Earlier, Xu Cuihua had clearly seen Gu Xiaoxiao carrying a cloth bundle when she entered the pharmacy.
But when she came out, the bundle was gone.
That could only mean one thing—
She had given it to Physician Chen.
And judging from how pleased both of them looked afterward, it must have been something valuable!
But why would Gu Xiaoxiao give Physician Chen anything?
The two of them had never had any connection before…
Meanwhile, Gu Xiaoxiao walked out of the pharmacy in an excellent mood.
After carefully storing away the two hundred taels of silver, she began thinking about what to buy before returning home.
After walking for a while, she noticed that Gu Yong was still trailing behind her in a daze.
His eyes were vacant, as if his soul hadn’t caught up with his body yet.
Puzzled, she grabbed his arm.
“Dad, what’s wrong?”
Only then did Gu Yong snap out of it.
“Xiaoxiao…”
“Did we really just sell that thing for two hundred taels?”
He still couldn’t believe it.
Two hundred taels!
It felt like a dream.
Gu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help thinking that her father’s reaction time was a little slow.
“Of course we did.”
“But don’t go talking about it out on the street.”
“If people hear we have that much money, we’ll attract trouble.”
Gu Yong nodded immediately.
He understood that much.
It was still too early to head home.
The village ox cart wouldn’t be leaving yet.
So Gu Xiaoxiao decided to visit the grain store.
“Dad, let’s go to the grain shop.”
Naturally, Gu Yong followed her lead.
The grain shop was only around the corner.
As soon as they entered, a shop assistant greeted them enthusiastically.
“Welcome, customers! What would you like today?”
“Do you sell rice and flour?”
“Of course!”
The assistant immediately brightened.
“We have all kinds of rice. What quality are you looking for?”
Gu Xiaoxiao looked over the various sacks before making her decision.
“Ten jin of white rice.”
“Ten jin of brown rice.”
“Ten jin of flour.”
“And five jin of white sugar.”
The assistant’s eyes practically sparkled.
A big customer!
His smile widened until wrinkles appeared all over his face.
“Certainly! I’ll pack everything right away.”
Before long, all the goods had been bundled up.
“Here you are.”
“The total is three hundred and seventy copper coins.”
Gu Xiaoxiao was slightly surprised.
She hadn’t expected the bill to exceed three hundred coins so quickly.
Still, she paid without hesitation.
As the assistant counted out her change, he asked:
“Would you like to carry everything yourselves?”
“Or would you prefer delivery?”
Gu Xiaoxiao blinked.
“You offer delivery?”
The assistant puffed out his chest proudly.
“Of course.”
“For purchases over two hundred coins, our shop provides wagon delivery.”
That sounded amazing.
No carrying heavy bags by hand.
“Great!”
“Can we ride along too?”
“Certainly.”
The assistant nodded immediately.
Without hesitation, Gu Xiaoxiao chose to take the grain store’s horse-drawn wagon home.
However, she still had a few more things to buy.
“Please wait a little while. I’ll come back soon.”
Leaving the grain store, she searched the streets.
Eventually, she found a candied hawthorn vendor tucked away in an alley.
“Uncle, I’d like six candied hawthorn sticks.”
“Certainly. One copper coin each. Six coins total.”
After paying, she carried the hawthorn sticks to a nearby bun shop.
“Hello.”
“I’d like ten meat buns.”
The shopkeeper quickly packed them up.
“Forty copper coins.”
Without bargaining, Gu Xiaoxiao paid.
Looking at the size of the buns, she felt she might have overbought.
Each bun was enormous.
One could easily count as two meals.
At only two coins apiece, they were quite a bargain.
She stuffed the bundle into Gu Yong’s arms and immediately grabbed one for herself.
“Dad, eat.”
“We haven’t even had breakfast today.”
“We must be starving by now.”
Gu Yong truly was hungry.
He carefully unwrapped a bun and took a bite.
The rich aroma of meat instantly filled his mouth.
It was delicious.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d eaten a meat bun.
Their next stop was the blacksmith’s shop.
Inside, the rhythmic sounds of hammering rang through the air.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A blacksmith noticed them and walked over.
“Need something made?”
Gu Xiaoxiao glanced around.
She didn’t see what she was looking for.
“Uncle, do you happen to have any ready-made bows?”
The blacksmith thought for a moment.
“As a matter of fact, we do.”
“One customer ordered one but suddenly changed his mind.”
“We’ve been trying to find a buyer ever since.”
“If you want it, I’ll sell it for one tael.”
Gu Xiaoxiao frowned slightly.
She hadn’t expected a bow to be so expensive.
Seeing her expression, the blacksmith immediately became nervous.
Bows were difficult to sell in this area.
Grinding his teeth, he lowered the price.
“Nine hundred coins.”
“That’s the lowest I’ll go.”
“Any lower and we won’t make any money.”
Gu Xiaoxiao looked at him blankly.
She hadn’t even started bargaining yet.
Why was he lowering the price himself?
Still…
Saving one hundred coins was saving one hundred coins.
“Alright.”
“Nine hundred coins it is.”
“Deal!”
The blacksmith quickly retrieved the bow.
To sweeten the sale, he even included several iron-tipped arrows.
The craftsmanship was excellent.
At nine hundred coins, it was practically a steal.
After paying, Gu Xiaoxiao happily left.
Returning to the grain store, she found everything already loaded onto the wagon.
“Ah, Miss, you’re back.”
“Ready to leave?”
“Yes!”
The assistant helped them aboard.
All they had to do was sit comfortably.
Meanwhile, Gu Yong had only eaten one meat bun.
He refused to touch the others.
He wanted to bring them home and share them with the family.
The grain store’s wagon soon rolled out of town.
Meanwhile, the village ox cart was still waiting for passengers.
On the ox cart, Xu Cuihua kept glancing toward the town gates.
She had been waiting for Gu Xiaoxiao to appear.
Yet no matter how long she watched, there was no sign of her.
Even after the final passenger climbed aboard, Gu Xiaoxiao was nowhere to be seen.
Eventually, Uncle Sun cracked his whip.
“Sit tight!”
“We’re leaving!”
The ox cart slowly started moving.
Xu Cuihua continued staring back toward town.
Still nothing.
What exactly was Gu Xiaoxiao doing?
Why had she stayed so long?
Had she already left earlier?
No.
That couldn’t be right.
If she had returned before them, Xu Cuihua would have heard about it.
At that very moment, however, Gu Xiaoxiao had already arrived at the entrance to Qingmu Village.
The horse-drawn wagon traveled much faster than an ox cart.
And it was far more comfortable.
After experiencing the ride, Gu Xiaoxiao made a silent decision.
One day, I’ll buy a carriage of my own.
The appearance of a horse-drawn wagon at the village entrance immediately attracted attention.
Villagers began whispering among themselves.
“Whose carriage is that?”
“Who could have hired such an expensive wagon?”
“Could it be someone visiting from town?”
As everyone watched curiously, the wagon continued forward.
Then, to their complete shock—
it stopped directly in front of the Gu family’s house.
The villagers instantly craned their necks, eager to see what was happening.