He nodded subtly, honestly speaking, his eyes swept over the patched clothes on her and Fan Zehao, realizing that life for rural people was not easy.
"You can't eat yourself poor, nor can you wear yourself poor, but if you're not clever, you'll be poor. The old saying is absolutely true." He spoke from personal experience, having once been a villager himself.
Zhao Jiaqi smiled. It was good that he understood, but it didn't matter if he didn't. Business was all about making money.
"It's getting late, shall I have Xiao Liuzi drive the carriage to take you back!"
"No need, my wife and I will walk back." Fan Zehao replied with a grim face, directly refusing Shopkeeper Song's kind offer.
Song Mingliang looked at Fan Zehao's unhappy expression, feeling puzzled. He didn't recall offending this man today, so why was he upset from the moment he arrived?
By the time the couple left the restaurant, Shopkeeper Song still couldn't figure it out. He rubbed the back of his head and returned upstairs.
As soon as they stepped onto the deserted street, Fan Zehao grabbed her and they jogged to the clothing store they had visited before. Standing outside the shop, he insisted loudly that she buy the skirt she had admired last time.
"Wife, buy a couple more outfits. We've earned money."
Zhao Jiaqi felt her waist pouch. There were quite a few copper coins inside, but a piece of coarse cloth clothing cost thirty wen. Honestly, she felt a bit pained.
Seeing his wife hesitate, he decisively snatched the pouch and turned to enter the clothing store. Seeing this, Zhao Jiaqi quickly followed, afraid this simpleton would spend all the money she earned in one go.
"I want that skirt, the blue and pink one." Fan Zehao pointed at a long skirt hanging on the wall. Following his gaze, the skirt was simple and stylish, and its color, especially, looked cool and refreshing to wear in summer.
Even though this man was simple, his taste was not bad.
The shop assistant measured Zhao Jiaqi's body and brought out another set. "This is pure cotton dyed fabric, more expensive than coarse cloth, forty wen a piece."
"Then please, also get me an outfit for a woman around forty, and one he can wear, all made of pure cotton."
Zhao Jiaqi quickly said it all before Fan Zehao could pay. Buying a couple more items might get a better price.
It wasn't long ago that she had to haggle for everything she bought. If only she could go back to then...
Never mind, what was the point of dwelling on the past?
All the money earned tonight was spent. After buying the clothes, Fan Zehao finally had a smile on his face.
Upon returning home, his mother's eyes welled up with tears when she received the new clothes. She said emotionally, "I am enjoying the blessings of my daughter-in-law."
A single outfit was considered a blessing. This mother-in-law was truly easily satisfied.
The next day, Fan Zehao didn't go hunting. Instead, he and Zhao Jiaqi went to town to buy pig offal. When prepared as braised meat, it had a completely different taste, far superior to braised rabbit.
The only trouble was the cleaning, but with someone in the family who had immense strength and could do the work of two, it was only a matter of being a bit wasteful with food.
At the pork stall, he pulled his wife back, stopping her from buying the offal. He leaned in and whispered to her, "That stuff smells, the smell is hard to get rid of, and it tastes bad. If you want to eat pork, we'll get a few pounds of meat to eat. Be good!"
After saying that, he rubbed the top of her head with his large palm, his doting gaze almost drowning her.
"I know how to remove the odor, don't worry." Zhao Jiaqi didn't explain further.
Talking was never as good as doing. By then, he would discover that this stuff was indeed delicious.
After much haggling with the pork vendor, a whole set of pig offal was bought for twenty wen. Moreover, pig trotters and pig tails were cheaper than pork, at ten wen per jin.
Pork head meat was relatively cheap, eight wen per jin for the raw product. This was good stuff, and Zhao Jiaqi naturally wouldn't let it pass.
She bought all of these items in one go, which made the boss extremely happy.
The offal, which was usually thrown away, had actually been sold.
While packing the meat, he greeted Zhao Jiaqi, "These pig trotters are good for milk production. Come again if you want them later. If you buy more, I'll give you a better price."
Zhao Jiaqi's eyes lit up at this. "How many pig trotters can you get a day?"
"Not many are sold in summer, only about four a day."
With such a large town, only selling two pigs wasn't much.
"Then I'll take all of these from now on. How much cheaper can you make it? Can you deliver?"
The boss looked up, carefully examining the woman in front of him, unsure. He pointed at the items in his hand: "Are you sure you want all of it? Or just the pig trotters and such?"
"All of it, including the pig offal!" Zhao Jiaqi replied with certainty.
The boss's mouth split into a wide grin. He generously said, "If you take all of this, then the pig offal is free!"
Invisibly, she saved another sum.
"Alright then, from now on, deliver it to South Ridge Village, to Fan Zehao's house, the thatched hut at the east end of the village."
The boss silently noted the address, indicating he understood. They agreed to start delivering early the next morning.
As soon as the couple left, someone approached the pork vendor to question him: "I saw them buying quite a lot of pork here, didn't I?"
The pork vendor frowned slightly, looking the woman up and down. She had a shifty look, not like a good person.
Moreover, the woman just now was going to be his big customer from now on. If he said the wrong thing and offended her, it would be bad. So, he kept something in mind and vaguely replied, half-truthfully, half-falsely, "Ah, they bought a set of pig offal for twenty wen."
When the woman heard it was pig offal, she was disappointed and lowered her eyes. She thought it was meat, so heavy and substantial.
Seeing that she had no intention of leaving, the vendor asked, "The offal is gone, but there's still meat. Do you want to buy some?"
Upon hearing this, the old woman turned and left, muttering something. The boss didn't hear clearly, guessing it wasn't something nice, otherwise, why would she be afraid of him hearing?
As the young couple entered the village, they saw several women sitting under the large locust tree, chatting while nibbling on melon seeds.
Seeing the newly married couple returning hand in hand, laughing and talking, Wang Zhenzhu spoke sarcastically.
"Oh my, the fool married a wife. Look how he dotes on her. His hands are never apart wherever they go, hehe. Is he afraid his wife will run away? But that's true, with such a young wife, if you don't keep a close eye on her, it's easy for a fool to be cuckolded."
Zhao Jiaqi stopped in her tracks, glanced at her coldly, and said, "Your family lives in a house with blue bricks and grey tiles, and Fan Fu is not a well-behaved person. Don't be surprised if he brings a young concubine home one day, and your backyard... hehe..."
"He wouldn't dare! I'd break his legs!" Wang Zhenzhu threw down the melon seeds she was holding and glared at Zhao Jiaqi, shouting.
She shrugged: "When I came out this morning, I saw Fan Fu coming out of someone's house, looking very energetic."
She had indeed seen it, and she had heard her husband say that it was from the home of a young widow in the village.
After speaking, she grabbed Fan Zehao and went home.
Her mention of "someone" had touched Wang Zhenzhu's sensitive nerve.
Before dawn today, Fan Fu had said he was going out for a walk. When he returned, he was beaming. He said he was in a hurry from walking.