Shen Xiaoyan smiled sweetly. "Auntie, these are raspberries, a type of fruit."
"Oh, what a lovely name. How do you eat them?" the auntie asked.
"Just wash them and they're ready to eat. Auntie, would you like to buy some?"
"How much are they?" The auntie hesitated before asking.
"20 li per jin," Shen Xiaoyan said with a smile.
Upon hearing the price, the auntie clicked her tongue. It was too expensive. She shook her head and immediately left.
Shen Xiaoyan watched the auntie's retreating figure with a hint of regret, but she had no intention of lowering the price.
In this era, one tael of silver equaled 10 qian, which equaled 1000 li. 1 li could buy a steamed bun.
If converted, 1 li was equivalent to 5 jiao in the 21st century. Shen Xiaoyan's price of 20 li per jin for raspberries, which was ten yuan per jin, was actually not expensive at all.
This was not expensive, in Shen Xiaoyan's opinion. She observed the passersby who only inquired about the price but didn't buy, all of them deeming it too costly.
After some time, another customer finally approached to ask the price.
Shen Xiaoyan smiled. This person was none other than Lu Taobao.
"Sister-in-law, what are you selling?" Lu Taobao greeted them and then pointed at the raspberries.
"These are raspberries, a type of fruit. Would you like to try one?" Shen Xiaoyan said. She then took out a bamboo sieve filled with water, a small basin, washed over ten raspberries, and offered them to Lu Taobao.
Lu Taobao tasted one and declared it delicious. However, he didn't eat more and said to Shen Xiaoyan, "Sister-in-law, please weigh this whole basket. I'll buy it to eat slowly."
Shen Xiaoyan pursed her lips and smiled. "If you want to eat them, just take them. What are you talking about buying or not buying?"
"No, friendship is friendship, and business is business. They are separate matters," Lu Taobao said, shaking his head.
Shen Xiaoyan turned to look at Zheng Wei. Zheng Wei nodded at her, and Shen Xiaoyan said no more.
The basket was weighed, and after subtracting the weight of the basket, the total weight of the raspberries was 7 jin and 6 liang. Shen Xiaoyan rounded it down to 7 jin, totaling 140 li.
A person dressed as a servant, who had been standing behind Lu Taobao, stepped forward, counted out 140 li, and handed it to Shen Xiaoyan. He then carried the basket and returned to stand behind Lu Taobao.
Shen Xiaoyan was a little curious. Zheng Wei had only mentioned Lu Taobao's affairs but not his status.
Seeing this, his family was likely either wealthy or noble, otherwise, he wouldn't have brought servants.
There were quite a few onlookers. Seeing Lu Taobao buy so many raspberries, some people were tempted to try.
"My dear lady, you let him taste them just now. Shouldn't you let us taste them too, to see if they're good before we decide to buy?" a man said with a chuckle, gesturing towards Lu Taobao who was standing nearby.
Shen Xiaoyan had anticipated that someone would ask for a taste before coming, so she smiled and said, "As everyone can see, there aren't many here. It's impossible to let everyone taste them. How about this: there are over ten washed ones in this basin. I'll let you all try these, one per person."
As soon as Shen Xiaoyan finished speaking, the people standing around rushed forward and took raspberries from the wooden basin.
Since Shen Xiaoyan was watching, each person only dared to take one.
Because Shen Xiaoyan occasionally secretly poured some immortal spring water on them, the raspberries that grew were very beautiful. They were all cone-shaped, bright red, and each one was the size of an infant's fist.
Even so, these people quickly finished their raspberries.
Those who didn't get a raspberry eagerly asked those who had eaten them if they were good.
Everyone who had tasted the raspberries had sparkling eyes. It was indeed very delicious.
"My dear lady, give me 1 jin." This was the man who had asked for a free taste.
Shen Xiaoyan was delighted. She placed the raspberries on the scale, weighed 1 jin, showed it to the man, and then carefully packed the raspberries into a small bamboo basket.
"Anyone who buys 1 jin or more will receive a free bamboo basket for the raspberries!" Shen Xiaoyan said, handing the basket to the man.
The man was also very happy. Although the bamboo basket was not valuable, it was convenient for him. He promptly paid Shen Xiaoyan 20 li and happily walked away with the raspberries.
Where there was one, there was another. Most of the townspeople had some spare cash. Spending 20 li to buy 1 jin of raspberries to try something new was not much for them. Furthermore, they had never eaten such a fruit and were very curious.
Shen Xiaoyan weighed the fruit, Zheng Wei collected the money, and Shen Xiaoming stood by to prevent anyone from secretly taking raspberries while they were busy.
In a short time, all seven baskets of raspberries, excluding the one sold to Lu Taobao, were sold out.
When things got busy, Lu Taobao had already informed Zheng Wei and left, as he couldn't be of much help there.
Once the goods were sold, Shen Xiaoyan counted the money. A total of 7 baskets of raspberries, with each basket considered 8 jin, at 20 li per jin, totaling 1120 li. Adding the 140 li from the basket sold to Lu Taobao, the total for the day was 1260 li, which was 1 tael and 2 qian, with 60 li left over.
Putting the copper coins into a bamboo basket and covering them with loquat leaves, the three of them prepared to leave.
Passing by a shop selling breakfast, Shen Xiaoyan bought 10 meat buns, each costing 2 li, for a total of 20 li.
The three of them ate as they walked. Because they had made money, they were so happy that they returned home faster than usual.
Upon arriving home, Shen Xiaoyan took hemp rope and threaded the copper coins together in batches of 100. Then, she placed them in a woven bamboo cabinet.
The cabinet was not large, similar in size to a laptop in her previous life. Shen Xiaoyan had asked Zheng Wei to weave it specifically for storing copper coins.
She closed the lid of the bamboo box and placed it under the bed. Shen Xiaoyan then went into the main room, and the three of them sat around the table to begin their day's studies.
After half a month of studying, Shen Xiaoyan had already learned many characters and learned about the specific information of this dynasty from Zheng Wei.
Previously, she only knew that it was the Great Chu Kingdom.
After hearing Zheng Wei's explanation, she became even more confused. She had never heard of the current Great Chu Kingdom or any of the previous dynasties of Great Chu. It seemed that, as written in novels in her previous life, this was a parallel space to Earth.
Great Chu had already been established for a hundred years. The previous emperor abdicated early, and the current emperor was the Grand Emperor. The reigning emperor's surname was Sima, and his given name was Youjian. He was only in his 40s but was a wise ruler. He not only reduced taxes but also actively worked on road and water conservancy projects.
The territory of Great Chu was vast, with several small neighboring countries, all of whom submitted to Great Chu as vassals.
Shen Xiaoyan only had a general understanding of these matters and didn't pay much attention to them.
All she had on her mind was earning money to become a small landowner and then support her younger brother's studies. As for who the emperor was, it had nothing to do with her.
From this day on, Shen Xiaoyan and the two of them went to town to sell raspberries every two days. Unlike the initial hardship, every subsequent trip to sell raspberries resulted in them being sold out immediately. There was no issue of unsold goods.
Lu Taobao was still worth mentioning.
After his first purchase of raspberries, he came directly to Shen Xiaoyan's home in a carriage the next day.
It turned out that after he brought the raspberries home, his sister, mother, and grandmother all loved them very much and asked him to buy more.