At the marketplace, an old man with a face full of sorrow stood by the roadside leading a cow. The cow looked sturdy enough, though somewhat listless.
As Li Xiaoxiao passed by, she gave it an extra glance.
The cow was clearly pregnant.
“Old brother, how much are you selling this cow for?”
Hearing someone ask, the old man—who had been hanging his head low—immediately brightened a little. He hurriedly stood up, bent at the waist, and forced out a smile.
“Sister, if you want to buy it… how about ten taels?”
Li Xiaoxiao calculated silently.
On the market, a full-grown bull usually sold for ten to fourteen taels depending on size and build. Cows went for nine to twelve taels, while calves sold for five to seven taels.
The old man wasn’t overcharging her.
“How about eight taels?”
“Sister, this cow’s only been raised for three years. It’s still young! Just look at the teeth, the build—it’s a real hard worker!”
Seeing her haggle, the old man became anxious and quickly started promoting the cow.
“But your cow’s pregnant. About four months along, right?”
“If I buy it now, it won’t even be useful for spring plowing this year. I’d have to wait another four or five months for it to calve before it can do heavy work again.”
Li Xiaoxiao smiled as she spoke.
She had developed a habit of bargaining since childhood.
No matter what she bought, if she didn’t haggle a little, it always felt like something was missing.
“Sister! But once it calves, raise the calf for another two years and you’ll have another strong labor animal!”
The old man sounded desperate.
His face was full of anxiety and helplessness.
Internally, he cursed his useless son.
If he could sell this cow sooner, he could pay off the gambling debts.
Otherwise, how could he possibly bear to sell it?
But he’d been squatting here for days already.
Everyone disliked the fact that it couldn’t work during spring plowing this year, so nobody wanted to buy it.
And now, after finally meeting an interested customer—
she turned out to be an expert bargainer.
“You said it yourself. I’d still have to feed it for another two years before the calf could work. Wouldn’t that mean raising it for nothing all that time?”
Li Xiaoxiao could see the old man’s reluctance clearly, but she still pretended to hesitate before lowering her voice deliberately.
“How about this, old brother? We each take a step back. Nine taels. Any higher and I really won’t buy it.”
“…Ai. Fine then. Nine taels.”
The old man sighed heavily and patted the cow’s head with obvious heartache.
“Don’t worry. It’ll definitely be well cared for!”
“Come on then, let’s go to the market official and draw up the sale contract.”
In this era, there were officials specifically responsible for overseeing the markets.
Large livestock transactions—especially cows and horses—required formal contracts registered with the market clerk.
Only after registration could ownership officially transfer to the buyer’s name.
Of course, buyers also had to pay a two-hundred-wen registration fee.
Basically equivalent to modern handling fees.
Li Xiaoxiao and the old man went together to the marketplace entrance where the market clerk sat.
After explaining their purpose, the old man handed over the ownership deed.
The clerk quickly rewrote a fresh contract.
Since the old man was illiterate and Li Xiaoxiao couldn’t write traditional characters properly, the clerk had to draft everything himself.
The two pressed their fingerprints onto the document, completing the transaction.
Next, Li Xiaoxiao pulled out nine taels of silver from her sleeve and handed it to the clerk to weigh and verify.
After confirming the silver was genuine, the clerk passed it to the old man.
Li Xiaoxiao then paid another two hundred wen as registration fees.
The clerk stamped the contract with a bright red seal.
From this moment onward—
the cow officially belonged to Li Xiaoxiao.
“Madam Li, keep this contract safe. Don’t lose it.”
“If you ever want to sell the cow later, or if the cow dies of illness or old age, you’ll need this document.”
“And when this cow’s calf reaches six months old, you’ll also need to register it here.”
Li Xiaoxiao hadn’t expected the market official to be so reasonable.
Unlike the corrupt and overbearing officials shown in television dramas, this one actually had decent service attitude.
Though the fee really was expensive.
After handing over the cow, the old man wiped his tears and walked away without looking back even once.
He didn’t dare.
Human joys and sorrows were never truly shared.
Meanwhile, Li Xiaoxiao was in excellent spirits as she led the cow through the market.
She spent twenty wen buying two carrying baskets and tied them across the cow’s back.
Now she wouldn’t have to carry everything herself.
As she wandered further, she spotted a seed vendor and stopped.
The stall owner was an elderly woman.
Seeing Li Xiaoxiao pause, she immediately greeted her enthusiastically.
“Sister, what would you like?”
“My stall has the most complete variety of seeds in the whole market! My husband collected them from all over.”
Li Xiaoxiao looked over the colorful assortment and smiled.
“You really do have everything here, elder sister.”
“I’ll take a little of everything. Just enough to plant about three fen of land for each kind.”
“Oh? Those are watermelon seeds, right? Give me some of those too.”
The old woman worked quickly.
Before long, she had wrapped all the seeds neatly in yellow paper packets and handed them over.
“Sister, all together it comes to sixty-four wen. I’ll just charge you sixty.”
Li Xiaoxiao nodded and took out a small coin pouch from her waist.
After counting out sixty copper coins, she handed them over.
The old woman accepted them cheerfully.
“If you need anything else later, come find me again!”
Li Xiaoxiao thanked her and continued onward.
Thinking about the fields and house inside her space, she realized there were still many things she needed.
She next stopped at a farming tools stall.
Good heavens—
there were several kinds of hoes alone.
Wide ones, flat ones, large ones, small ones.
There were also rakes and every other kind of farm tool imaginable.
The only issue was—
they were expensive.
Still, Li Xiaoxiao firmly believed in the saying:
“To do a good job, one must first sharpen one’s tools.”
No matter how frugal she tried to be, this was money she couldn’t save.
So she bought one of everything.
The total cost—
a full seven taels of silver.
Nearly the price of another cow.
Then she considered the possibility of secretly cooking little meals inside her space someday.
Naturally, kitchen supplies became necessary too.
The wok was already provided, so she didn’t need another.
But knives were essential.
She bought two chopping boards so raw and cooked foods could stay separate.
Steamers, spatulas, bowls, soup basins, plates, chopsticks…
She bought them all.
She even specially purchased a small soup stove and a clay pot.
Now she had seeds.
Kitchen supplies.
The only thing missing was bedding—and some fruit trees would make everything perfect.
So Li Xiaoxiao went to buy saplings first.
There weren’t many varieties available, only common types:
Jujube, apple, persimmon, pear, peach, plum, mandarin orange, and pomelo.
She bought two of each.
By now, she’d almost finished touring the market.
Leading the cow out onto the main street, she wandered several hundred meters before finally finding a fabric shop.
There were no ready-made quilt covers here.
People bought fabric and sewed them at home themselves.
Fortunately, ready-made cotton bedding was available.
Resigned, Li Xiaoxiao bought quilts and fabric.
Seeing how much she purchased, the owner generously included some needles, thread, and fabric scraps for free.
Passing a general store afterward, she bought rice, flour, oil, and all sorts of seasonings.
Once her shopping was finally complete, Li Xiaoxiao headed back.
Finding a secluded corner with nobody around, she pulled the cow together with her—
and entered the space.
Inside, the rice and corn she had planted earlier had already begun sprouting.
Tender green shoots poked up from the soil, filling her with joy.
But at the same time, another problem arose.
She worried the cow might wander into the fields and eat the seedlings.
So she led it into the backyard and tied it beneath the peach tree.
That way it could move around freely without destroying the crops.
After settling the cow, Li Xiaoxiao grabbed a hoe and planted the fruit saplings one by one around the edges of the fields.
Carefully digging holes, placing each sapling inside, then covering the roots with soil.
Looking at the newly planted trees filled her with a strong sense of accomplishment.
Next, she carried bucket after bucket of water from the well to water every sapling thoroughly.
The moisture soaked into the earth and nourished the roots.
Hopefully, they would all grow strong and healthy.
After finishing the planting work, Li Xiaoxiao returned to the front courtyard and carefully sorted all the things she had bought, placing everything where it belonged.
Only after organizing everything properly did she finally feel satisfied.
Then suddenly—
she realized something important was still missing.
Meat.
How could that do?
If she worked hard inside the space and got tired, wouldn’t it be wonderful to enjoy a delicious meal afterward?
Thinking this, Li Xiaoxiao led the cow out of the space again and went to a nearby butcher shop.
Without hesitation, she bought half a pig.
She asked the butcher to cut it into manageable pieces and place them into the baskets on the cow’s back.
Then, after finding another deserted spot, she stored both the baskets and the pork inside the storage ring.
That way, whenever she wanted to cook inside the space, she’d have ingredients ready at any moment.
Li Xiaoxiao sighed emotionally.
Heaven really hadn’t treated her too badly.
Sure, she had aged ten years overnight—
but gaining this magical space more than made up for it.
With light footsteps and excellent mood, Li Xiaoxiao led the cow toward the place they had agreed to meet.