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Chapter 45
Fortunately, He Zhiran completely inherited the original host's memory, so she could recognize these traditional character signboards.
When she got to a pork shop, He Zhiran asked about the prices. She was happily surprised to find that the pork ribs here were actually cheaper than the pork meat.
Pork was 18 wen per catty, while pork ribs only cost 8 wen.
He Zhiran bought a slab of pork ribs without hesitation. Not only was it cheap, but it was also her favorite thing to eat.
Other people would think she was stingy for not buying the more expensive pork and only getting the cheap ribs.
After buying the pork, she asked the boss to chop it into small pieces and put it in her wheelbarrow.
He Zhiran went into a general store again.
The shopkeeper looked completely listless, sitting with his head down behind the counter, not even glancing at the customer who had entered.
In her previous life, if He Zhiran encountered a shopkeeper like this, she would have just left immediately.
However, it was different here. She didn't want to waste time looking for another general store, so she could only browse around the shop herself.
The goods were arranged somewhat messily here. After looking around, He Zhiran still hadn't found what she wanted to buy.
"Shopkeeper, do you have oil paper here?"
The shopkeeper finally listlessly lifted his head upon hearing a customer ask a question.
"There is oil paper. Young lady, how much do you need?"
He Zhiran thought that in the future, she would often take things out of her space. She couldn't always grab things with her hands like the pickled pork belly.
Therefore, the more oil paper the better for her.
"However much oil paper you have here, I want it all."
The shopkeeper clearly didn't believe her words.
"Young lady, you're not joking are you? I have a lot of oil paper here."
"I'm not joking. As long as the price is fair, I guarantee I'll take it all."
The shopkeeper hurriedly got up and went behind the curtain. He quickly came back carrying a large stack of oil paper.
He Zhiran estimated that there were at least over a thousand sheets, which was indeed a lot.
The shopkeeper put the oil paper on the counter.
"Young lady, there are one thousand one hundred sheets of oil paper. It's ten sheets for one wen here, a price you definitely won't find anywhere else."
Although He Zhiran wasn't very familiar with the prices in this era, she could tell from instinct that the shopkeeper wasn't deceiving her.
"Alright, I'll take all of these oil paper sheets."
She used her sleeve to cover as she took out two strings of copper coins from her space.
These copper coins were all pilfered from the national treasury. She had cartons of them, so she didn't feel bad about spending them at all.
She counted out one hundred and ten wen and gave it to the shopkeeper. Just as He Zhiran was about to hug the oil paper and leave, she saw a young man rush in looking panicked.
"Father, I just went to ask around at the inn again. The merchant who we ordered the oilcloth from really ran away."
The shopkeeper sat despondently on the chair, covering his face with his hands, not knowing if he was crying or not.
The young man passed by He Zhiran and went behind the counter.
"Father, what do we do now?"
The shopkeeper shook his head, his tone full of helplessness.
"Sigh...We used all our family's savings to order that batch of oilcloth. Now that the merchant has absconded, we can only try to sell off this oilcloth at a low price."
When He Zhiran heard this, she immediately turned back.
She was very interested in the oilcloth they mentioned.
"Shopkeeper, can I take a look at the oilcloth you're talking about?"
The shopkeeper looked at He Zhiran, still with a helpless expression.
"Young lady, don't make things more complicated. That oilcloth is for making umbrellas. You won't be able to use it even if you buy it."
He Zhiran had guessed that the oilcloth they mentioned might have waterproof properties. Hearing the shopkeeper say this, she could now fully confirm that this was exactly what she wanted.
"Shopkeeper, in any case you're going to sell the oilcloth. Why don't you let me take a look? If it's suitable, I'll buy some."
"Young lady, please wait a moment. I'll bring some samples for you to see." The young man's mind was nimbler than the shopkeeper's. He didn't mind the trouble and immediately got up to fetch the oilcloth.
Soon, he came back holding a piece of green and black oilcloth.
"Young lady, take a look. Our family's oilcloth is thin and makes umbrellas that are lightweight and durable."
He Zhiran reached out to feel the oilcloth. Indeed, as the young man said, the oilcloth was very thin.
However, it was woven very densely and looked to be very good quality at first glance.
"Young sir, how much does this oilcloth cost?"
The young man probably couldn't make decisions on his own. He turned to consult with the shopkeeper.
"Father, I think as long as we can recover some of the capital on this oilcloth, that's good enough. Why don't we just sell it at cost price?"
The shopkeeper nodded with difficulty.
"Young lady, if you buy a whole bolt, it will be at our cost price of 500 wen per bolt."
He Zhiran didn't understand the prices, but hearing any amount of wen was cheap to her ears.
She asked some more questions about the length and width per bolt of cloth, and calculated that one bolt of oilcloth could make two simple tents if used to create makeshift tents.
"Shopkeeper, how much oilcloth do you have?"
The shopkeeper's eyes bulged again. "How much do you want?"
After some calculations, He Zhiran wanted to make simple tents that could fit two people each. There were twelve people in the He family, plus another twenty from the Xie and Fang families.
She couldn't leave out those officials who were always trying to fleece the convicts either.
With so many people, they would need at least twenty five tents.
"Shopkeeper, I want thirteen bolts of oilcloth."
Hearing this number, the shopkeeper felt like there must be something wrong with his ears. Disregarding his image, he vigorously picked at his ears.
The young man reacted quickly again. "Young lady, please wait. I'll fetch the oilcloth for you now."
He Zhiran raised her hand to stop him.
"No rush. I've bought so many things that I'm not sure if your shop can deliver them to my door?"
"We can deliver within Yunlai County." The young man quickly agreed.
After confirming they could deliver, He Zhiran bought enough bamboo poles and hemp ropes.
When paying the silver, she also remembered to remind them:
"Young sir, I need eight black and five green bolts, delivered together with the bamboo poles to the inn west of the city."
"Ok, no problem." The young man agreed and immediately ran to the back room to prepare the goods.
Seeing that the general store didn't have anything else she needed, He Zhiran pushed her cart and left.
On the road, she deliberately looked for a few deserted alleys and gradually took the foodstuffs out of her space and loaded them onto the wheelbarrow.
She had also purchased various vegetables the farmers were selling, to use as cover when taking things out of her space.
As He Zhiran shopped along the way, she stealthily took out some seasonings and other items from her space.
When she passed the grain shop, she bought a jar of vegetable oil, and also bought two empty jars from the boss. She used the peanut oil from her space to gradually fill up the jars.
Finally, at the blacksmith's shop she bought three large iron pots and three iron spatulas, three water kettles and other commonly used items.
The wheelbarrow kept getting heavier, and He Zhiran was starting to have trouble pushing it.
There was no other way. She had to take all these things out into the open, and didn't dare put them into her space to transport back. She could only painfully push the wheelbarrow forward.
He Zhiran knew that with the physical strength of this body, she probably wouldn't be able to go much farther.
Therefore, she could only reluctantly choose to go back the same way.