Don't worry about traveling through time, she has an all-powerful senior sister to help her

Mrs. Hu gave Shen Miaozhu a reassuring smile. Without much hesitation, she asked her grandmother to help buy cloth, and then, after being persuaded by everyone, she did not insist on going to the market.

When the sisters left with their grandmother, their aunt gave them some hot donkey meat buns and freshly cooked goat milk.

On the way, Shen Lingzhu asked while eating, "Grandma, this donkey meat hotpot is so delicious. Did you make it or did your aunt make it?"

"Your sister-in-law is as skillful as your mother." Qi drove their ox cart and praised her daughter-in-law for not forgetting to bring her own daughter along.

Shen Lingzhu didn't know how to respond to this. There were too many housewives in Baozhou Prefecture who could make donkey meat hot pot, so she ignored the silent gaze of her senior sister across the way and concentrated on eating the pancake.

After eating three meals in a row with goat milk cooked by their sister-in-law, they arrived at Shenquan Market. The market was still rather deserted without any gatherings.

The cloth shop and my grandma's meat stall were separated only by a bun-selling stall. The owner was lying on a bamboo chair, fanning himself intermittently.

But as soon as they stepped to the door, he sat up quickly, and without fully opening his eyes, he began to speak enthusiastically: "What cloth are you talking about, sir? I have flowered cloth, cotton cloth, Songjiang cloth, and everything else.

If you are busy, we can also make clothes and quilts for you.

Hey...it's you, sister-in-law..."

After squinting his eyes and seeing that it was Qi, he was a little disappointed and wanted to sit down, but when he saw Shen Lingzhu behind her, he immediately smiled and said, "Hey, the young lady of the Jinshi master's family, come in quickly and see if there is anything you like.

Oh, look at my presbyopia. Miss Shen is here too. Can I make tea for you?"

Of course he couldn't drink tea. Shen Lingzhu felt that from the many people he had come into contact with recently, his uncle was treated in polarized ways in the village, either very warmly or very indifferently.

But most of the neighbors would not show any displeasure in public even if they heard about the house confiscation. They believed that the Jinshi were the Wenquxing stars from heaven who had descended to earth and were the most learned people in the world.

She and her senior sister nodded to the owner and left everything to grandma.

The shop owner was very happy that they took the twenty rolls of white cloth, but he also said that the price of more than 230 wen was really too low and asked them to try not to return it.

When going to the back to move the cloth, Shen Lingzhu and her senior sister did not let others do it by themselves, but asked them to help together.

While praising them, the shop owner walked to the backyard and saw many pieces of yellowish white cloth in the warehouse.

Shen Lingzhu immediately asked: "Can I take a look at these cloths?"

The shopkeeper nodded and said, "Of course, but please forgive me for being so nosy. These yellowed and dull cloths are not suitable for funerals. It would be unpleasant to others if I mentioned them."

"We will use it ourselves." Shen Miaozhu opened a piece of cloth, tested its feel and firmness, and then handed it to the curious junior sister to look at: "This cloth, isn't it an old one?"

“The goods I received last summer were basically woven the year before last and the year before. Once, when I was in the capital, I came across a large cloth shop selling defective cloth, and I bought a whole cart of it for the cheap price.

After a short while, most of the remaining cloth was left in the shop.

"The longer they are kept, the darker their color becomes. I'll spend money to wash some of them and then sell them to the county town. After adding up the horses and the manpower, I'll still lose a few cents on each horse. I'll never wash the remaining hundred or so horses."

Shen Lingzhu asked: "Have you ever thought of finding someone to dye it?"

The shopkeeper said, "Why not? But we don't have anyone who can dye cloth properly in Shenquanji, and I don't dare hand over my unskilled skills to others for dyeing.

Just let people who are familiar with it choose it when they need it."

"I want ten horses, you don't have to return this one." Shen Miaozhu picked one out and put it aside.

The shopkeeper was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "I won't refund such cheap cloth. I'll give you the same price as you paid. One hundred and twenty coins."

I was so foolish at that time that I thought a piece of cloth was dozens of cents cheaper than what the villagers bought, so I bought a whole cart of it. I regret it now!

He rubbed his hands and said, "Well, I want three more bellows. Can you give them to me at the market tomorrow? The money will be deducted directly from the cloth account."

The bellows were sold too quickly last time, and his relatives heard that they were made by the Jinshi master, so they insisted on letting him have a few.

But he had asked his sister-in-law, and she said that the Shen family only went to the big market on the ninth day of the first lunar month, and since the master was here today, he had to make a reservation.

Shen Lingzhu and her senior sister certainly had no objection, but they said that there were many people placing orders and they would have to wait in line for two days.

"I can wait." The shop owner understood very well. Installing a bellows really saved firewood, and the Shen family had no limit on money, so they could exchange it for food, which made it very popular among the neighbors.

But when they carried out 30 pieces of cloth in a row, grandma saw the yellowed cloth and immediately became unhappy. "Why did you two buy defective cloth? If you use it for yourselves, I will weave it for you when I have time."

Her children, Big Bamboo and Little Bamboo, had never used bad things since they were born. Once, she saw the two children working in a pile of sawdust and eating bland meals, and she felt very uncomfortable.

The little girl should have been spoiled, but the two children had to endure hardships that my own daughter didn't have to endure in her childhood.

She had bought these cloths for her own use, but she didn't know whether her aunt would be willing to use them after the two children brought them back. She wondered whether she would think the children were wasting money, as it was only a little over one or two taels of silver.

"Brother, they don't want this." Return it quickly before paying.

"Grandma, this cloth is very useful." Shen Lingzhu half-hugged her to the corner, stood on tiptoe and whispered to the old lady.

Qi was puzzled when she heard this: "Really?"

"Well, you can check it yourself in a few days." Shen Lingzhu said with certainty.

Qi thought for a moment and said, "Don't use the money your aunt gave you. Let your grandmother pay for it."

"No, no, no, your aunt will definitely blame you. She knows that my second sister has a good memory and she also supports us to try the ancient recipe." Shen Lingzhu believed that her aunt would support it.

It’s a pity to have so many plants that can be used for dyeing on the mountain. Even if the dyed fabrics are only used by your family, they are very cheap.

Qi didn't listen to her. When she took out the money to pay, she turned around and saw that the owner had already accepted the money from her eldest granddaughter.

She pinched Xiao Zhuzi's nose and said, "Little clever boy, if you pull me away, I'll let your second sister pay the bill."

"Hehe." Shen Lingzhu did not deny it at all.

Their trip to Shenquanji went very smoothly and they gained something unexpected.

However, this secret joy was immediately shattered by his news after I returned home and saw my elder brother.

The first bad news was that the registrar said that if my uncle had to go out forty or fifty miles, he would have to ask the county magistrate for permission, which was very perfunctory.

After Shen Lingzhu heard her eldest brother's retelling of the second piece of news, she was a little unsure: "Does this mean the clan school has to be closed?"

"No, it's about letting the Shen Family School return to its essence and only teach the children of the family." Shen Xianzhu told the two of them that there would be no fees for family members to go to school, and the children of the affiliated school would only be charged some food money from the teachers.

The Dianshi said implicitly that there were rumors that Shen Huai was trying to buy people's hearts.

He continued, "What's infuriating isn't this, but the fact that several grandfathers immediately agreed that the clan school has been in disrepair for a long time and needs to be renovated.

It is also said that after the fifteenth year, the Shen clan will suspend teaching.

After sending the registrar away, the elders discussed with their father about selling the land of the clan school.

"Second Grandfather also said so? What about uncle?" Shen Lingzhu asked, and Shen Miaozhu also said at the same time: "We can talk about the clan school later. The burial cannot be delayed. Should we go on behalf of uncle now?

Also, should we send someone to ask the county magistrate for instructions?"