Traveling through ancient times: living a different life

Biyue and Chen Chen each carried a box of gold, with Xiaomai and Haisheng following behind. The gold was very heavy, weighing 300 kilograms. Fortunately, Biyue had taken a powerful pill, so this weight was nothing.

Bi Yue said to Chen Chen, "Let's find an empty alley. I'll collect the gold first."

The four of them were in a deserted alley in front. Bi Yue put away the gold, took out another 2000 taels of silver from her bosom and handed it to him, "Take the flowers first, and ask me for more if you don't have enough."

They had nothing better to do at the moment, so they wandered around and saw a pastry shop. The four of them walked in. Xiaomai and Haisheng chose what they liked and each weighed five pounds of pastry in their hands. Chen Chen was in charge of paying.

The waiter in the store said enthusiastically: "Customer, come back if it's delicious."

Then they went to the clothing store and bought four sets of clothes, pants and shoes for each person. The Snake King immediately changed into a set of silk clothes and put them on himself. He asked the three people with a smile, "How is it? Does it look good? This material is quite cool to wear."

Bi Yue saw that the Snake King had a different temperament after putting on new clothes. It is true that clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. After being dressed up, he looked like a master of a wealthy family, handsome and majestic.

Chen Chen suggested going to a teahouse to listen to storytelling, but Bi Yue didn't want to go, so she told him to go by himself. Worried that he didn't have enough money, she took out another 3000 taels of silver and handed it to him, "Go and have fun by yourself, just remember to come back to the inn at night. If someone bullies you, don't be afraid, because you have intermediate martial arts skills now, and ordinary people can't hurt you."

"I understand, master. I'll go play now." Then he left happily.

Biyue knew that he liked listening to storytelling and even more liked going to Yichunlou for fun. No matter whether he was a human or a monster, a man's nature could not be changed, so let him go wild!

The remaining three people were wandering around. Xiaomai suggested going to the vegetable market. She asked passers-by and found out that there was a big market not far away. Since they had nothing to do, they decided to go there.

It's almost the New Year, and the shops on the street are doing good business. There are many people selling things, and quite a few buying things. The shouts are endless, and people are coming and going. It's very lively.

When we got outside the vegetable market, there were many people selling charcoal. Each of them carried a load of charcoal on their shoulders. There were nearly twenty people in total, young and old, including women.

Biyue felt a little strange. This place was different from the inland. It would be hard to survive in winter without burning fire or roasting charcoal. The winter here was quite warm. She was very curious why so many people were selling charcoal.

He walked over in person and saw a father and son selling charcoal on the roadside. The father was in his thirties, with dark skin from years of sun exposure, and was short. He was sitting on the ground drinking water. The son was about fifteen or sixteen years old, taller than his father, and well-proportioned. He stood there, looking into the distance from time to time, looking very anxious.

Bi Yue walked over and asked him, "Hey, young man, this place is close to the sea and the temperature is high, why are there so many people selling charcoal?"

"Hello, young lady. You may not know that the winter here is warm, with temperatures as high as 20 to 30 degrees. I don't know when it started, but every year there are merchants from other places coming to Yuya County to buy seafood and dried fish.

We also bought large quantities of charcoal and brought it back to the mainland to sell. We bought as much as we could, although the price was low. In the mainland, 100 jin of charcoal would cost at least 200 wen, and at times the price would be 250 wen. We only sold it for 120 wen.

Every year, the boss sends people to collect charcoal in the month before the New Year. This year, there are still ten days before the New Year, and no one has come. I am so anxious. I still have several thousand kilograms of charcoal at home. If I can't sell it, I won't be able to celebrate the New Year. "

"Don't you live by the sea? You can make a living by fishing. Why do you want to make a living by burning charcoal?"

"We fled here more than 30 years ago. Fishing boats are expensive. The cheapest ones cost more than 10 taels of silver. It takes several families to buy one. We don't dare to go to the deep sea, so we don't have much income. We still rely on farming."

So that's how it is, Bi Yue thought: There are two possibilities here. The first is that the merchants deliberately don't come to buy, and then they lower the price to buy when the charcoal farmers get anxious.

The second reason is that the demand in the mainland is not high this year, and charcoal is saturated. Merchants cannot make money, so they don’t want it. However, these charcoal farmers are unaware of the twists and turns involved and are still eagerly waiting to collect the charcoal.

No matter which one it was, he wanted to help them, so he said to the boy, "I also need charcoal. Can you sell it to me? I'll give you a three-cent increase on last year's price per pound. I'll take whatever you have. I'll go first, and you can go with this girl."

Without waiting for the boy to reply, Bi Yue said a few words to Xiaomai, then went to the deserted beach with Haisheng, and ordered a large scale on the flat ground near the edge of the mountain to weigh the charcoal.

Soon, charcoal sellers came over with charcoal on their shoulders and began to weigh the charcoal. After collecting the charcoal and paying the silver, Xiaomai said to them, "If you still have charcoal to sell, please deliver it before 11:00 tonight. We need all of it. The big ship will leave tonight, and it's still early. If you need charcoal sellers, please go back and deliver it immediately."

The charcoal farmers cheered, thanked everyone, and hurried back to haul the charcoal.

Xiaomai asked in confusion: "Miss, why do you collect so much charcoal? Our family doesn't need so much. I know you are kind-hearted and want to help these charcoal farmers, but..."

Bi Yue interrupted her and said, "Okay, stop talking. It will definitely be very useful in the future. It won't take up much space in your treasure bag."

Xiaomai didn't say anything. After Biyue collected all the charcoal, she asked Xiaomai to go to the county town to buy some food and handed her two food boxes. Haisheng refused to leave Biyue, so Xiaomai went to buy food alone.

Bi Yue took out four armchairs and a table, put a parasol on it, and after they sat down, they asked him, "Hai Sheng, it's been half a year. Is your headache better? Do you remember some things?"

"I seem to remember a little bit. There was a woman who called me Chen'er, but the rest is very vague."

"Take your time. You will remember it little by little. Don't be impatient."

As the two chatted, Biyue took out mineral water and three cups from the locker, poured two cups of water, let Haisheng drink one, and drank one herself, then took out oranges and apples and put them in the fruit plate.

After an incense stick of time, the charcoal deliverers arrived. Some were driving mules, and some were pulling carts. There were nearly twenty or thirty people in total.

Bi Yue asked the father and son to help weigh the goods, as she was too busy to do it alone. After weighing the goods, she paid the money and asked the father and son, "How much do you have left at home?"

"There are still more than 2,000 kilograms. We don't have a car, and we can't move much at a time with a cart. My mother and sister are here."

Bi Yue then saw a woman and a little girl about 12 years old.

The mother and daughter timidly called out, "Hello, Miss. Thank you."

Bi Yue said, "Don't worry, it's only noon now. We can hurry. I'll collect the coal from your house today before setting sail. If you help me weigh the coal, I won't reduce your benefits."

Bi Yue gave each of the four of them a big apple and asked them to go back to collect charcoal.

Xiaomai came back and they started to eat lunch.

They spent the whole afternoon collecting and weighing charcoal and paying for it, and finished at the beginning of the evening. Biyue knew that they had not eaten yet, so she took out eight steamed buns and ten dumplings and handed them to them, and poured each of them a large bowl of water, and let the family sit on the chairs to eat.

After the meal, Bi Yue settled the bill and gave the father and son an extra three taels of silver as a reward to thank them for their help.

The family took the silver and left, expressing their gratitude profusely.

Bi Yue collected all the charcoal and the three of them walked towards the inn.