CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: A CLUMSY BEAR

The coachman quickly put on his straw hat and smiled at Shen Qinglan, saying, "Miss, please lead the way, I’ll go with you."

Shen Qinglan bought about five to six hundred jin of rice and another hundred jin of flour, filling the ox cart to the brim.

The rice shop owner had someone help load the rice onto the cart and personally saw Shen Qinglan out, laughing as he told her to come back after she finished, promising to give her a better price next time.

Shen Qinglan also bought about ten bolts of cloth for the Shen Family. She didn’t buy expensive ones, not because she was afraid of spending money, but because she felt that in the village, everyone had to work in the fields, and buying silk and satin was a bit impractical.

Shen Qingping, Shen Qingzhu, and their little cousin were all rambunctious and liked to run and jump around, so buying high-quality fabric for them would be a waste.

So, except for Shen Tao’s fabric, which cost one tael of silver per bolt, the others’, including her own, only cost a few hundred wen each.

She thought she could buy them high-quality ones once they all moved to town in the future.

Dong Yao, Madam Jiang, Shen Qinghe, Shen Qingju, and Zhang Xiaolian all knew how to make clothes, so she wasn’t afraid there would be no one to sew for them.

She then went to the butcher’s and bought fifty jin of pork, including legs, bones, lean meat, and pork belly.

She also bought snacks for the kids, spending no less than twenty taels in total.

This money sure doesn’t last long!

Seeing the cart full to the brim, the coachman was very envious.

On the way back, the coachman couldn’t help but ask, "Miss, what did you hunt today? Looks like you made quite a bit of money!"

He had followed Shen Qinglan all the way and saw her spending money like water, feeling both heartache and envy.

About twenty taels, and she spent it all without even a hint of hesitation.

Shen Qinglan replied, "A foolish bear."

"What?"

The coachman was shocked, "Miss, you even managed to hunt a bear? Those things are valuable but quite dangerous."

"In our village, someone once hunted a bear, but it took twenty people to catch it, and they seemed to have sold it for nearly ten thousand taels. How heavy was your bear, Miss?"

Shen Qinglan thought for a moment and replied, "About one hundred and twenty jin."

The coachman mused, "So it was a cub! But you surely earned a lot, didn’t you? I think bears go for a few hundred wen per jin; one hundred and twenty jin would surely yield a nice profit, maybe a few thousand taels?"

Shen Qinglan nodded seriously.

Of course, the "foolish bear" she mentioned was worth half the kingdom.

Luckily, Duan Yunfei wasn’t here; otherwise, if he found out that his goodwill in giving her money was perceived as being sold off by the jin like a foolish bear, he’d surely be infuriated.

Shen Qinglan gave the coachman one tael of silver, instructing him to deliver the goods directly to the Shen Family’s door.

The coachman, who usually earned one tael in half a month, was delighted beyond words when Shen Qinglan just casually tossed him a tael of silver.

This entire cart of goods entering the village would certainly attract onlookers.

Shen Qinglan had long anticipated this, but since she had bought everything with her own money, she wasn’t afraid of what they might say.

Those who knew Shen Qinglan looked at her with faces full of surprise, while those who didn’t all speculated whether someone in the village was preparing for a marriage.

In the village, people usually only bought so many things at once when there was a wedding or a funeral.

It certainly wasn’t a funeral; if it were, the villagers would have known, but there hadn’t been any talk of a wedding either!

Seeing the cart stop in front of Shen Laoer’s house, everyone couldn’t help but speculate further.

They mostly guessed whether someone from the Li family had agreed for Li Wei to marry Shen Qingju, which would explain the purchase of so many goods.