Tang Zhuojun was only thinking about those eighteen taels of silver. She patiently listened as the shopkeeper showered her with a basketful of compliments, then said with a pleasant smile, “As long as you’re satisfied, I’m relieved. Now, about the silver we agreed on earlier?”
“No problem, no problem.” The shopkeeper took out two ten-tael silver ingots he had prepared and placed them on the table.
“That’s twenty taels,” she said. “But you’ve already given me two taels before, so you should give me eighteen more.”
“The extra two taels can serve as a deposit for next time,” the shopkeeper said with a broad smile. “With this old ailment of mine, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you again in the future, miss.”
He didn’t expect to be cured in one go— if he could just be free from pain, he would already be thanking heaven.
After thinking for a moment, Tang Zhuojun said, “Very well, then I won’t stand on ceremony. I’ll come by often from now on. But if it’s still this same old problem, I won’t charge an additional consultation fee.”
“Many thanks, miss,” the shopkeeper replied, beaming.
Only those who have endured illness truly understand how important a good doctor is.
Tang Zhuojun smiled and said, “Now that I think of it, there’s something else I’d like to trouble you with. You’ve been a shopkeeper here for many years— do you happen to know anyone who runs a restaurant? To be honest, I have a recipe for a cold dish that I’d like to sell, but I don’t have the right connections…”
“That’s easy!” the shopkeeper said. “How much are you looking to sell it for? I can just buy it myself.”
From his tone, it was clear he was thinking of offering three to five taels, maybe a dozen at most.
That was nowhere near enough to satisfy Tang Zhuojun’s appetite.
So she smiled calmly and said, “Please hear me out, Shopkeeper. I brought the prepared seasoning with me today. Using this recipe to dress a cold dish— without boasting— it tastes superb. I won’t charge for this packet. Let the restaurant try it first, and then we can discuss the price.”
The shopkeeper was a shrewd man and immediately understood what she was implying. He nodded. “All right, all right. I happen to know the manager of Four Seas Restaurant. He’s quite busy, though —we may need to set another time…”
Tang Zhuojun brightened at the mention of a connection and quickly said, “No need. Just help me deliver this packet of prepared seasoning to him. I’ll come back in a few days to hear the news.”
The shopkeeper readily agreed.
Tang Zhuojun adjusted his prescription once more, then left with Linlin.
“We’ve got money now! What do you want to buy?” she said proudly.
Linlin reminded her softly, “Auntie, you borrowed twenty taels from the family funds…”
“Well, now I’m buying things for the family!” Tang Zhuojun replied. “Didn’t you hear? I’ve found a connection for my cold dish recipe too!”
“Can that really be sold?” Linlin asked doubtfully, remembering their previous setbacks.
Truth be told, Tang Zhuojun wasn’t entirely confident either, but she answered firmly, “Of course it can. Now tell me— what do you want to eat? What do you want to buy?”
“I… I don’t want anything,” Linlin said.
“You silly boy. Come on—I’ll buy some meat and fish and cook for you at home.”
“And pig offal too!” Linlin shouted.
“Haha, no problem.”
They strolled and shopped as they went. Tang Zhuojun had originally planned to buy clothes for her father, her brothers, and Linlin, but then discovered that clothing here was outrageously expensive.
It wasn’t so much the garments themselves as the fabric. Even fine cotton was costly, and as for silk and satin— those were out of the question.
Coarse cloth was cheaper, but given her father and brothers’ status, they couldn’t very well wear that outside.
In the end, Tang Zhuojun gritted her teeth and spent two taels of silver on several pieces of fine cotton and jiao cloth, planning to have Granny He and Xiuer make a new set of clothes for each of the three men at home.
Xiuer’s embroidery skills were excellent— one of the few virtues she possessed besides loyalty.
When they passed the horse market, Linlin found himself reluctant to move on.
He knew horses were expensive, but he couldn’t help looking.
“Auntie, I’m just looking. I’m not buying,” he said quietly.
Tang Zhuojun recalled the sadness in his voice when he had once spoken about riding horses. She knew what he was thinking.
For boys of this era, horses were probably the equivalent of Ultraman—cool and dazzling beyond compare.
“Then let’s look for a while. Looking doesn’t cost money,” she said with a smile.
The horse trader, in his thirties and clearly skilled at business, did not look down on them for their modest clothing. He warmly introduced his horses. Seeing how much Linlin liked them, he even took out a piece of malt candy and told him to hold it in his palm to feed the horse.
“That’s it, yes. When you have your own horse one day, you’ll need to tame it just like this.”
Linlin’s little face flushed red with excitement. “Auntie, it licked my palm!”
Tang Zhuojun smiled at the sight and turned to chat with the trader, asking about the prices.
He told her he didn’t deal in old horses—only good ones.
Even his worst horse cost over a hundred taels of silver; the best could go for a thousand.
Tang Zhuojun did a quick calculation in her head. It was like the price of cars in modern times— well-known brands ranging from hundreds of thousands to over a million. Truly expensive.
She couldn’t afford one. Not now.
Pointing to the horse Linlin liked, she asked, “How much for this one?”
“I’ll give you the honest price— three hundred taels.”
“I’ll come back to buy it when I have the money,” Tang Zhuojun said with a smile.
Though who knew when she’d have that kind of money? It was nearly half a year’s salary for her father and brothers combined. Unless she struck it rich, it was out of reach.
“What a shabby-looking pair. Do you think you can afford it?”
What?
Tang Zhuojun turned at the sound of the voice and, sure enough, saw Ruan Anruo’s white-lotus face.
Ruan Anruo looked somewhat haggard, her eyes full of venom.
“I didn’t expect your house arrest to be lifted so soon. What, your mother’s willing to let you out already? Or has your dear cousin gone to the palace to be castrated?” Tang Zhuojun said with a half-smile.
Ruan Anruo twisted her handkerchief in fury, her expression twisted as if she wanted to devour Tang Zhuojun whole.
“How much is that horse?” she demanded, pointing to the one Linlin was feeding.
“Three hundred taels. I’ve already bought it,” Tang Zhuojun said.
“You have three hundred taels?” Ruan Anruo shot back.
“None of your damn business!” Tang Zhuojun retorted. “Anyway, the horse is mine.”
Ruan Anruo felt a flicker of doubt. Given the Tang father and son’s positions, if they truly chose to accept bribes, hundreds or even thousands of taels would not be hard to come by.
Had they been provoked into starting down a path of amassing wealth?
But no matter what, she couldn’t appear weak in front of Tang Zhuojun.
If nothing else, she had money in abundance. Her mother came from a wealthy merchant family with vast riches. Why else would her father, a marquis’s son, have married a merchant’s daughter if not for money?
“Three hundred fifty taels. Sell it to me,” Ruan Anruo said coldly, casting a triumphant glance at Tang Zhuojun, certain of victory.
Tang Zhuojun said, “Boss, that won’t do— we had an agreement. Come, come over here, let me have a word with you. A person has to keep their integrity!”
As she spoke, she pulled the horse trader aside and whispered a few words to him.
The horse trader showed a troubled expression. “Miss, the highest bidder gets it. You can’t expect me to lose fifty taels for nothing, can you?”
Tang Zhuojun’s face flushed with anger. “Then I’ll offer three hundred fifty-one taels!”
Ruan Anruo looked at her with disdain. “Four hundred taels!”
“Four hundred and one taels!”
“Five hundred taels!”
“You—!” Tang Zhuojun looked exasperated and furious. “Ruan Anruo, you’re doing this on purpose!”
“I am doing it on purpose. So what?” Ruan Anruo revealed her true colors at last. “You caused my father and mother to scold me. You deserve this!”
“Five hundred and one taels!” Tang Zhuojun shouted through gritted teeth, clearly pushing herself to the limit.
Linlin stood to the side, watching her in confusion but saying nothing.
“Six hundred taels!” Ruan Anruo declared.
“Fine, you win!” Tang Zhuojun said angrily. “Keep your lousy horse! Linlin, let’s go!”
Linlin cast one last reluctant look at the horse, then silently followed her away.
After they had walked some distance, Linlin suddenly said, “Auntie, when I grow up, I’ll definitely buy you a horse— a very, very expensive one. No one will ever dare look down on you.”
The Tang Zhuojun who had just been furious now wore a bright smile. She lowered her head and gently pinched his adorable cheek. “Then how about Auntie buys you a good horse right now?”
Linlin froze, his big eyes filled with confusion.