Chapter 28

Chapter 28

When Jiang Yunsui went downstairs, she found that Aunt Chen and Heiwa had already left.

She puffed out her cheeks and quickly ran out of the restaurant.

At that moment, Cook Chen was walking slowly down the street.

“Hiss… why do I feel like I’ve forgotten something?”

“Woof! Woof!”

Heiwa nodded with an air of great importance.

Cook Chen turned her head to look at the dog, and the dog looked back at her.

“Auntie, Heiwa!”

Little Mushroom ran over, panting for breath.

Cook Chen slapped her forehead. “I knew I forgot something. Suisui, where did you run off to?”

She felt a bit guilty; she truly hadn’t thought of Jiang Yunsui at all along the way.

Heiwa also circled around Jiang Yunsui, wagging his tail and barking.

Jiang Yunsui’s mouth was pouted high.

“I only left for a tiny bit.”

“Auntie, why did you walk away so fast?”

Her milky voice carried a distinct note of resentment.

Cook Chen gave a dry laugh.

“Come on, Auntie will buy you some fabric to make new clothes.”

“Okay!”

Jiang Yunsui’s voice turned cheerful again, and she bounced along beside her like a little rabbit.

They didn’t go to a fabric shop; Cook Chen planned to see if there was any good material at the market.

A group of merchants had just arrived from the south. Suisui had such delicate skin that she needed to buy her something of better quality.

“Here are twenty copper coins for your pocket money. Look around and see if there’s anything you want to buy.”

Jiang Yunsui cupped her small hands together to receive the twenty copper coins, her eyes curving into crescents from sheer happiness.

“Okay!”

Then, clutching her coins, she ran off.

“Auntie, I’m going to buy mulberries!”

Heiwa followed closely at her heels.

Fruit was scarce here in Mobei. There were mulberry trees in some places, and it was currently the season for them to ripen.

Jiang Yunsui had spotted them earlier-dark, black mulberries.

She crouched down in front of an old man selling them.

The old man was a bit frightened when he saw the large black dog following behind Jiang Yunsui.

“Little miss, these mulberries are good. I just picked them today.”

The old man’s skin was dark and weathered, a constrained smile on his face. The straw sandals on his feet were worn and falling apart.

Jiang Yunsui pointed at the basket of mulberries. “How much are these?”

The old man pointed to the large tree leaves beside him. “I’ll wrap them in these. Two coins for one leaf-full.”

The leaves were quite large; if filled, they could probably hold about two handfuls.

“What about everything in this basket?”

The basket wasn’t very big, similar in size to one used for carrying eggs, and it was only half-full of mulberries.

These grew wild and were only eaten for their freshness; no one specifically cultivated them.

That was why there were so few.

“For the whole basket, I’ll give you a discount. Just eighteen coins, and I’ll give you the basket too.”

Jiang Yunsui crouched on the ground, slowly counting her copper coins.

Cook Chen stood behind her and patted her little head.

“I gave you twenty coins. Just take out two and give the rest to him.”

The little mushroom who couldn’t do math: “…”

Is that how it works?

Even though she couldn’t count, she was obedient.

So, she took out two coins and handed the rest to the old man.

The old man thanked her repeatedly and handed her the basket with a smile.

After letting Heiwa carry the basket in his mouth, Jiang Yunsui looked longingly at the only two copper coins left in her palm.

“Auntie, I only have two left.”

Cook Chen glanced at her. “Didn’t you want to buy them yourself? How are you going to eat so many mulberries?”

Jiang Yunsui began counting on her fingers. “A little for Aunt Chen, a little for Heiwa, a little for the Young Master, a little for Uncle Li, a little for Nanny Zhou, a little for Doctor Shen…”

As she calculated, Jiang Yunsui looked at the mulberries in the basket. “Suisui wants a little bit more.”
She had bought them, so there was nothing wrong with her eating a bit more.

Cook Chen really hadn’t expected her to think of so many people when buying mulberries.

“If you divide them up like this, Suisui won’t have much left to eat.”

Jiang Yunsui nodded. “It’s okay. Next time I’ll come back to sell more mushrooms and buy more tasty things.”

Although she was a glutton, she wasn’t stingy with her food.

She was willing to share her things with whoever was good to her.

The Young Master often pinched her face, messed with her hair, and called her stupid, but he gave her lots of delicious food and even gave her a golden little stone.

So, she still had to give some to him.

With only two wen left, Jiang Yunsui went to buy two steamed buns.

They hadn’t eaten breakfast yet.

“Auntie, Auntie, it’s not enough. There’s still Heiwa’s.”

She looked at Cook Chen expectantly.

Cook Chen simply took out some money and bought a bun for Heiwa as well.

As for the meat buns, they couldn’t afford them!

Even though there was no meat, Little Mushroom still ate with great gusto.

Heiwa opened his large mouth and finished his in two bites.

After eating, he picked up the basket in his mouth and continued to follow Jiang Yunsui.

There were actually quite a few things for sale at the market-various flatbreads, mutton noodles, eggs, and more…

Jiang Yunsui wanted to try them all when she saw them, but she held back.

“No money, no money, no money…”

Murmuring under her breath about having no money, Jiang Yunsui reluctantly closed her eyes.

Cook Chen felt like laughing at the sight.

Having no money was indeed one reason, but another was that Cook Chen could make delicious things herself. Once they returned, she could just use the small kitchen to whip something up.

Finally, they reached the stall selling fabric.

Cook Chen knew Jiang Yunsui had her heart set on pink fabric.

Bright, fresh shades of pink were suitable for children-peach pink, lotus root pink, cherry blossom pink…

The fabric dyeing in the Liang Kingdom was quite diverse nowadays. It was said there were even colors that would shimmer in the sunlight, though only nobles could afford those.

While Cook Chen inquired about the prices, Jiang Yunsui looked around and found three shades of pink she liked most.

She didn’t make a fuss, standing obediently to the side as she listened to Cook Chen haggle with the merchant.

When they were selling mushrooms earlier, they were trying to push the price up; now, they were trying to push it down.

So, haggling to buy something was different from haggling to sell something.

In the end, the price was set at 230 wen per chi.

Back in the south, these fabrics would only cost about 100 wen per chi, but the price doubled by the time they were transported from the south to Mobei.

And this was the price after Cook Chen used her silver tongue to bargain.

Of course, this was a higher-quality type of fabric.

Ultimately, they cut three chi of the peach-pink fabric, totaling 690 wen.

Jiang Yunsui wrinkled her little nose; it was even more expensive than the mushrooms she sold.

It seemed she would have to work harder to make more mushrooms grow.

After buying the fabric, Cook Chen folded it carefully and placed it in the back basket, then took Jiang Yunsui’s hand to continue browsing the market.

“Let’s go buy some flour and meat.”

Although they could cook for themselves in the small kitchen, they couldn’t just take public supplies. They had to prepare their own household stock so that no one could use it as leverage against them.

Cook Chen had always been a very cautious person.

“Okay, and we need to buy a big bone for Heiwa.”

Heiwa wagged his tail and gave a happy bark.

After buying the flour, Cook Chen thought for a moment. Suisui’s family seemed to be from the south, and people there liked to eat rice, so she bought some rice as well.

Seeing a hunter selling wild rabbits and pheasants, she bought a wild rabbit. She chose one with white fur, which was five wen more expensive than the gray or black ones.