With Old Man Wang's suggestion of home delivery, Meng Qingping found shopping without any pressure.
Fu Xinci, however, was distressed. She really wanted to use the excuse of the old woman to tell her grandfather that their family didn't need to buy those things.
But where was the opportunity? She needed a perfect reason.
As Fu Xinci was deep in thought, she heard her grandfather discussing with the cloth shop owner, "Shopkeeper, can these few bolts of small floral cloth be cheaper?"
The shopkeeper was reasonable and didn't say anything harsh. Instead, he slowly reasoned with Meng Qingping. "Uncle, all our goods are transported from the south. Along the way, with horses and people to feed, how could we not spend money."
The shopkeeper then lowered his voice and continued, "Our area isn't very peaceful. We have to pay protection money at every little pass and turn. Otherwise, you think you can get through? Even with wings, you'd be shot down."
Fu Xinci: Makes sense.
Meng Qingping: Since they've put it that way, it's not appropriate for him to haggle further. It just felt wrong for the young girls to wear such dark colors.
However, both Madam Li, Madam Xu, and Madam Liu had told him to buy the cheapest cloth.
Alas, it was truly difficult.
Fu Xinci quietly observed her sighing grandfather and felt her opportunity had arrived.
She first pulled Meng Qingping out of the cloth shop, and then the grandfather and granddaughter squatted behind the donkey cart, whispering.
"Grandfather, the old woman has a lot of small floral cotton cloth, all in plain and elegant colors," Fu Xinci dared not say bright colors, fearing her grandfather would refuse. She then asked, "Grandfather, should we get some?"
"Yes." Meng Qingping was at his wit's end. Those cheap fabrics and old colors were fine for him to wear. But for the young girls, they were a complete waste.
Needless to say, Meng Qingping was quickly convinced by himself and his granddaughter.
The cloth shop owner was still waiting. How could it be that in the time it took to serve one customer, the grandfather and granddaughter had disappeared?
The grandfather and granddaughter, who were on the cloth shop owner's mind, were now in the grain store. Meng Qingping was inquiring about the prices of several grains, while Fu Xinci stood on tiptoe, looking at the rice and flour in the wooden boxes.
After looking, she concluded that it was all old rice, and the price was not cheap.
However, she soon understood the mystery. This place was on the frontier; it was good enough to have grain for sale.
Meanwhile, Meng Qingping had already finished asking the shopkeeper about the prices. The sorghum rice and corn flour he had just seen were also old grains.
Having been an official for so many years, Meng Qingping saw through these things clearly.
In this area, it was good enough to have grain for sale; there was no room to be picky about whether it was new or old. Realizing this, Meng Qingping, without consulting his granddaughter, stated the quantities of grain to be purchased for several families.
By the time Fu Xinci noticed, the grain store's young assistant was already weighing the grain for them.
Alas, what to do if she was a step too slow?
What else could be done? Just watch.
Fu Xinci was annoyed but couldn't think of a perfect solution. She had no choice but to leave the grain store first and squat by the donkey cart to think.
Looking up, she saw that the nearby general store was quite crowded. Fu Xinci's eyes darted around, but she still couldn't come up with a suitable excuse.
Alas, novels were deceiving. They said someone could think of a good idea just by rolling their eyes. She had rolled her eyes quite a few times just now, but not a single useful idea had emerged.
Moreover, she realized today that rolling her eyes randomly was quite tiring.
"Ci'er, why are you squatting there?" Meng Qingping, directing the young assistant to help him load the grain onto the donkey cart, noticed his granddaughter squatting on the ground with a dejected expression.
"Nothing."
After Fu Xinci finished speaking, a bold idea suddenly struck her. Only after the young assistant finished helping them load the grain did she dare to voice her idea to her grandfather: "Grandfather, when you buy things, let's not buy our family's share."
Upon hearing his granddaughter's words, Meng Qingping's heart trembled. Just as he was about to ask, he heard his granddaughter's small mouth chattering, "The old woman said she has a lot of things our family can use, so she asked me to remind you not to spend more money."
"Is the old immortal angry?"
"Not exactly angry, but the old woman said that if you have money, you should use it wisely."
Meng Qingping was a little dumbfounded. He wanted to say something convincing but couldn't. After a long pause, he simply said "Oh," as a form of agreement.
Seeing that her grandfather had finally agreed, Fu Xinci set her sights on the small grinding stone placed in front of the general store.
"What are you looking at, Ci'er?"
"Grandfather, let's buy that small grinding stone."
"What's the use of buying a grinding stone?" Meng Qingping couldn't immediately recall its purpose. Unlike large grinding stones used for rice and flour, this small one would be too much trouble for grinding rice or flour.
"We can buy it to grind soy milk and rice paste."
"..." Meng Qingping suddenly wanted to ask if the old immortal didn't have a grinding stone? But after thinking it over, he ultimately didn't dare to ask.
How could a mortal like him joke with an old immortal? He didn't want to shorten his lifespan.
"Grandfather?" Seeing that her grandfather remained silent, Fu Xinci waved her small hand in front of his eyes.
"Yes, buy it. We'll buy it in a moment." Meng Qingping then entered the general store again, weighing the purchase of some essential items for those three families.
Such as oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. As for needles and thread, he went to Wu Ji Cloth Shop again. He not only bought sewing supplies but also six bolts of white cotton cloth and six bolts of blue cotton cloth.
"Grandfather, didn't you promise me just now?" Fu Xinci couldn't understand why her grandfather, who had clearly agreed with her earlier to use the old woman's cloth, had changed his mind within the time it took for a cup of tea.
"Ci'er, we'll talk about it when we leave." After Meng Qingping paid, he had the shop's young assistant help move the goods to the donkey cart. Then, he quietly said to his granddaughter:
"Ci'er, the things the old immortal gave us should be kept for our own family's use."
"Mmm." Fu Xinci nodded vigorously. She really liked what her grandfather said, as long as it could be used by their family.
As for others, she couldn't care less. At least compared to her family, they were the most important.
After the grandfather and granddaughter finished talking, Meng Qingping inquired and went to the seed store, buying seeds for radishes, cabbages, and green onions that could be planted now.
Fu Xinci originally wanted to say that the old woman also had seeds, but she remembered what her grandfather had said earlier and didn't mention it.
She was now thinking ahead. The seeds in her spatial dimension, after hundreds of years of propagation, were they any different from the seeds of this era?
If vegetables that looked slightly different grew, she would have trouble explaining it.