Kapitel 19: Chapter 19 Not Enough Money to Spend_1
The towering city wall, approximating six zhang in height, stood majestically in the distance. Upon the city gate, the words "Chudu" were clearly distinguishable, and the thickness of the wall along with its solemn colors proclaimed its inviolable authority to the world.
Unconsciously, Mo Yan looked up for a while, feeling a soreness in her neck. As she shifted her gaze, she realized that even the youngest, Zhenzhen, was awestruck by the grandeur of the city tower.
"We've finally arrived!"
Mo Qingze, coming back to his senses, exclaimed.
"It's wonderful we're here; any further and Zhenzhen's feet would have fallen off!"
Zhenzhen, watching the passing crowd, was excited, but his childlike words were unintentionally amusing.
"Hmph, talking nonsense again. Weren't you carried by father all along the way?"
Xin Er loved to bicker with her brother, and seizing the opportunity to tease him for his foolish remark, she couldn't help but chide.
With his shortcoming pointed out, Zhenzhen wanted to retort but couldn't think of a comeback, his little face turning red as he pouted and muttered, "Bad second sister, the worst second sister."
The others were amused by the siblings' antics and couldn't help but laugh.
It was getting late, and they needed to find a place to rest upon entering the city. Mo Yan wasted no time, took out the Passage Order Xiao Eleven had given them from the bundle, and handed it to Mo Qingze.
The drought and turmoil in the South had spread to the North, causing many people to flee from the South to seek refuge in the North, and many of them ended up in Jing City. To avoid chaos within the city, the Court managed the refugees' entry into Jing City strictly. Hundreds of soldiers guarded each of the four city gates, inspecting passersby. Unless one had relatives willing to take them in or possessed a Passage Order, they could only stay in the refugee camp by the North gate.
Grandfather Li, that is, Lizhong, was worried about how to enter the city when he saw the troops guarding the gate. But upon noticing Mo Yan produce a Passage Order, he curiously refrained from asking about it.
With the Passage Order, the group smoothly passed the inspection and stepped into the Imperial Capital.
The Imperial Capital was truly deserving of its name, with clean, neat streets flanked by densely arranged houses and shops, bustling crowds, and busy traffic—all orderly and without a hint of chaos. Ordinary citizens wore clothes that rarely showed patches, indicating a glimpse of the city's prosperity. Grandfather and grandson of the Li family were somewhat accustomed to this, but Mo Yan's group, with their clothes covered in patches and layered with the dust of travel, looked distinctly out of place, drawing many curious glances from onlookers.
Mo Yan didn't mind, Mo Qingze, being a scholar, didn't feel ashamed, Zhenzhen was too young to understand the stares, but Xin Er felt somewhat embarrassed and instinctively ducked her head, hiding behind Mo Yan.
Having entered the city earlier than planned and skipped lunch, the group was famished. At Mo Yan's insistence, they found a clean noodle stall to satisfy their hunger first.
In Jing City, prices were high. A bowl of shredded pork noodles that cost three wen elsewhere was double the price here, at six wen. Mo Yan ordered six bowls of noodles, spending over thirty wen in one go, which pained her as she didn't have much silver, and there would be many expenses on her initial arrival to Jing City!
Grandfather and grandson of the Li family felt very sorry. All along the journey, everything they ate and drank was provided by the Mo Family; without them, with neither money nor food, they wouldn't have made it to Jing City.
The gratitude to the Mo Family was deeply etched in Lizhong's heart. As he thought of the families parting ways soon, perhaps never to meet again, and with no chance to repay their kindness, he couldn't help but speak:
"Mr. Mo, it's not easy to find a place to stay in Jing City. If you don't mind, you could come and live with my son-in-law's family for a while, so we can look after each other,"
Upon hearing this, Liyan's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. During this time, she had come to think of the Mo Family as her nearest and dearest, aside from Grandfather.
Mo Qingze immediately shook his head: "Uncle Li, I appreciate your kindness, but I must decline your offer!"
Mo Yan, noticing Lizhong's intent to express his gratitude, spoke up before he could persist, "Grandfather Li, when we helped you, we didn't expect anything in return. After all, we are outsiders; it wouldn't be right for us to impose. Besides, we are capable of finding our own place in the city."
Seeing their firm stance, Lizhong felt hesitant. It would be acceptable for him and his granddaughter to stay with his son-in-law without stirring gossip, but bringing the Mo Family along might displease his daughter's stern mother-in-law, causing difficulty for both his daughter and son-in-law. Moreover, the debt of gratitude was his to repay; he couldn't in good conscience let his son-in-law's family bear it. His greatest fear was that, in trying to repay the kindness, he might cause discomfort to his benefactors, turning his good intention into a misdeed.
The father and daughter of the Mo Family had also considered this, which is why they firmly declined, to avoid putting the Li Family in an awkward situation. Besides, living under someone else's roof is never ideal.
At that moment, the noodles were ready and brought to the table by the landlady, temporarily suspending the conversation.
After sharing a bowl of noodles, the two families were about to part ways, and although Lizhong tried to persuade them one more time, Mo Qingze still did not agree.
Lizhong, having no other choice, said, "I stayed in Jing City for a while and am quite familiar with it. If you're looking for a place to stay, it's best to head to West Market. The commoners there are better off and easier to deal with. Plus, there are night patrols that make the area safer to live in."
Mo Yan and her father expressed their gratitude, finding this information extremely valuable. Otherwise, with their lack of knowledge about the vast city, they wouldn't even know where to begin looking for a suitable place.
Finally, Lizhong gave Mo Qingze the address of his son-in-law's residence, asking him to let him know once they found a place to settle down, wishing for the two families to keep in touch. With a smile, Mo Qingze took note of the details, and after an affectionate farewell, they parted ways, heading in opposite directions, one to the east and the other to the west.
...
By the time Mo Yan and her group arrived in West Market and found a place to rest, the sun had already set.
After seeing off the elderly couple who had rented the house to them, Mo Yan joyfully surveyed their new home. The location was somewhat remote, situated at the very end of the street, with a long alley outside the courtyard door that truly was frightening at night.
The house, made of blue bricks and grey tiles, appeared a bit worn and wasn't large, consisting of a small main hall and two rooms. One of the rooms had been partitioned to create a separate living space and kitchen.
What satisfied Mo Yan was the courtyard—though not large, about twenty pings in size—it had a small vegetable patch against the wall, a chicken coop in the corner perfect for raising chickens, and beyond that, a well, which made fetching water quite convenient.
Though the rent wasn't cheap, costing one or two pieces of silver a month, Mo Yan was quite content to find such a quaint courtyard in Jing City, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.
It took the family two hours to clean the house inside and out, and Mo Yan realized there was too much they needed to buy. The old furniture left by the landlord was serviceable enough, but they still needed to purchase bedding, pots, pans, and the like.
After tallying up the necessities, Mo Yan dismally found that the few pieces of silver she had left were nowhere near enough to cover the expenses...
Kapitel 20: Chapter 20 Mad Shopping_1
Two rooms, two beds, Mo Yan shared the slightly smaller room with Mo Xin, leaving Mo Qingze and his son to sleep in the other room. Even though there were no blankets on the beds, it was much better than sleeping on the ground as they had before. On the first night in their new home, they all slept exceptionally well.
When Mo Yan woke up, Mo Qingze had already prepared the meal.
After breakfast, Mo Yan opened her small bundle and took out all her silver coins to count them carefully. She found that she had just over four taels of silver left. Money really didn't last long; just the rent and deposit from the day before had used up two taels.
She wasn't worried about money. Right now, the most important thing was to upgrade the Space. As long as the Space was upgraded by one level, not only would its area increase manifold, but it would also nurture a Spiritual Spring that could hasten the growth of all things. Moreover, she would be able to take items out with her thoughts alone, which meant she wouldn't have to enter the Space to retrieve things, very convenient indeed.
Upgrading the Space was not easy and required two conditions to be met. First, there must be sufficient Spiritual Energy; second, the transparent bead in the Space needed to be covered in red lines. Spiritual Energy was easy to come by; she just needed to keep planting crops. Red lines, however, were difficult to obtain. She had helped the grandfather and grandson of the Li family before, and two red lines appeared on the bead. In fact, to fill the entire bead, she had to help at least a hundred people.
But such things couldn't be rushed. After thinking about it for a while, Mo Yan set the thought aside. She took all she owned, dragging her father and siblings to the street for their first mad shopping spree in this different world.
Their first purchase was blankets. They needed four cotton blankets for two beds. Mo Yan thought one or two pieces of silver would more than suffice, but cotton production here was low, and the prices were always high. Cotton blankets made of old cotton cost three hundred fifty Wen, and those made of new cotton cost five hundred Wen.
Mo Qingze, unaware of how much money his daughter had, reacted reflexively to the hefty price tag, "Yanyan, let's wait until your father has earned some money before we buy them."
Mo Yan also felt the pinch, but as autumn was approaching and they would need the blankets when it got cooler, she clenched her teeth and said, "Let's still buy them. Xin Er and Zhenzhen are still young, and they might catch a cold at night without blankets."
The shop assistant tending to them kindly added, "Buying now is a good deal. In half a month, the weather will cool down, and the prices will be even higher."
Hearing his daughter and the assistant's words, Mo Qingze found himself unable to argue against the purchase, but internally he felt even more remorseful. As a father, he was unable to provide blankets for his children and had to rely on his daughter's hard-earned money.
Mo Yan, not noticing her father's expression, haggled with the assistant and finally spent one tael of silver and six hundred Wen Money to buy four cotton blankets: two new and two old, using the new as covers and the older ones as mattress toppers.
The blankets were too bulky to carry, but since they spent a full tael of silver, the assistant would deliver the items to their home. Mo Yan was surprised to find that ancient businesses were so comprehensive. Leaving their address, the family then visited the Cloth Shop.
Their clothing was pitifully sparse, with only two sets of clothes to change into each season, all patched over patches.
Mo Yan didn't mind wearing such clothes, but looking too shabby could lead to being underestimated, especially for the two younger ones. Both physically and psychologically in their growing phase, she didn't want them to feel inferior due to strange looks from others.
She bought two types of fabric, one a soft, breathable cotton, and the other a durable hemp. She planned to use the cotton to make undergarments and the hemp for outerwear. She purchased one bolt of each fabric, spending eight hundred Wen. The original owner was skilled in needlework, and making clothes was easy. Having inherited the original owner's memories, she slowly figured things out and making clothes shouldn't be a problem.
Then, they went to the rice and miscellaneous goods shops, buying some rice, flour, pots, pans, and hoes, as well as various small household necessities. Lastly, they went to the market with the intention of buying meat before returning home.
The cost of living in Jing City was indeed not cheap. Good streaky pork that cost twenty Wen per jin in Longshi Town was sold here for twenty-five Wen.
Mo Yan smacked his lips and calculated the remaining silver, spending fifty wen to buy two jin of good meat for braising, and another five wen to buy some cheap large bones to save for soup.
Thinking of the tasty bone soup and delicious braised meat, he couldn't help his mouth watering uncontrollably.
Mo Qingze followed behind with a large pile of items, looking at his daughter's back with some unease in his heart. His daughter spent money like water, yet he, as a father, had no idea where all this money came from. He trusted that his daughter would not do anything bad, but he couldn't help worrying.
Mo Yan, happily munching on a candied hawthorn stick, was oblivious to her father's dilemma. While enthusiastically touring the streets, with their ancient charm, she also kept an eye on the two little ones who kept looking around, to prevent them from getting lost.
Once home, Mo Yan got busy, putting away the things they bought before heading to the kitchen to start preparing lunch.
In her previous life, she came from a well-off family where her three brothers managed the company, sparing her the worry. After leaving school, her days were divided between managing "Space" and focusing on charity work, helping those in need. She devoted her remaining time to researching recipes.
Over the years, from famous heritage dishes to street corner snacks, she could make almost everything. While her culinary skills weren't necessarily on par with those of five-star hotel chefs, no one who had tasted her cooking had ever said it wasn't delicious.
During the escape, conditions limited her opportunities for cooking showcases. Now that she had settled down, how could she not treat herself to some delicious food?
Mo Yan prepared three dishes: braised pork, stir-fried greens with garlic, and salt and pepper corn on the cob. The big bone soup wasn't ready yet, so it had to be saved for dinner. She had originally wanted to take a chicken from "Space" to make braised chicken pieces, but considering she'd made all her purchases in full view of her family that day, it wouldn't make sense to magically produce a chicken from thin air.
The chickens in "Space" were the twenty chicks she had bought at Longshi Town earlier. Time inside "Space" flowed faster than outside. While only half a month had passed in the outside world, five months had gone by in "Space". Just two days ago, the hens had started laying eggs, and each time she entered, she was able to collect quite a few eggs.
However, these chickens did cause her some trouble; they had done quite a bit of damage to the cabbage and rice plants in "Space". There was no helping it—the time disparity between "Space" and the outside world was too great. She couldn't possibly tie up the chickens and only feed them occasionally when she went inside, so she had to let them forage freely.
When the dishes were served on the table, Xin Er and Zhenzhen, who had already smelled the fragrance, eagerly gathered around. Due to their good upbringing, they did not start eating immediately but waited for their father to serve himself first before they began to eat with their chopsticks.
"Wow, this is so delicious. Big sister, you must try this braised pork. It's too good," Zhenzhen exclaimed after taking a bite of the meat.
Xin Er also looked at her big sister in surprise, unusually not contradicting her silly brother, because she too felt that the food her big sister had made now was much tastier than before.
Although Mo Qingze didn't say anything, his gaze towards his daughter revealed his satisfaction. A woman skilled in cooking was indeed a significant advantage for her future marital home.
Mo Yan, the recipient of praises, smiled smugly, completely unaware of her father's thoughts. If she knew, she would definitely be annoyed; after all, she was only thirteen years old. Marriage was far too distant a prospect!
When that time actually came, she would definitely not admit that she was acting younger than her age!
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