The pawnshop owner saw that Qin Junyao genuinely wanted the zither. He didn't doubt the sincerity of her words based on her attire, but instead posed the question left by the zither's owner.
"Young lady, are you buying this zither for yourself or as a gift?"
"For myself."
The pawnshop owner shook his head. "If you're buying it for yourself, then this zither cannot be sold to you."
Qin Granny, who had just declared her granddaughter mad, was displeased again. "Why can't it be sold? Are we common folk not qualified to use expensive zithers? I'll buy it if you don't sell it to me."
"My good lady, it's not that I won't sell it to you. It's that the old gentleman who consigned it left a question. You can only buy it if you answer correctly. I run a small business and just earn a living through hard work," the owner explained quickly.
While Qin Granny was still arguing with the owner, Qin Junyao reached out to touch the zither again. She discovered two small characters, "Missed," carved between the dragon pool and the phoenix's feet at the bottom of the zither.
Missed?
"Grandma, I have no fate with this zither. We're not buying it," Qin Junyao put the zither down again and walked to Qin Granny's side, giving her a smile.
"You're really not buying it?" Qin Granny asked for confirmation.
"Mm, not buying it," Qin Junyao nodded. If it was meant to be missed, then it had to be missed.
"Alright, boss. We won't insist on buying the zither, but can you give me a better price for the donkey cart?"
"I don't know the price from where they sell livestock, so I'll buy it from you..."
After nearly half an hour of negotiation, Qin Granny finally bought the desired items at a satisfactory price.
After seeing Qin Granny off, the owner was telling his assistant to be more vigilant next time, and to hide when they saw the old lady with the red headscarf approaching. Just then, someone arrived.
Successfully purchasing the zither named "Missed."
The Qin family members headed towards the inn with their purchases. Qin Junyao bid them farewell and went to another pawnshop. Except for Qin Xiaoyu muttering about her sister not doing any work, the rest of the family was accustomed to it.
This pawnshop was not as large as the previous one, but it had a decent selection of goods.
Qin Junyao first picked out some seeds. She wanted anything her spatial dimension didn't have. She only bought no more than an ounce of each type, which caused the shop assistant to constantly roll his eyes at her.
Qin Junyao paid no mind to the shop assistant's attitude, as long as the items were well-packaged.
Later, she spotted two shelves that could be placed in her spatial dimension for storing seeds, two mats for harvested grains, and several baskets for vegetables.
There were many other items Qin Junyao fancied, but with only a little silver on her, she dared not spend recklessly.
When settling the bill, the shop assistant suddenly asked Qin Junyao, "Seeing as you're buying so many seeds, we have some old seeds here. Do you want them? They're all mixed at the bottom of the sacks, a bit of everything. If you buy a lot, it's cheap."
"Can I see them first?" Qin Junyao wanted to check the types of seeds.
The soil in her spatial dimension was magical. As long as the seeds were not shriveled, moldy, or hollow, they could sprout.
The shop assistant gestured outwards. "They're behind the door. Go take a look yourself."
Qin Junyao walked out and saw a bag reaching her calves behind the door. She rummaged through it with her hands. There were various kinds of seeds, about five or six types she hadn't seen before, judging by a quick glance. Excellent.
"I'll take that bag of seeds."
The shop assistant's face immediately bloomed into a smile. "Great! The previous items come to four hundred and sixty wen. That bag of old seeds will be forty wen. That makes it exactly five hundred wen."
Qin Junyao didn't have copper coins. She paid with碎银子 (crushed silver).
The shop assistant used a 戥子 (scale for weighing silver) to weigh out five qian of silver and kept it. He also helped Qin Junyao move the shelves and other items to the adjacent alley in the backyard, completely changing his previous attitude.
The owner had said the bag of seeds could be sold for twenty wen. Now he had personally gained twenty copper coins.
What a fool. Few old seeds could sprout. What was he buying them for?
Once the alley was empty, Qin Junyao put the items into her spatial dimension. She then went for a stroll on the street, gathering information on prices.
She initially thought of converting the price of steamed buns to calculate how much one liang of silver was equivalent to in modern currency.
Later, she found it impractical. The price of hair accessories made of crushed jade at roadside stalls could only buy twenty-odd steamed buns. In modern times, this would buy a cartload of steamed buns.
Those exquisite handicrafts, such as clay figurines, wood carvings, and small baskets, were only worth half a steamed bun. On the other hand, pork was very expensive, while lamb was relatively cheaper.
After a tour and some inquiries, Qin Junyao returned to the inn. Su Dan Novel Network.
"Sister, you picked the perfect time to come back! We finished our work and you returned, and you can still eat steamed buns," Qin Xiaoyu grumbled, taking a bite of a steamed bun.
Qin Junyao rubbed her nose, reminding herself to be more observant in the future.
"Sister Qin, I bought steamed buns. Come and eat quickly! They're lamb and radish filling, and they're delicious. Sigh! I wanted to buy pure meat ones, but my brother wouldn't let me," Fuzi said, casting a resentful glance at Zhao Liangcai.
Zhao Liangcai sat up straight. This Fuzi, it was clearly he who had said their New Year's money wasn't enough to buy so many pure meat buns, and now he was saying Zhao Liangcai wouldn't let him buy them?
"It's good to have both meat and vegetables. If we eat too much rich food, our stomachs will feel uncomfortable. Junyao, come quickly," Mother Qin tried to smooth things over. You can't be picky when you're eating someone else's food for free.
"That's right. Not everyone can eat good things. It seems she has some self-awareness," Qian Duo said sarcastically, picking up a steamed bun with her chopsticks.
Mother Qin's head drooped at being spoken to like that. Qin Xiaoyu was about to speak when Qin Granny stopped her.
Qin Granny propped one leg on the long stool, and with one hand holding chopsticks, she threw them forcefully at Qian Duo. "Some people just can't be given an inch. Say what you just said again. Eldest daughter-in-law, don't hold me back."
"Mother, Mother, there are other people watching," Mother Qin said, daring to pull at Qin Granny.
It was midday, and many diners were eating.
"So what if they're watching? Are we missing a piece of meat? I've taught you for nearly twenty years, and you still haven't learned. You tolerate it when a mere girl speaks to you like that?" Qin Granny turned from Qian Duo and faced Mother Qin instead.
Mother Qin, hearing the hushed whispers from other tables, was close to tears. She said softly, "Mother, we'll need her brother's help for military service, so let's just tolerate it."
"Tolerate what? Tolerate this, tolerate that. Will you tolerate it if you marry a strong daughter-in-law later? Will you tolerate it if your daughter is bullied after she gets married?"
"Let go of me. Hey? Where did she go?" By the time Qin Granny wanted to find Qian Duo, Qian Duo had already gone back to her room.
After Qin Granny's commotion, everyone lost their appetite for steamed buns. After all, the hall was abuzz with discussions about the old lady with the red headscarf.
Qin Granny, wearing her red headscarf, was unaffected by the outside world. She even asked Fuzi where the steamed buns were bought, remarking that the craftsmanship was good.
Qin Junyao sat beside Qin Sen, frowning as she ate half a steamed bun. Fortunately, she broke it into pieces, leaving the other half on the plate untouched.
"Niece, are you not eating anymore?" Qin Sen pointed at the half-steamed bun and asked Qin Junyao.
"It's too gamy. I'll just eat half," Qin Junyao said, almost speaking with her lips closed.
When she opened her mouth, the gamey smell was even stronger. She had never eaten lamb this gamy before, feeling a layer of grease sticking to her mouth and tongue.
"If elder sister doesn't eat it, I'll eat your share! Where we come from, lamb is food for the wealthy. I don't understand what you mean by gamy, it just smells delicious to me," Qin Erniu said, knowing Qin Junyao wouldn't eat it, and proactively offered to share.
Qin Junyao pushed the plate in front of her towards Erniu. "If you want to know what gamy tastes like, drink a sip of cold water after you finish eating, and you'll understand."
"Alright, I'll try it after I finish."
Zhao Liangcai watched their actions clearly and made a note of it.