You are unlucky and I am tough

Several bamboo rafts were quietly docked on the shore, with three low benches for people to sit on tied to the rafts. The boatmen were all men in their thirties or forties, with dark and rough skin, wearing coarse cloth shorts and holding a bamboo pole in their hands.

They were all from villages upstream, and usually made a living by transporting passengers on bamboo rafts in this area. When they learned that people from several new villages had settled here, they came here to do business.

When he saw a group of people coming, he immediately waved and called out enthusiastically, "Here, here, take my raft, it's fast and stable."

It was the first time for the villagers to ride a bamboo raft. They each formed a group and carefully boarded the boat. Cheng Shuang also chose a bamboo raft. The dark-skinned boatman grinned and invited people to board, saying, "One penny per person, and the same applies to children."

Cheng Shuang took out eight copper coins from her sleeve and handed them to the boatman: "We are together, please count the eight of us."

The boatman weighed it, counted it, and nodded. "Okay, get on board. Watch your step."

A raft could only hold eight people at most, so Wei Nanxing took Wei Xinyi on another one. After getting on, Wei Xinyi squatted on the edge and put her hand in the water, then pulled it back and said, "The water is so cold."

Cheng Shuang reminded her, "Sit still and don't play with the water, be careful not to fall into the river."

Thanks to Cheng Fu's hard work in promoting the trip, quite a few people came to the village, and even filling up all four rafts was not enough. The boatman shouted that he would be back soon and gently tapped the shore with a bamboo pole. The bamboo raft slowly left the shore and slid forward along the current.

The bamboo raft drifted downstream, a gentle breeze blowing past, bringing a hint of coolness. Xiao Si and Cheng Chen squatted beside the raft, reaching out to scoop up duckweed from the water, their playful laughter echoing across the river.

The boatman rowed the boat and hummed a tune. His voice was so melodious that it seemed to merge with the river water.

After about a quarter of an hour, the bamboo raft slowly docked at the ferry terminal.

The boatman used a bamboo pole to stabilize the raft and said with a smile, "We're here. This is the ferry terminal for Huanhua County. You can go up the steps along this road to the market."

Wei Qinglang stood up and bowed to the boatman, saying, "Thank you, boatman, for your hard work."

The boatman waved his hand and said, "Why are you being so polite? You're quite polite since you've just moved in. If you want to go back, take my boat. I'll be waiting for you here."

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "No need to wait, we don't know when we will be back."

They have a lot of things to buy, and it's inconvenient to take a boat back, so they plan to rent a car to transport the things back by land, which shouldn't be much far.

The family got off the bamboo raft and waited for a while on the side until Wei Nanxing's raft arrived. After everyone was together, they walked along the path towards the market.

When they reached the street, they separated from the villagers and prepared to find a place to eat first.

The bustling streets of Huanhua County that came into view gave Cheng Shuang only one feeling: it was worthy of being a large county town close to the provincial capital. Except that the streets were not as spacious as those in the provincial capital and the roadside shops were not as tall as those in the provincial capital, the prosperous scene was not much different from that of the provincial capital.

The street shops are crowded with customers, the signs sway gently in the wind, and the sounds of peddlers and hawkers shouting are endless.

"Why not this one?"

After walking on the street for a while, Wei Qinglang chose a restaurant called Zui Qing Feng to have dinner. He went into the private room upstairs and could see the hustle and bustle of the street through the window facing the street. The little girl selling flowers was carrying a basket and hawking her wares along the street, and her shouts could be heard into the house.

After the family finished their meal, Cheng Shuang began to assign tasks. She said, "Let's find a rental place and rent three horse-drawn carriages. Qinglang and I will go buy rice, flour, salt, oil, spice packs for braised meat, and vegetable seeds. Chen'er and Xiaosi will come with us. Aunt, you take the two cousins, Pan'er, and Xinyi to buy kitchen supplies, pots, pans, and other utensils. Buy whatever you need."

Finally, Cheng Shuang looked at Wei Nanxing and said, "Nanxing, go to the blacksmith shop and buy two large iron pots, two small pots, and some farm tools for household work, such as hoes, shovels, and spades. If you need anything else, feel free to buy it."

After assigning the task, Cheng Shuang gave Cheng Guqiu and Wei Nanxing fifty taels of silver each, then asked the waiter where to rent a carriage. After that, he found a carriage company and bargained for two hundred coins each to rent three carriages for transporting goods. The company also assigned a driver, and since the driver was familiar with the route, he didn't have to ask for directions, which was simple and convenient.

After the troops were divided into three groups, Wei Qinglang carried the two children onto the carriage, and he and Cheng Shuang followed. There were so many people on the street that the carriage could not move fast, so there was no need to worry about not being able to keep up.

The driver knew the way very well and took them to the largest grain and oil shop in the city. At the door of the shop, the shop assistants warmly greeted the customers coming and going. Before they even went in, they could hear the bargaining sounds coming from inside.

Leaving the driver waiting at the door, Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang each took their younger brothers into the shop. Customers were coming and going in the shop, carefully selecting items or bargaining with the store owner. The shop assistants were busy weighing and packing items, and business was booming.

The waiter who had just sent away a customer came over and guessed at a glance that this was a family of four. He said to Cheng Shuang enthusiastically, "Madam, what would you like to buy? Our goods are all the best. I guarantee that after buying once, you will come back next time."

Cheng Shuang didn't waste any words. After glancing at the prices, she said directly, "Three hundred kilograms of white rice, one hundred kilograms of white flour, and ten kilograms of rapeseed oil. Load them into the car outside."

"Okay, please wait a moment and I'll find someone to weigh it for you." The guy smiled. He didn't expect that this family, who didn't look rich from their clothes, would ask for so much.

As soon as the waiter made the order, he asked someone to start weighing. Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang took their two younger brothers to the spice shop across the street to buy some spices, mainly so that they could buy spice bags from the mall and add them in.

This is also the reason why they only brought two small ones, so that it would be easier to fish in troubled waters.

In addition, I also bought toothpaste and tooth powder, soap balls and bath beans for washing clothes and bathing, four wooden barrels and four wooden basins.

Only a few soap balls and bath beans were bought because after seeing the price of bath beans, Cheng Shuang had already decided to start making soap another day and not waste the money.

After buying the things, the goods from the grain and oil shop were also loaded onto the cart. After paying four taels and nine cents, I asked the driver to lead the way to the market.