TSWPF – Chapter 6 Big Shopping Spree

Li Qingfeng woke up drowsily to find that they had already reached the town. Feeling a little embarrassed, he smiled shyly at Li Qingling — he hadn’t expected to fall asleep the moment he sat inside the bamboo basket.

Li Qingling adjusted the basket on her back, took his hand, and followed Liu Zhimou into town.

Today was market day, and the town was bustling with activity. Vendors called out from every direction, and the streets were lively and crowded. In her memories, Li Qingling had rarely visited the town. And now, being someone from modern times, she had never seen such a scene before — it was utterly fascinating.

As they passed a bun stall, Li Qingfeng sniffed the air, swallowing hard at the delicious aroma. But he quickly pursed his lips and turned away — he knew they were poor and couldn’t afford steamed buns.

Li Qingling caught his reaction clearly. She touched the wild ginseng hidden in her sleeve and turned to Liu Zhimou. “Brother Zhimou, do you know where we can find a pharmacy?”

They had left home very early and hadn’t eaten anything all morning. After walking such a long way, even she was starving, let alone Li Qingfeng.

She planned to sell the wild ginseng first, eat something to fill their stomachs, and then browse around.

Liu Zhimou was familiar with the town, so he led them toward another street — South Street. This street was lined with shops and teahouses, clearly more prosperous than the rest.

From the moment they stepped from North Street to South Street, Li Qingling could tell the difference. North Street was where commoners shopped, while South Street was for the wealthy.

“We’ll go to a pharmacy called Jishitang,” Liu Zhimou said. “It’s known for being honest and fair. Next time you want to sell herbs, go there.” He even told her about all the pharmacies in town.

From his explanation, Li Qingling concluded that Jishitang had good service and treated both rich and poor equally. On the other hand, Baicaotang, a rival pharmacy, was arrogant and only served the wealthy.

“Young Master Li, you’re here again? Buying medicine?” a shop boy greeted them warmly as soon as they entered.

Liu Zhimou had been there many times before, when his parents were ill — Jishitang’s doctor had treated them — so the boy recognized him.

Liu Zhimou shook his head and pointed to Li Qingling. “My sister wants to sell some herbs. Do you accept them here?”

The boy turned to Li Qingling with the same polite smile. “What kind of herb do you wish to sell, little miss?”

Li Qingling nodded inwardly — she liked how they didn’t look down on her for her age or shabby clothes.

She took the wild ginseng out of her sleeve, unwrapped the handkerchief, and handed it to him. “Big brother, I want to sell this ginseng. Could you tell me how much it’s worth?”

“This needs to be evaluated by our shopkeeper. Please wait a moment.” The boy took the ginseng and went to the back room.

Soon, a middle-aged man with a short beard came out holding her ginseng. When Liu Zhimou saw him, he smiled. “Shopkeeper Zhou.”

“Oh, it’s Young Master Liu! Long time no see,” Shopkeeper Zhou greeted with a warm smile. He had always liked Liu Zhimou — it was a pity that Liu’s father had passed away early, forcing the young man to drop out of school. What a waste of talent.

“This is Shopkeeper Zhou,” Liu Zhimou introduced. Li Qingling immediately bowed politely. “Greetings, Shopkeeper Zhou.”

Shopkeeper Zhou stroked his beard. “Little girl, I’ve inspected your ginseng — nicely dug, roots intact, but it’s still young. I can only offer one tael of silver. What do you think?”

Li Qingling knew the ginseng wasn’t old enough to be worth much. Getting one tael of silver was already more than satisfactory.

“That’s fine!” She accepted the silver from him and asked, “Shopkeeper, if I find other herbs, can I bring them here to sell?”

“Of course. The price depends on the herb.”

“Thank you, Shopkeeper!” Li Qingling bowed again, cheerful and grateful. Shopkeeper Zhou waved his hand, amused by her sincerity.

After leaving Jishitang, Liu Zhimou went to the bookstore with the two handwritten books he had copied. When Li Qingling learned that copying two thick books earned only twenty copper coins, she was stunned. Ten coins for an entire book — that was too little! She truly felt how hard it was to earn money in this era.

When they came out of the bookstore, she kept glancing at him. Liu Zhimou, puzzled, touched his face. “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“No.” Li Qingling shook her head. She just suddenly felt sorry for him. From a comfortable life to struggling for every meal — it must have been hard for him to endure. “I’m starving. Let’s eat!”

Pulling both Liu Zhimou and Li Qingfeng along, she headed quickly back to North Street.

At the bun stall, the owner perked up at the sight of customers. “Little girl, want some buns? Meat buns are two copper coins each, vegetable buns are one coin. Big and stuffed — you’ll love them!”

“I’ll take six meat buns and six vegetable buns.”

Liu Zhimou frowned immediately. “That’s too many. Can we finish them? Money isn’t easy to earn.”

Li Qingfeng had been excited when he heard she was buying twelve buns, but after hearing Liu Zhimou’s words, he hesitated and tugged at her sleeve. “Sis, maybe just three? It’s a lot of money…”

As the vendor packed the buns, Li Qingling replied, “There are six of us — the three of us, Mother, Zhiyan, and Rourou. Two buns each, just right. It’s not like we buy them often — it’s a rare treat.”

Hearing that she’d even thought of his younger siblings, Liu Zhimou was quietly moved.

When she reached for her silver, he stopped her and instead pulled out the twenty coins he’d earned copying books — money he’d planned to use to buy rice for his siblings. He counted out eighteen coins and handed them to the vendor.

Li Qingling raised her brows and put her hand away. She’d once heard that if you want to know whether a man loves you, see if he’s willing to spend money on you.

She didn’t know if Liu Zhimou loved her, but she was certain he was someone who cared deeply.

“This is so good…” Li Qingfeng finally got to eat the meat bun he’d been craving. His eyes crinkled with joy.

“Careful, it’s hot. Eat slowly.” Li Qingling placed the remaining buns in the basket and warned him, but he only nodded and kept eating just as fast.

She took a bite herself — the bun was quite good and very filling. After one, she already felt half full.

“You’re not hungry?” she asked, seeing Liu Zhimou hadn’t eaten yet. “Hurry up, we still need to buy other things.”

He hesitated for a moment, but seeing how happily she ate, he finally picked one up. It was a new experience for him — simple, warm, and pleasant.

As they walked, Li Qingling looked around for business ideas, but everything required capital — even street stalls.

Then her eyes lit up when she spotted a cloth shop. She told Liu Zhimou and Li Qingfeng to wait outside and went in to look.

The shop was busy with customers. She glanced around, and when she saw decorative cords (luozi) hanging on display, her eyes brightened.

She wanted to ask about the price but saw that only one woman — likely the shopkeeper — was busy attending to everyone. So she waited patiently.

When the last customer left, Li Qingling stepped forward. “Shopkeeper, do you buy these cords?” she asked, pointing to the ones hanging.

The shopkeeper, Du Shiniang, had noticed her earlier but had been too busy to greet her. Now, seeing how patiently the girl had waited her turn, she felt a sense of goodwill.

“Yes, we do. The simple ones fetch one copper coin each, the more intricate ones three,” Du Shiniang explained, showing her the difference.

Li Qingling nodded thoughtfully, then asked if they also bought embroidered pouches. Du Shiniang said yes — two coins for simple ones, four for fine ones.

After some thought, Li Qingling decided cords were better — embroidery took too long and would tire Zhao-shi.

“How much for a bundle of colored thread?”

“Six coins a bundle.”

She immediately bought three bundles for eighteen coins. She knew how to make Chinese knots — and since this place didn’t sell any, she could show Du Shiniang later to see if they fetched a higher price. If so, she’d teach Zhao-shi how to make them too.

“What did you buy, sis?” Li Qingfeng asked curiously when she came out.

“Some colored thread. I’ll have Mother make cords to sell.” She then turned to Liu Zhimou. “Brother Zhimou, where’s the rice shop?”

He simply said, “Follow me,” and led the way.

After half an hour, they reached a grain store. Li Qingling inquired about prices and bought ten jin of fine rice, twenty jin of coarse rice, three jin of rapeseed oil, one jin of soy sauce, and one jin of salt — spending a total of 455 copper coins. Watching her silver vanish so fast made her heart ache — money really did fly away.

“Here, this is yours.” She handed him five jin of fine rice and ten jin of coarse rice.

Liu Zhimou stared at her silently without taking them.

She just placed them in his basket and said boldly, “Just remember to be good to me in the future.” He’d helped her family so much — she’d remember it always.

Liu Zhimou pressed his lips together and nodded heavily. He would be good to her — for a lifetime.

“Let’s buy some meat and go home,” Li Qingling said, her mouth watering at the thought of pork after so long.

“Meat?” Li Qingfeng’s eyes went wide. When she nodded, he grinned from ear to ear. It had been ages since he last ate meat — tonight would be a feast!

Seeing his joy, Li Qingling felt a pang of sadness. She silently vowed to make enough money so her family could eat meat every day.

“Uncle, how much is the pork?” she asked at the meat stall.

“Fifteen coins a jin for fat, ten for lean,” the butcher said cheerfully. “Freshly slaughtered today — look how nice this fat meat is! How much do you want?”

People here preferred fatty meat, the fattier the better. Li Qingling shuddered slightly. “One jin of fat, one jin of lean, please.” Then she noticed the clean bones by the side. “Uncle, could you throw in those bones for me?”

“Sure! Take them all. Come back again next time!” the butcher said heartily, tying up the bones for her. “That’ll be twenty-five coins in total.”

Li Qingling counted out the coins, took the meat, placed it in the basket, and smiled at the two beside her. “All right — let’s go home!”