Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Song Shian was molested by Jiang Chun, and after a brief fit of impotent rage, the matter was left unresolved.

There was no choice; when one is under someone else’s roof, one must bow to their will. Song Shian still relied on her for financial and physical support to help him recover, so it wasn’t wise to break ties with her now.

He couldn’t even afford to give her the cold shoulder, as he needed her help to sell the books he had copied and to buy more paper.

Jiang Chun took the two copies of "The Analects" that he had spent half a month writing, put them in a bundle, and said with a grin, “Rest assured, my husband, I will make sure they fetch a good price.”

Yesterday, she had pinched his cheeks, expecting him to either explode in anger or at least give her the cold shoulder. To his surprise, today he could speak to her with a pleasant demeanor.

Perhaps he wasn’t so averse to her advances?

If that was the case, could she be bolder in the future?

She couldn’t help but rub her hands together, chuckling, “How exciting!”

Jiang Chun placed the bundle in the back of the mule cart she had rented from village head Zou, then returned to load a basket of radishes onto the cart.

This basket of radishes was meant for her aunt, Jiang Xi, who lived in Hongye Town. They were home-grown, and Jiang Chun wanted Jiang Xi to try them.

Jiang Chun didn’t refuse.

It had been a while since she had dealt with the Wang family, and she wondered if they had reverted to their old ways. Today was a good opportunity to check on them.

Driving the mule cart to the entrance of Wang Kee Grocery Store, Jiang Chun tied up the mule and went inside.

She found Wang Bo dozing behind the counter, while her aunt Jiang Xi was sitting at the loom, weaving cloth with a creaking sound.

“Aunt,” Jiang Chun called out to Jiang Xi.

Then, turning to Wang Bo, she said sarcastically, “Oh, Uncle is actually at home. Why aren’t you out drinking and whoring with your friends?”

Wang Bo jolted awake at the sound of Jiang Chun’s voice.

He almost retorted.

Ever since she had beaten him up, his so-called friends feared being implicated and getting beaten too. Now, they never invited him to any drinking sessions.

As for whoring, his matchmaker wife had been beaten into a miscarriage by his mother-in-law and sister-in-law. His brother-in-law was constantly in and out of the matchmaker’s house, and Wang Bo wouldn’t dare go there to invite trouble.

Now, he was stuck at home, managing the small grocery store, which was incredibly dull.

But clearly, he didn’t have the courage to retort.

Not only did he not retort, but he quickly stood up, smiling broadly, “Why, Chun, what brings you here?”

He then instructed Jiang Xi, “Wife, get a stool for Chun to sit down and rest.”

Seeing that he was behaving reasonably and staying at home to manage the shop, Jiang Chun didn’t pick a fight with him.

Turning to Jiang Xi, she said, “Aunt, don’t bother. I’m in a hurry to go to the county, so I won’t stay.”

With that, she turned and went out, bringing in a basket of radishes from the mule cart, saying with a smile, “These are home-grown radishes. My father asked me to bring a basket to you, Aunt, for you to try.”

Jiang Xi looked touched, “I saw someone selling radishes in the market the other day and planned to buy some to make radish fritters. What a coincidence that you brought them today.”

After a few pleasantries, Jiang Chun bid farewell and left.

*

Leaving Wang Kee Grocery Store, Jiang Chun hurriedly made her way to Hongye County.

Actually, buying cloth and cotton could be done in Hongye Town, so there was no need to go all the way to the county.

The reason she went through this trouble was that she had accumulated quite a few sign-in points over the past half month and needed to check in at shops in the county to claim rewards.

Winter was approaching, and she needed to save up enough money to buy a mule cart, a metal stove, and coal.

Once in the county, she headed straight for a calligraphy and painting shop, intending to sell the books Song Shian had copied and check in at the door.

[Ding! Successfully signed in at “Hongye County Book Shop.” Reward: 1 Duan inkstone, 4 bamboo pens.]

Bamboo pens were cheap brushes sold in general stores, but the Duan inkstone seemed quite valuable.

However, the quality of Duan inkstones varied.

Checking in at shops marked with a yellow exclamation mark in the system resulted in receiving replicated items from the shop, but the quality was random.

Jiang Chun didn’t understand these nuances and decided to take the items to a pawnshop later to inquire about their value.

Carrying the bundle, she entered the shop, took out the books, and showed them to the shopkeeper behind the counter, saying, “I’m selling these books on behalf of a scholar from Hongye Town. Don’t try to cheat me, sir.”

Since this calligraphy and painting shop wasn’t the same one she had visited with Song Shian before, the shopkeeper didn’t ask many questions.

He flipped through the pages and nodded in satisfaction, “The handwriting is very neat. I’ll give you 150 coins per book, so 300 coins for both.”

Jiang Chun huffed, “Sir, don’t take advantage of my illiteracy. Last time, I sold books for another scholar, and his handwriting wasn’t as neat as this, yet they were worth 150 coins each.”

The shopkeeper, hearing her speak with conviction, gritted his teeth, “I’ll add 10 coins per book, making it 160 coins each, the highest price in my shop. If you’re not satisfied, you can try elsewhere, but no one will offer more than me.”

Jiang Chun finally nodded in satisfaction, “Alright, sir, you’re fair. Next time I have books to sell for this scholar, I’ll come to you.”

She took the 320 coins, counted out 50 coins, and bought a ream of white cotton paper.

The gray ink she had bought last time hadn’t run out, so she didn’t need to buy more.

Leaving the calligraphy and painting shop, Jiang Chun checked in and headed towards the fabric store.

[Ding! Successfully signed in at “Hongye County Money House.” Reward: 530 coins.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Hongye County Jewelry Shop," received 1 silver ring and 1 pair of silver clove flowers.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Hongye County Apothecary," received 4 qian of bingpian and 7 liang of bird's nest.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Hongye County Medical Hall," received 5 liang of realgar and 8 liang of astragalus.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Hongye County Blacksmith Shop," received 1 hoe and 1 pickaxe.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Hongye County Pawnshop," received 1 rosewood armchair and 1 gold hairpin.]

"One rosewood armchair and one gold hairpin?" Jiang Chun paused at the pawnshop door, struggling to contain his excitement.

This is a windfall!

However, these items were too conspicuous, and there were many people in the county who knew him, so he did not plan to pawn them immediately.

He only took out the silver ring, silver clove flowers, and the Duan inkstone from the jewelry shop, and said to the old shopkeeper with white hair and beard, "I'm pawning these for my relatives in Hongye Town. Don't try to cheat me, or they'll blame me for getting too low a price, and I'll come back to smash your pawnshop!"

The shopkeeper did not recognize Jiang Chun initially, but when he mentioned "Hongye Town" and acted like a female mountain bandit, he immediately connected the rumors with the real person.

He hurriedly smiled and said, "Madam Jiang, you jest. I have always been honest in my dealings and never deceive my customers."

Jiang Chun snorted, not refuting him, just looking at him with a half-smile.

The old shopkeeper felt uneasy and quickly appraised the items and quoted a price, eager to get this night sea demon out of his shop as soon as possible.

In the end, the ring and silver clove flowers were valued at six qian of silver, and the Duan inkstone at six liang of silver, totaling six liang and six qian of silver.

After Jiang Chun's "reasonable argument," he finally received seven liang of silver.

Adding this to the nine liang and four qian he had saved, along with the 530 wen he received from signing in at the money house, he now had about seventeen liang, enough to buy a good mule cart with a strong mule.

As for the money needed for the iron stove and coal, he would have to save more.

Leaving the pawnshop, he looked around several times to see if any unwise villains were eyeing the silver he had just pawned, but found nothing unusual.

Is this the benefit of having a notorious reputation and ruling the countryside?

He drove the mule cart for a while and arrived at the largest fabric store in the county—the Huang Family Fabric Store.

Since he was already there, he might as well check in.

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Hongye County Fabric Store," received one bolt of Songjiang fine cotton cloth and 2 embroidered pouches.]

The reward of this bolt of fine cotton cloth was off-white and could be used for the lining of cotton clothes and quilts, so he spent 700 wen on a bolt of indigo fine cotton cloth and a bolt of navy blue fine cotton cloth, and another 400 wen on 10 pounds of cotton.

Instantly, one liang and one qian of silver was gone.

It seemed that the cultivation rate of cotton in the Great Zhou Dynasty was not very high, making cotton cloth and cotton extremely expensive. Therefore, ordinary families' cotton clothes were new for three years, old for three years, and patched for another three years.

As for cotton quilts, they were often passed down through generations, with elders using them first and then passing them to children, and at most, they would be re-fluffed by a cotton fluffer in between.

*

After checking in at all the shops that could yield valuable items, Jiang Chun did not waste his check-in points on other miscellaneous stores and went straight home.

When he got home, the house was quiet. Jiang He had not returned from town yet, and Song Shian, presumably tired from copying books, was sleeping on the kang bed in the west room.

He did not wake him up but quietly left and sat in the kitchen with a stool, sorting through the items in the system's inventory while doing some accounting.

After finishing the accounts, with nothing else to do, he thought about how Song Shian had been without bird's nest for two days, so he took out a bowl of the newly obtained bird's nest to soak it, planning to stew it for him later.

At that moment, Song Shian, who had woken up and heard the rustling sounds in the kitchen, thinking it might be a thief or a rat, quietly crawled to the end of the kang bed and peered out through the gap in the door frame.

His pupils dilated, and he froze in place.

Jiang Chun, she, her hand actually produced a bowl of bird's nest out of thin air!!!