Chapter 158 - 158 Chapter 158: Couldn't Be Eaten Or Worn

158 Chapter 158: Couldn’t Be Eaten Or Worn

Qin Xiaoyao’s mood improved immediately.

Seeing this, the shop assistant began to list out his prices.

“An hour ago, the shop owner sent a message. He said to increase the price of coarse flour and brown rice by 5%.”

“But since Madam Qin wants it, I can still make the decision and sell it to you at the price of three copper coins per catty.”

“But in terms of quantity, I’ll only give you 1000 catties at most. Also, if you come back tomorrow, I can only sell to you at the new price!”

“Only 1000 catties?” Qin Xiaoyao frowned.

The shop assistant revealed a pained expression. “That’s quite a lot, my dear aunt. Our shop owner said that the entire Hua An Prefecture is facing a food shortage.”

“Our boss is currently thinking of ways to transfer grain from other places.”

“Think about it. How much more would it cost to transport grain from other places, transport carriages, manpower, and material resources?”

The shop assistant leaned closer to Qin Xiaoyao and whispered, “That’s why the price of food will continue to rise!”

Qin Xiaoyao’s heart shuddered momentarily.

“Then I’ll take 500 catties of brown rice and coarse flour each.”

“By the way, what’s the price of soybeans? You haven’t told me yet,” Qin Xiaoyao asked again.

The shop assistant glanced at the soybeans in the enclosure.

“Make it three copper coins as well. If you buy 500 catties, I can make the decision and throw in 20 catties for free for you.”

Seeing that Qin Xiaoyao didn’t say anything, the shop assistant continued, “If it were other people, I wouldn’t even give a catty free.”

Only then did Qin Xiaoyao look at the shop assistant.

She tried to negotiate. “Buy 1000 catties, get 50 catties free.”

Although soybeans were not a staple food, they could be used to grow bean sprouts or to grind tofu.

In the winter, there were few fresh vegetables, and bean sprouts were the only green vegetable she could think of.

As long as Fortune Mansion didn’t close, she could still make some money by selling bean sprouts.

Based on her speculation, even if there was a famine in the areas surrounding Mountain Spring Town, it was unlikely that all the restaurants in the town would be closed.

After all, the rich families were well-off, and their ability to ride out the famine far exceeded that of the poor.

The saying ‘The red entrance stinks of wine and meat, but frozen skeletons lie on the streets’ existed for a reason.

A hint of hesitation flashed across the shop assistant’s face.

“Alright! I’ll do it on Madam Qin’s account!” After a while, he finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

Qin Xiaoyao was extremely satisfied.

Only then did Qin Xiaoyao open the money box in her hand.

When the shop assistant saw a box full of bundled copper coins, he brought Qin Xiaoyao to the counter.

Then, he directly used a scale to weigh her coins and skipped the counting altogether.

After accepting Qin Xiaoyao’s 4000 copper coins and two taels worth of silver coins, the shop assistant brought Qin Xiaoyao to the backyard to weigh the foodstuff.

There was a total of 2050 catties of foodstuff. After the shop assistant took out the foodstuff and weighed it, he helped Qin Xiaoyao put some of it on the handcart.

“Only you have the strength, Madam Qin. You only need to run three rounds to transport all these goods back!” The shop assistant dusted off his hands and looked at Qin Xiaoyao with admiration.

The customer in front of him was really strong.

He had rarely seen anyone who could compare to Madam Qin, even among the men.

“Hehe! Little Brother, you’re too kind.”

“Then I’ll take my leave first! I’ll come back later!” Qin Xiaoyao said as she lifted the handcart.

The shop assistant sent Qin Xiaoyao off.

Qin Xiaoyao pushed the handcart out of the grain store.

When she reached the street, it was much easier to move because the street was flat.

After that, she quickly brought the food back home.

Seeing that her daughter-in-law had bought food again, Madam Liu went up to her.

“Why did you buy food again? Didn’t you just buy 3000 catties?” Madam Liu’s heart ached a little.

Qin Xiaoyao simply smiled.

“We can never have too much food. Moreover, it isn’t just rice and flour here. There are soybeans too.”

“It’s getting harder and harder for Daniu and company to collect farm vegetables these days. I’m going to send out some bean sprouts to test the market. If Fortune Mansion wants it, our family will have another source of income.”

“In addition, bean sprouts can also grow in winter. There’s a lack of fresh vegetables in winter, so we won’t have to worry about not being able to sell them,” Qin Xiaoyao said.

The main thing was that her house didn’t lack water, and the courtyard was big enough to build a few sheds to grow bean sprouts.

“Bean sprouts?” Madam Liu was puzzled. She didn’t understand what Qin Xiaoyao was saying.

“Mm-hmm. It’s the shoots of soybeans. They’re fresh, tender, and delicious.”

“When I have grown the bean sprouts, you’ll understand after you have a taste,” Qin Xiaoyao said with a laugh.

In this era, or rather in Mountain Spring Town, she had indeed never seen anyone selling bean sprouts.

There were people selling tofu, though. Big Girl’s family was in the tofu business.

Moreover, if Aunt Li’s house didn’t have enough soybeans in the future, Qin Xiaoyao might be able to sell some to them.

“Oh, okay!” Madam Liu finally relented with a smile.

Her daughter-in-law had a lot of ideas. Although she had never seen bean sprouts before, she believed that they must be good stuff.

More importantly, wasn’t the century egg at home a good example?

Only her daughter-in-law could bear to take out the century eggs from time to time to add an extra dish to the household’s meals.

If Madam Liu had been in her shoes, she would never have sacrificed a single century egg.

Fortune Mansion charged two or three copper coins for each of those things. They were so precious! She couldn’t bear to eat even one.

Qin Xiaoyao smiled. She really liked the look of trust in her mother-in-law’s eyes.

Then, with the help of her mother-in-law, she pushed the handcart to the storage room.

After that, they unloaded the goods.

She then went back to her room to return the money box.

Following that, after hesitating for a moment, she took out another three silver coins.

Since she had decided to sell bean sprouts, 1000 catties of soybeans might be too little. While the price of soybeans had not risen, she would order another 1000 catties.

Thus, Qin Xiaoyao quickly took the silver coins and the handcart and went out again.

At the grain store.

When the shop assistant heard that Qin Xiaoyao wanted another 1000 catties of soybeans and asked for 50 catties free, he felt he was being put in a difficult position.

However, in the end, he still agreed.

As a result, the amount of goods Qin Xiaoyao had to haul back increased by another 1000 over catties.

She was busy until the sky turned dark.

Madam Liu’s heart ached when she saw this. The Song family also waited until Qin Xiaoyao came back. Then they helped her unload the goods and put them away before they had dinner together.

After the meal, everyone thought that Qin Xiaoyao must be tired, so no one brought up the matter of taking a stroll on the street.

After sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard for a while, Qin Xiaoyao took the initiative to come back and ask everyone to go out for a walk in the streets together.

After that, she went to fetch Song Que and brought him out of the courtyard.

Song Que was a little worried about Qin Xiaoyao initially, but he could see that she was still full of energy, as if nothing had happened.

After asking her and finding out that her strength-type special ability had helped her recover, he felt more relieved at last.

Thus, the couple’s sweet date began again.

After walking for a while, the two of them finally arrived in front of the jewelry stall that Song Que had seen yesterday.

Qin Xiaoyao didn’t take it seriously. Just like yesterday, she lifted her feet and strode forward, but she was pulled back by the man beside her.

“What’s wrong?” She turned around and looked at Song Que with a puzzled expression.

An awkward expression flashed across Song Que’s face.

“Let’s go over and take a look,” he said.

Qin Xiaoyao followed Song Que’s gaze and saw a stall selling jewelry.

“What’s so interesting about those things? We can’t eat them or wear them,” she responded.

The little fiery passion in Song Que’s heart was instantly extinguished by half.

“I want to go and take a look,” he continued.

Qin Xiaoyao glanced at Song Que and seemed to have thought of something. Finally, she nodded.

“Let’s go then,” she replied.

Then, she brought Song Que to that stall.