Only after they had completely walked away did the shopkeeper of Bu Zhuang let out a sigh of relief.
Watching Xu Ruyi, who was still selecting fabrics, he shook his head, thinking that children these days were too impulsive.
Xu Ruyi also noticed the shopkeeper’s reaction, but she didn’t regret her actions. It was just a paper tiger—what was there to be afraid of?
She picked two bolts of cotton fabric—one red and one goose-yellow.
Ten jin of cotton—this was to make two sets of clothes and bedding.
Although she had her Space, she didn’t want to take things out from it. Moreover, there weren’t many items in the Space, just enough for her own use.
“Shopkeeper, I’ll pay!” Xu Ruyi didn’t plan to buy anything else.
Hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately said, “The red cotton fabric is 230 wen per bolt, the goose-yellow cotton fabric is 150 wen per bolt, cotton is 15 wen per jin, ten jin is 150 wen. The total is 530 wen. I’ll also give you some scrap fabric pieces!”
Xu Ruyi didn’t bargain and paid promptly.
When she left home, Wang Cuihua had given her two taels of silver. Although it wasn’t much, it was enough to buy these things.
Xu Sigui, however, didn’t think so. He felt they had bought too little. It seemed his sister really didn’t understand. Well, he would come back to buy more himself when he had time later! He couldn’t count on her!
The shopkeeper wrapped everything up, and Xu Sigui took it all and placed it in the back basket.
As they walked along the road, Xu Sigui hung his head, looking somewhat unhappy.
Adopting an attitude of solving problems promptly, Xu Ruyi directly asked, “Sigui, what are you thinking about?”
“Nothing… Sister, do you need to prepare more dowry items?” Xu Sigui hesitated for a moment but still voiced his thoughts.
Xu Ruyi smiled, “These are just the basic necessities we need to prepare first. Mother can slowly prepare the rest. You, little one, should worry about what we’re going to eat tonight instead!”
“Alright then. Sister, if you need anything, just tell me. I’ll dig up medicinal herbs to sell and buy them for you.”
Xu Ruyi directly took Xu Sigui to buy ten jin of white flour, ten jin of red beans, ten jin of brown sugar, and two jin of salt.
Finally, they went to the meat stall and bought two jin of pork belly, three jin of leaf lard. The butcher even threw in two pork shank bones.
The two returned fully loaded, of course, having spent less than one tael of silver.
Xu Sigui had originally thought his sister was reluctant to spend money, but it turned out he had been short-sighted. His sister was clearly saving money to buy food.
Naturally, he didn’t dare say this out loud. Although his sister was usually easy-going, once she became displeased, her gaze could be somewhat frightening.
Looking at his own small frame, Xu Sigui was very self-aware—he couldn’t win in a fight.
As for her little brother’s thoughts about comparing physical strength with her, Xu Ruyi didn’t notice at all.
Right now, her mind was completely filled with thoughts of braised pork and rice mixed with lard. Don’t ask—the answer was she was craving it.
Regarding the dowry, Xu Ruyi wasn’t worried at all. She had already made plenty of the clothes and shoes she needed. After all, when she was in the mansion, aside from making clothes for the young lady, the rest of the time was her own.
Although she was a second-tier Servant Girl, she didn’t need to serve the young lady like Xiao Cui did.
She was responsible for needlework, and since embroidery required well-maintained hands, the young lady didn’t require her to do miscellaneous chores.
Besides clothing and fabrics, she had also prepared plenty of medicinal herbs. She had seized opportunities to stock up on things like wound medicine, fever medicine, cold medicine, and tonic medicines. She had even prepared two doses of sterilization medicine—not to harm others, but for her own protection.
She had thought it all through: since she couldn’t avoid getting married, she would do everything possible to make her life as comfortable as possible.
Men are the kind of thing you can take or leave.
Although she did have a craving for “meat,” it was only worth indulging if she could protect herself first.
It was now the end of June, and she still had half a year to choose her future husband. She wasn’t the least bit anxious.
Wang Cuihua looked at the items her children had brought back and felt a headache coming on. “You two little spendthrifts! You barely bought any useful things, but you sure bought a lot of food.”
Xu Ruyi tugged at Wang Cuihua’s arm, whining, “Oh, Mom, I’ve never tasted your braised pork! Please make some for me! It’s not like I’m getting married tomorrow—we can take our time preparing the other stuff.”
Hearing that her daughter had never tasted her braised pork, Wang Cuihua’s anger vanished instantly. “Alright, put it aside. I’ll make braised pork for you tonight. Are you hungry? There’s food left for you in the pot.”
Xu Sigui secretly gave his sister a thumbs-up. Impressive!
Xu Ruyi smugly raised an eyebrow. The siblings hurried to the kitchen, reheated the food, and wolfed it down.
As she ate, Xu Ruyi thought to herself, home-cooked meals really do have their own unique flavor.
After the meal, Xu Ruyi proactively helped Wang Cuihua clear the table.
She even started learning the steps to make braised pork.
Wang Cuihua patiently taught her, “Sweetie, you need to blanch the meat first to remove the blood and gamey taste.”
Xu Ruyi nodded seriously. She was somewhat familiar with this step.
By evening, the aroma of braised pork filled the entire house.
Xu Ruyi couldn’t wait to pick up a piece and pop it into her mouth. It melted on her tongue, fatty but not greasy. “Mom, your braised pork is so delicious!” she said contentedly.
Xu Sigui and Xu Niannian, eating beside her with greasy mouths, nodded in agreement.
The family sat around the dining table, cozy and satisfied.
Xu Ruyi thought to herself, this simple life was quite nice. Even though she had to prepare a dowry and get married, she was confident she could make her life fulfilling and enjoyable.