After arriving in the county, everyone got off the donkey cart.
Feng Daquan informed them that they must return to the village before sunset at the latest, otherwise the cart would not wait for them.
Gu Jiu carried her younger brother on her back, holding one sister in each hand. The streets were bustling with noise and activity, filled with vendors and people coming out to shop.
They wandered around for a while and found a grain shop.
Gu Jiu entered and checked the prices of various grains.
Coarse rice and flour were at least five copper coins per jin, while fine white rice and flour started at ten copper coins per jin. There were also differences between old and new rice; fresh white rice cost fifteen copper coins per jin.
Based on the original owner’s memory, she vaguely recalled that just last month, Old Madam Gu had complained that coarse flour was three copper coins per jin. Even if fine flour was more expensive, it definitely hadn’t reached ten coins per jin.
Inside the shop, an old woman was arguing with the shopkeeper.
“Ma’am, I’m not trying to scam you! These past two years, there’s been drought everywhere, and the court has been fighting wars for several years. Grain is in short supply everywhere, so prices naturally have to rise!”
The old woman lamented loudly, “Heavens! Grain is almost more expensive than meat now. If prices keep rising, who can afford to eat?”
After complaining a few more times, she had no choice but to buy a few jin of grain and leave.
In the county, most grain shops on the streets had the same prices. There was no such thing as one shop being much cheaper or more expensive than another; the shopkeepers had tacitly agreed on unified pricing.
Coarse rice and flour made porridge or steamed buns, but they always felt rough and harsh going down. Gu Jiu thought of her younger siblings’ weak stomachs and decided they should slowly be nourished with fine white rice and flour instead.
She only had one tael of silver. Even if she bought only fine rice and flour, she could at most get about one hundred jin.
Gu Jiu didn’t intend to spend all of it on grain, as she had other uses for the remaining money.
She asked for ten jin of white flour and ten jin of new white rice, spending 250 copper coins.
Gu Jiu took her younger brother out, placed the purchased grain into the basket, covered it with old clothes, and continued walking with her younger brother in her arms.
With one arm holding her brother, she could only hold Gu Xiaoman’s hand with the other.
Gu Rong, having nothing in her hands, offered to help.
“Elder sister, let me carry little brother. You’re already carrying such a heavy load of grain—it’s hard to walk.”
“Rong’er, there may be kidnappers in the streets. I’m strong, and no one can snatch him from me. You don’t have that strength,” Gu Jiu explained, her eyes already scanning shops selling cloth.
Her younger brother was still wearing clothes that had been handed down from older children in the main household—poorly fitted and worn. She wanted to buy fabric to make new clothes for all of them.
Unfortunately, the original owner didn’t know how to sew, and neither did Gu Jiu. Their mother had died early, and her good embroidery skills hadn’t been passed down to the sisters.
She would have to buy cloth first and figure out tailoring later.
When they entered a clothing shop, many finished garments were hanging inside. The colors and fabrics were nice, and Gu Rong and Gu Xiaoman were immediately dazzled, praising everything as beautiful.
But the shopkeeper, a woman in her thirties, saw their ragged clothes and immediately shouted at them to leave.
“Where did these little beggars come from? This isn’t a place for beggars! Get out if you can’t afford anything!”
Gu Rong and Gu Xiaoman had never experienced anything like this before and fled the shop in fear.
Gu Jiu’s gaze turned cold as she looked at the woman.
“A shop run by someone so snobbish—we don’t want to buy anything either!”
She then led her siblings to another fabric shop across the street.
The female shopkeeper continued cursing after they left.
Gu Rong, still shaken, looked at the next shop and hesitated.
“Elder sister, I don’t need new clothes. As long as we have food and don’t go hungry, I’m satisfied…”
“You don’t want clothes, or are you afraid this shopkeeper will also look down on you?” Gu Jiu asked sharply, hitting the point directly.
“Rong’er, Xiaoman, Changle—listen to me. Even if we’re poor right now, we can’t lose our dignity. Other people may look down on us, but we must never look down on ourselves.”
The two younger sisters were still too young to fully understand, and Gu Changle was even more confused.
“Good words! Such insight from such a young girl—she will surely achieve great things in the future!”
A middle-aged man with a kind face and a round face stepped out from the shop. He stroked his beard and smiled in praise.
“I’m the owner here. My surname is Hu. Are you here to buy cloth or ready-made clothes? Come in and take a look.”
Gu Jiu encouraged her sisters with a glance. After a moment of hesitation, the two little girls followed her inside.
The female shopkeeper across the street watched the scene and sneered.
Gu Jiu first looked around the shop. The ready-made clothes were simple but neat.
Shopkeeper Hu said kindly, “Girl, you can call me Hu. Do you want ready-made clothes or fabric? I can recommend something.”
Gu Jiu pointed to a set of clothes her sister had been looking at.
“How much is this outfit?”
“One hundred and twenty copper coins. But honestly, the fabric isn’t great. For the same price, you could buy a bolt of cloth, or even just a few zhang of fabric for thirty coins, which could make about three similar outfits.”
Gu Jiu understood that he was trying to help her avoid wasting money.
She calculated silently. She still had 750 copper coins left and needed to buy shoes, blankets, bowls, and other necessities.
Money was tight—there wasn’t enough to spend freely.
In the end, she bought two bolts of cloth for 240 copper coins.
That should be enough for four people to make two sets of clothes each. Shopkeeper Hu even gave her some fabric scraps that could be used for making cloth shoes, saving her more money.
Just as they were about to leave to buy blankets, Gu Xiaoman suddenly said she had stomach pain and needed to use the toilet.
Shopkeeper Hu said there was a latrine in the back courtyard. Gu Rong decided to take her.
“Elder sister, you go ahead and buy the blankets. I’ll watch over her.”
Gu Changle also needed to go, so Gu Rong took both children with her.
Gu Jiu was secretly pleased—she had been worried about how to take items out of her space.
She slipped into an empty alley, took two cotton quilts from her storage, placed them into a sack, and quickly bought bowls and chopsticks.
She still had 500 copper coins left and decided not to spend them.
As she walked back toward the fabric shop, she saw a crowd gathered around a notice board.
Curious, she went over and heard the discussions.
“It’s over! The barbarians are going to reach our area soon! The previous magistrate got promoted and left last month, and the new one won’t arrive until next month. What are we supposed to do?”
“Heavens! Please look at us poor common folk! We’ve only had a couple of peaceful years, and now war is coming again!”
Everyone was lamenting. With war approaching and no official in charge, the county was likely to fall into chaos.
Gu Jiu’s alarm bells rang loudly in her mind. She immediately rushed back toward her siblings.
If chaos broke out in the city, bandits and criminals would appear within days. She didn’t even know if the villagers were aware yet—she had to get back quickly!