"No, I was just closing the door," Zheng Wei shook his head, a warmth spreading through his heart. The young woman was starting to care about him.
Shen Xiaoyan scrutinized Zheng Wei from head to toe. Seeing that his hair and clothes were all dry, she relaxed.
"Let's go inside, it's getting a bit cold," Shen Xiaoyan said, hugging her arms. The rain made it feel even colder.
The three of them went straight into the main house. Shen Xiaoyan brewed a pot of jujube tea, brought out some homemade golden osmanthus cakes, and a few kinds of fruits and nuts before finally sitting on the heated brick bed.
After a sip of the hot tea, Shen Xiaoyan sighed comfortably.
Propping her chin on her hand, she gazed out at the increasingly heavy rain, feeling an immense sense of contentment.
"Why did you return so early?" Shen Xiaoyan suddenly remembered. It was only mid-morning, and they had only been gone for an hour. How could they be back already?
"Big Brother-in-law called us back. He said it was going to rain, so we headed down the mountain. We had barely reached the foot of the mountain when the weather changed," Shen Xiaoming said, looking at Zheng Wei with admiration in his eyes.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Zheng Wei in surprise after hearing this. "How did you know it was going to rain?"
There were no weather forecasts back then; everything was unpredictable.
"A feeling," Zheng Wei said after thinking for a long time, finally managing to utter the words.
Seeing the unconvinced look on the young woman's face, Zheng Wei felt annoyed. But he was telling the truth; it really was just a feeling.
After that, Shen Xiaoyan didn't dwell on the matter and changed the topic to other things.
"After this rain, the weather will get colder. It might even snow in about a month. I was thinking, once the weather clears up, we should chop more firewood and go to town to order winter cotton clothes," Shen Xiaoyan said, looking at the two of them.
When she said it would snow in a month, she wasn't just guessing. She knew from the memories of the original owner that winter here came very early and lasted for a long time.
In winter, it would snow repeatedly, so they had to prepare everything in advance. In previous years, the original owner and Shen Xiaoming had suffered a lot from the cold.
"Yes, that's necessary," Zheng Wei nodded. He thought the same thing.
Moreover, looking at the way the rain was coming down today, he guessed that winter would arrive even earlier this year and would be colder, so it was better to prepare early.
The three of them discussed the items they needed to buy.
As for firewood, they were adjacent to Baiyun Peak, and there was more than enough firewood in the mountains to collect.
The rain started and didn't seem to stop, only gradually lessening by the evening of the next day.
Because of the rain, they couldn't go out for two days, so the three of them shelled all the chestnuts.
On the third day, the rain finally stopped.
After breakfast, Zheng Wei drove the cart, with Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming sitting in the back. Luoluo was left at home to look after the house.
Luoluo was quite resentful about this, but she couldn't fight against those stronger than her and had no choice but to stay at home honestly.
A bag of chestnuts was also placed in the cart. They would take it to the dried goods shop later for the owner to inspect.
They didn't bring anything else. If anyone wanted them, they could send a cart to pick them up.
They arrived in town, and their first stop was the clothing shop.
Shen Xiaoyan exchanged a few pleasantries with the shopkeeper and then placed an order for the clothes they needed. Thinking this year would be colder, Shen Xiaoyan asked them to make leather trench coats, fur boots, and hats.
Naturally, these items were all available, and the styles were standard, so Shen Xiaoyan didn't need to design them herself.
After leaving the clothing shop, Zheng Wei drove the cart to the grain store.
Although Madam Pan had sent them some new grain, it wasn't much. The bag of flour they had would only last the three of them for about half a month at most.
At the entrance of the grain store, Shen Xiaoyan didn't go in, but stayed in the cart with Shen Xiaoming to watch the cart while Zheng Wei went inside.
It didn't take long for Zheng Wei to come out and tell Shen Xiaoyan that everything had been arranged and the grain would be delivered to their home that afternoon.
With the clothing and food sorted out, the remaining items were more miscellaneous.
Their next stop was the dried goods shop. Shen Xiaoyan still didn't get out of the cart. Zheng Wei took the bag of chestnuts and walked into the shop.
Before long, Zheng Wei returned. Seeing him walk back to the cart, Shen Xiaoyan quickly asked, "How was it?"
Zheng Wei smiled gently. "The boss wants it. I told him to send someone to pick it up this afternoon."
Shen Xiaoyan nodded in relief and then asked, "What about the price?"
"We'll see when they come this afternoon and inspect the goods," Zheng Wei explained.
Shen Xiaoyan understood. It was indeed difficult to set a price without seeing the actual product.
Since two groups of people were coming to their house in the afternoon, Shen Xiaoyan and the others didn't waste any more time. They hurried to the general store and bought various seasonings they needed, as well as kerosene, candles, and other small items.
After shopping, Zheng Wei drove the cart back home. They arrived home a little past noon.
Shen Xiaoyan quickly prepared lunch. As the three of them were eating, they heard the sound of a bell.
Zheng Wei strode to the front. Shen Xiaoyan didn't go with him; instead, she went directly to the side courtyard.
Sure enough, after a short while, she saw Zheng Wei leading two large carts into the courtyard.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at the carts and saw they were filled with bags. It looked like the grain they had ordered had arrived.
Zheng Wei directed the workers to unload the grain from the carts and store it in the storage room next to the kitchen.
After the grain was unloaded, Shen Xiaoyan went forward to pay the remaining balance. Then, Zheng Wei escorted them out of the side courtyard and through the main gate.
Just as the grain delivery men were leaving, they saw three empty carts approaching. Zheng Wei immediately knew they were here to pick up the chestnuts.
When the three carts arrived, a man around forty years old got out of the first one. Zheng Wei recognized him as the accountant from the dried goods shop, whom he had met that morning.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they led the group into the yard, leaving the carts in the side courtyard, and then took the accountant and a few helpers to the main courtyard.
As the group entered the main courtyard, they saw Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming sitting on the veranda.
Zheng Wei introduced the identities of the newcomers, and then they all went to the west wing room together.
Upon entering the west wing room, the accountant saw several burlap bags, which he assumed contained the chestnuts.
"Sir, please take a look. Everything is here," Shen Xiaoyan said with a smile, stepping forward.
The accountant walked forward and examined each bag, carefully inspecting the contents before finally relaxing.
He let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan. "The goods are excellent, no complaints. Now, let's discuss the price."
Shen Xiaoyan smiled. "You name the price. We don't know much about this."
The accountant lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Then, he looked up and said to Shen Xiaoyan, "This is all top-quality stuff. How about this: I'll give you four li per jin, what do you say?"
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei exchanged a glance. They were both satisfied with the price.
Zheng Wei then nodded decisively, "Let's weigh it."