The Farm Girl’s Charismatic Fortune
Chapter 136 - 133 Xuanbao Spends Too Much Silver

Chapter 136: Chapter 133 Xuanbao Spends Too Much Silver

After buying the land, the family of four left the Governor’s Office.

By this time, the sun was already setting. With the Winter Solstice approaching, the days had become shorter, and darkness fell earlier. By the time they walked back to the village, it was already dark.

Moreover, as the sun set, it grew colder, and the north wind cut across their faces like a knife.

Ruo Shui, not afraid to travel at night, still felt compassion for his wife and daughter and said, "Shall we rent a carriage to return?"

Upon hearing this, Ruo Xuan immediately said, "No need to rent, let’s buy a carriage. I was thinking of buying one when I came!"

She had ridden a horse at the Academy today with her little uncle and found it quite fun. She wanted to keep riding.

Having a horse at home would make things much more convenient!

Madam Liu: "..."

Wasn’t Xuanbao spending silver too readily?

They had just spent nearly two thousand taels on a vast expanse of wasteland, and now she wanted to buy a horse?

And she was considering purchasing a shop—did having some silver on hand make her itch to spend it?

Madam Liu thought it unnecessary to buy a carriage: "We don’t need to travel long distances on average. Even when going to the county town, which isn’t far, walking takes just half an hour. Buying a carriage would cost more than a hundred taels, which isn’t worthwhile. If we’re buying, a bullock cart will suffice. We can use the oxen to plow the fields on ordinary days."

Ruo Shui agreed, "Indeed, a carriage is unnecessary. Now that we have more farmland, buying a couple of oxen isn’t a bad idea. There’s a household in the next village with a young ox that’s getting big. I had already planned to buy it."

During the last land-clearing, some people from the next village came to work and brought an ox, mentioning that their calf was nearly grown enough to plow the fields, and asked if he wanted to buy it.

Ruo Xuan countered, "How is it not worth it? By carriage, it takes less than a quarter of an hour to get to the city. The time saved could be spent by father printing many more books! Moreover, my brothers are preparing to go to the Academy, and having a carriage for pick up and drop off would be convenient. Also, we might not travel far places now, but we might in the future, right? Didn’t Uncle and father plan to re-enter the imperial examinations? Wouldn’t having a carriage be more convenient for taking exams?"

"Buying one now isn’t very useful, and maintaining horses also costs a considerable amount of silver. Your brothers will live at the Academy, only able to return home twice a month."

"It’s better to be prepared and have it early for convenience! In rainy weather, we won’t worry about the merchandise getting wet. Besides, isn’t father going to deliver books to the Academy in the neighboring county soon? It would be more convenient to have a carriage. And once my brothers are at the Academy, it will be easier to send them delicious foods. Plus, if we buy it now, we’ll save the silver for renting a carriage today!" Ruo Xuan tried her best to list the advantages of owning a carriage.

She estimated that if her parents still disagreed about buying it, she would go into the mountains, catch a wild Shandan Horse, tame it, and let her third uncle make a carriage.

It would just take a while, as her third uncle was a bit busy, preparing for the house construction, and it was unclear when it would be done.

Ruo Shui was amused by his daughter’s last comment but thought that indeed, a carriage would be convenient.

So Ruo Shui said, "Alright, let’s buy it! Let’s go to the horse market and take a look. If we find a good horse, we’ll buy it. If not, we’ll buy it later. How about we rent a carriage to go home for today?"

Ruo Xuan thought this was a workable plan and nodded her little head: "Alright."

Then the family of three changed course and headed to the city’s specialized ox and horse market, where an entire street was dedicated to selling oxen and horses.

The sun was almost set, and there were hardly any people in the ox and horse market. Many shopkeepers had already closed up shop, except for a few horse markets that were still bargaining with customers.

Seeing this, Madam Liu said, "With only one or two horse markets still open, perhaps we should come back another time to buy."

Ruo Xuan: "Aren’t there two more stores? Let’s take a look first! I have to read books tomorrow!"

Ruo Shui couldn’t bear to disappoint her daughter: "Since we’re already here, let’s take a look!"

The family of three walked to the nearest livestock trading store, and the storekeeper greeted them enthusiastically: "Dear guests, are you looking to buy horses or cows? I have cattle, horses, donkeys, and mules! All carefully selected top-quality goods!"

"We are here to buy horses, but if we find the right cows, we would consider buying them too," Ruo Xuan peered around, curious to see if there were any good horses inside.

Madam Liu: "..."

Weren’t we here to buy horses? Why consider cows now?

The storekeeper’s eyes lit up when he heard this: "Our horses are all from the great plains, we’ve just got a new batch in last night, and today we’ve already sold several good horses! You, sir, after visiting other horse traders, have come back to our store to purchase, right! Our cows are mostly strong and young prime cattle! I personally went to various villages to procure them. Everyone who bought said they were great! You may go inside and have a look!"

A customer who was haggling with the storekeeper chimed in: "His horses are indeed good, but just a bit too expensive! Boss, it’s getting dark, and other horse traders have closed for the day, give us a little discount, and you might just make two deals before closing time!"

With new customers coming in, the storekeeper didn’t have time to haggle anymore and quickly turned to welcome Ruo Xuan’s family, pretending to be in pain he said: "Let’s meet in the middle! One hundred and twenty Silver, I can’t go any cheaper! This is a horse from the plains! Although it’s not a famous breed, you have a good eye, the one you picked is still in its prime. Plains horses have good endurance, run fast, and usually, I sell old horses for one hundred and ten Silver! I’m taking a loss here! Even the shipping costs are not covered!"

Ruo Xuan took a look at the horse the other customer had picked. Although it had been an adult for several years, it indeed looked good.

Ruo Zhou also glanced at the horse that the customer had chosen, and immediately recognized it as a Shandan Horse.

Shandan Horses are a versatile breed, suitable for riding, drawing, and carrying, with good carrying performance, strong endurance, and resistance to rough feeding.

In other words, they are easy to raise and very useful.

Moreover, this Shandan Horse was of middle to old age, one hundred twenty Silver was a fair price, definitely not an overpayment.

The customer was knowledgeable about horses. He just wanted a slightly better deal, but one hundred twenty Silver was in line with the price he had in mind. Grumbling, he said, "Can’t it be a little cheaper?"

Despite his words, he took out the silver note he had prepared in advance.

The happy storekeeper took the Silver and then pointed to a store across the street that sold horse carts and saddles: "Brother, the shop opposite is mine as well. If you are thinking of buying a horse cart or a saddle, you can find it there. My wife, seeing you bought our horse, will definitely give you a discount! You won’t find prices as good as ours in the whole county!"

The customer, who was there to buy a horse cart for his business, listened and then walked over.

Ruo Xuan admired: "Boss, you really know how to do business, you’ve got everything covered! After we buy a horse, we plan to buy a horse cart as well! Give us a discount too, huh!"

Ruo Shui added: "That’s right, if we like the horse and the boss’s price is fair, we’ll buy them together!"

"I conduct business fairly! I do not deceive, whether young or old. To be the biggest on this street and to open another horse cart store opposite, it’s because I am honest in business. The horses I sell are good, what I say is what it is, I never cheat anyone. Many customers are introduced by regular clients. Come, once you see my horses, you’ll know. I have a variety of horse breeds here, in addition to Shandan Horses, there are also..."

The family of three followed the storeowner inside, looking at the horses kept in separate stables.

Ruo Xuan casually glanced and saw, in the corner stable, a listless horse lying on a pile of hay.

Ruo Xuan’s eyes lit up, and she immediately pointed at that horse and asked, "Boss, how much for that horse?"