After walking for about fifteen minutes, they arrived at the western side of the city.
The moment they entered West City, Lu Qianqian could clearly feel how lively it was.
Compared to the southern and eastern districts, the flow of people here was many times greater. It made sense — most of the shops were concentrated in West City, so anyone wanting to buy things had to come here.
“Second Brother, let’s go to the rice shop first.”
The moment Lu Qianqian thought about the coarse rice porridge she had been eating these past few days, her throat seemed to ache. And whenever she ate things like steamed eggs while the little children got none, she also felt somewhat guilty.
Eating secretly by herself wasn’t something she wanted to continue doing.
Since they were family, then they should enjoy good things together.
Of course, Lu Qianqian wasn’t some saint. Only those who truly treated her well would be considered family in her eyes. As for anyone harboring ulterior motives, there was no need to be kind to them.
Lu Zhengjun was a taciturn country man. Whatever his little sister suggested, he simply followed.
Very quickly, the ox cart stopped in front of a rice shop.
“Little Sister, go in and take a look yourself. I’ll stay outside and watch the ox cart.”
The cart had been borrowed from the village chief’s family. If anything happened to it, the Lu family would have difficulty explaining themselves. So Lu Zhengjun voluntarily stayed behind.
Lu Qianqian nodded and didn’t insist he accompany her.
As soon as she entered, a shop assistant greeted her.
“Miss, what would you like to buy?”
Lu Qianqian was rather thankful that within the Lu family, she was considered one of the better-dressed ones. Although her clothes weren’t brand new, they weren’t patched and worn either.
At least this prevented others from looking down on her.
It wasn’t that she found poverty shameful, but appearances still mattered. Sometimes one had to maintain a certain image.
“I’d like to buy some rice. What kinds do you have?”
She glanced around the shop. Many large rice bins were filled with different varieties, but honestly, she couldn’t recognize most of them.
“Coarse rice is one wen per jin. Millet is three wen per jin. Aged rice is two wen for three jin. Fresh rice is eight wen per jin.”
The assistant patiently introduced each type.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Qianqian decided on fresh rice.
From now on, she would receive at least twenty taels of silver every month. Why continue making herself suffer?
“Give me two hundred jin of fresh rice first.”
After calculating the family size, she estimated two hundred jin would feed everyone for roughly a month. If it wasn’t enough, she could always buy more later.
The assistant’s eyes immediately brightened.
He had originally assumed she would buy cheap aged rice or coarse rice. He never expected her to purchase fresh rice — and two hundred jin at that.
“Certainly! I’ll have someone bring it out immediately. Would you like us to deliver it to your home?”
Hearing there was delivery service, Lu Qianqian became interested.
“For this batch, just load it onto the ox cart outside. But if we use delivery in the future, do you deliver to Xinghua Village?”
“Xinghua Village?”
The assistant froze.
Where exactly was that?
Judging from her words, it sounded like it might even be outside the city.
Seeing his expression, Lu Qianqian immediately guessed he had never heard of the tiny village.
“Never mind. We’ll talk about it another time.”
The assistant hurriedly apologized.
“I’m very sorry, Miss. If you truly need delivery in the future, I can discuss it with the shopkeeper and see whether arrangements can be made.”
“The total for two hundred jin of fresh rice comes to one thousand six hundred wen.”
Lu Qianqian paid very straightforwardly.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhengjun had been sitting on the ox cart waiting for his sister to emerge. He hadn’t waited long before he saw assistants carrying two large rice sacks out of the shop and placing them onto the cart.
“What’s this?”
He looked completely confused.
Surely this couldn’t all belong to his little sister?
“It’s the rice I bought,” Lu Qianqian explained as she walked out.
Hearing that, Lu Zhengjun merely nodded.
Since she had gone into a rice shop, naturally she would buy rice.
What he didn’t know was that she had bought fresh rice. Had he known, he definitely wouldn’t have remained this calm.
“Little Sister, are we heading home now?” Lu Zhengjun asked.
“We still need to buy some seasonings and meat. Everyone’s been busy with farm work lately and hasn’t eaten anything good. Let’s buy some meat so everyone can replenish their strength.”
Lu Qianqian’s words caused Lu Zhengjun to stare at her in surprise.
He never expected her to say something like that.
In the past, if she had gotten this much money, she would’ve immediately bought clothes and hair accessories for herself. She never would’ve thought about the family.
Though he thought this inwardly, he didn’t say it aloud.
If Little Sister wanted to go, then they would go.
The two hundred jin of rice only occupied two large sacks, so they fit onto the ox cart easily enough.
Lu Zhengjun helped Lu Qianqian climb onto the cart, then drove toward the butcher shop and general store.
On the way, Lu Qianqian spotted a particularly unusual building.
Its style looked strangely similar to old Indian architecture.
“Second Brother, what’s that place?”
She pointed curiously toward the peculiar establishment.
“Oh, that’s a shop opened by people from Yue Country.”
“Yue Country?”
Lu Qianqian became even more curious.
The original owner’s memories included the existence of Yue Country, but contained almost no detailed information about it.
“Second Brother, stop over there. I want to take a look.”
“Alright.”
Lu Zhengjun immediately steered the ox cart toward the building.
As they arrived at the entrance, many noblewomen entering and leaving the establishment frowned slightly upon seeing the ox cart approach.
Some openly displayed disdain on their faces.
“What kind of people are these? They actually think they can enter Moon Tower?”
A shrill female voice suddenly sounded nearby.
Lu Qianqian stepped down from the cart and turned slightly toward the speaker.
The voice belonged to a girl around fifteen or sixteen years old. She wore a pale blue gauze dress and pearl accessories in her hair. Yet despite the luxurious decorations, nothing could hide the sharp, mean expression on her face.
In contrast, the young woman beside her carried herself with remarkable elegance.
Dressed in a simple white gown with a pale purple hairpin, she gave off an air of quiet grace and detachment at first glance.
Lu Qianqian instantly thought of the phrase “ice beauty.”
Flowers associated with cold beauty would suit this woman perfectly.
After one brief glance, Lu Qianqian withdrew her gaze.
She had no interest in wasting energy on a sharp-tongued stranger.
“Second Brother, wait for me over there for a bit. I’ll come out soon.”
She truly wanted to see what kind of place this Moon Tower was, considering how many noblewomen came and went from it.
Lu Zhengjun’s face reddened slightly after hearing those women’s remarks, clearly feeling embarrassed.
“Alright, Little Sister. Go ahead.”
After speaking, he drove the ox cart toward the designated parking area for carts and horses — a space specifically provided for Moon Tower’s customers.