There was a street in Anchang County filled entirely with fabric and tailor shops. The colorful displays were quite a pleasing sight.
Last night, Ergouzi had stowed most of his silver inside the gourd, taking out only a few copper coins to carry in his bundle.
Now, walking down the street, he felt much more at ease. He no longer had to constantly worry about being robbed.
He had been browsing this street since early morning and finally chose to step into a relatively simple-looking tailor shop.
Inside the shop, an old woman sat alone, stitching a shoe sole. Seeing Ergouzi enter, she hurriedly set her work aside.
“Young man, are you looking to buy fabric or have clothes made?”
“I want to buy a pair of shoes.”
Ergouzi looked at the black cloth shoes on the shelves. They varied in size and style, and some of the smaller ones were even embroidered with plum blossoms or lotus flowers.
“Do you want them custom-measured, or would you like to buy a ready-made pair?”
“Ready-made is fine!”
Custom-made shoes would naturally fit better, but they would take a long time to finish.
Besides, he had been walking around barefoot—why would he care about such fine details?
The old woman glanced at Ergouzi’s bare feet. Knowing this might be his first time buying shoes, she explained his options in great detail.
Only then did Ergouzi realize that city folk had so many rules about what they wore on their feet.
There were single-layer cloth shoes, cotton-padded shoes, and waterproof boots.
Ergouzi was most interested in the waterproof boots.
The soles and the upper fabric were individually brushed with many layers of tung oil and left to dry. Then they were nailed together with iron nails before being brushed with several more layers of tung oil.
The finished boots were stiff and heavy as stone, but not a single drop of water could seep inside.
Best of all, shoes made this way were extremely durable. A pair could last for over ten years.
The old woman estimated the size of Ergouzi’s feet and took down a pair from the shelf for him to try.
As soon as Ergouzi slipped his foot inside, he found it to be a perfect fit—warm and incredibly comfortable.
“No, this pair is too small!”
However, he immediately took the boots off and asked for a larger size.
He was only fourteen this year and growing like a weed. If the boots fit perfectly now, he wouldn’t be able to wear them next year. He had to buy them a few sizes too big to get his money’s worth.
A pair of tung oil boots weighed four or five jin. They required countless amounts of oil, fabric, and iron nails, and took a full month to make.
Naturally, they weren’t cheap either. They sold for a whole tael of silver, several times the price of ordinary cotton shoes.
If he could only wear them for a year, it would be a terrible waste.
Ergouzi asked the old woman for some fabric scraps and stuffed them all into the toes of the boots. This way, they wouldn’t feel too loose, and the extra padding would keep his feet warm.
For the first time in over ten bitter years of life, Ergouzi’s calloused feet were finally wearing socks.
The wealthy lords in the city truly knew how to enjoy themselves. Wearing shoes wasn’t enough for them; they actually had to wear socks inside as well.
When Ergouzi walked out of the tailor shop, his steps were much more careful. He was terrified of getting mud on his new boots.
Anchang County had several blacksmith shops, but most focused on forging daily necessities like iron pots and kitchen knives.
Only one shop stood out from the rest. Countless gleaming sabers and swords hung on its walls.
This was the one!
“Guest, our shop specializes in forging all types of weapons. What style are you looking for?”
A short, chubby youth asked in a muffled voice.
“I want a heavier sword. At least ten jin.”
With his current strength, he could only practice with a six or seven-jin sword.
But just like with the boots, he considered that his strength would continue to grow. Buying a new sword later would just mean spending more money.
“Anything over eight jin is considered a heavy sword. Come take a look over here.”
Ergouzi followed the chubby youth to the side. There were only a few swords on this rack, all of them weighing over eight jin.
However, only two swords met Ergouzi’s standard.
One was forged from refined steel. It gave off a chilling glint, and its hilt was inlaid with gemstones.
Such a sword was priced at fifty taels of silver.
Clearly, this weapon was not for Ergouzi.
The other sword was forged from ordinary steel and weighed exactly eleven jin and two liang. It was pitch-black, and its edges didn’t even look very sharp.
However, its greatest advantage was the price. It only cost four taels of silver.
“I’ll take this one!”
“Do you need a scabbard? A wooden scabbard only costs two hundred wen.”
The chubby youth tactfully recommended the cheapest option, not even mentioning the gorgeous scabbards inlaid with gold and jade.
“No need!”
Ergouzi shook his head decisively. It was completely unnecessary.
He took four strings of copper coins from his bundle to pay, then carried the bare sword out of the shop.
Afterward, he returned to the old woman at the tailor shop and bought three chi of hemp cloth. He wrapped the sword in it, finding it just as convenient to carry.
Now that his boots and sword were sorted, he bought a block of black salt and ten meat buns in the county town.
It was time to go home, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had forgotten to buy something.
He didn’t realize what it was until he passed a stall displaying heaps of hair flowers and hair ties for young girls.
Xiao Ezi had always looked after him in the past. Now that he had made big money, he ought to buy her a little trinket.
So, he bought a pair of hair flowers, a block of malt sugar, a stick of candied haws, and a jin of osmanthus cloud-slice cake.
The osmanthus cloud-slice cake was particularly expensive, costing three hundred wen per jin. Ergouzi had never eaten it before. He tasted a tiny crumb—it was fragrant, sweet, and truly delicious.
Only after purchasing all these items did he stride out of the county town.
⁂
Inside the county town’s weapons shop.
A middle-aged man was tallying the day’s earnings when he suddenly let out a startled gasp. He quickly plunged both hands into a large chest of copper coins, rummaging through the pile.
After a while, he pulled four large strings of coins from the chest. He laid them out on the table and inspected them closely for a long time, still uncertain.
“Dad! Dad! Dad!”
The middle-aged man scooped up the four strings of coins and sprinted into the back room.
“What are you making such a fuss about?!”
An old man with graying hair stood in the inner room, loudly scolding his panicked son.
“Dad, look at these strings of copper coins.”
The old man took the coins and scrutinized them for a long time.
“You’re right. This is Hundred-Refined Copper Essence!”
The old man who had just been berating his son was now trembling with excitement, his beard quivering.
Hundred-Refined Copper Essence was forged from ordinary copper using a specialized method.
However, after one hundred jin of copper was subjected to this laborious and time-consuming refinement process, only a single jin of essence would remain.
Hundred-Refined Copper Essence was incredibly expensive. Its quality in all respects was enhanced many times over.
When forging a blade, adding even a trace of Hundred-Refined Copper Essence made the weapon resistant to rust, hard and sharp, and less likely to chip.
Who on earth would use Hundred-Refined Copper Essence to mint copper coins?
“Who brought these here?”
“I don’t know. We took in a lot of money today. I only noticed it while I was tallying the earnings.”
“Do not speak a word of this. And do not act rashly.”
Both father and son were buzzing with excitement, but the older ginger was spicier. The old man was the first to calm his nerves.
This was an incredible windfall, but it was just as likely to invite a fatal disaster upon their heads.