Volume 1 Chapter 27 Going to the Market

Chapter 27 Going to the Market

The three of them were quarreling, and Zhuzi was having a great time playing on the dog's back, pretending to ride a horse and shouting "Go!" Li Zhuang took him down and scolded him, "What are you quarreling about? Go out and play." Zhuzi was unhappy, but he had to listen to his father and ran out of the yard with a pout.

Li Zhuang said to Zhang Pa, "Brother Zhang, please come in. Country people don't know etiquette, so don't blame me for neglecting you." Zhang Pa was flattered and said hurriedly, "No, no, I'm sorry to bother you." He had a very good impression of this family.

Old man Li let Zhang Pa into the house. There was a kitchen between the east and west wing rooms, but no living room. Entering the east wing, Old Man Li asked Li to make tea and said to Zhang Pa: "We are in the countryside, so we have to stay here tonight."

Zhang Pa felt very embarrassed. A young Taoist priest accepted the hospitality for no reason, and the other party said that the hospitality was not good enough. He quickly stood up and said: "Uncle Li, I am very grateful. If you are so polite, I will have to live in the yard." Old Man Li laughed: "Yes, treat this as your own home, and I won't invite you." Then he went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Zhang Pa stood in the middle of the house and looked around. The furnishings in the house were very simple, and the wardrobe, square table and other furniture were a bit old. Under Lin Sen's education, he was skeptical of all sudden enthusiasm. When he entered the house, he used his spiritual sense to explore. There were more than a hundred households in the village, all of which were ordinary people, and there were not many livestock.

Although the hospitality of the Li family made him suspicious, he was really grateful in his heart, and subconsciously believed that this family was all good people.

Zhang Pa planned to stay in the village for a day and take the villagers' car to Pingcheng the day after tomorrow. He was really curious about this world and wanted to know more about it. At this time, six children were walking towards this place outside the yard, talking as they walked. With Zhang Pa's powerful consciousness, he knew that it was Zhuzi and a few children who were talking about the big dog. Zhuzi said that he could ride on it and play, but other children said that he was bragging. Zhuzi was afraid that they would not believe it, so he brought them to see it.

Not long after, Zhuzi came to the window of the east wing. It was autumn, the weather was still hot, and the windows were wide open. Zhuzi bowed to Zhang Pa through the window and pointed at Xiaohei, meaning to let it come out to play, but he didn't dare to speak, afraid that his father would find out, and his expression was extremely cute.

Zhang Pa smiled, patted the three big dogs, and asked them to go out and play with the children. The master gave the order, and the three dogs jumped out of the window with bitter faces. Xiaohei took the time to despise Xiaobai and Xiaohuang: "I told you to bully me, and now you are treated the same as me, you deserve it."

Zhuzi was too small, and the big dog was too big, and the man and the beast were almost the same height. Zhuzi looked at the big dog and was worried. There was no rope to lead it, and he couldn't ride on it. What should he do? The big dog was obedient and ran out of the courtyard first. Five children were standing outside the courtyard waiting for Zhuzi. Suddenly, they saw three big dogs rushing out and turned around and ran away in fear.

Zhuzi followed them out and whispered, "Don't run. Look how obedient they are." As he spoke, he reached out to touch the big dogs. The other children were not afraid anymore and approached the big dogs carefully, repeatedly asking for confirmation, "Do they really not bite?"

Zhuzi pretended to be an adult and said, "No, they are very obedient."

Poor three mid-level foundation-building monsters who were treated as pet dogs.

At dinner, the old man Li and his family prepared a table full of dishes to entertain Zhang Pa. Although there was no meat, there were all kinds of vegetables, and it was obvious that they had put a lot of effort into it. Zhang Pa was very embarrassed and thanked him again and again. Old man Li said: "The village is remote, peddlers rarely come, it's rare to have a Taoist priest come to visit, it's also a blessing for our family, don't be polite, eat more."

There was no wine on the table, just coarse grains and vegetables, which was completely different from the delicacies eaten in Wuling Garden, but Zhang Pa still ate more. Several people talked while eating. The old man asked Zhang Pa why he came here and asked about Taoist matters; Zhang Pa asked the old man about the situation of the village.

The village is located in the northernmost part of Pingcheng, far away from the city, with inconvenient transportation. The villagers have a good relationship, but they are too poor. Zhang Pa remembered that he still had some gold, so he took out two pieces and gave them to Old Man Li after the meal. Old Man Li hurriedly refused.

Zhang Pa didn't understand the prices. Common people usually used copper coins or broken silver for transactions. Whole ingots of silver and gold were things that only wealthy families had. He took out two pieces of gold to give to Old Man Li after a meal, which really scared Old Man Li. Old man Li insisted not to take it. He insisted even more. He threw two pieces of gold on the kang and said, "We cultivators don't value these things very much. Now I'm throwing it away, you can just treat it as picking it up." Old man Li put it away with thousands of thanks.

In the countryside, you can't spend gold even if you have it, and you can't exchange it at all. Old man Li called Li Zhuang and gave him a piece of gold, asking him to exchange the gold for silver and copper coins when he went to the city to sell peanuts. Li Zhuang was shocked when he saw the gold and asked where his father got it. Old man Li pointed to the east wing and said, "We met a god."

The next day, the child was still playing with the big dog. Zhang Pa strolled alone in the village. Most of the houses he saw were made of loess and stones. They were shabby and simple. In terms of strength, they were probably not as good as the thatched house he lived in when he was in the Ten Thousand Beasts Cave. He didn't expect the people to live in such poverty. He also didn't expect that although the villagers were poor, they would always have fun in their suffering. When they were free, they would sit in the center of the village, chat about family matters and tell jokes, and they were happy and harmonious.

On the third day, in the early morning, when it was still dark, the Li family members got up. They had loaded the car yesterday, so they had to get up early today to get to the county town before dark. Zhang Pa only realized at this time that the destination was the county town, which was still a long way from Pingcheng.

There were three carriages in total. Li Zhuang drove one, and two other young men drove one each. There were also several women sitting in the carriages, probably wanting to go to the market after selling peanuts. Li Zhuang's wife was also in the carriage. Old man Li told them to go early and come back early, and the convoy slowly moved out of the village.

The carriage was very large and filled with sacks. Li Zhuang's wife squeezed in a corner of the carriage and closed her eyes to rest. Zhang Pa sat next to Li Zhuang, and three big dogs ran behind the carriage. They drove all the way until dark, and finally arrived at the county town before sunset.

The county town was naturally more prosperous. At dusk, many people went in and out of the city gate.

There was still half a mile to go before entering the city, but the caravan stopped. Li Zhuang and Zhang Pa said, "We need to rest outside the city at night. The inns in the city are too expensive. We will sell peanuts tomorrow and buy some daily necessities before rushing back. If you want to go to Pingcheng, I can't take you there." Zhang Pa said, "It doesn't matter." Li Zhuang said again, "The city gate will be closed soon. You'd better go into the city early and find an inn to rest." Zhang Pa looked at the three carriages, and the women took out their dry food and water bags and prepared to have dinner. He smiled and said, "If there is nothing to do, I will squeeze in with you for another night. Tomorrow, take me to the market. I have never seen it before."

Li Zhuang also smiled, "Okay, as long as you are not afraid of the dark and cold night."

"What's so scary about this?" He walked to the big tree by the road, sat cross-legged and meditated, breathing and resting. Three dogs ran over and hid on both sides, lying down to guard.

The night in the wild always passes slower, with cold winds and chills coming one after another, and autumn cicadas chirping. Li Zhuang and others couldn't sleep well at all. Zhang Pa sighed. He would rather endure the cold wind and insect bites to save accommodation fees. Life was really hard. He drew a barrier to cover them. The barrier was warm as spring, without mosquitoes, and Li Zhuang and others slept well.

Early the next morning, the convoy entered the city. There were guards guarding the gate of the county town. Goods had to pay a city entrance fee to enter the city. After Li Zhuang and others paid, they walked on the main road into the city, turning left and right to the huge market, which was at least bigger than Li Zhuang's village.

There was a big warehouse on the right side of the market, with several hanging scales hanging at the door. Li Zhuang drove the carriage over, negotiated the price, and weighed the goods into the warehouse. As the sacks were weighed one by one, Li Zhuang took a charcoal pencil and ticked on a piece of paper to mark it. After asking the people in the same industry, he knew that the peanuts were not owned by the same family. Many villagers did not grow much, so he asked them to sell them together and buy some salt and other daily necessities to take back, which could save some trouble.

After half an hour of hard work, Li Zhuang and his men collected the peanut money, assigned one person to look after the carriage, and took the women to the market. Zhang Pa had secretly put the three dogs into his sleeves and went shopping with them.