The mountain roads were rugged, and even the official road was extremely hard to travel.
Chu Xun and Second Uncle were sweating all over before they finally caught sight of a corner of the county town.
Though it was called a county town, outside there was only a wall about ten feet high.
Outside the gate, there were also many refugees and beggars gathered there, each with disheveled hair and lifeless eyes, and some were even selling their daughters in the street.
That made the two of them sigh in mixed feelings, even though their own family was not doing all that well either.
But at least they were far better off than these displaced refugees.
After entering the county town, it was a little livelier.
Along the street there were stalls selling snacks, rice and flour, and restaurants of all kinds.
Second Uncle first took Chu Xun to the place that sold mountain goods.
Quite a few villagers had gathered there. They found an open patch of ground and laid out some medicinal herbs, fruits, and even firewood for sale.
After putting the hare on the ground, before long someone came to ask the price and buy it.
Game in the county town was rare.
And the hare Chu Xun had caught was fat and big, clearly from deep in the forest.
It was soon bought for 150 wen.
Second Uncle Chu looked at the ten large coins and fifty copper coins in his hand and grinned so widely that he could not close his mouth.
With this money, when they went back they could buy more millet and dark flour. If they saved a little, it would be enough for the family to eat for half a month.
Then Chu Xun said, “Second Uncle, we should go take care of the real business.”
This trip to the county town, selling the hare was secondary.
The most important thing was to sell the pair of deer antlers in his arms. That was the most valuable item.
Second Uncle nodded and headed toward a street alley. “Follow me. There’s a medicinal ingredients shop on this street. I’ve sold mugwort there before, and the price was fair enough.”
After entering the pharmacy, Second Uncle Chu knocked on the counter. “Shopkeeper, come take a look at some medicine.”
“Coming. What medicinal ingredient is it? Take it out and let me see what it’s worth.”
The pharmacy owner was a little old man with half-white hair and a stooped body, but his eyes gleamed shrewdly.
Just from Chu Xun and Second Uncle Chu’s clothing, he could tell they were from the surrounding villages.
A worldly smile immediately appeared on his face.
Country folk were good. They lived among the mountain forest, and the chance of running into good medicinal ingredients was high.
People like them, as soon as they came to a pharmacy, could basically always bring out something good.
Chu Xun took out a cloth bundle wrapped tightly in his chest, carefully opened it, and revealed the pair of small deer antlers inside.
“These are deer antlers?!”
The pharmacy owner cried out in shock.
His eyes shone, and he practically wanted to hold them in his hands and take a good look.
These deer antlers were good stuff. They nourish kidney yang and enrich essence and blood.
If he encountered a wealthy family, he could usually sell them for a high price.
Chu Xun pulled his hand back and smiled. “Shopkeeper, tell me first, how much can these sell for? If the price is right, of course I’ll let you hold them and take a look.”
The shopkeeper was also experienced and looked at them from a distance a few times.
Then he stroked his beard and said with a shake of his head, “These deer antlers are too young, and the quality isn’t good either. The medicinal effect is greatly reduced. I can give you at most… two strings of cash.”
“Then I’m not selling.” Chu Xun turned around immediately.
Two strings of cash was not a low price.
But based on his understanding of merchants, it could definitely sell for more.
?!
The shopkeeper was stunned on the spot.
Aren’t you not even bargaining at all?
If you’re not satisfied, you can haggle a bit. Who sells goods like this?
He quickly came out from behind the counter and stopped the uncle and nephew.
In a friendly tone, he said, “The price can be discussed. If you think two strings of cash won’t do, adding another 200 wen is also no problem.”
Chu Xun’s expression remained calm. He smiled faintly and said, “2,500 wen. You give the price, I give the medicine. How about that?”
2,500 wen…
The shopkeeper looked at the deer antlers in Chu Xun’s hands again.
His eyes wavered, and then he gritted his teeth. “Fine, 2,500 wen it is!”
It wouldn’t be a loss. As long as he soaked them in pig’s blood and raised them for a bit, the quality would improve quite a lot.
Seeing the shopkeeper agree, Chu Xun finally showed a smile.
Then the two of them exchanged money for goods, and the deal was quickly completed.
It was not until they stepped out the door that Second Uncle Chu finally came back to his senses.
In his whole life, aside from borrowing money to treat Chu Xun’s illness, he had never once held this much money in his hands.
“Xunzi, pinch Second Uncle. I keep feeling like I’m dreaming.”
Chu Xun looked at his Second Uncle, rather speechlessly.
This was only two and a half strings of cash.
If I brought silver and gold home in the future, just how happy would Second Uncle be?
“All right, Second Uncle, you’re not dreaming. Didn’t we still need to buy grain? Let’s hurry.”
He pulled Second Uncle over to the grain store, where many people were gathered, all there to buy grain.
On the highest signboard, it read:
White flour: 25 wen per catty.
Polished rice: 20 wen per catty.
Aged rice: 15 wen per catty.
Millet: 10 wen per catty.
There were also soybeans, wheat bran, and other grains on the right side of the shop.
They only cost 5 wen per catty, and they were what most people were buying.
When Second Uncle saw those prices, he couldn’t help drawing in a sharp breath.
Those prices were way too expensive. Even city people couldn’t afford such costly white rice and white flour, could they?
Clearly, he still did not understand that whether it was a famine year or not, it had nothing to do with the wealthy.
Whether they could afford to eat was only something the poor had to worry about.
Second Uncle originally wanted to buy five catties of millet, then some dark flour and wheat bran.
But when he thought about how Chu Xun had just recovered from a serious illness and needed to build up his body, and with two strings of cash in his pocket, he suddenly had a bit of confidence and decided to splurge!
First buy ten catties of millet! Then go all out.
Buy two catties of aged rice, make Xunzi a fragrant white rice meal, and then buy a little mixed grain as well.
Just as Second Uncle Chu was clutching his money pouch tightly and swallowing nervously, preparing to speak,
Chu Xun behind him stepped forward directly and squeezed to the very front of the shop.
His voice was not loud, but the words he said were like dropping a huge stone into a calm pond.
“I want twenty catties of white flour, twenty catties of polished rice, and twenty catties of millet.”
In an instant, the noisy grain store fell completely silent.
All the sighs and complaints vanished.
A whole crowd stared with eyes as wide as brass bells, shocked as they looked at Chu Xun.
“Did I hear that wrong? White flour, polished rice, millet… he wants twenty catties of each?!”
“My goodness, how much money would that be?!”
“At least one string of cash, right? Which village is he from? He has no idea about grain prices at all?”
“Looks like he’s stayed in the village too long and is starving. Poor kid, he still doesn’t know what things are like now.”
Even the grain shop clerk shook his head in disbelief.
Stammering, he said, “You… you’re sure you want to buy that much grain? That’ll cost a lot of money.”
He saw Chu Xun dressed in coarse cloth and plain clothes.
Though his bearing was extraordinary, no matter how one looked at him, he still seemed like a poor village boy.
How could he possibly afford so much grain?
Even Second Uncle’s face went pale as he grabbed Chu Xun’s arm.
In a low voice, he said, “Xunzi, you can’t spend that much. Our family still owes five strings of cash.”
But Chu Xun pressed Second Uncle’s hand down and said calmly, “I’m sure I want this much grain. You won’t be short on the money.”
What a joke. He was only buying grain in the county town this one time.
Once he got home, he could buy the same grain directly from the shop.
Why would he ever need to buy grain at such a high price?
As long as Yue’er and I are a little more diligent, I guarantee that even if our family buys half a vat of rice and eats it for a year, when we open it there will still be half a vat left!
The clerk looked at the Second Uncle beside Chu Xun, a little dazed, as if he wanted to ask: Is this your boy? Has he smashed his head?
Second Uncle looked at Chu Xun’s determined expression, then clicked his tongue and said, “Just get that much. Hurry and pack it up.”
This was money Xunzi had earned. He could buy whatever he wanted.
Anyway, it all ended up in their stomachs, so there was nothing to lose.
But Chu Xun still wasn’t finished. He continued, “Also weigh out one catty of fine salt and one catty of brown sugar. Whatever the total is, weigh it and I’ll pay together.”
Boom… !!
The whole crowd instantly exploded!!
It was like pouring scalding hot oil into ice water, and the place erupted on the spot!!
“Fine salt! Brown sugar!!”
“My heavens, I’ve never eaten anything this good in my whole life!”