The man originally thought Zheng Wei was just haggling, but he never expected Zheng Wei to leave without a word.
Watching the three figures depart, the man gritted his teeth and shouted, "Little brothers, don't go! We can discuss the price."
Zheng Wei's steps halted, and he turned back to look at the man, but did not walk back. He directly asked, "How much do you want?"
Seeing Zheng Wei's readiness to leave at any moment, the man could only say, "You name a price. If it's suitable, I'll sell."
Zheng Wei raised his eyebrows and then said, "10 taels."
The man's face immediately fell. "Little brother, you're driving too hard a bargain. How about this? 16 taels, what do you say? If you're still not satisfied, then forget it."
Zheng Wei readily agreed, "Deal."
Shen Xiaoyan watched from the side, stunned.
Hadn't Zheng Wei just transmigrated?
Where did he learn such haggling skills?
Regardless of Shen Xiaoyan's many questions, the deal was struck.
After paying, Zheng Wei led the mule, with Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming following beside him, and they left together.
"Where to next?" Shen Xiaoyan asked.
"To buy a cart," Zheng Wei replied.
"Oh," Shen Xiaoyan answered, following Zheng Wei's pace.
The cart shop was not far from the livestock market, a mutually beneficial arrangement to attract customers.
Asking Shen Xiaoyan to wait by the door with the mule, Zheng Wei entered the shop where several people were conversing.
Zheng Wei stated his purpose, and an apprentice stepped forward, smiling and saying, "What kind of cart are you looking for, sir?"
Zheng Wei said, "One pulled by a mule. With a carriage box."
"Alright, sir, follow me," the apprentice said with a smile and led the way to the backyard.
Zheng Wei said, "My mule is by the door."
The apprentice looked outside and indeed saw a black mule by the door, with a woman leading it and a small boy standing beside her.
"There's another entrance to the courtyard. Come, I'll lead you," the apprentice walked to the side of the door and said to Shen Xiaoyan.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at the apprentice, then at Zheng Wei, who was following behind, nodded, and was about to lead the mule.
Zheng Wei, however, stepped forward first, took the rope from Shen Xiaoyan's hand, and led the mule ahead.
The group arrived at the backyard, where various carriage boxes and handcarts were placed.
They inspected several options and finally settled on a carriage box made of elm wood.
The carriage's design was similar to those Shen Xiaoyan had seen on television in her previous life.
The carriage box was hollowed out, open at the front, and had square windows on three sides that opened inwards.
Along the bottom of the three sides of the carriage box, there was a shelf about a foot high and a foot wide.
The shelf was not solid; the seat of each shelf could be lifted, like the lid of a wooden box, presumably for storing things inside.
Shen Xiaoyan estimated that the carriage box was about 2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, which was a considerable space.
Although there were more elaborately made carriages with larger boxes, they couldn't use them as those required two horses.
When asked the price, the apprentice immediately smiled and said, "Sir, you have a good eye. This cart is suitable for a family of three, spacious, and surely comfortable to ride in."
"Alright, tell us the price," Shen Xiaoyan interrupted with a smile.
The apprentice, unoffended, continued with a smile, "10 taels of silver."
Shen Xiaoyan didn't know if the price was expensive or not, so she looked at Zheng Wei. She found that Zheng Wei didn't object and instead asked the apprentice to harness the cart.
The apprentice knew immediately that the deal was made and happily fitted the harness onto the black mule's back.
This black mule had probably pulled carts before. It stood there obediently, not moving at all.
Once the cart was harnessed, Zheng Wei paid promptly, then asked Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming to get into the cart, sat in the front himself, and drove away.
Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming sat in the cart. Since there were no curtains in the carriage box yet, they could clearly see the outside. Shen Xiaoming excitedly leaned against the window, constantly looking out.
Shen Xiaoyan felt the mule cart swayed a bit, not as comfortable as the cars in her previous life. But, it was what it was. After all, she was now part of the "own a car and a house" group.
The next destination was the ready-made clothing shop. This time, it wasn't for making clothes.
Although called a ready-made clothing shop, besides selling ready-made clothes and custom tailoring, they also accepted any fabric-made items, such as curtains, canopies, quilts, or even the carriage curtains they had just bought today.
Upon arriving at the ready-made clothing shop, Zheng Wei did not go in this time; he had to watch the cart.
Shen Xiaoming was still excited and unwilling to go in, so only Shen Xiaoyan entered alone.
Perhaps because she had come to get clothes made a few times, the shop owner smiled and greeted her as soon as Shen Xiaoyan entered. Shen Xiaoyan glanced around; there were not many people in the shop at the moment.
"Madam Zheng, you're here. What would you like this time? Is it time for autumn clothes?" the owner asked cheerfully.
Shen Xiaoming felt awkward. Ever since the owner knew she and Zheng Wei were married, he had called her Madam Zheng. But she was so young; wasn't it awkward to be called Madam?
The owner remembered clearly that she couldn't sew. This was understandable, as she always came to this shop to get clothes made.
"I do need clothes made, but I also need some other things," Shen Xiaoyan said, drawing out a stack of paper from her sleeve and handing it to the owner.
The owner asked what it was but didn't slow his movements. He opened the paper and began to read.
After a quick glance, the owner had a general understanding of what was on the paper. He looked up and smiled at Shen Xiaoyan, "Madam Zheng, you're ordering quite a lot this time. Are you building a new house?"
Shen Xiaoyan secretly nodded inwardly. As expected of the owner, he was worldly and experienced. Just by looking at her order list, he knew she was building a new house.
"Yes, we just built a new house, so we need these things. I'll trouble you, boss," Shen Xiaoyan said with a smile.
"That's for sure. You can rest assured with our work. We'll satisfy you. I see you've clearly written all the sizes and colors. Then, you can pick them up in 10 days." After a moment of thought, he gave Shen Xiaoyan a timeframe for picking up the items.
"No rush, I have another matter," Shen Xiaoyan quickly said. The owner was very straightforward.
The owner hurriedly replied, "What is it? Please tell me."
Shen Xiaoyan said, "We just bought a cart and need cushions and such. Could you please send someone to measure with me?"
Hearing this, the owner called an apprentice, instructed him to take a ruler, and go out with Shen Xiaoyan.
Watching the two walk out and stop directly beside a brand new mule cart, the owner withdrew his gaze.