Heihei devoured a bowl of small fish and shrimp with gusto, gorging himself until he lay panting, mouth agape.
With the domestic fowl fed, Xia Qingyue began preparing her own simple supper: boiled fish and shrimp, seasoned only with water. Though bland, the tender fish and firm river shrimp were surprisingly palatable.
Her wound, dressed twice daily, had scabbed over within days, freeing her from the need for bandages.
Over the next few days, Xia Qingyue ventured out early each morning to set fish traps by the stream, then journeyed further afield in search of medicinal herbs, returning to the Reed Marsh in the afternoon to gather eggs.
The weather cooperated beautifully, allowing the harvested herbs to dry completely under the sun.
Feeling she had gathered enough, Xia Qingyue decided to collect one of her fish traps early the day before her descent from the mountain, intending to use it to capture wild chickens and ducks for sale.
As usual, she set up a basket trap and lay in wait in the shadows.
The waiting was always the most agonizing part, but today, using fish and shrimp as bait, the chickens and ducks were far more eager to take the bait.
In just over three hours—subtracting the three hours spent waiting—she caught five wild chickens and four wild ducks.
That evening, she ate an early dinner and went to bed early.
The next morning, Xia Qingyue rose early and styled her hair into a man’s topknot. She found her largest carrying basket, lined the bottom with dried herbs, and packed in two chickens and three ducks. Two burlap sacks filled with moxa, Cebai Leaf, and honeysuckle were bound to the top, their light weight posing no risk of crushing the poultry.
With an empty vegetable basket slung over her arm, Xia Qingyue carried two burlap sacks filled with mugwort and honeysuckle. In her other hand, she held a full basket of chicken and duck eggs, and dangling from a rope were two chickens and two ducks.
The empty basket was for carrying any purchases she might make in town.
“Heihei, come on, let’s head down the mountain.”
Xia Qingyue vaguely remembered the mountain path. After walking about a third of the way, Heihei seemed to sense they were descending and eagerly ran ahead to lead the way.
The rugged trail, combined with their heavy load, made the descent slow and arduous, requiring frequent stops to rest. After leaving the sinkhole at dawn, they didn’t reach Xiushui Village at the foot of the mountain until well after Chen Shi (around 8-9 AM).
The thatched-roof houses of Xiushui Village were scattered harmoniously across the landscape. White smoke drifted from some chimneys, and villagers could be seen strolling and chatting along the village paths.
Crops grew in the fields, where some farmers were bent over their work.
Everything appeared peaceful.
After observing for a while, Xia Qingyue deliberately took a detour around the village to reach Datong Town.
Half an hour later, she arrived at Datong Town.
Guards stood at the town entrance, where a long queue of people waited to enter.
While waiting in line, Xia Qingyue learned from fellow queue members that the entry requirements remained the same as before: a household registration document, but with an added fee of two wen per person.
After a short wait, Xia Qingyue reached the front of the line. She paid the fee, presented her household registration certificate, and was smoothly admitted into town.
Compared to the original owner’s memories, the town seemed more desolate than before, with fewer people. Everyone wore a numb expression, their eyes weary.
Following her memories, Xia Qingyue arrived at the market. She learned that setting up a stall to sell goods cost twenty wen per day, or four hundred and fifty wen per month for a discount.
Clicking her tongue inwardly at the price, she changed her mind and went to the local inn.
In these turbulent times, with only one inn and two eateries remaining in town, she visited all three establishments.
She first showed them her goods, letting their quality speak for itself, then negotiated prices.
Sensing their genuine interest, she offered to sell at market price.
Normally, the mountain produce she carried would fetch a slightly higher price than ordinary goods of the same kind.
Seeing she wasn’t asking for inflated prices, they selected what they wanted.
The wild chickens and ducks sold for twenty-three wen per jin. The nine birds weighed a total of thirty-six jin, earning her eight hundred and twenty-eight wen.
Chicken eggs sold for three wen each, while duck eggs fetched four wen apiece.
She sold thirty-five chicken eggs and thirty duck eggs, earning two hundred and twenty-five wen.
With the fowl and eggs sold, she moved on to the apothecary to sell medicinal herbs.
Xia Qingyue visited all three pharmacies in town, inquiring about the purchase prices of various medicinal herbs.
One pharmacy showed genuine interest, stating they could offer a slightly higher price depending on the herbs’ quality.
The shopkeeper first examined the sun-dried honeysuckle and mugwort stored in burlap sacks. “Do you have any other herbs? Notoginseng, Bletilla Tuber, or Astragalus would be ideal.”
“I do,” Xia Qingyue replied, emptying all her herbs onto the counter.
The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up. “Is there more?”
“Just these.”
“Good, good! I’ll weigh them right away.” The shopkeeper worked swiftly, weighing each type of herb separately according to its different price.
The herbs were of excellent quality, and the shopkeeper readily agreed to raise the purchase price slightly. He even asked if Xia Qingyue could source more of these herbs in the future.
Xia Qingyue didn’t give a flat refusal. “These herbs were foraged by my father and me in the mountains,” she explained. “Finding them is mostly a matter of luck—sometimes we find a lot, other times very little.”
“If you can consistently maintain this quality, we can discuss pricing further,” the shopkeeper said, his fingers dancing across the abacus, beads clacking rhythmically.
Meanwhile, Xia Qingyue mentally tallied the figures.
“Four taels and seven hundred and fifty wen,” she announced.
After calculating the price, the shopkeeper handed Xia Qingyue the corresponding silver.
The amount was correct. She accepted the money, maintaining a calm demeanor despite the wild elation bubbling within her.
Her hunch had been right: hemostatic wound medicine was in high demand. Selling medicinal herbs was indeed the most profitable venture.
Terrified of snakes, she lived in a sinkhole on the mountain—a dangerous location. She specifically asked the shopkeeper for Realgar Powder to ward them off.
Eager for her continued supply of herbs, the shopkeeper generously gave her several packets of Realgar Powder for free.
She also purchased some Quicklime from the pharmacy. Initially worried they wouldn’t have it, she described its properties to the shopkeeper, who confirmed its availability.
Leaving the pharmacy, Xia Qingyue’s steps were light, a joyful smile gracing her face.
Her total earnings now amounted to eight taels and one hundred seventy-three cash.
Excellent! Time for a major shopping spree.
The previous night, she had already planned out her essential purchases.
First, there were the necessities. Her clothes, patched and faded, were fraying at the seams and threatened to fall apart at any moment. Her only pair of shoes was cracked at the soles, making walking on gravel roads particularly painful.
Plain cloth shoes cost twelve cash per pair, while slightly felted ones went for eighteen cash. She bought three pairs of the plain ones, intending to save them for autumn and winter, planning to weave straw sandals for the current season.
She bought ready-made clothes: one set each in sky blue, pale yellow, gray, and light purple, costing forty copper coins per set. She also selected two bolts each of linen and cotton, along with some needles and thread.
Xia Qingyue remarked that she was buying a lot and asked the Shopkeeper for a discount.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be considered a large purchase. But given the current situation, it was indeed a substantial quantity.
The shopkeeper readily agreed to lower the price of the ready-made clothes to thirty-nine copper coins per set.
The two bolts of linen cost forty copper coins, while the more expensive cotton cost seventy copper coins for both. In total, she saved six copper coins on the fabric.
The final bill came to two hundred and ninety-six copper coins.
The needles and thread were included as a complimentary gift.
The four bolts of fabric were quite heavy, so Xia Qingyue left them at the fabric shop and headed to the market to buy food.
At the general store, she inquired about the prices of rice, flour, oil, and salt.
What she heard shocked her.
The price of salt was particularly outrageous. A small cup, containing about fifty grams of coarse salt, cost seven copper coins, while a full pound cost seventy copper coins.
Snowflake salt, on the other hand, had increased several times in price, now costing five hundred copper coins per pound.
Salt sales in the Dawan Kingdom were regulated. Each person was limited to buying fifteen pounds of salt per month, though there was no limit to the number of purchases.
“Shopkeeper, I want forty-five pounds of coarse salt!”