Xu Mo could not move, and Zheng Ruqian did not want to get off the cart, so Fang Heng had no choice but to keep watch over the two of them.
The task of buying meat and vegetables was handed over to Wen Zhiyun and the Jiang Sheng siblings.
Fortunately, little Jiang Sheng was adept at this kind of thing. She jumped down from the cart, grabbed the carrying basket, and pulled Wen Zhiyun along, using her short stature to weave through the crowd.
Soon they stopped in front of a meat stand. "Uncle, two pounds of pork, nice and fatty please."
"Coming right up," the stall owner was a strapping fellow who dared to bare his arms even in the depths of winter. He quickly sliced off a piece of pork belly and threw it on the scale. "Two pounds on the dot, that'll be twenty coins."
Jiang Sheng was shocked.
In town, a pound of meat only cost eight coins, but here in the county seat it was ten coins.
But it was already sliced off, so she couldn't back out. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and pay.
Buying vegetables was also quite shocking. In town, two pounds of bok choy only cost one coin, but here in the county seat it was two coins per pound!
Jiang Sheng didn't dare buy any more. Clutching the two pounds of pork, she browsed from one end of the market to the other, finally confirming that everything in the county seat was more expensive than in town.
Some things were two or three coins more expensive, while perishables like vegetables were a shocking four times more expensive.
Just because it took an hour by donkey cart to get here?
Jiang Sheng returned to the cart with a furrowed brow.
Xu Mo had already regained his mild and composed manner. "Little Jiang Sheng, why did you only buy this little bit?" he asked.
Jiang Sheng pouted. "Everything is so expensive here. It's cheaper to buy in town than here."
Xu Mo looked thoughtful.
Zheng Ruqian, who had regained his senses, asked, "Is it really so cheap in town? If it's cheap, can we transport things here to the county seat to sell?"
Selling mushrooms had given him a taste of profit, and the ambition belonging to Second Brother was gradually expanding.
A look of hope also appeared on Jiang Sheng's face.
But before they could discuss it further, Xu Mo calmly said, "Do you want to know why? You can compare the differences between the town market and the county market."
Jiang Sheng was taken aback.
The so-called "market" in town was just a street market, with villagers from each village digging up vegetables from their fields and selling them right there on the ground, still covered in dew and mud.
But the county market was neat and orderly, with each stall occupying an equal amount of space. From chatting with the uncle selling meat, she learned that these spots were fixed, and they had to pay rent of a few dozen coins each month.
Jiang Sheng's eyes widened as she realized why everything cost more here in the county seat.
Zheng Ruqian was very disappointed. "I thought that besides mushrooms, we could make some money bringing meat and vegetables from town to sell here."
It seemed their dreams of making money were dashed.
But Xu Mo shook his head. "Not necessarily."
At this, Jiang Sheng and Zheng Ruqian immediately lifted their heads, gazing intently at their big brother.
"Selling things at the market requires rent, but delivering food to people's homes does not necessarily require that." Xu Mo lowered his eyelashes. "Why don't you ask around and see what the price for wild mushrooms is here in the county seat?"
Jiang Sheng immediately jumped down from the cart.
Zheng Ruqian had no time to feel dejected either, and sprinted into the market.
Soon the siblings came back hanging their heads.
"Five coins per pound," said Jiang Sheng, holding up five fingers. "I knew the shopkeeper was willing to buy in bulk from us because we only sell for four coins."
Zheng Ruqian reacted even faster. "So if we have other vegetables, as long as the price is right, the shopkeeper will buy those too."
It was a blessing in disguise.
The siblings exchanged a glance, sparks of ambition igniting in their eyes.
"Buying this donkey cart was so worth it," Zheng Ruqian clenched his fist. "We'll have to come to the county seat often from now on."
"Yes, come often!" Jiang Sheng clenched her fist as well.
Xu Mo watched them quietly, unable to hold back a soft laugh.
Wen Zhiyun leaned on her cheek, quiet and well-behaved as always.
Fang Heng held the whip, practicing driving the donkey.
Because the vegetables were so expensive in the county seat, Jiang Sheng decided to buy them back in town.
Zheng Ruqian reminded her, "We still need to buy cotton-padded jackets."
Jiang Sheng waved her hand. "If the vegetables are so expensive here, the jackets must be even more expensive. Let's just buy them back in town."
Beside her, Xu Mo laughed again. He patted his little sister's head and gently said, "Jiang Sheng, your big brother will now teach you your first lesson - see for yourself."
"The knowledge a person can acquire in a lifetime is limited. Many things will exceed personal understanding, so you can't deny everything just because you don't understand it yourself."
"Jiang Sheng, go take a look - are the cotton jackets really more expensive here in the county seat than in town?"
Right on cue, Fang Heng parked the cart at the clothing shop's door.
Jiang Sheng pursed her lips and went inside. After asking the prices of several jackets, she froze in place.
Just as big brother said, the ready-made clothes weren't much more expensive here than in town. In fact, there were more styles and they looked nicer. If it was up to Jiang Sheng to choose, she would definitely prefer to buy cotton jackets here in the county seat.
Xu Mo's timely advice echoed in her ears, and Jiang Sheng pressed her lips together, feeling like she had grown up a lot in that moment.
Her mind was extremely agile, and as soon as she realized her mistake, it started turning again.
Since the nice clothes here in the county seat were about the same price as the ugly clothes in town, did that mean the ugly clothes here might be even cheaper?
Jiang Sheng went to the corner and felt some dusty old padded jackets. Sure enough, each one was five or six coins cheaper than in town.
She was overjoyed, and bought twenty cotton jackets, haggling the shopkeeper down another two or three coins per piece.
All told, jackets that cost twenty coins each in town she got for just twelve coins here.
On the donkey cart, the four brothers were bored and discussing whether or not they should go inside and find their little sister before she got lost.
Suddenly they looked back to see Jiang Sheng emerge carrying four or five huge bundles.
Xu Mo's eyes bulged wide, Wen Zhiyun opened her mouth, and Zheng Ruqian and Fang Heng ran over to take some bundles from her.
"Jiang Sheng, are you crazy?" Zheng Ruqian exclaimed. "What are you going to do with so many cotton jackets?"
"Sell them for money," Jiang Sheng replied, cramming the bundles onto the cart. She thumped her chest confidently. "This was big brother's teaching. Don't worry, we'll definitely make money."
Xu Mo held his forehead, at a loss for words.
With limited space on the donkey cart, they could normally fit seven or eight people at most. Now loaded down with five huge bundles, Jiang Sheng and Wen Zhiyun had no choice but to sit on top of them.
Fang Heng flicked the reins, heaving a sigh. He had finally gotten the hang of driving the donkey smoothly, and now his little sister had given him a new challenge. He absolutely could not mess this up, or they'd be short a couple kids after falling off the cart.
Fortunately the old donkey remained obedient all the way to the city gate.
The cart moved forward at a steady pace. Once they were out the gate and past Ten Li Town, Jiang Sheng even bought some vegetables.
After another quarter hour, they finally returned to the dilapidated temple at the village entrance.
Jiang Sheng happily hopped down, ready to take stock of the day's income and expenses.
But as soon as she pushed open the door, she saw the messy state of the temple, bedding overturned, pots and pans clearly missing.
Someone had come in while they were away!
Jiang Sheng's body turned ice cold in an instant.
