Qianhua went to several other shops to ask about the price of a weighing scale, only to discover that even the cheapest balance scale cost around one tael of silver.
She only had a little over nine hundred copper coins left, and she still needed to buy malt sugar and other ingredients.
Buying a scale would have to wait for now—she would have her parents borrow one from the village first.
The main street of the town wasn’t very long. Qianhua strolled along, stopping here and there to ask about prices. After about two ke (roughly half an hour), she had walked the entire street.
She couldn’t help feeling puzzled. In TV dramas, weren’t ancient streets lined with stalls on both sides?
Why did this town only have a few food vendors setting up stalls?
After asking around, she learned that there were fixed market days each month when people were allowed to come to town and set up stalls.
Vendors usually arrived early in the morning, and the market dispersed by afternoon.
Unfortunately, she had come on the wrong day and missed the market.
After finishing her tour of the town, Qianhua asked for the location of the carriage rentals and spent two copper coins to take the cheapest ox cart to the county city.
She had long planned to explore both the town and the county city. Afraid her parents would worry if she mentioned going to the county, she had only told them she was coming to town to buy things.
The ox cart set off from the town and took a little over an hour to reach the county city.
After entering through the city gate, Qianhua found the place bustling with activity. Crowds of people came and went, and the streets were wide and long—clearly far livelier and more prosperous than the town.
Along both sides of the streets were open shops, as well as all kinds of street vendors hawking their goods.
There were sellers of candied hawthorn skewers, steamed buns and mantou, farmers selling fresh fruits and vegetables grown at home, people selling straw sandals and hemp shoes they had woven themselves, and even scholars making a living by selling their paintings…
In short, the variety of vendors was dazzling—everything imaginable was there.
Yet she didn’t see a single stall selling sugar-roasted chestnuts. This only strengthened her confidence that people in this era truly hadn’t discovered this treat yet.
Qianhua wandered around the county streets for quite some time, asking about prices along the way. She noticed that daily necessities in the county were often one or two copper coins more expensive than in the town.
Food stalls by the roadside sold items ranging from just a few copper coins to over ten copper coins.
Clearly, the spending power of people in the county city was much higher than that of the town.
After surveying the market, Qianhua had a rough idea of how to price her sugar-roasted chestnuts. She felt that ten copper coins per jin would be appropriate—not overpriced, but not too cheap either.
After all, this would be a brand-new snack in the Great Yuan Kingdom, and her small business would have far better prospects in the county city than in the town.
After wandering for a while, she grew hungry. She bought two buns and casually asked the bun seller,“Uncle, may I ask—are these stalls free to use?”
“Young sir, these stalls aren’t free. I have to pay two copper coins a day to occupy this spot,” the man replied.
“Is that tax collected by the government?” Qianhua asked further.
“The government doesn’t collect taxes from our street market. This fee is collected by Young Master Cai. He patrols the streets with his brothers every day and charges two copper coins as protection money. If anyone dares take goods without paying or cause trouble, Young Master Cai brings his men and handles it immediately.”
The bun seller spoke of Young Master Cai with a tone of admiration. It seemed the two copper coins were paid willingly by everyone.
After learning the situation regarding stalls, Qianhua wandered around for another half hour.
She bought a book titled Rivers Through the Ages, which introduced the various countries of this era along with their customs and local cultures. Fortunately, she could read all the characters used in this time period.
Paper was extremely expensive in this era, and books even more so. Normally, even a single book would cost at least half a tael of silver. However, the book she chose was very obscure and unpopular—it had gathered dust on the shelf, and the pages had yellowed. The shop owner just wanted to get rid of it and sold it to her cheaply for ten copper coins.
After buying the book and gathering enough information, she prepared to take an ox cart back to the town to pick up the spatula, then return to the Liu Chen Shop she had visited earlier to buy malt sugar and oil.
Oil and sugar were one or two copper coins more expensive per jin in the county city. Buying them in town would save a few coins, so naturally she didn’t purchase them in the county.
When she entered the Liu Chen Shop in town again, the owner recognized her at once—the same young fellow who had previously asked about the prices of everything in the shop and then left without buying anything. He was so annoyed that he nearly lost his temper.
But before he could speak, Qianhua said calmly,“Boss, weigh out five jin of malt sugar, one jin of clear oil, and give me five hundred oil-paper wrappers.”
The words he was about to scold her with instantly stuck in his throat. He immediately switched to a broad, professional smile and replied,“Coming right up, sir!”
Five jin of malt sugar cost three hundred copper coins, one jin of oil cost fifteen coins, and five hundred oil-paper wrappers cost five coins—for a total of three hundred and twenty copper coins.
After packing everything neatly, the shop owner smiled warmly and personally escorted her to the door, calling out,“Take care, sir! Please come again!”
After picking up the spatula from the blacksmith, Qianhua headed home.
She did the math: fifty coins for the spatula, ten for the book, two for buns, four for the ox cart round trip, and three hundred and twenty at the Liu Chen Shop. Altogether, she had spent three hundred and eighty-six copper coins.
Out of the nine hundred and eighty-five coins she had brought, she now had five hundred and ninety-nine left.
By the time Qianhua arrived home, it was around four in the afternoon. Liu-shi and Liang Lao’er both let out a sigh of relief when they saw her return.
“Qianhua, why were you gone so long? Your father and I were worried sick,” Liu-shi complained lightly.
“Yes, if you hadn’t come back soon, your mother was about to go to town looking for you,” Liang Lao’er added.
“Dad, Mom, didn’t I come back safe and sound? Don’t worry—I’m fine going to town by myself. I just couldn’t help browsing a bit longer today,” Qianhua said reassuringly.
“Next time, you’re not allowed to stay out so long. You have to come back earlier, understand?” Liu-shi instructed.
“I understand. I’ll come back earlier next time,” Qianhua nodded obediently.
“Dad, Mom, look—I’ve basically bought all the ingredients and tools needed to make sugar-roasted chestnuts. The only thing missing is a custom iron stove, which won’t be ready until tomorrow morning.”
“Then can we make sugar-roasted chestnuts now?” Liu-shi asked.
“Yes. Making sugar-roasted chestnuts takes a lot of strength to keep stirring. I’m not strong enough to do it alone for long, so I’ll need both of you to come help me in the kitchen. You can also learn the method while you’re at it.”
“Alright!”
Qianhua went to the yard and gathered all the sand and gravel. She measured out ten jin of sand and put the rest into a sack, hiding it under her bed.
Meanwhile, Liu-shi helped collect the chestnuts, which had already dried completely in the sun.
Qianhua and Liu-shi each carried a basket—one with sand, the other with chestnuts—and headed to the kitchen.
Liang Lao’er followed behind them slowly, leaning on his cane, as the family made their way into the kitchen together.