The words came from the mouth of a peasant woman, which caught the attention of Shopkeeper Song. His gaze fell upon the bamboo baskets on the ground, filled with plump wild rabbits and pheasants. Seeing Fan Zehao dressed in short working clothes, his mind quickly deduced that they were hunters.
He smiled and said, "Logically, our restaurant pays higher prices for live game and lower for dead. However, seeing that your game hasn't been dead for too long, we can meet in the middle. The price for wild pheasants will be slightly higher, ten wen per jin, and wild rabbits eight wen per jin. Little wife, do you find these prices satisfactory?"
Indeed, he knew how to do business, living up to his reputation as the manager of a large restaurant. With just a few words, he settled the matter.
Zhao Jiaqi nodded. While the prices weren't ideal, it was better than a wasted trip. Compared to the price offered by the young servant Xiao Liuzi, these were considerably higher.
Soon, the game was weighed. The wild pheasants came to four and a half jin, and the eighteen jin of seven rabbits. The total came to one hundred and eighty-nine wen.
Such a load of goods fetched less than two hundred wen. Zhao Jiaqi watched as they took away the game, her lips pressed together. She silently accepted the copper coins handed to her by the shopkeeper.
"If you have more wild game to sell next time, I will definitely offer you a fair price."
Zhao Jiaqi put away the copper coins and nodded at Song Mingliang, "I will!"
They were just verbal promises, and Song Mingliang was merely speaking offhand. Both of them understood this.
The couple left the back courtyard of the restaurant, and Fan Zehao excitedly picked her up. He exclaimed joyfully, "You're amazing, wife! Normally, I sell twice this much game and only get this much copper. I didn't expect you to achieve this with just a few words!"
She was amused by this simpleton. It wasn't just her few words, but today's encounter had been quite a blow to her.
Those rabbits, if cooked well, could sell for dozens of copper coins each. Yet, selling them to the restaurant only brought in this little. It was truly a waste.
Emerging from the alley, Fan Zehao pulled her directly towards the clothing shop. He spotted a bright, vibrant red dress hanging outside and pointed, saying, "That one, I want it."
Following his finger, a striking red skirt appeared before Zhao Jiaqi's eyes, and her face immediately flushed.
She quickly told the shop assistant, "Sorry, I don't want that dress. I'd like to buy three rough cloth outfits: two for women and one for men."
The shop assistant didn't show any displeasure over this small matter, understanding that most people from the countryside wore rough cloth. In those times, owning an outfit without patches meant one was living quite well.
"The rough cloth is over here. Thirty wen per set. The men's outfit uses more fabric, so it's a bit more expensive, thirty-five wen per set. Choose after you look, and I'll bring it to you."
After instructing them, the shop assistant went to attend to new customers. Zhao Jiaqi mentally calculated that three outfits would cost one hundred and ninety-five wen.
No wonder her family didn't even buy her a wedding dress when she got married. It seemed even a wedding dress made of pure cotton fabric would cost fifty to sixty wen.
The copper coins in Zhao Jiaqi's embrace had barely warmed before half of them had to be spent. She immediately became reluctant. After excusing herself to the shop assistant, she pulled Fan Zehao and ran outside.
"Wife, we haven't bought clothes yet!" the stubborn Fan Zehao said, holding her hand as she tried to leave.
"I don't like those clothes. I was thinking we could save up more money and buy pure cotton ones, so they won't scratch your skin. What do you think?" Zhao Jiaqi spun a well-intentioned lie to coax the man beside her.
Fan Zehao knew she was lying and that she was reluctant to spend the money, but he didn't expose her. He just nodded emphatically, "Okay! I'll work harder hunting from now on, so you won't go hungry, and you'll be able to wear colorful clothes!"
Who said simpletons couldn't flirt?
Here was a prime example, right before her eyes!