Chapter 45: Shopping

Chapter 45: Shopping

Fortunately, He Zhiran had fully inherited the original owner's memories, allowing her to recognize these complex Chinese characters on the signboards.

Stopping in front of a butcher's shop, after inquiring about the prices, He Zhiran was pleasantly surprised to find that the ribs here were actually cheaper than the regular meat.

Pork was sold at 18 coins per pound, while ribs only cost 8 coins.

Without hesitation, He Zhiran bought a whole rack of ribs. Not only was it cheaper, but it was also her favorite dish. If anyone saw this, they might think she was frugal and unwilling to spend more for pork, so she could only settle for the cheaper ribs.

With the pork purchased, she asked the butcher to cut it into small pieces and place them on the wooden cart.

He Zhiran entered another general store.

The shopkeeper seemed dejected, sitting with his head down behind the counter, not even bothering to look up when customers entered. In her previous life, if He Zhiran had encountered such an indifferent merchant, she would have chosen to leave immediately.

Yet, here it was different. She didn't wish to waste time searching for another sundries shop, so she meandered about the store on her own.

The items were displayed rather haphazardly, and after circling the shop, He Zhiran failed to find what she wanted.

"Shopkeeper, do you have oil paper here?"

Only upon hearing the customer's inquiry did the shopkeeper lift his head listlessly.

"We do have oil paper, Miss. How much would you like?"

He Zhiran pondered that in the future, she would frequently retrieve items from her space. It wouldn't do to grab things like the braised beef as before, with her bare hands.

Hence, oil paper would prove quite useful for her—more was always better.

"I'll take all the oil paper you have."

The shopkeeper clearly found her words hard to believe.

"Miss, are you joking? I've plenty of oil paper here."

"I'm not joking. As long as the price is fair, I'll take them all."

The shopkeeper hurriedly stood up and went behind the curtain, soon returning with a large stack of oil paper.

He Zhiran estimated that there were over a thousand sheets – quite a considerable amount.

The shopkeeper placed the oil paper on the counter.

"Lady, there are one thousand and ten sheets of oil paper. Ten sheets for a coin – this price, I guarantee, you won't find elsewhere."

Though He Zhiran wasn't well-versed in the prices of this era, her intuition told her that the shopkeeper was being sincere.

"Alright, I'll take all these oil papers."

Taking advantage of the cover of her sleeve, she retrieved two strings of copper coins from her space.

She had pilfered these from the royal treasury – several chests full, so spending them didn't cause her any distress.

Counting out one hundred and ten coins for the shopkeeper, He Zhiran was about to leave with the oil paper when she saw a young man rush in, looking flustered.

"Father, I just went to inquire at the inn again. The merchant who placed the order for the oilcloth really has fled."

The shopkeeper slumped in his chair, his hands covering his face, perhaps weeping.

The young man brushed past He Zhiran and entered the counter.

"Father, what should we do now?"

The shopkeeper shook his head, his tone filled with despair.

"Sigh... We invested all our wealth in that order of oilcloth. Now that the merchant has vanished, we can only try to dispose of these oilcloths at a reduced price."

Upon hearing this, He Zhiran immediately turned back.

She was intrigued by the oilcloth they mentioned.

"Shopkeeper, could you show me the oilcloth you're talking about?"

The shopkeeper looked at He Zhiran, still wearing a helpless expression.

"Miss, please don't cause trouble. That oilcloth is used for making umbrellas, it won't be of any use to you even if you buy it," the shopkeeper said.

He Zhiran had already guessed earlier that the oilcloth they mentioned might have waterproof properties. Hearing the shopkeeper's confirmation, she was now certain that this was exactly what she needed.

"Shopkeeper, since you're selling the oilcloth anyway, why don't you let me take a look? If it suits my needs, I might buy some," she proposed.

"Miss, please wait a moment. I'll fetch some samples for you to examine," the young assistant, quicker-witted than the shopkeeper, readily offered without complaint, and promptly got up to retrieve the oilcloth.

In no time, he returned with a bolt of blue and another of black oilcloth.

"Miss, have a look. Our oilcloth is thin, making it lightweight and durable when used for umbrellas," he said.

He Zhiran reached out to touch the fabric, and as the young man had said, it was indeed thin.

However, it was tightly woven, indicating its high quality.

"Gentleman, I wonder what the price of this oilcloth is?" she inquired.

The young man seemed unsure, so he turned to consult the shopkeeper.

"Father, I think we should be content with recouping our investment for these oilcloths. How about selling them at cost price?"

The shopkeeper reluctantly nodded.

"If Miss is purchasing the whole bolt, we can offer it at our cost price, 500 coins per bolt."

He Zhiran was unfamiliar with market prices, but anything quoted in coins seemed inexpensive to her.

She inquired about the length and width of each bolt before calculating that one oilcloth could make two simple tents if used for that purpose.

"Shopkeeper, how much oilcloth do you have in stock?"

The shopkeeper's eyes widened again. "How much do you need?"

He Zhiran did some quick calculations. The simple tents she had in mind would accommodate two people, and there were twelve in the He family. The Xie and Fang households together numbered around twenty people.

She couldn't forget the officials who were always eager to exploit the prisoners either.

With so many people, they would need at least twenty-five tents.

"Shopkeeper, I'll take thirteen pieces of oilcloth."

The shopkeeper, upon hearing this number, felt as if his ears must have failed him. He hastily and unceremoniously dug at them.

It was the young man who reacted promptly.

"Miss, please wait a moment, I'll fetch the oilcloth for you right away."

He Zhiran raised her hand to stop him.

"Not at all. I've purchased quite a lot. Does your establishment offer delivery services?" He Zhiran inquired.

"Indeed, we do. As long as it's within Yunlai County, we can deliver," the young man promptly assured her.

After confirming the delivery service, He Zhiran proceeded to purchase an adequate number of bamboo poles and hemp ropes.

As she handed over the payment, she didn't forget to give her instructions. "Young man, I need eight black bolts and five green ones. Along with the bamboo poles, have them delivered to the inn west of the city."

"Alright, no problem at all." The young man agreed and promptly headed to the back yard to prepare the goods.

Seeing that the general store didn't have anything she needed, He Zhiran pushed the cart away.

On her way, she deliberately sought out deserted alleys where she could discreetly take out food supplies from her space and place them on the wooden cart.

She also purchased various vegetables sold by the farmers as a cover for retrieving items from her space.

As she shopped, He Zhiran secretly retrieved condiments and other items from her space.

Passing by the grain store, she bought a jar of vegetable oil and, taking the opportunity, also purchased two identical empty jars from the owner. She then filled these jars with peanut oil from her space.

Finally, at the blacksmith's shop, she bought three large iron pots, three iron shovels, and three kettles for boiling water, along with other essential items.

The wooden cart grew increasingly heavy, and it was becoming difficult for He Zhiran to push it.

There was no choice; these items had to be seen, and she dared not put them into her space to transport back. Thus, she gritted her teeth and continued pushing the cart forward, enduring the hardship.

He Zhiran knew that with the physical strength of this body, it would be challenging to venture much further.

Thus, she had no choice but to resign herself to retracing her steps.