Outside the grain store, murmurs and doubts rose and fell in an endless stream.
“Whose young master is this, wearing rags like that?”
“My heavens! Fine salt! Brown sugar! I have lived half my life and never even seen such things!”
“Has this child gone crazy? Does he really think his family can cough up that much money?”
“If he can actually buy all this, I’ll go home and eat my millstone!”
…
Countless voices of doubt and mockery rang out.
Not a single person believed Chu Xun could produce so much money.
The shop clerk could no longer make the decision on his own. He stumbled into the back hall and called out a steward.
The steward immediately invited Chu Xun and Second Uncle Chu to sit inside.
He then sent people to fetch the grain.
Inside the back hall, seated on the chairs, Second Uncle Chu nervously drank two bowls of water, his eyes darting around as he sized up the room.
He had never expected that one day he would be treated with such respect by a grain steward.
Compared with Second Uncle, Chu Xun was much calmer.
With money, you were the boss.
Since he had paid for the grain, it was only right that they served him like this.
Soon, several clerks came in carrying large and small cloth sacks.
The steward was even holding two sealed jars, walking slowly toward Chu Xun.
“Guest, here is the grain, fine salt, and brown sugar you requested. Please check them.”
Chu Xun answered with a faint “Mm.”
He stood up, opened the sacks, and checked the grain.
Twenty catties of white flour, twenty catties of white rice, twenty catties of millet, not a single catty missing.
There were also the two clay jars in the steward’s hands.
Seeing Chu Xun look toward him, the steward quickly opened a tiny crack in each jar.
One jar revealed a faint glimmer of snow-white crystals.
The other was pitch black, like a mass of congealed sand.
It was exactly the fine salt and brown sugar Chu Xun wanted.
The steward smiled warmly and said, “Guest, as you can see, everything has been prepared. As for the money…”
He looked very gentle on the surface.
But the several clerks around him, all holding the grain, were not pushovers.
If Chu Xun was playing him for a fool, he would at the very least be beaten badly and thrown out in front of everyone.
Seeing this, Chu Xun smiled faintly and looked at Second Uncle. “Second Uncle, pay up.”
Second Uncle Chu reluctantly took out the cloth bundle he had been holding in his arms.
He looked at the steward and asked, “How much in total?”
The steward smiled and said, “White rice, white flour, and millet come to a total of one thousand one hundred coppers. Fine salt is one hundred seventy coppers per catty, and brown sugar is one hundred coppers per catty, making one thousand two hundred seventy coppers in all. You only need to pay one thousand two hundred coppers.”
One thousand two hundred coppers!!
Second Uncle Chu’s face twitched. Half of it was gone in one go!
Grain really was expensive!
But no matter how painful it was, there was no choice. Chu Xun had already bought it.
If they didn’t pay, their legs would probably be broken.
So Second Uncle Chu took out a string of prepared coppers from the bag, counted out two hundred loose coppers, and handed them all to the steward.
Only after seeing the money did the steward’s smile become more sincere.
He went on, “Thank you both for your patronage. Our shop can deliver the grain to the city gate for you. When would be convenient?”
Chu Xun was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected the shopkeeper’s service to be so thoughtful.
He smiled and said, “Could the steward arrange a donkey cart to take us back to the village? The fee is negotiable.”
Carrying this much grain back on foot would wear a person out.
It would be much better to hire a donkey cart and ride back slowly.
When the steward heard that Chu Xun wanted a cart, he clasped his hands and smiled. “You’ve asked the right person, guest. Our shop really does run a donkey cart service. The travel fee is fifty coppers, and the protection fee is another fifty coppers. We can deliver to any of the more than ten nearby villages.”
The travel fee was not expensive. As for the protection fee, the shop would send a sturdy porter to drive the cart.
A small grain store banner was mounted on the cart to warn off those refugees.
Chu Xun waved his hand grandly. “Good, then I’ll trouble the steward to arrange it.”
He then looked at Second Uncle Chu, blinked his large black eyes, and said: Second Uncle, pay up!!
Second Uncle Chu’s black face gained three even darker lines.
Chu Xun really knew how to spend money!
Second Uncle was getting a little overwhelmed.
But this time, he paid very readily.
There was no helping it. Carrying so much grain out of the shop and passing through that crowd of refugees, even he was a little worried they might strip them clean.
The steward took the money and beamed. “All right, guests, please wait a moment. I’ll go prepare the cart right away.”
After the steward left, the clerks also carried the grain out.
Second Uncle Chu slumped into his chair, clutching his money pouch tightly.
He did not want to spend even a single copper more.
But Chu Xun’s low voice came again: “Second Uncle, give me a little more money. I still need to buy a few things.”
“What? You’re still spending money?!”
Second Uncle Chu’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He could not understand what else Chu Xun needed to buy.
He directly handed the money pouch over to Chu Xun, out of sight, out of mind.
Flopping back in a lazy sprawl, he said, “Take it all. If I keep spending money while holding it, I think I’ll really die of heartache.”
Chu Xun rubbed his nose a little awkwardly.
He thought to himself that in the future, he would have to use money to stimulate Second Uncle more often.
Then he turned and walked out. The same crowd was still waiting outside the shop.
They were waiting for Chu Xun and the others to be thrown out by the steward, ready to watch the joke.
“Look, he’s coming out, and he isn’t carrying anything. I knew they didn’t have money to buy that much grain!”
“Exactly. Young people never know how to keep their mouths shut. Do they even know what kind of family they come from?”
As soon as Chu Xun stepped outside, he heard the chatter of the poor men.
He could only laugh and shake his head. It really was in their bones to love a spectacle.
Then the shop clerk who had been seeing him off followed him out as well.
Under the eager gazes of the crowd, who hoped he would chase Chu Xun away, he said with a fawning smile, “Guest, take your time. Your grain and cart will be ready soon. The fabric shop is just ahead, turn right at the next street. Take care on your way.”
Boom–
The watching crowd exploded in an uproar at once, as if struck by a bolt of lightning!
The shop clerk valued Chu Xun so highly.
Didn’t that mean he really had the money to buy grain? And that he had even arranged a cart?!
In that instant, everyone felt as if they had been slapped hard across the face.
The street fell dead silent, their eyes full of shock and confusion.
Chu Xun’s figure disappeared at the end of the street as he headed toward the fabric shop.
As for the shop clerk who had pointed the way, he turned around and said to the poor commoners in an arrogant tone, “If you want to buy wheat bran mixed beans, hurry up. If you wait any longer, only the more expensive millet and dark flour will be left, and then you’ll still not be able to afford it.”
The moment he finished speaking, the crowd that had just been mocking Chu Xun rushed forward one after another.
“I-I-I want ten catties of wheat bran!”
“I want twenty catties of mixed beans!”
“Damn it, don’t shove me! I’m here to buy one catty of dark flour!”
“…”
Down the street, Chu Xun also heard the commotion behind him.
After shaking his head, he turned into a fabric shop.
“Shopkeeper, I’ll take three bolts of cotton cloth. One bolt for men’s clothes, something that won’t show dirt easily, and two bolts for women’s clothes, in brighter colors.”
…
『PS: After Qin Yue’er put on the purple cheongsam bought from the shop, her figure was full and voluptuous, and she blushed as she said, “If brother likes it, Yue’er will change into a different one for you every day.”』