Chapter 140 (2/2)

Picking out items here and there had unexpectedly racked up a bill of six taels . The young shopkeeper girl was a bit worried that this pair of ‘siblings’ didn’t bring enough money with them . After all, the clothes they were wearing were not the type that the children from rich families would wear . What sort of ordinary family would give their children five to six taels of money for buying jewelry? Even in the prefectural city, an ordinary family’s dowry for their daughter would not exceed ten taels worth of jewelry .

The young girl felt somewhat anxious but kept a smile on her face, “Altogether, it comes out to six taels and two hundred copper coins . My shop’s jewelry is all self-made, so I’ll just waive the small change . Just give me six taels in total!”

Six taels total? This is absolutely not expensive! The pair of bracelets and silver hairpin had to weigh almost two ounces total . If the shop also had to pay for a silversmith to shape these items, then the shop really wouldn’t have much profit . Fortunately, this shop made all of its own items, so it saved a bit on the wages for the smith .

Xiaocao took out her embroidered money pouch and fished out an ingot of silver worth around ten taels . She then took the smaller pieces of change and stuffed them into the pouch . Xiaolian had actually embroidered this pouch, so it had a unique sunflower design on the outside .

The shopkeeper girl was interested in the design on the pouch . After getting Xiaocao’s permission, she sketched the pattern out . The girl was the daughter of an old silversmith and had a lot of talent in creating and making silver jewelry . The jewelry she made were not only delicately pretty but also had a lot of liveliness .

The sunflower embroidered on this tiny pouch inspired her limitlessly . Not long in the future, sunflower inspired jewelry would become very popular for a period of time in the prefectural city . This tiny silver crafts shop also gradually became more famous . Thus, the jewelry that this little girl made would also become more liked by ma.s.ses . . .

The sky had already become dark . After they left the jewelry store, Xiaocao felt bad having Zhao Han carrying all of these packages around while accompanying her to the night market . So, they went back to the inn and put the newly bought items away . Yu Hai was afraid that it wasn’t safe for the two children to wander around at night, so he also came out with them .

The night market that Zhao Han recommended was really quite lively . It was brightly lit and mult.i.tudes of people swarmed around . Shops and stalls lined both sides of the street and each booth had two lanterns hanging on the awning . Occasionally, the flame within the lanterns would flicker a bit and made the lighting in the area take on a dream-like splendor .

The night market not only had people selling all sorts of trinkets and gadgets, but also many stalls of snacks that ranged from the northern to southern provinces . There were sticky rice cakes, wontons, stuffed glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s, flaky pastries, rice noodles . . . the three of them ate snacks down the whole street until all of their bellies were about to burst . All three of them exclaimed and rubbed their tummies in discomfort .

Only when the night market was about to close did Xiaocao reluctantly leave . She commented wistfully, “Although the food here has an authentic flavor, I believe I could make food that is a hundred times tastier if I lived nearby . ”

“Eh? What sort of ideas do you have? Tell us . If it’s feasible, we can also sell them at the docks!” Zhao Han had also tried Xiaocao’s food and believed in her culinary talents completely .

Xiaocao smiled somewhat reminiscently, “I want to create skewer hotpot . Anything can be put on bamboo skewers, such as meat, vegetables, eggs, seafood . . . I also want to simmer a pot of spicy and savory soup to go with it . . . that being said, I’m starting to feel hungry again!” Yu Hai looked at his daughter, who seemed to have stars whirling around in her eyes, gently patted her head, and chuckled, “There are already people at the docks measuring up the area . Before long, they will start doing construction . Third Young Master had said that in the future the docks will become the largest port in the north . There will absolutely be much more people there than before . In the future, we can have a shop there selling braised food as well as the skewers in soup that you were talking about!”

“How about . . . you first make some, and I can help you try them . If they are truly as delicious as you say, you absolutely can make money off of them!” Zhao Han felt the gluttonous monster inside him rear its head when he heard Xiaocao’s descriptions . Who knew how long it would take for the port to finish construction, so didn’t that mean he had to wait an unknown period of time to satisfy his cravings for skewer hotpot? The best scenario would be for Xiaocao to first make some, so he could eat to his heart’s content .

“Not a problem! Tomorrow, let’s buy some spices and seasonings in the city . When we get back home, I’ll make some for you to try!” The materials to make food skewers could be found anywhere . For example: Chinese cabbage, green vegetables, romaine lettuce, tofu, mushrooms and other such vegetables were quite cheap . As long as one simmered a tasty soup, you could boil whatever you wanted in it . What a treat!

The three people started to walk back towards the inn as they continued to discuss skewers simmered in soup . Suddenly, someone blocked their way . This person had a tall and imposing figure, which showed that he had done martial arts since he was young . He stared at Zhao Han for a good while before he asked somewhat emotionally, “Excuse me, younger brother, are you surnamed Zhao?”

Zhao Han stopped smiling and pursed his brows . He replied cautiously, “You, do you recognize me?”

“No, no! Little brother, you look very similar to my teacher, and my respected teacher’s surname was Zhao…” When the large man didn’t hear him refute, he became even more excited . His fierce looking eyes started to hold back tears .

Zhao Han actually didn’t look much like his father and took after his grandfather instead . The Zhao Family all seemed to have a natural talent for martial arts . Even though Zhao Han was only a preteen, a group of five to six ordinary men wouldn’t be his opponent .

Zhao Han carefully sized up the large man in front of him and apparently made a decision . He stowed away his suspicious nature and asked in a low voice, “Excuse me, but are you surnamed ‘Fang’? The ‘Fang’ from the word for house?”

“Yes, yes! I am your martial uncle, Fang Zizhen ah! Ah, esteemed teacher . . . is your grandfather’s health still okay? Where have you all been living in hiding, I’ve been looking for you all for over twenty years…” The large man couldn’t restrain himself and clasped Zhao Han’s shoulder . A smile that almost split his face open blossomed wide .  Zhao Han naturally knew of Fang Zizhen . His grandfather had adopted an orphan and treated him like a son, teaching him everything he knew . He was taught the Zhao Family’s familial martial arts . It was said that before Fang Zizhen went missing, his martial arts abilities were on par with his grandfather’s . If there wasn’t that bitter and desperate battle, it was likely that Martial Uncle Fang would even exceed his grandfather’s abilities .

[1] Yulan magnolia - flowering tree that was regarded as a symbol of purity in the Tang Dynasty . Currently the official city flower of Shanghai .

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