"Young master, can you play the suona?" the shopkeeper asked with a smile.
Xiao Jinheng shook his head, "No, I plan to give a gift..."
"What kind of gift?" the shopkeeper asked again.
Giving gifts also depends on the occasion. For a child's birthday, a longevity lock is suitable. For an elder's birthday, longevity walnuts, longevity wine, and calligraphy and paintings are appropriate, with paintings often featuring the character '寿' or other auspicious symbols.
Xiao Xitian answered for him, "It's for a wedding banquet!~"
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper slapped his forehead. "Oh dear, bringing a suona to a wedding banquet might not be very suitable. Look, my shop has 'Hundred Years of Harmony' cups, 'Mandarin Ducks Playing in Water' pillows, and various fruit wines and sweet wines. Any of these would be better than a suona..."
As he spoke, the shopkeeper brought over two carved white-glazed porcelain cups, each engraved with a '喜' character, a vibrant red, and quite beautiful.
"Look, what do you think of these two cups? And they're not expensive, one hundred coins for two, and my shop even provides a nice gift box!~" the shopkeeper said with a smile.
Xiao Xitian, seeing this, secretly gave the shopkeeper a thumbs-up...
Truly a conscientious merchant!
Xiao Jinheng picked up the cups and looked at them, then asked Xiao Xitian, "Little village girl, what do you think of these cups?"
"They're very nice!~" Xiao Xitian smiled sweetly. "Second brother and Sister-in-law Shanshan will definitely like them!"
She had been contemplating what she could give. Since she had nothing suitable, she might as well take out the pair of rings from her space. Although they weren't diamond-encrusted, they were at least pure silver...
These were rings Xiao Xitian had bought online to wear for fun in her previous life, and now they would come in handy.
"Great!~" Xiao Jinheng nodded. "Shopkeeper, please wrap the cups!"
"Certainly, certainly!" The shopkeeper was very enthusiastic. He packed the cups into a gift box and handed them to Xiao Jinheng with both hands. "Young master, would you like to buy anything else? My shop's items are not expensive, feel free to pick whatever you like..."
Xiao Jinheng pulled Xiao Xitian along. "Did you see anything you like?"
Xiao Xitian didn't look at anything. Her eyes were fixed on the door outside, her expression one of great alarm.
She thought she had just seen Hu Xier.
"Little village girl?" Xiao Jinheng called out again.
Xiao Xitian snapped back to attention. "No need, let's go!~"
After paying the money, the two little buns walked out of the shop...
"You brat, this is the rent money for Big Brother's place, six taels of silver in total. Take it!" Xiao Xitian finally found an opportunity to return the money to him.
Xiao Jinheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled directly. "As I said, I'll pay for Jinhe's rent!~"
"No, one thing is one thing, take it if I give it to you!" Xiao Xitian stuffed the broken silver into Xiao Jinheng's hand.
Xiao Jinheng felt a bit dejected...
He was already so familiar with the little village girl, yet she still treated him with such formality.
Was six taels of silver that important to her?
After a moment of thought, Xiao Jinheng saw a shop assistant standing in front of the butcher shop, loudly hawking, "Beef! Newly slaughtered beef, very fresh! Buy a piece to try, beef, beef..."
Xiao Jinheng's eyes lit up. Beef was a good thing.
At least, there was an imperial decree that common people could not slaughter cattle indiscriminately; it was illegal.
Unless the old ox accidentally fell to its death, died of illness, or was killed in an accident, and then reported to the yamen and stamped, only then could its hide be removed and its meat eaten. It was a very troublesome process...
"Little village girl, do you want to eat beef stewed with radishes?" Xiao Jinheng asked.
Xiao Xitian blinked her big eyes, her head full of question marks.
What if she wanted to eat it?
"Let's go take a look over there!~" Xiao Jinheng directly pulled her to the butcher shop.
The ox head and hooves had already been bought. Currently, two customers were arguing heatedly over the ox tail...
No one was buying the beef legs or steaks because they were too expensive. The offal was also sold out.
The shop assistant looked down at the two little buns and smiled, asking, "Little girl, young master, this old ox has been plowing fields in the countryside, so the meat is very firm. Look at this lean meat, if you fry it, it will shred into threads, it's delicious. How about it, want to buy a couple of pieces to try?"
He saw that Xiao Jinheng was dressed expensively, and although he was young, his demeanor was striking, clearly indicating he was from a wealthy family...
As for those commoners dressed in rags, they would haggle for a long time over a piece of tripe, unwilling to part with even a copper coin.
"How much is this beef?" Xiao Jinheng asked.
Since the little village girl had given him six taels of silver, and she definitely wouldn't accept it if he tried to force it back, he might as well buy some beef...
"Two hundred coins a jin, no bargaining! This is already very cheap. If you don't believe me, go ask in the prefecture city or the capital, beef there costs three to four hundred coins a jin. The key is, my beef is fresh, its hide was just removed this morning!"
The shop assistant chattered on and on, spitting as he spoke...
Xiao Xitian tugged at Xiao Jinheng. "You brat, let's go!~"
If she really wanted beef, she could easily conjure up a cow from her space.
She was just afraid of being suspected by the villagers.
In those days, if a family had a cow, they were considered very well-off.
They would take meticulous care of it every day, using it for plowing fields, farming, pulling carts, and carrying things. Who would bear to slaughter it for meat...
When a young man in the countryside proposed to a woman, if his family had a cow, the girl would be willing to marry into the family.
Therefore, Xiao Xitian couldn't casually slaughter a cow either, for fear of gossip.
Xiao Jinheng weighed the broken silver in his hand and pointed at the two large steaks. "Weigh them, how many jin can they be!"
The shop assistant's eyes lit up...
Finally, a generous buyer had appeared this morning.
Although the weather had cooled down, it hadn't reached the point of freezing, so the beef couldn't be stored. It was best to sell it all on the same day.
"Okay, wait a moment!~" The shop assistant lifted the steaks and placed them on the scale, then continuously added weights.
Other customers looked over, wondering whose children these were, spending money so lavishly. They would surely be scolded when they got home...
After a flurry of activity, six taels of silver bought a large steak and a whole hindquarter of beef.
They were heavy, and the meat was firm.
The shop assistant had someone carry the meat to the carriage, collected the money, and then went to attend to other customers...
Xiao Xitian thought that the six taels of silver her mother had given her were meant to be returned to the brat, but he had ended up buying a large quantity of beef.
This time, for her second brother and Sister-in-law Shanshan's wedding, there would be enough meat at home.
Her fourth brother had also bought a sheep and a pig. Tomorrow, the family would slaughter a few chickens, and Big Brother had gone to Gou Gou Lake this morning to buy over ten large carp...
In the late autumn, the lake fish were particularly plump, each weighing seven or eight jin.
After the two little buns climbed onto the carriage, Xiao Ying cracked the whip, and the carriage slowly drove away.
However, before they had even left the county town, the carriage suddenly stopped...