Fu Xin Ci looked at Qi He, then at the stall owner, then at the small woven basket. She was speechless.
She had originally wanted to buy a basket as a cover, but with Qi He chiming in, she didn't know what to say next.
The reason was that she didn't know the local prices and how much silver was appropriate for the basket.
Qi He was clever. Seeing Fu Mei Mei's eyes constantly glancing at the small basket, he knew she liked it. He pretended to be in a difficult position and said to the stall owner, "Uncle, it's quite hot today. Sell us this basket for a bit cheaper, and you can go home earlier."
As Qi He spoke, he reached out, pulled the only small basket on the stall towards him, and then said, "Three big coins, and we'll take it."
The stall owner pondered for a moment. He thought about his own foolishness in weaving such a small item.
He brought it to the market to sell. Many people looked at it and said nice things, like how the small one looked more delicate and better than the large ones. But despite their praise, no one bought it.
He had brought it to the market three times without selling it. Now that this young man had finally made an offer, even if it was practically for free, he decided to sell it.
"Alright, it's yours."
Finally, the uncle added, "If your grown-ups come to cause trouble, I won't admit to this sale." Anyway, he had only woven one small basket. Once it was sold, it was gone. Even if their grown-ups showed up, he was determined not to admit it, no matter what.
Fu Xin Ci: ...
Qi He: ...
Neither of them expected the uncle to be so humorous. They exchanged a glance, suppressed their laughter, and Qi He nimbly took out a small coin purse from his embrace. He fished out three big coins and threw them to the uncle.
To further exasperate him, he said, "Uncle, don't worry, no one will come looking for you."
The uncle: He didn't expect this kid to have so much money. Even more surprisingly, he knew how to spend money on a young girl at such a young age. He wondered who he took after.
Thinking of a certain person, he had been infatuated with her for years. Every time he went up the mountain, he deliberately passed by her house, but that woman wouldn't even spare him a glance.
He also knew that there were many gossip-mongers outside a widow's door. He wasn't a troublemaker and wouldn't overstep his boundaries. He was willing to wait for her.
But his mother was anxious. Plus, his status as an old bachelor was still quite desirable. Not to mention before the New Year, even during this period after the New Year, his mother had introduced him to several girls from different families, all of whom he had rejected for her sake.
What was he to do! He couldn't keep rejecting them. His mother had said yesterday that as long as he agreed to get married, she would agree to any conditions.
The uncle thought of the young man just now and had a sudden inspiration. He entrusted his stall to the younger brother next to him and dashed towards the cloth shop opposite.
He decided to buy two pieces of good quality cotton cloth and a silver hairpin. He would go back and have his mother send a matchmaker to propose to her. He knew she probably had feelings for him too.
Qi He didn't know that his actions had enlightened a bachelor who had been single for years.
The two of them continued walking. Fu Xin Ci planned to break her silver ingot and repay Qi He.
"Brother Qi, help me carry the basket."
"No, I'll carry it for you."
"But..." Fu Xin Ci blinked her eyes, looking a bit dazed. She really wanted to say, "How can I cheat if you carry it for me?"
But Qi He was determined. As long as he was there, he wouldn't let Fu Mei Mei carry a basket.
Fu Xin Ci: My cheating prop has been carried away by Qi He. What should I do? Waiting online, it's urgent.
Brother Qi didn't know that Fu Mei Mei was about to explode with anxiety. He was still happily following behind Fu Mei Mei.
Fortunately, there was a grain store ahead. To distract herself and avoid digging her own grave, Fu Xin Ci tugged on Qi He's sleeve and pulled him into the grain store.
It was market day, so the grain store was quite crowded. The father and son running the shop were busy and sweating profusely.
Fu Xin Ci didn't speak at first. She quietly moved beside the large wooden bins of rice and flour, looking at the prices marked above them.
Ordinary cornmeal cost five big coins per jin, while fine cornmeal was two big coins more expensive. A jin of white flour cost fifteen big coins.
Fu Xin Ci looked again. Ordinary sorghum rice also cost five big coins per jin, with good quality sorghum rice being two more coins.
Golden millet was eight big coins per jin. Seeing the price of white rice, she felt it was a bit expensive at twenty big coins per jin. As for japonica rice, it made her gasp, with prices ranging from thirty to fifty big coins per jin.
As for coarse flour and miscellaneous grains, she only glanced at them briefly, not considering them at all.
She didn't have coarse flour in her space. She had miscellaneous grains, but the miscellaneous grains in her space were entirely different from the ones in the wooden bins before her.
"Fu Mei Mei, have you decided what to buy?" Qi He saw that Fu Mei Mei was just looking and not speaking, so he asked her.
"I haven't decided yet. Let's shop around and compare prices at other stores."
"Alright, let's go now."
The rice shop was so busy that no one paid attention to the two young children. They walked out of the rice shop with the crowd.
"It's really hot." Fu Xin Ci wiped the sweat from her face and pointed to another rice shop not far ahead. She said to Qi He, "Brother Qi, let's check out that one."
"Sure." Qi He agreed verbally, but his eyes were scanning around. When he spotted an old man driving an ox cart and selling watermelons at the roadside, his eyes lit up.
"Brother Qi?"
"Fu Mei Mei, wait for me under this tree. I'll be back soon." After speaking, Qi He was about to dash towards where the melons were being sold.
"Brother Qi, watch the basket for me. Otherwise, it'll be tiring for you to run around carrying it."
"Ah, Fu Mei Mei is so thoughtful." Qi He handed the basket to Fu Xin Ci and then sprinted towards the watermelon vendor.
Fu Xin Ci: Do you know how hard it is for me to cheat? Fortunately, Qi He got interested in something and ran off to buy it. I need to make good use of this opportunity and create a time gap.
Having figured out her purpose, Fu Xin Ci hugged the basket and moved towards the base of a nearby wall. Once she reached the wall, she looked at the bustling crowd flowing back and forth in front of her. She placed her small hand into the basket and leaned her body slightly forward naturally, blocking the opening of the basket.
Thinking that these items were appearing in front of people for the first time, Fu Xin Ci didn't dare to take out anything too outrageous. After some thought, she only took out ten salted duck eggs and a packet of five-spice quail eggs, weighing about a jin.
After she put these items away, her clothes on her back were almost soaked with sweat.
Seeing Qi He running back with five watermelons in the distance, she really wanted to say that it felt like she was doing something illicit when she was just taking out her own things, and he looked guilty.
Qi He ran back, sweating profusely. Seeing Fu Mei Mei sitting in the shade at the base of the wall, he bared his white teeth and praised her incessantly, "Fu Mei Mei, you're so smart. You found such a good spot; it's not hot at all."