A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

Chen Wanxing took it, along with the two books she had previously chosen, and walked to the counter.

"Shopkeeper, will your shop continue to stock and sell this sequel?"

Upon hearing this, the old shopkeeper glanced at the book Chen Wanxing was holding up, a hint of surprise on his face. He then smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, young lady, as long as there's a second volume, our shop will definitely have it, but the timing is uncertain."

"It's alright, as long as there's a follow-up." Chen Wanxing was satisfied with the affirmative answer.

When they left the bookstore, Chen Yanche carefully took the books. Although everyone knew that books were expensive, these three thin booklets actually cost more than two taels of silver. His heart was trembling when Chen Wanxing paid for them.

After leaving the bookstore, Chen Wanxing led them to a nearby grain shop, where several donkey carts were parked in front, and people carrying loads were going in and out.

The shop was spacious, with a clean floor. Along the wall stood a row of waist-high wooden grain bins, each containing different kinds of grains: millet, foxtail millet, various beans, and ground mixed flour, each labeled with a small wooden tag. The waiter, dressed in a neat short jacket, was greeting other customers.

Chen Wanxing's gaze swept across the area, quickly settling on one of the grain bins. The rice grains inside were long and slender, milky white in color, and had a glossy texture. She walked over, pointed to the bin of rice, and asked, "Hey, what's the price of this rice?"

The waiter, who was weighing beans for another customer, looked up at the sound and quickly glanced over Chen Wanxing and the several young men and women behind her who were obviously dressed in the countryside and looked reserved. He put on a professional smile and said, "This is top-quality green glutinous rice, a rare item from the south. It costs 120 coins per dou."

One hundred and twenty coins per dou!

Chen Yanche and his three younger sisters gasped, their eyes widening in shock. They all knew rice was expensive, but this price was outrageous. Chen Yanche instinctively wanted to tug at Chen Wanxing's sleeve, telling her not to buy it.

The price made Chen Wanxing raise her eyebrows slightly. When she was in Kaifeng, Granny Li would always give her an expense report after she went shopping, so she had a general idea of ​​the market prices. The prices in this county town seemed a bit high.

Besides, is this rice green japonica rice?

Chen Wanxing stepped forward, reached into the grain bin, picked up a few grains of rice, rubbed them between his fingertips, examined their color, and even smelled them.

Chen Wanxing took a closer look and realized that the waiter was simply trying to take advantage of their ignorance. She raised her eyes to the waiter who had already seen off a customer and was now standing beside them, and asked in a calm but clear voice, "Are you sure this is green rice?"

The shop assistant was taken aback by her scrutinizing gesture and questioning, then became somewhat embarrassed and angry, raising his voice to say, "Of course it is! Our Fengyu Company has been operating in the county for decades. Would we sell counterfeit goods? Sir, if you don't understand, don't talk nonsense."

"Really?" Chen Wanxing put down the rice grains, clapped her hands, but her voice carried a hint of pressure. "I have eaten real green rice a few times."

Green glutinous rice has long, slender grains, a jade-like color, and a unique fragrance even when raw, earning it the name "fragrant rice." The rice here is shorter, has a duller color, and lacks fragrance.

"Isn't this just ordinary japonica rice? If you're really selling it as unpolished japonica rice, this price isn't just inflated, it's fraud. Why don't you ask your manager to come out, or perhaps we can go to the county government and have the clerk in charge of market transactions verify it?"

Her words immediately changed the shopkeeper's expression, his eyes flickering. He clearly hadn't expected that this girl would actually recognize green rice and even dare to question it.

"This...this..." the waiter stammered. Seeing that Chen Wanxing's expression was serious and not fake, and that other customers nearby had noticed them and were looking over, he broke out in a sweat and hurriedly said, "Please wait a moment, sir, I'll go get the manager."

A short while later, a middle-aged man wearing a silk jacket and sporting a goatee came out from the back room. He had a slick smile on his face, first glaring at the waiter, then bowing to Chen Wanxing and saying, "Miss, I'm so sorry."

He pointed to the pile of rice and sighed, "To be honest, when we bought it, the seller insisted that it was green japonica rice. Our clerk who received the goods was new and didn't know the quality, so he misjudged it and got cheated."

"Thank you so much for pointing this out, young lady. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to explain it to my master. Our Fengyu Company has been operating with impeccable reputation in Runing Prefecture for so many years. We've never had anything like this happen before. I'll settle accounts with him later. Anyone who dares to deceive the Li family has a death wish."

He tried to absolve himself of all responsibility with these words, but Chen Wanxing knew perfectly well that this kind of thing was most likely instructed by the shopkeeper, and it had probably been like this for many years. He only changed his tune now that he had been exposed.

But she didn't want to delve into it. This grain shop must have some connections to be able to operate so big. She was new here and there was no need to make enemies over such a small matter. She just wanted to make sure they didn't try to scam her again.

Seeing that she didn't intend to cause trouble, the shopkeeper quickly pointed to another pile of rice next to him, which was whiter and had plumper grains, and said:

"Young lady, you know your stuff. Look at this pearl rice. It's really good quality rice. When cooked, it's soft, sticky, and sweet, much better than regular rice. It's only seventy coins a bushel. This price is fair and honest; this is the going rate in the county town."

Chen Wanxing examined the rice; its quality was indeed excellent, and the price of seventy coins per dou (a unit of dry measure) was reasonable. She nodded, "In that case, I'll take this pearl rice."

Seeing that she was satisfied and not unreasonable, the shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief. If things really escalated, they would naturally have ways to deal with it, but since they were running a business, they believed in making money through harmony, and it was best to avoid such conflicts if possible.

Moreover, this young lady has an extraordinary bearing and is probably quite accomplished. To avoid any complications, the shopkeeper took the initiative to say, "This is your first time here, and you seem to be a sensible person. So, I'll charge you 65 coins per dou of pearl rice, and I'll make sure you get the correct weight as an apology."

This was an unexpected bonus, and Chen Wanxing readily agreed: "Then thank you very much, shopkeeper."

In the end, Chen Wanxing bought five dou of pearl rice at a price of sixty-five wen per dou. The shopkeeper personally supervised the shop assistant to weigh the rice, and sure enough, he was given the full amount.

After buying the rice, Chen Wanxing looked at the other grains in the shop. With a large family, she didn't want to create any further burden on them because of her return. Therefore, she needed to stock up on as much grain as possible, at least enough for her needs during this period.

Thinking this, she pointed to the good-quality yellow millet and red beans next to her and said, "We'll weigh some of these too..."

"Big sister!" Chen Yanche grabbed her arm this time with a bit too much force, his face full of disapproval.

"We don't need to buy these. We have enough food. We have millet, foxtail millet, and beans stored in our cellar. Last year's harvest was good, and we have enough to eat until the new grain comes in the spring, with some left over."