Chapter 9 Daily Life

Apart from Li Xi and the other two, no one else in the village knew about their plans to leave.

When her family wasn't looking, Ling'er moved her luggage little by little.

Her family was all focused on getting married to Chen Junsheng, so they didn't care what she did every day. As long as there was food to eat when she came home, the floor was clean.

Li Xi's simplified Hanfu was very popular with Meng Zhelan and Ling'er. They loved it after trying it on, so Ling'er was responsible for making three sets of clothes for each of them according to the design.

The journey was too long, and the trip to Kyoto would take place during the autumn, winter, and spring seasons, so Li Xi and her group went to a more distant county town to purchase supplies.

With limited silver reserves, Li Xi and Meng Zhelan made several trips to the deep mountains to dig for medicinal herbs.

With Li Xi's ability to leap and bound, she caught many birds and beasts on cliffs, in towering trees, and in the forest.

However, after more than a month, she gained a lot and her skills improved by leaps and bounds. She no longer needed to set traps to hunt like a hunter.

She usually uses a bow and arrow, which she only learned this month. The original owner's body contained inexhaustible energy, and she didn't know how she mastered it.

Sometimes she catches prey with her bare hands, which amazes Lu Da, a hunter in the village. Women who can catch wild boars with their bare hands are rare, and he has never seen one before.

Lu Da was very interested in this young girl, who seemed so young yet possessed such profound skills.

He had been hunting with his father since he was twelve, for fifteen years, and this was the first time he had ever seen such a simple and brutal hunting method.

The two naturally started chatting, and despite their different ages and genders, it didn't prevent them from becoming good partners.

Li Xi was very interested in Lu Da's aura. He seemed to have extraordinary martial arts skills, but he didn't show it. He acted like an ordinary hunter.

This village at the bottom of the cliff is also full of hidden talents; perhaps the village holds some secrets, but she doesn't have the energy to explore it right now.

Since he was a nobody to Lu Da, his familiarity with her was purely based on mutual appreciation, and there was no ulterior motive behind it.

Li Xi admired Lu Da's precise control over setting hunting traps, and Lu Da praised Li Xi's skills highly.

After Li Xi and Lu Da hunted their prey, they would always follow him to the restaurant to sell it, and their income was quite good.

She earned three hundred taels of silver from selling wild game during this period alone. This was the first time she had ever seen so much money in both her past and present lives.

If this were in later generations, she wouldn't be able to capture birds and beasts.

However, in an era when resources were abundant and had not been overexploited, it was a useful way to support one's family.

With Li Xi's help, Meng Zhelan also found a lot of medicinal herbs.

Valuable herbs are sold directly after slight processing, while ordinary herbs are refined into pills for treating typhoid fever, external fever, pain relief, dizziness relief, and so on.

At Meng Zelan's house, Ling'er was responsible for packing luggage, drying herbs, and sewing clothes.

Li Xi has recently designed many new winter and spring outfits and made some sample garments, asking Ling'er to make a few sets based on her designs.

Although I made a small profit during this period, I can buy ready-made clothes.

However, Li Xi still wasn't used to the clothes of this era. After all, she was a designer, and she couldn't skimp on her own style.

Before dawn, the three of them hired Grandpa Liu's oxcart and went to the county town.

The county town became even more bustling and prosperous, with a wide variety of goods and many onlookers.

The medicinal herbs and pills I brought this time might fetch a better price.

Meng Zhelan took them to Baozhitang, a clinic her father frequented.

The shopkeeper would greet Meng Zhelan warmly whenever he saw her. Whenever the father and daughter appeared, they would always bring good things to sell.

Meng Zhong's pills are particularly effective and are very popular with patients.

Despite the high price, the supply still falls short of demand; the medicinal herbs are all effective and taste good.

Three months have passed, and Meng Zhong has still not appeared. The pills from before have long been sold out.

He waited and waited, but the man didn't appear. He was so anxious that he pulled out a large clump of his beard.

I don't know where he lives, and I can't find him. The lack of restocking is affecting his income, and I'm afraid his employer won't let him go to the prefectural city to be the manager next year.

So seeing Meng Zhelan was like seeing her savior; Manager Liu excitedly stepped forward to greet her. His eyes kept darting between the large cloth bag in Li Xi's hands.

His comical appearance made Li Xi laugh. "I'm sorry, ladies, I was rude."

Meng Zhelan smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Liu, you're too kind. My father hasn't come for a long time and has forgotten his agreement with you. It's really my father's fault. He's been staying at home doing nothing, so I quickly brought some medicine over to you."

Li Xi put the cloth bag on the table, and Manager Liu couldn't wait to call Doctor Hou, who was on duty, to come and take a look.

Two ginseng plants, aged ten years and one ginseng plant, aged fifty years, were wrapped in paper and placed in tea canisters.

The two were thrilled when they opened the package. They hadn't seen ginseng of such high quality in many years, especially the fifty-year-old one.

The ten-year vintage can be sold at Baozhitang, while the fifty-year vintage can be sent to the owner, who will surely be very satisfied.

There are also many medicinal herbs such as Ganoderma lucidum, Polygonum multiflorum, Astragalus membranaceus, and Angelica sinensis.

The remaining five large earthenware jars contained pills for typhoid fever, cough with phlegm, palpitations and shortness of breath, as well as some "Ten-Ingredient Tonic Pills," which were naturally the most popular.

The shopkeeper picked up his abacus and started calculating loudly, then deducted some herbs that Meng Zelan wanted to buy.

Some herbs can only be found in pharmacies, and not everything can be found in the forest.

After all that, Meng Zhelan earned 1,680 taels of silver.

This incident shocked Li Xi to her core. She clearly understood the importance of mastering core technologies, as those engaged in such work have always made a fortune.

The hard-earned money she made from selling her labor was not even a fraction of what Meng Zhelan earned. Li Xi secretly resolved to cling to Meng Zhelan's coattails.

Actually, Li Xi was overthinking it; that fifty-year-old ginseng was only worth a thousand taels.

The other two could also sell for over a hundred taels. Without Li Xi's help, Meng Zhelan probably wouldn't have been able to find them on her own.

Normally, Meng Zhong wouldn't take out so many pills at once; doing so in a high-profile manner would attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

However, since her father had been arrested and she urgently needed money to make money, Meng Zhelan produced a large quantity of pills to sell.

Meng Zhelan didn't care whether her father would scold her or not. She told the shopkeeper that she wanted five thousand taels for the prescription of five pills and asked if they would buy it. With money in hand, she felt secure; she had plenty of prescriptions. In the past, she had always been hiding and could not stay in one place for long, often running out of money.

Manager Liu was so excited that he was dumbfounded. This huge benefit was about to fall into his family's hands. He quickly arranged for his apprentice to go to the master of the house.

After a flurry of activity, Meng Zhelan earned another five thousand taels of silver.

………

Li Xi and Ling'er were dumbfounded. They had already received more than 6,000 taels of silver?

The two incredulous people followed Meng Zhelan and went shopping. It was still past 9 a.m. when they left the pharmacy.

Now that Meng Zhelan was wealthy and powerful, she slipped one or two taels of silver to Grandpa Liu as payment for the oxcart, telling him he didn't need to wait any longer.

Li Xi plans to buy horses and cars, and become a car owner here.

This county town is nestled amidst green hills and clear waters, with a dense population and numerous shops.

The shelves on both sides of the street are filled with a wide variety of goods, from food and clothing to daily necessities and toys.

Li Xi was seeing the lives of ancient people for the first time, and she looked around and touched everything with great anticipation.

The three of them found a crowded restaurant for a meal. It was Ling'er's first time in the county town, and she couldn't contain her excitement.

The three of them ordered seven dishes, which was a bit too many. Li Xi finished off the dishes they couldn't finish.

The greater the physical exertion, the greater her appetite, and what pleases her most is that she can eat as much as she wants without gaining weight.

In her past life, she was someone who was prone to weight gain. Even if she only ate until she was 70% full at each meal, her weight would still increase rapidly. Later, she let herself go.

Ancient county towns, especially those thriving in handicrafts and commerce, attracted people from all directions.

These diverse communities not only bring new ideas and cultures, but also promote the exchange and innovation of food.

A variety of unique ingredients and cooking methods collided and blended here, leaving a rich culinary heritage for future generations.

The three, having eaten and drunk their fill, strolled casually down the street. Sunlight shone through the clouds, illuminating the bluestone slabs.

The streets of the county town were bustling with people. Men and women dressed in all sorts of fine clothes, some carrying baskets and others holding children, walked and chatted happily.