Qi Zhenzhen was amused. She had only asked Steward Lin for help, never expecting things to be resolved so efficiently.
"Steward Lin, thank you so much. How can I ever repay you?" Qi Zhenzhen expressed her sincere gratitude.
Steward Lin tugged at the corner of his mouth. This matter wasn't entirely his doing. Although the person was from the Qian family, they had somehow been given to the Young Master, who, under his command, had proactively sought her out. Steward Lin couldn't fathom the thoughts of his masters, but he grasped one point: treat Miss Qi with courtesy, never refuse a request for help, and if unable to assist, send word to his masters.
"Perhaps Miss Qi could help me with some accounting?" Steward Lin casually remarked.
The next moment, Qi Zhenzhen was already flipping through the account books. Ancient account books had large characters, and though they looked thick, they didn't contain much information, only the quantities of goods bought and sold, along with their prices. Without even needing an abacus, she could calculate everything in her head.
She flipped through book after book, recording numbers one by one.
Several stacks of account books were completed in just two quarters of an hour.
"Steward Lin, I've checked them all. You can pick any to verify. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't delay your work any further. I'll be going now."
Steward Lin stared dumbfounded at the figures at the end of each account book. He couldn't bother to see her out. He grabbed his abacus and meticulously recalculated.
The results he obtained were the same as Qi Zhenzhen's calculations.
He picked up another book, and it was the same.
Four or five books in a row, without any errors.
Steward Lin closed the account books, filled with immense admiration for Qi Zhenzhen. With her accounting skills, even a seasoned accountant who had been practicing for many years might not be able to match her. He had initially thought it would be good if these account books were even given a first review today, but with a casual remark, the task was completed.
It wasn't just that she was doing so well in business at such a young age; she truly had the ability.
Qi Zhenzhen, with Jin Niang in tow, went to the fabric shop she usually frequented. The shop assistant greeted her warmly upon seeing her.
"Miss Qi, here to choose some fabric?"
Qi Zhenzhen smiled and shook her head, "I'm with a friend. She wants to buy some fabric, sturdy and durable fine cotton cloth."
The young shop assistant enthusiastically assisted Jin Niang in selecting fabric. Jin Niang chose a dark blue fine cotton cloth, enough to make two outfits. The shop assistant charged her one hundred and twenty wen and even gave her some scraps of fine cotton cloth as a bonus. Jin Niang happily accepted them and thanked him sincerely. These scraps could be used to mend clothes or perhaps for practicing making shoe soles.
"Is there anything else you need to buy?" Qi Zhenzhen asked.
Jin Niang tilted her head and thought for a moment, "I need to buy some meat and bones. Er Lang wants to eat meat, and I want to stew the bones for soup to nourish Grandma."
Qi Zhenzhen directly led her to Butcher Zhang's stall. Before the snow fell, her hunted game was always delivered here, so they were quite familiar with each other.
Butcher Zhang greeted Qi Zhenzhen warmly, "Miss Qi, buying meat? Just butchered a pig, there's some excellent streaky pork."
"Uncle Zhang, a slice of streaky pork, and two large bones," Qi Zhenzhen said with a smile.
The streaky pork, with its distinct layers of fat and lean meat, along with two large marrow bones, was expertly wrapped by Butcher Zhang.
Jin Niang also requested a slice of streaky pork and two large marrow bones.
With all their purchases complete, the two walked towards the place where they would catch the cart. Many villagers were already waiting there, laden with bags and packages.
It was crowded when they arrived, and now they had even more things to carry on the way back...
The waiting area for the cart happened to be the livestock market. Qi Zhenzhen's eyes darted around. She handed her purchases to Jin Niang to hold while she went into the livestock market.
Cows, donkeys, mules, horses.
Qi Zhenzhen headed straight for the stables at the back, where horses were sold.
Her family didn't farm, so buying a cow would be useless. Donkeys were mainly used for carrying goods, also not needed. Mules were capable, able to carry goods and pull carts, but when they returned to the capital in the future, they couldn't possibly travel in a mule cart, could they? Therefore, the best option was a horse, and horses were intelligent and easy to communicate with.
Qi Zhenzhen looked around and stopped in front of a black horse. Its hooves were as large as a bowl, and its coat was glossy. Although it wasn't as magnificent as Zhui Feng, it was the best horse in the stable.
"Boss, how much for this horse?"
"Sixty taels of silver, firm price. It comes with the cart frame and carriage."
The price was fair. Qi Zhenzhen readily produced six silver ingots. "I'll take this horse."
Qi Zhenzhen stroked the horse's mane, hooked her arm around its neck, and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in its ear, "Come with me, I'll treat you well."
The boss intended to tell Qi Zhenzhen how to feed and care for the horse, but before he could speak, the young girl had already led the horse and cart away.
This horse usually had a bad temper, but today it was unusually docile. They say horses have spirits; perhaps it had taken a liking to the young girl?
The people of Xinghua Village watched in stunned silence as Qi Zhenzhen emerged, holding the reins, the horse large and majestic.
"Sister Jin Niang, let's not squeeze anymore. Put the things on. Let's go!" Qi Zhenzhen raised her head and called out to Jin Niang.
Jin Niang stared at the horse-drawn carriage, stunned. It was only when Qi Zhenzhen pulled her that she snapped back to reality.
The woman who had mocked Qi Zhenzhen upon their arrival also came over. Looking at the large horse-drawn carriage beside Qi Zhenzhen and then at the crowded ox cart, her eyes gleamed. "Zhenzhen, I've never ridden in a horse-drawn carriage before. Tsk tsk, this tall horse, it looks so good. We're all from the same village, won't you give Auntie a ride?"
"No," Qi Zhenzhen refused crisply. "If you think I'm thin-skinned and won't be able to refuse you, then you're greatly mistaken. I'm a very clear-headed person. I won't forget those who are good to me, and I will firmly remember those who are not."
The woman's face turned awkward. She had counted on this very point, thinking that since she had asked, and in front of so many people, Qi Zhenzhen wouldn't refuse even if she didn't want to. But who would have thought she would flatly refuse?
"I'm not asking for a free ride. I'll pay, is that not enough?"
"This carriage of mine isn't in the business of carrying passengers."
Qi Zhenzhen smiled, jumped onto the carriage, waved to the crowd, gave the horse a gentle flick of the whip, and drove off in her new ride.
The woman was so angry, but there was nothing she could do, so she picked up her belongings and prepared to board the ox cart.
Grandpa Yu's face darkened. "It's full, we can't take any more."
With that, he also drove off the ox cart.
Leaving the woman standing in the wind, holding her belongings, bewildered.
"Hey, hey, hey, Old Yu, you can't do this! I came here with your cart, you can't just leave me here!" the woman shouted.
"My ox cart is simple and not worthy of your status. You should hire a horse-drawn carriage to take you back," Grandpa Yu shouted back. She had ignored him the moment she saw the horse-drawn carriage and only remembered his ox cart when she couldn't get a ride? He wouldn't pull her anymore, would he? It was only two wen, wasn't it? He wouldn't earn it anymore, would he? He had feelings too.