Meat spoils quickly in the summer. To ensure freshness, while one hundred sheep had all been delivered, only one-third of the pigs and chickens were slaughtered. The remainder would be delivered by the evening and tomorrow.
Lu Xuan only settled the accounts for today’s delivery with the suppliers.
The third batch of goods delivered consisted of jars of sauce, vinegar, liquor, salt, sugar, and more.
Once he confirmed there were no more shipments to receive, Lu Xuan locked the courtyard gate. After ensuring that neither the neighbors to the left nor the right could see into the yard, he began placing the pile of supplies one by one into his space bracelet.
Thirty-six thousand jin of grain sounded like a lot, but in reality, each bag contained one hundred jin. The thirty-plus thousand jin amounted to only three hundred and sixty bags, which occupied less than one-thirtieth of the space in his bracelet.
The various sauce and liquor jars took up more room; one hundred and twenty jars took up one hundred cubic meters directly.
The pork, mutton, and chicken combined took up less than 100 cubic meters. Adding the thirty bags of salt and sugar, which were practically a rounding error, he had filled only a quarter of the one-thousand-cubic-meter space.
With the staple food sorted, the first thing to solve today was clothing.
Lu Xuan went directly to the largest fabric shop in the city.
He bought anywhere from dozens to a thousand bolts of various fabrics, categorized by how often they were worn and their colors: durable and cooling linen; comfortable and breathable cotton; gauze, which was much higher quality than linen and equally cool for summer; and more high-end silks, satins, and brocades.
The cheapest linen cost three hundred and fifty wen per bolt, while the most expensive brocade reached thirty taels per bolt.
Additionally, he bought five hundred jin of cotton and one thousand sewing kits.
The total cost came to two thousand five hundred and forty taels.
Although the Jinxiu Fabric Shop was one of the largest in the prefecture, the manager was still overjoyed to have someone spend so much silver in a single day.
It wasn’t that the manager wasn’t curious why Lu Xuan was buying so much fabric.
The “shelf life” of fabric isn’t as long as grain; it fades after being washed a few times, and even unused fabric will become dull in color after a year or so. Buying so much was simply more than one person could ever wear.
However, fabric wasn’t as sensitive as grain, and the manager of Jinxiu Fabric Shop wasn’t a particularly nosy man. To him, as long as there was money to be made, Lu Xuan was his benefactor, and he had no intention of probing further.
He didn’t just refrain from asking unnecessary questions; he also gifted Lu Xuan several dozen bolts of fabric that were slightly faded or defective, along with a large pile of fabric scraps from mid-to-high-grade materials. The quantity was quite impressive—enough to be worth several tens of taels of silver if sold.
Lu Xuan was very satisfied with this. Before settling the bill, he selected several sets of ready-to-wear clothing in high-quality styles.
He had noticed yesterday when entering the city that even the common folk of the prefecture who had average family conditions wore clothes with many patterns, and their overall appearance looked quite spirited.
When Lu Xuan arrived, he was wearing ready-to-wear clothes bought in town. The style wasn’t as “countrified” as the ones made by the aunties in the village, but it still carried a subtle air of rusticity—perhaps related to his hairstyle and overall look.
So, after buying more exquisitely crafted clothes, he changed into one on the spot. After paying the deposit and leaving the fabric shop, he went to the silver shop next door to buy several silver hair accessories. He undid the “bun” on the back of his head and used a silver hair hoop decorated with a silver chain to tie his hair into a neat and dashing high ponytail.
In the blink of an eye, the rustic country boy had turned into a spirited, cool guy.
Although his looks weren’t exceptionally striking, his unique temperament, so different from the ordinary person, attracted the gazes of countless passersby, and the viewers in the live stream were also dazzled.
【This outfit looks several times better than before! It’s like he’s a different person!】
【He’s become even more of a dandy! Hahaha!】
【The streamer is the most handsome guy on this street now! All the young girls around are staring!】
Lu Xuan, in a good mood, didn’t mind the viewers’ teasing.
With food and clothing solved, the rest were just less important supplies.
For example, various jars for storing water or pickling vegetables.
The people in the live stream were confused as they watched Lu Xuan take many turns before finding a workshop that sold jars of various sizes.
【Is there a need to hoard these things too?】
【Streamer, the system mall has plenty of sturdy containers with large capacities; there’s no need to buy so many jars, right?】
Lu Xuan said meaningfully, “You don’t understand the importance of clay jars.”
Pickled vegetables and sauces only taste authentic when made in clay jars; other things like plastic, glass, or stainless steel are heresy!
However, he didn’t need to be too picky about the style of the jars for pickling, as long as the quality was solid and the capacity was sufficient.
Small workshops might need to make them to order to avoid holding stock, which would take a long time to wait for, but large workshops had plenty of stock on hand.
He confirmed the specifications of the jars available in the workshop and bought two hundred jars of various sizes, along with fifty large vats.
He also bought about two hundred porcelain bowls and plates for eating, and another hundred items including clay bowls, plates, and earthenware pots.
After leaving the ceramic workshop, Lu Xuan remembered the extreme cold weather shown on the weather app. He asked around, spent some time finding a charcoal-making workshop in the city, and bought twenty tons of charcoal.
The charcoal was old stock left over from last year, but fortunately, it had been stored well, so there were no problems using it.
Because summer was the off-season, the price was also very favorable. In winter, the price of ordinary charcoal was twenty to twenty-five wen per jin; now the price was cut in half to just ten wen per jin, making twenty tons cost two hundred taels.
At noon, Lu Xuan casually ordered scallion noodles at a roadside stall to make do, and after eating, he prepared to continue working.
The viewers in the live stream, who were truly making do with nutrient paste: Making do? Who? You dare say that again?
·
In the afternoon, Lu Xuan had only one goal: the ironware shop.
Farm tools for working the land, weapons needed for hunting, and most importantly, the iron pot for cooking had to be bought!
Considering that any game caught after entering the mountains could not be taken back to the town to be sold and would have to be processed by himself, a small pot wouldn’t be enough. He needed to buy the large iron pots used for cooking communal meals.
Ironware is a precious commodity in any dynasty. Even an ironware shop wouldn’t just make a pile of large iron pots for no reason. Lu Xuan spent the whole afternoon running to eight different-sized iron shops before he managed to buy ten large iron pots.
There were thirty standard-sized iron pots used by ordinary families.
Besides that, Lu Xuan bought all the other finished products in the iron shops that hadn’t been ordered yet.
This included various farm tools, wood-chopping axes, kitchen knives, boning knives, iron axes, saws, scissors, and a few daggers.
Finally, he bought one hundred jin of pig iron, spending a total of one hundred taels.
The amount of silver spent wasn’t particularly high, but the viewers in the live stream were filled with confusion.
Buying iron pots, iron axes, wood-chopping knives, and farm tools was understandable, but why buy pig iron specifically?
Was he planning to do the blacksmithing himself?
Lu Xuan only said, “I have my own uses for it.”
Because ironware was sensitive, the owners of several iron shops intentionally or unintentionally probed him about what he intended to do with so much pig iron, even reminding him that it would be best to report it to the yamen to avoid trouble later.
Lu Xuan nodded on the surface to show he understood, but in his actions, he had no intention of reporting anything.
In the evening, Lu Xuan went to the small courtyard again to collect a batch of pork before returning to the inn.
He didn’t know that shortly after he left, the group of thugs he had beaten up during the day had unwillingly come snooping around.
In the darkness, several figures gathered at the base of the wall and whispered to each other.
“…Is this the place?”
“…It can’t be wrong; I found out from the broker.”
“Did he really buy a large batch of grain and meat?”
“That’s right! It’s said there are over ten thousand jin of grain and at least several hundred pigs. Many people nearby saw them transporting carts after carts of goods. I reckon the courtyard is piled full of it!”
A flash of greed and smugness, hidden by the night, crossed the leader’s eyes.
“Very good!”
Since that damn guy wouldn’t take out the silver, they would just move away all the grain and meat he had bought. Not only could they sell it for money, but they could also eat and drink well for a long time.
Thinking of how regretful and pained that bastard would be when he came to the courtyard tomorrow and found everything gone, the thug couldn’t help but curl the corners of his mouth… then he gasped in pain as he pulled at his injuries.
Dammit!
The leader thought of the beating he received during the day and his teeth itched with hatred. He quickly waved at his minions, signaling them to form a human ladder. One by one, they used their hands and feet to scramble, in a disheveled manner, over the courtyard wall.
Today, he was going to take everything that bastard had!
The five men were full of expectations, believing they would be greeted by a courtyard so full of supplies they couldn’t even squeeze in, already planning where they would go to enjoy themselves after selling the goods.
But when they excitedly broke in and searched every room, they found that there wasn’t even a single grain of rice inside. The courtyard was so clean and empty that even a mouse coming by would have to curse it for being “bad luck.”
Where was the promised ten thousand jin of grain? The hundreds of pigs!?
The thugs, who had been full of fire just a moment ago, all felt their hearts turn cold.
The leader looked at the empty courtyard before him, which seemed to be mocking him for being an idiot. He felt as if an invisible slap had landed heavily on his face. He endured it, and endured it again, until he could no longer hold back and let out a roar of rage.
“Damn your ancestors—!”
·
Lu Xuan didn’t know that a group of fools who wanted to reap without sowing had lost their dreams in his small courtyard.
After returning to the inn, he calculated his expenses for the day and found that he had spent even more than yesterday—nearly three thousand taels.
He now had only four hundred taels left in his hands.
Lu Xuan clicked his tongue and said, “It really doesn’t last.”
The viewers in the live stream wanted to roar: It’s not that the money doesn’t last! It’s that you spend way too much!
Watching him madly spend money and hoard goods for two consecutive days, they went from being excited and energized at the beginning to becoming gradually numb. Seeing that the thick stack of silver notes in his hand was now just a thin few sheets, many viewers began to find it difficult to breathe, as if the money being spent were their own.
Looking at the way the streamer spent money like water, who would believe he was just a farm boy?
The live stream data for the day was about the same as yesterday. Lu Xuan finished redeeming his points as usual, chatted with the audience for a while, and then went to sleep.
By the fourth day, there was truly nothing left that he needed.
When Lu Xuan received the goods yesterday, he noticed some strange footprints that had appeared in the small courtyard.