Chapter 6: Finally Seeing Some Money

Yang Datou began looking around for a stall as soon as they entered the town, dragging Jiang Ning from one end of the street to the other, then back again, walking the same path two or three times.

Jiang Ning’s face darkened. "What are you doing?"

Yang Datou frowned. "Mother, today isn't a market day, so there aren't many people setting up stalls in town. Should we go check the alleys?"

When it wasn't a market day, people usually bought things by walking through the streets and alleys.

Jiang Ning was speechless. She grabbed Yang Datou and pulled him toward a grocery store. When they reached the entrance, she told him to wait outside while she went in alone.

"Shopkeeper, do you sell melon seeds?"

The shopkeeper saw that Jiang Ning was dressed in rags, but he didn't look down on her. Instead, he nodded amiably. "What kind of melon seeds are you looking for, customer? I have these large black seeds from the north, and these small, thin seeds produced here in the south. The former aren't as fragrant as the latter, but they have more meat. The latter don't have much meat, but the flavor is truly incomparable! Five wen a catty. Would you like some?"

As he spoke, the shopkeeper showed the seeds to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning leaned in to smell them, her brows furrowing slightly. She took a few seeds from her pocket and handed them to the shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, would you like to taste my seeds?"

The shopkeeper looked at Jiang Ning suspiciously. Jiang Ning cracked two seeds open right in front of him.

Only then did the shopkeeper taste a few. His eyes lit up immediately. "Where did you buy these, customer? How much per catty?"

There were only a few shops in town that sold melon seeds; could it be that they had been secretly stocking up behind his back? Those damn scoundrels!

While the shopkeeper cursed them in his heart, he enthusiastically invited Jiang Ning into the shop, clearly trying to fish for information.

Jiang Ning followed him inside. Yang Datou, who was waiting outside, instinctively wanted to follow, but when his foot touched the step, he realized his tattered straw sandals, with his toes poking out, were completely out of place in this shop. He timidly pulled his foot back and continued to wait outside, feeling uneasy.

Jiang Ning didn't beat around the bush. Once inside, she said in a low voice, "Shopkeeper, to be honest, the seeds you just tasted were made by me, not bought elsewhere. If you think you can make money from them, I’ll sell them to you. If you don't think they'll sell, I'll go try other shops and won't waste any more of your time."

The shopkeeper was shocked. "Customer, are you telling the truth? You really made them yourself?"

Jiang Ning nodded firmly.

The shopkeeper fell into deep thought. Despite his expressionless face, he was regretting his earlier words immensely. If he had known, he wouldn't have told her the price of his own seeds. Now, how much should he offer?

The more he thought, the more conflicted he became. He stammered, "Customer, how much stock do you have in total?"

Jiang Ning thought for a moment and hesitated. "I only brought about a dozen catties this time. If you really want them, I can sell them all to you. If they sell well, I'll bring more next time."

"Then, the price..." The shopkeeper frowned.

Most people would have backed down at that expression, but Jiang Ning acted as if she hadn't seen it. Her expression remained unchanged as she said, "Four wen a catty. We will deliver them to you personally. As for how much you sell them for, that’s your business."

"Four wen? That's too expensive! Three wen, and I'll take them all!" A sharp glint flashed in the shopkeeper's eyes as he gritted his teeth, looking as if he were being bled dry.

Jiang Ning shook her head. "Four wen, not a penny less. If you think it's too expensive, I'll go ask elsewhere."

She turned to leave, and the shopkeeper immediately blocked her path.

Yang Datou heard the commotion and rushed in. "Don't you dare bully my mother!"

The shopkeeper: "..."

Jiang Ning said, "Shopkeeper, you see, my son is getting impatient. Four wen, yes or no? Give me an answer!"

The shopkeeper wanted to haggle more, but Yang Datou was getting so anxious he was about to start shouting.

The shopkeeper was startled and felt quite speechless. "I give up! Customer, you are truly something! And your son is even more intense! Four wen it is. Let's exchange money for goods right now!"

Jiang Ning pulled the stunned Yang Datou and signaled for him to help the shopkeeper. She couldn't read the scales of this era at all, but she could roughly estimate the weight. In the end, it weighed eighteen catties and four taels, which earned them seventy-four wen.

Before leaving, Jiang Ning bought two clay pots from the shopkeeper. He practically gave them away, charging her only four wen.

Yang Datou clutched the copper coins in his arms, so excited that he started walking with his left foot and left hand moving in sync.

Once they were far from the grocery store, he tugged tightly on Jiang Ning's sleeve. "Mother! Did we really sell them?"

Jiang Ning rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Otherwise, are the coins in your arms fake? Stop talking nonsense and let's go buy some grain and salt."

Yang Datou paused. "The grocery store we just left had some."

"We're going to a different one!" Jiang Ning couldn't be bothered to explain much to her simple-minded son.

The two discussed it; Yang Datou went to the grain shop to buy grain, while Jiang Ning went to buy salt.

When she arrived at a larger grocery store, the clerk clearly looked down on her and ignored her entirely.

Jiang Ning bypassed him and went to the counter, asking the shopkeeper who was calculating accounts, "Shopkeeper, do you trade for fine salt here?"

The shopkeeper’s fingers stopped on the abacus. He looked up at Jiang Ning. "You have fine salt, customer? Where did you get it?"

Jiang Ning smiled. "I don't have much, just one jar. It was a reward from a passing merchant I accidentally helped. Otherwise, how could a poor family like ours afford such a precious thing? As soon as I got it, I came straight here to trade it!"

There were at least two or three merchants passing through Dashan Town every day, so the shopkeeper didn't commit to her story.

"Let me see the goods first!"

As soon as Jiang Ning heard that, she knew there was a chance. She carefully took a jar of fine salt out of her basket.

The salt produced by modern processing was far cleaner than the fine salt of this dynasty. It was completely free of impurities, so perfect that the shopkeeper was amazed. It was the first time he had seen such high-quality salt, and he immediately didn't want to return it to Jiang Ning. His tone became much warmer. "What would you like to trade for, customer?"

Jiang Ning feigned difficulty. "That noble person told me that this jar of salt would sell for three hundred wen in the capital. Since we are in a small place, it's not as good as the capital, so would two hundred and fifty wen worth of goods be acceptable?"

The shopkeeper frowned, calculating the price. After a moment of hesitation, he agreed.

Jiang Ning’s heart sank. Had she set the price too low? But since she had already said it, it was hard to take it back. So, she bought three catties of coarse salt in the shop, worth sixty wen, four round winnowing baskets over a meter in diameter, worth twenty wen, and finally chose a large-caliber clay pot worth fifty wen to replace a large iron pot. She exchanged the rest for maltose.

As soon as she stepped out of the shop, the clerk leaned over to the shopkeeper and whispered, "Shopkeeper, how could a poor, ragged woman possibly have such good stuff? Could it be stolen?"

According to him, they should have just extorted the goods from her; he bet she wouldn't have dared to resist.