Only after Qin Baitang left did Meng Anzhi dare speak. "Auntie, how much is 1,700 taels? How many ox-cart rides would that pay for?"
Jin Shanyao laughed. "Enough to buy us an ox."
The two little ones clapped their hands over their mouths in shock. Oxen were so expensive, yet Auntie could buy one after a single day of digging herbs. No wonder the medicines physicians prescribed cost so much.
Jin Shanyao tapped each of them on the forehead. "Don't tell anyone how much money we earned, all right?"
"Auntie, we're not fools," Meng Anci said helplessly. He tugged at Jin Shanyao's sleeve. "Auntie, let's not eat the lion's mane mushrooms. Let's sell them for money."
"Silly, they're a delicacy even the emperor eats, so of course we're keeping them for ourselves. We only sell things to other people when they aren't worth much."
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci exchanged a glance. That wasn't what Mother had taught them.
Qin Baitang soon returned, panting from his run. He handed Jin Shanyao a stack of banknotes. "There are notes of all denominations, so you won't have to exchange them."
Jin Shanyao accepted them, checked the amount, and tucked them into her robes.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Qin Baitang hurriedly said, "Miss, if you come across any more good wares, don't forget to bring them to me."
Jin Shanyao smiled. "Don't worry, shopkeeper. I'll be coming by often to sell herbs."
"Good, good, good." Qin Baitang rose to see her out.
After she left, he returned to the room. Looking at the untouched tea and snacks, he pondered for a long while. "Go find out where that young woman came from."
The assistant acknowledged the order and went out.
After selling the herbs, Jin Shanyao wanted to buy clothes and shoes for the two children. Children grew quickly, and their clothes became too small in the blink of an eye.
Jin Shanyao was just about to enter a clothing shop when the two children tugged her back. "Auntie, aren't we buying an ox?"
In their minds, an ox was the most important thing of all. It could plow fields and pull loads. They were too small to work, so when it was time to plant in the spring, an ox would be a great help.
"We are, but first we need to get changed." With that, she grabbed the little tots by their waistbands, lifted one in each hand, and strode into the clothing shop.
Jin Shanyao ignored the bolts of cloth in every color and went straight to the ready-made clothes. The two little tots stared wide-eyed. They were so pretty! They had never seen so many beautiful clothes.
They were just reaching out to feel the fabric when a shout rang out.
"Hey, where did you poor beggars come from? Don't touch it! Can you afford to pay if you get it dirty?"
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci flinched in fright, at a loss for what to do. They hid their little hands firmly behind their backs and stared timidly at the shop assistant.
Seeing his sister's embarrassment, Meng Anci was so angry that he was about to argue, but Jin Shanyao stopped him.
"What are you shouting for? Showing off how loud your voice is?"
The assistant didn't even glance at her. He stepped forward, brushing off the clothes as he shooed them away. "Do you know what kind of place this is? And you dare come inside? This one piece of clothing alone would take you a year's work to pay for."
Jin Shanyao recalled a passage from the Record of Admonishing Evil. She planted her foot on the assistant's and pressed down, making him yelp in pain.
"Oh... there was someone here. Sorry, I didn't see you." With that, she picked up the two children and headed out. "The clothes here really aren't much. Touching them would only dirty your hands. Auntie will take you somewhere else to look."
Meng Anci looked back and glared at the assistant, still indignant.
The assistant's foot hurt as though a rock had fallen on it, and he didn't dare put it on the ground. He could only watch as Jin Shanyao entered the shop opposite. He spat viciously. "Paupers, daring to go anywhere. They ought to look at what sort of place that is."
The Silk Pavilion was the largest shop in the county town. Its fabrics came in a rich variety of colors, and its ready-made clothes were exquisite and attractive. Seeing customers come in, an assistant greeted them warmly. "What do you need, miss?"
Jin Shanyao looked around but couldn't tell the good from the bad. She simply set the two children on the floor and pointed at them. "Bring five outfits for each child."
"Of course. Please wait a moment." Seeing that they were dressed in coarse hemp, the assistant picked out some sturdy, durable clothes made of fine cloth.
"Miss, the colors may be dull, but the fabric is soft and won't chafe their skin. It's just right for children."
Jin Shanyao rubbed the fabric between her fingers. It was indeed better than what they were wearing now. She picked up the clothes and held them against the two children to check the size.
Meng Anzhi stole a careful glance at the assistant's face and secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no mockery there. She lowered her head to look at the clothes in Auntie's hands, her little face flushed red and her eyes sparkling.
She had never worn red before. This outfit was so pretty.
The same went for Meng Anci. He had never felt clothes so soft, but the price... As he was wrestling with the matter, he heard Jin Shanyao say to the shopkeeper:
"We'll take them all. Bring five pairs of shoes, too."
Boom... Meng Anci felt as though the sky had fallen. "Auntie, a thin stream flows forever, a thin stream flows forever!"
Jin Shanyao pinched his little cheek. "Don't frown. You look like a little old man, and it spoils your looks."
Meng Anci couldn't reason with her or stop her, so he could only sigh helplessly. He didn't know how much of the 1,700 taels would be left after buying clothes. It seemed he would have to dig up more herbs.
"Miss, have a look at these clothes, and the shoes." The shopkeeper lifted Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi onto the counter and put the shoes on them himself.
"These shoes have thousand-layer soles. The bottoms are made of coarse cloth, the insides are fine cloth, and the uppers are silk. They're comfortable and soft."
Hearing this, Meng Anzhi hurriedly grabbed the shopkeeper's hand. "Sir, I'm little and growing fast. Coarse-cloth uppers will do for me."
The assistant burst out laughing. "Oh my, how old are you? You already know you're little and growing fast?" As he spoke, he looked at Jin Shanyao, who also thought silk was too eye-catching.
"Bring us the ones with fine-cloth uppers."
"Right." The assistant readily agreed and turned to fetch shoes with fine-cloth uppers. Jin Shanyao took five pairs in ascending sizes, so there was no need to worry about the children growing quickly.
After paying, the three of them walked out of the shop carrying bundles large and small. They could have put them in the carrying basket, but no... they would let the assistant across the street see.
They had money, but they wouldn't spend it at his shop. The assistant across the street had been watching them all along, waiting for Jin Shanyao to be chased out. Instead, the assistant saw her being shown out with the utmost respect.
Once they were far away, he forgot all about his aching foot and rushed across the street to find out what had happened. When he learned that she had money, regret flashed through his eyes.
Jin Shanyao still needed to buy rice, flour, oil, and other daily necessities. She couldn't carry everything on her back, so she bought an ox and a flatbed ox cart at the livestock market.
She didn't know how to drive an ox cart, but she did know how to beat one... After a few blows, the ox learned to behave. With an ox cart, the rest of their shopping was much easier.
The two little tots sat on the cart, daily necessities piled behind them and a steamer basket of buns in front. The basket was so large that they had to join hands to reach around it.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci each held the steamer basket with one hand and gnawed on a bun with the other. The large buns were filled entirely with pork, and grease ran down the corners of their mouths as they ate. But they didn't dare wipe it away, afraid the basket would fall to the ground if they let go.
Auntie had gone and bought the steamer basket along with the buns. Heh heh heh... Still, it really did feel wonderful to eat buns while holding the basket.
Their last stop was the bookshop, where they bought things for private school, along with two cookbooks, some books on business, and all sorts of odds and ends.
Jin Shanyao firmly believed that the answer to every problem in life could be found in a book. As she was paying, she heard several scholars say that the young master of the Zhao Residence had gone missing and still hadn't been found.
Jin Shanyao's eyes flashed. Wasn't this her chance to restore her spirit pill? She quietly edged closer to the scholars, wanting to hear clearly.
But when the scholars saw her approach, they blushed and took two steps back?
What did that mean... She was a dignified ginkgo tree, yet they actually found her disagreeable? Unwilling to believe it, she pricked up her ears and edged closer again.
The one speaking stopped and stammered, his face red. "Miss... please stand a little farther away. Men and women should keep their distance. How can you overstep the bounds like this?"
Jin Shanyao understood. They really did think she was too close. She cleared her throat. "May I ask, sir, has the young master of the Zhao Residence really gone missing?"
"Of course it's true. He's been missing for three days. Zhao Mingjing is nearly frantic."
Jin Shanyao's eyes lit up at once. "Could you tell me how to get to the Zhao Residence, sir?"
The scholar blushed and retreated another half step. Pointing ahead, he said, "There are two stone lions in front of a vermilion gate. That's the Zhao Residence."
Jin Shanyao looked in the direction he pointed and took hold of the ox cart to go over. Then, as if remembering something, she turned back to the scholar. "You should stay farther away from trees in the future, too. They don't like you either."
The scholar was baffled by her words.