Chapter 2221: Chapter 2196: Setting Up Stalls for You

Six large courtyards are enough for all of them to stay, with two people per room, and each large courtyard can accommodate about twenty people.

Mr. Zhuang stays alone because he needs to oversee Bai Shan and the others’ studies, so he stays in the same courtyard with them, while Wei Xingren and others are separated from them, staying in another courtyard’s main house.

Manbao and the others are very enthusiastic and don’t want to stay in the main house, opting to stay directly on the second floor.

It’s summer now, although the nights are a bit cool, they’re not too cold, and the afternoons are a bit warm, but indoors and by the lakeside, it doesn’t feel like it, so they can bathe and freshen up in the bathroom in their own rooms, opening the window to see the lakeside scenery. If it weren’t for Mr. Zhuang not wanting to climb stairs, he would have liked to stay on the fourth floor too.

Daji wandered around and saw that the fourth room in the attic had been taken by Changshou and Jiyu, so he obediently went downstairs to stay, sharing with a guard.

Bai Shan was talking to Old Master You, "...We plan to stay here for about twenty days. Does Old Master You want to wait for us, or go ahead first?"

When crossing the grassland together, he knew they were carefree, but he didn’t expect them to be this carefree, deciding casually to stay in one place for twenty days.

By the way, aren’t you officials?

Aren’t you in a rush to report in?

Old Master You felt tears inside but outwardly beamed with a smile, saying, "Just right, a few days ago, my workers were quite scared and aren’t fully recovered from their injuries. This time, they can heal and steady their minds."

However, Old Master You didn’t rent a large courtyard but instead rented a small courtyard where goods could be stored, and everyone could squeeze in.

It’s not that he’s not in a hurry, but he doesn’t dare to rush now.

Two days ago, in the inn, he encountered a group of people who gave off a vibe similar to those horse thieves.

Even if they weren’t criminals, they weren’t easy people to deal with.

Just overheard them discussing at the street corner, this area hasn’t been peaceful lately, and the smallpox epidemic from Xiazhou has distorted the narrative, who knows what chaos is brewing outside?

He’s eager to go to Yumen Pass to make money, but equally values his life.

So he took a deep breath, suppressing his anxiety, smiling at Bai Shan, "I’ll be relying on you all for the upcoming days."

Naturally, Bai Shan expressed no problem, saying that having Old Master You with the team is quite useful, at least he knows the way.

After dining, the group followed the young man to see his mother and sister-in-law, primarily to check their cooking skills.

Manbao tasted the food and found the skills to be decent, but only just decent.

Seeing their seemingly unsatisfied expressions, the young man gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, my mother and sister-in-law are affordable, each charges only two hundred coins, whether you stay for twenty days or a month, they’ll cook for you."

He added, "They know how to buy cheap yet good produce and won’t deceive you, really!"

Bai Shan chuckled lightly, nodded, "If that’s the case, then let’s hire them."

The young man sighed with relief.

Bai Shan then asked, "You can’t entirely rely on passing merchants, can you? If there are fewer guests, what do you do for a living?"

"Farming and herding," the young man, pleased that his mother and sister-in-law got work, was candid, "We grow lots of melons and fruits, which passing merchants love. If they don’t buy, we have people who take them to sell in Suzhou City or Liangzhou City. There are more people there, so they get bought."

"We also grow barley and wheat, but if we’re short on money, paying taxes becomes difficult, and the barley and wheat aren’t enough to eat."

Bai Shan slightly nodded, understanding that relying on outside purchases for rice and flour was necessary.

Leaving the young man’s house, Bai Shan stood by the lake and watched as a fish swiftly and smartly swam past him. He sighed, "This truly is a wonderful place."

The young man nodded earnestly, "Many people envy us. We have a large lake, which they can’t compete with."

Meanwhile, in Manbao’s mind, Keke beeped, "Unrecorded species detected..."

After some beeps and chimes, Manbao squatted down, staring at the lake water, asking, "Can we catch those fish?"

The young man replied, "You can’t scoop up fish; you can fish. Only Small Town locals can scoop fish, but not everyone can."

Not only fish, even fetching water cannot be done carelessly. They need to buy water. However, the town doesn’t mind travelers fishing, as long as they manage to catch any.

Manbao nodded thoughtfully, asked, "Where do you typically sell live fish?"

The young man paused briefly, then pointed in a direction, "But they’re hard to buy because there are more people than fish. Typically, caught fish are first sent to several big masters, then to larger taverns and restaurants, and only finally sold outside."

Manbao smiled, realizing one just needs enough money to be prioritized.

Bai Shan lowered his gaze again to the lake bottom, asking the young man to take them to buy fishing gear, then strolled through the shops in Small Town’s street.

Bai Shan told him, "Tomorrow morning, let your mother and sister-in-law come over. I have a steward here; they can take his directions."

Such matters, like hiring cooks, aren’t things they should manage personally, but they wanted to explore and glean more information from the young man, hence accompanied him.

Upon returning, the sun had long set, though the desert did darken slowly, and despite nearing their usual bedtime, it was still dimly bright.

Within a short half-day, Small Town’s residents knew the town had guests, different from regular traders, as the guests were traveling scholars, planning to stay a long time without buying goods.

But they’d heard the guests were generous, even the accompanying guards could stay in the inn’s large courtyard, demonstrating wealth.

They also heard about purchasing a large pile of sweet melons at the street corner, signifying what?

Implying these people had more money than sense.

So when they meandered back to their courtyard, they found rows of stalls lined up across their opposite lakeside, selling a variety of goods, mostly fruits.

Manbao was particularly pleased, stepping forward to inspect the small wares. She dug out a particularly beautiful stone from a stall, surprising Bai Shan with, "Doesn’t this stone look like a mountain?"

Bai Shan took a look, even reached out to touch it, then nodded, "It does!"

"It’s really beautiful," Manbao reiterated, unable to resist asking the vendor, "How much is this?"

The vendor replied with two fingers.

Manbao’s eyes brightened, "Twenty coins?"

Vendor: "...Two taels." Originally intended to ask for twenty taels, who knew she would offer such a far-off price from his expectation?

Upon hearing, Manbao put the stone down regretfully, as the price was too high relative to her expectation, so she didn’t even haggle, just pulled Bai Shan along to leave.

The vendor, bewildered, watched them walk away, eager to call them back, thinking they really could negotiate!