"How much are these?" Shen Xiaoyan asked. "These are seedlings, you can't weigh them by the pound."
Zheng Weixian, seeing the man's difficulty, stepped in. "How about four of each kind?"
"Ah, yes, yes, certainly." The man agreed, then squatted down and began to pick and choose.
For each type he selected, he would show Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan carefully before setting it aside.
Finally, after more than ten types of flowers were chosen, the man placed them into a carrying basket.
"How much is it in total?" Zheng Wei asked.
"Three taels of silver in total," the man replied with a broad smile, looking at Zheng Wei.
Three taels of silver! He'd been here all day, and might not even sell this much over the next two days. Today, he had truly met a major customer.
The man's heart pounded with excitement, which naturally showed on his face. His cheeks flushed red, and his eyes sparkled.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at the man like this and felt both amused and a little sad.
Everyone had their struggles. No matter how shrewd this man seemed, he was just trying to earn a bit of money.
"Here, this is for you," Shen Xiaoyan took out the money and handed it to the man.
The man snatched the money, bit it, then said to Shen Xiaoyan, "You look like a capable person. Hey, what about these? Do you want me to deliver them for you?"
"No need. Leave them here for now, we'll take them when we leave," Zheng Wei replied.
"All right, rest assured, I'll keep an eye on them for you," the man promised immediately.
Shen Xiaoyan and the other two left the man's stall and continued their browsing. They weren't worried about the man running off; unless he was willing to never set up his stall here again for a mere three taels of silver.
Looking at his shrewd demeanor, he wouldn't do anything so foolish.
Over the next while, Shen Xiaoyan found a few more flowers at other stalls that weren't at the first man's stall, and she bought them all.
Fortunately, she also managed to buy a few fig tree saplings.
Figs were both a fruit and a medicinal ingredient. They were delicious and very nutritious. Shen Xiaoyan had loved them in her previous life.
Although this fig tree was small, only about a meter tall, it was very easy to grow. If you cut off its branches and planted them in the ground, they would grow into new fig trees.
By the time they found two people to help them carry all the purchased flowers back to the inn, it was already noon.
After having lunch at the inn, they left again.
They were returning early tomorrow morning, so their time was limited. They could only seize the moment to explore.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei first accompanied Shen Xiaoming to a bookstore.
Upon entering the bookstore, Shen Xiaoyan marveled. It truly was worthy of being a county town; the bookstore was much larger than those in the villages. Every display shelf inside was filled with books.
Shen Xiaoming was immediately captivated upon entering. He went straight to a display shelf and picked up a book, starting to flip through it.
An apprentice, about fifteen or sixteen years old, approached them. He said to Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei, "Are you three here to buy books? What kind of books are you looking for? If you tell me, I can find them for you, which will be much more convenient."
"No rush, we'll look around first," Zheng Wei waved his hand.
The apprentice's demeanor was quite good. He didn't say anything further, quietly stepped aside, and went to attend to other customers.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei walked over to Shen Xiaoming's side and casually picked up a book from the shelves to flip through.
The book Shen Xiaoyan held was the Analects. After flipping through just two pages, she lost interest and put the book back on the shelf.
Looking at Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoming, Shen Xiaoyan noticed they were engrossed. She shrugged inwardly; it seemed she was the only one who wasn't keen on studying.
Shen Xiaoyan walked along the display shelves, looking at the covers of the books. She stopped to examine any whose titles piqued her interest, though she only read a page or two before putting them down.
When she reached the last display shelf, which mostly contained travelogues and storybooks, Shen Xiaoyan looked through them one by one. On the bottom shelf, she found books about cultivation.
She picked up a few books and skimmed through them. They covered crops, trees, and flowers. It was quite comprehensive.
Looking at the books in her hands, Shen Xiaoyan smiled inwardly. It was truly a case of "a pillow arriving just when one is sleepy."
Although Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoming wouldn't object or question her actions no matter what she did, she still wanted to find a reason for her behavior. These books were exactly what she needed at the moment. Now she could explain why she knew how to plant trees and flowers.
By the time Shen Xiaoyan walked to the front with her books, Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoming had also chosen theirs.
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at the counter. The books in front of Shen Xiaoyan were mostly ones she would use in her studies. As for the books in front of Zheng Wei, they were of all sorts of genres, quite a mixed selection, as if he had picked them randomly.
The three of them had chosen a total of fifteen books. Shen Xiaoyan had only three, which were also the cheapest three, costing a total of one tael of silver.
The remaining twelve books cost thirty taels of silver.
After paying, the three left the bookstore with their books. Shen Xiaoyan couldn't help but sigh in her heart; they were truly expensive. No wonder that even though schools were common, not many families sent their children to study. It was too expensive to afford. Being able to recognize some characters and not be illiterate was enough for them.
Shen Xiaoming looked at Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei, who appeared expressionless and lost in thought, and a complex emotion flashed in his eyes. He was young and knew nothing. He couldn't help his sister and brother-in-law. Now, he was going to school, which would only add to the expenses. He felt truly uneasy.
Gritting his teeth, Shen Xiaoming finally spoke, "Big sister, brother-in-law, I will definitely study hard. I absolutely will not let this money be wasted."
Shen Xiaoyan was a little surprised by Shen Xiaoming's words. When she turned and saw the complex expression on his face, she understood.
"Xiaoming, you are my little brother. I wish for you to study. So, don't feel any pressure, and don't feel guilty, understand?" Shen Xiaoyan comforted him gently.
"Xiaoming, don't overthink it. Studying is your responsibility. We'll worry about other things when you grow up," Zheng Wei said, unusually speaking up.
Shen Xiaoming nodded heavily. "I understand. I will study hard."
Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan exchanged a look and said no more. They both knew that Shen Xiaoming had never had the opportunity to study before, and now that he did, he would cherish it and work hard. There would certainly be pressure, so no matter what they said, it would be useless. However, this was also good. At least, it was beneficial for him. Learning more knowledge was always useful.
Their next destination was the seed shop. Although they weren't planting grain, they could see if there were any new vegetable seeds.
As it turned out, they went and looked around but didn't find any new vegetable seeds. Shen Xiaoyan searched her memory and realized there weren't really any vegetables she hadn't seen in this place.
They left the seed shop in the late afternoon. With no particular destination, the three of them just wandered aimlessly.
Along the way, Shen Xiaoyan bought some pretty hair accessories from a roadside stall. Although they were very cheap and she knew they were fake, she was still very happy.