Cui Hongyu didn't know what Shen Ziyan was thinking. She only knew that Chen Xiaobei wanted to go back quickly, so she looked probingly at Chen Xiaobei aside.
Of course Chen Xiaobei understood what Cui Hongyu meant. He smiled and nodded, "Then go ahead. I'll call you after you've bought the things."
Unexpectedly, Shen Ziyan went on to say, "Come to have lunch after buying it. It's so difficult to come to my house. I have to do my best to be a landlord."
Huang Ying next to her immediately beamed when she heard this, and reached out to hold Chen Qiaoer down, "Yes, yes, brother Xiaobei, let's have lunch before leaving, or you can stay here for one night."
Chen Xiaobei also understood instantly that Shen Ziyan simply wanted to keep them to eat and discuss embroidery techniques with Cui Hongyu. It was just an excuse.
Chen Xiaobei finished delivering the vegetables and apples and rushed to Li Ji Grocery Store.
Li Han, the store manager, smiled happily when he saw Chen Xiaobei coming. This was a big customer.
"Brother Xiaobei, come inside and drink tea."
While talking, he took care of the little boy in the store and took the reins from Chen Xiaobei's hand.
Li Han called Chen Xiaobei into the backyard. Soon a boy brought tea.
The tea at this time is similar to that in the early Tang Dynasty. It is boiled with a lot of seasonings. If you add a few eggs, the boiled tea eggs will definitely be delicious in color, fragrance and flavor.
"Brother Xiaobei, what do you want to buy this time?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled calmly and stretched out a finger, "First order a hundred kilograms of saltpeter powder. By the way, you have to be careful about the price."
Li Han laughed and said, "Brother Xiaobei, we have been dealing with each other for a long time. You can rest assured about the price I gave you."
Chen Xiaobei took advantage of the situation and placed his second order.
"I also want to buy some iron."
"Iron!" Li Han opened his eyes wide in surprise and lowered his voice, "Brother, this thing is a material strictly inspected by the imperial court."
Chen Xiaobei knew that Li Han did this just to raise the price. He smiled lightly and took a sip of the bad-tasting tea. "If shopkeeper Li feels embarrassed, then I will go to another place and have a look."
"Anyway, I have to go to the state capital with Magistrate Hu in a few days."
Upon hearing what Chen Xiaobei said, Li Han quickly laughed.
"Brother, don't worry, what I got for you is the iron used in military camps for sharpening weapons."
Unexpectedly, Chen Xiaobei didn't appreciate it. Instead, he smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Li, actually I don't want such good iron, I just want something ordinary."
"It doesn't matter even if there are sand holes on it, I use it to make rough things."
Li Han looked at him in surprise, "You've been doing it for a long time, but you want thick iron."
"But this thick iron can't be used as farm tools, kitchen knives, or stove pots. I don't know what you want to use it for."
Chen Xiaobei said in his heart, he wants to make grenades and landmines, but how can I tell you this?
"Oh, I just make some crude things."
Li Han knew Chen Xiaobei, but he didn't want to explain it to him, but there were principles for doing business, and he couldn't ask more questions if he didn't tell him.
"This is pretty simple. Do you have any other requests? Maybe I can help you."
Chen Xiaobei smiled and said, "I have other requests. Let's wait until we finish looking at these thick irons."
Saying goodbye to Li Han, Chen Xiaobei turned around and came to Zuixian Tower.
Tian Wen, the shopkeeper of Zuixianlou, saw Chen Xiaobei coming and greeted him warmly.
"Brother Xiaobei, you came just in time. You will stay at my place for lunch at noon. I have recently changed my chef. You should try his cooking skills."
Chen Xiaobei took out a broken piece of silver and put it on the counter.
"You can try the craftsmanship, but I can't eat it here. I have to take guests back home if they come."
Tian Wen laughed, stretched out his hand and pushed the silver back.
"Okay, just keep the money. It's so easy to come to my place, how can I collect your money?"
Chen Xiaobei shook his head and pushed the money back again, "Shopkeeper Tian, let's keep this code the same. I came to you to sell fish and vegetables, but I didn't charge you any less money."
Tian Wen laughed, "Okay, you are running a small business, and besides, those are vegetables and fish in your village. When they become your own business, then I won't be polite to you."
At this point, Chen Xiaobei knew that there was no point in persisting, so he had to put away the money.
Tian Wen ordered someone to serve him some peanut snacks, and then went to the kitchen to get busy.
When Chen Xiaobei arrived at Shen Ziyan's house with vegetables, he heard bursts of laughter coming from inside before he entered the courtyard.
Looking through the gate, Dujuan and Xiaohua were playing games in the yard with Chen Qiaoer.
The laughter came from three people.
After all, Dujuan and Xiaohua are only thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girls, so they can be considered children.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei coming, Chen Qiaoer jumped up to meet him.
"Brother, brother."
Xiaobei patted Chen Qiaoer's head, then turned and pointed at the donkey cart.
"There is food in the car, I will bring it down first and then play with you."
Xiaohua and Dujuan saw it and hurriedly came to help.
Chen Qiaoer also reached out and picked up a cold dish and shouted loudly into the room, "Sister-in-law, brother is back."
Hearing the shout, Cui Hongyu came out of the house to welcome him.
I came to Chen Qiaoer and took the cold dish, then said with a smile, "This is not our home, we can't say we are coming back."
Chen Xiaobei was stunned. He didn't expect Cui Hongyu to be so strict with his words.
But when he saw the red face of Shen Ziyan who was finally greeted, he instantly understood that the three girls must have said something in the room.
Chen Ziyan bowed to Chen Xiaobei and said apologetically, "Brother Xiaobei, I'm really sorry. I agreed to let you have lunch, but I forgot the time while talking."
After saying that, he turned to look at Xiaohua and said, "You kid only cares about playing and doesn't make a fire to cook."
Xiaohua looked aggrieved, but lowered her head and did not dare to say a word.
Huang Ying next to her spoke up, "Sister Ziyan, you can't say that. It was you who asked me to play with Qiaoer in the yard. Why don't you admit it now?"
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei quickly changed the subject, "I don't know what flavor you like. Shopkeeper Tian from Zuixian Tower said that the new cook had come and asked him to cook a few special dishes."
Huangying couldn't help but laugh when she heard that it was the dish from Zuixianlou, "Okay, okay, the dish from Zuixianlou is my favorite."
Seeing him happy like a child, Chen Xiaobei felt that this Huang Ying was just too simple and liked to express his emotions and opinions.
Relatively speaking, Shen Ziyan restrained herself, thinking more and looking more calm.
After the dishes were placed, Shen Ziyan made a gesture to Xiaohua, and Xiaohua went into the back room and brought out a jar of wine.
"Sister Hongyu, brother Xiaobei, it's so difficult for you to come to my place for a meal and you have to bring your own food. This is really unreasonable. I'll punish myself with three drinks first."