to you. I’ve taken several jars of your pickled vegetables, and you still haven’t received payment from me.”
Tan Yiliang smiled and said, “Shopkeeper Bai, pickled vegetables are pickled vegetables, and the carriage is a carriage. They’re not the same.”
Shopkeeper Bai deliberately put on a stern face and said, “I said they’re the same, so they are. If you keep being polite with me, I’ll get angry.”
Tan Yiliang saw that and didn’t want to argue any further. He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said, “Then thank you very much, Shopkeeper Bai.”
Shopkeeper Bai waved his hand with a smile, “Alright, since the pickled vegetables and Lingzhi are both delivered, you should head back early. Otherwise, it’ll get dark soon.”
“Yes, Shopkeeper,” Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian both bowed and replied.
After they unloaded the pickled vegetables at the Bai family’s residence, they went to the street together to buy things.
Naturally, they didn’t dare to spend the four hundred taels recklessly.
Tan Erqian immediately took out all the copper coins he had saved up over time and bought things for the family.
For Little Qiyue, he bought fabric for clothes, millet and fine flour for meals, cotton for his little aunt, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for his younger siblings, and dry tobacco for his father.
He also bought some essentials like firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.
Finally, the brothers discussed and decided to buy their mother a box of rouge and a sandalwood hairpin.
Once everything was bought, Tan Yiliang boarded the carriage and headed home.
Having a carriage truly made things much easier. Though it was already evening when they set off, they reached the village gate before it got dark.
Most people in the village used ox carts or sleds, and very few households had carriages. The previous times Tan Erqian returned, it happened to be at night, so there weren’t many villagers around and no one noticed.
But this time, when Tan Yiliang was driving the carriage back, he accidentally bumped into someone from the Wan family of Liuyang Village.
That person was none other than Wan Chunmei’s biological father and stepmother.