In fact, even if the middle-aged man told him the size of Anhua City, Gongsun Yan had no idea. Before that, the largest city he had ever seen was Zhenbeiguan, but Anhua City was many times larger than Zhenbeiguan.
times.
Gongsun Yan walked aimlessly along with the people on the street, his eyes dazzled. When he saw a drug store, he went in to inquire about the price, but he was not in a hurry to sell medicinal materials. He also browsed the bookstores and grocery stores he passed, and kept them in his mind.
When arriving at a place for the first time, Gongsun Yan follows the principle of "first slowness, second look, and third action." "First slowness" means that when you arrive in a strange environment, don't rush into action and give yourself some time to understand the environment; "second look" means observation.
, carefully observe the people, things, and things around you, and figure out the behavior style or rules of local people or experts; the "three actions" are to act after planning. Although doing things in this way is not foolproof, it also avoids rash impulses to a large extent. Of course,
, this is also the experience Gongsun Yan learned from his father since he was a child.
After wandering around the city for more than an hour, Gongsun Yan found a drug store called "Anjitang" that was not in the downtown area. This store was of medium size. The shopkeeper was a kind old man and the clerk was also relatively kind. The clerk was practical
It was an apprentice who was about the same age as Gongsun Yan. When he saw Gongsun Yan returning, he immediately stepped forward and said:
"How do you like it? My price is probably the most reasonable!"
"Yes!" Gongsun Yan nodded and responded. He had been here just now. Then he carefully took out the medicinal materials. The old man inspected and weighed them one by one, and then said:
"A total of four hundred and ninety-three copper coins. Since it's your first time here, I can give you the whole amount. Is it okay to give you half of it?"
"Okay." Gongsun Yan was secretly happy. The price here was much higher than that in Lishui Town.
The boy took a bunch of copper coins and handed them to Gongsun Yan, and asked casually:
"You're not from here, are you?"
"Yes!" Gongsun Yan replied honestly and put the money into his arms.
"First time coming to Anhua City?"
"Yes."
"Then if you have any medicinal materials, I can send them over in the future. My name is Zhang Qing. The price offered here will satisfy you. I'm a real child." The waiter invited with a smile.
"Okay." Gongsun Yan said goodbye with his hands in hand.
Zhang Qing saw that he was cautious and taciturn, so he sent him to the door with a smile.
After leaving the drug store, Gongsun Yan touched the copper coins in his arms and was secretly happy. This was the first money he had ever earned in his life, and it was quite a lot. It was worth a month's wages for a clerk in a shop in Lishui Town.
He decided to go to the grocery store to buy some medicinal herbs and daily necessities.
He walked into a shop he had chosen in advance and bought a hoe, a hatchet, a shovel, a rope, a small iron pot, flints, bags and other items. He also went to a shoe shop and bought two pairs of shoes, spending more than 300 yuan in total.
Money. Next, he began to look for stores that sold books.
When passing by a steamed bun shop, he saw the steaming steamed buns. His stomach growled unconsciously, and then he remembered that he hadn't smelled the meaty buns for a long time. He touched the meat buns in his arms.
After buying the copper coins, I swallowed my saliva and decided to wait until I bought the book.
Soon, he discovered a bookstore. The location of this bookstore was not in a busy city. It had a small facade and few customers inside. A young woman in her thirties was sitting at the counter, reading a book. He saw the young-looking Gongsun Yanbei.
Coming in with a basket on her back, she raised her eyebrows slightly and asked:
"What's the matter with you?"
"I want to... buy some books..." Gongsun Yan replied in a hesitant voice.
"How many books should I buy? They are very expensive!" the young woman said indifferently.
"Oh." Gongsun Yan stood still.
The young woman stared at him with sarcastic eyes for a while, and then said:
"Are you literate? What books do you want to buy?"
"Someone who knows some words, I want to buy geography, and..."
"You choose, you have to pay first." The young woman interrupted him coldly, pointed to the books placed on the counter, and turned to greet other customers who had just come in.
Gongsun Yan placed his backpack next to the door and began to look at the books carefully.
There are counters on the left, middle and right sides of the bookstore. Gongsun Yan did not recognize the books on the counter on the left. He only recognized the books on the counter in the middle. However, the books on display were limited, especially those on geography.
It was so rare that he saw a book called "The History of Xia Su" that might be related to geography. Gongsun Yan pointed to the book and asked:
"How much is this book?"
The young woman was chatting with an acquaintance. After hearing this, she walked over to look at her impatiently and replied coldly:
"Eighty cents."
Gongsun Yan hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the folded "Map of Xia Su Kingdom" and asked:
"what about this?"
"Ten cents."
Gongsun Yan quickly took out the copper coins and counted ten coins to her. She took it and threw it into the money box. At this moment, a customer on the left called her to get a book, and she quickly walked over.
Gongsun Yan stood there waiting silently.
After a while, the man turned around and left the bookstore without purchasing. The young woman continued chatting with acquaintances and ignored Gongsun Yan.
"Please give me the map."
"Ten cents!"
"..."
"Isn't it for you?" Gongsun Yan replied timidly.
"Give it to me?" the young woman said sternly, and then mockingly:
"You want to blackmail me?"
"No, I did give you the money!" Gongsun Yan immediately became anxious. Ten cents was not a small amount for him. It was enough for him to have a good meal. What's more, he was framed for blackmail. His eyes turned red.
.
"snort!"
"Forget it, he's just a kid, don't pay attention to him." The acquaintance next to him advised.
The two immediately started chatting as if it was nothing.
"Madam, please count the money in the money box. The copper coins I just gave you are still relatively new." Gongsun Yan begged in a trembling voice.
The young woman still ignored it.
"Madam, when do you close here? Can I wait until you close to take inventory and reconcile the accounts?" Gongsun Yan pleaded again.
"You don't have to wait any longer. Even if there is a discrepancy, it can't be proved that it's your money. Let's go quickly!" the young woman said coldly.
Hearing this, Gongsun Yan felt sad in his heart, tears burst out of his eyes, and he couldn't help but burst into tears. The sadness, grievance, fear, humiliation and other emotions of the past few days suddenly came to his heart.
The two young women glanced at Gongsun Yan and started chatting indifferently.
At this time, a male customer who entered the bookstore later saw Gongsun Yan crying sadly and came over to ask about the situation. Gongsun Yan even choked up and told what happened. The man took out ten copper coins from his arms and handed them to Gongsun Yan and said
:
"Little guy, take it, don't be sad."
Gongsun Yan refused. The man sighed, shook his head and walked away.
Gongsun Yan sobbed sadly for a while, knowing that the young woman would not return the money to him, so he could only turn around, pick up the basket on his back, and stagger away.
After going out, he looked back at the bookshop and saw the four words "Dialou Bookstore" written on the top of the facade. The handwriting was already a bit mottled and worn. He suddenly realized that it must be a bookstore opened here by people from the neighboring country of Xiaolou, which borders Huachen Kingdom to the south.
, he will never come here to buy books again.
Walking slowly on the street, his mood gradually began to calm down. Seeing that it was getting late, Gongsun Yan judged the direction and looked at Shuangtou Ridge in the distance on the north side of Anhua City. He walked towards the north gate. He
He doesn't plan to stay overnight in the city. Firstly, he is too young and is afraid of attracting attention by living alone in a hotel or renting a house. Secondly, the cost is too high and he cannot afford long-term renting at present. More importantly, he is afraid that his safety will be delayed.
Living in the city, you lose your enterprising spirit.
Walking along the street, he was not in the same mood as when he first entered the city. He passed by several shops selling books, and he couldn't cheer up. He decided to buy some more next time he went to the city. However, when he passed by a rice store and a restaurant, he bought some
Corn, as well as dry food such as steamed buns and pancakes, and I also bought a small amount of salt to take with me.