Chapter 106: Money Is Meant to Be Spent

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Money Is Meant to Be Spent

"Sponge cake?" Yun Zhen wrinkled her nose. No wonder she had smelled the rich aroma of eggs. There had to be oil in it too.

"Are the sponge cakes good?" she asked.

The owner took the hot sponge cakes from the tray and handed her two golden-yellow ones. "They’re delicious! Soft, sweet but not cloying, and full of buttery flavor. Try one fresh out of the oven, then try a cooled one to see the difference. Go on, eat them, it’s on the house."

Yun Zhen held a sponge cake in each hand. One was fresh from the oven, still radiating heat. The other was cool to the touch. Both palm-sized cakes emitted an incredibly rich, mouthwatering aroma.

Because Yun Zhen had been in a hurry to get back to the village for mutton soup today, she hadn’t eaten dinner at the cafeteria. Smelling the sponge cakes made her stomach GRUMBLE. She took a bite of the hot cake. It was sweet, soft, and richly buttery! Then, she tried the cooled one. It was a bit denser than the hot cake. So delicious! This pastry was absolutely incredible, even better than the sugar cakes sold in the county town!

She hurriedly asked the owner, "How much for the sponge cakes?"

The owner pulled another tray from the oven. "Freshly baked ones are eight yuan a *jin*."

Eight yuan? Buying a *jin* of sponge cake for the price of eight *jin* of polished rice—was it worth it? "I’ll take fifty *jin*!" Yun Zhen declared. Money was meant to be spent, after all.

"Sure thing, I’ll pack them up for you. I’ll only give you the ones baked fresh today." The owner brought over a waist-high cardboard box that looked brand new.

She first packed the cakes into a large plastic bag to weigh them. Since the sponge cakes were incredibly light, fifty *jin* made a massive bundle. No wonder it required a waist-high box.

"Take a look. Exactly fifty *jin*." After weighing them, the owner placed the bag into the box and wrapped it in layer upon layer of packing tape.

"Ma’am, how many cakes are in fifty *jin*, roughly?" Yun Zhen asked.

The owner did some quick mental math. "Each cake is about thirty-five grams, so there should be around seven or eight hundred altogether."

*Seven or eight hundred?* That sounded like a massive number. It was enough to give everyone in the village five cakes each and still have some left over.

"They won’t fit in my cart. Could I trouble you to deliver them to the alley up ahead? Just tell the person watching my things that I bought them," Yun Zhen suggested.

"Sure, I’ll have my son deliver them to the alley for you," the owner agreed without hesitation.

Yun Zhen counted out the money and handed it over. "Here is four hundred yuan."

The owner was equally generous. "I’ll throw in two *jin* of traditional jujube cake and a *jin* of sandwich biscuits for free."

"Thank you." Yun Zhen loved freebies more than anything. After reminding the owner one more time to leave the cakes in the alley, she moved on.

She dove straight into the largest general store in the farmers’ market. Dazzled by the vast array of merchandise, Yun Zhen had no idea where to even start looking. "Sir, I need things for bathing and washing hair," she said, opting to just ask the shopkeeper for help.

The shopkeeper led her over to an aisle. "These are body washes for bathing, and these are shampoos and conditioners for your hair."

Yun Zhen compared the labels, just barely managing to recognize the characters for body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. Since there were so many people in the village, she bypassed the small bottles and opted directly for the large ten-*jin* jugs.

"I’ll take twenty-three jugs of body wash, and twenty-three jugs each of the large ten-*jin* shampoos and conditioners."

Yun Zhen’s extravagance stunned the shopkeeper. Soon, two long rows of body wash, shampoo, and conditioner were lined up on the floor in front of her.

"You need this much?" the shopkeeper asked in surprise.

"Mhm." With so many people across the twenty-three households in the village, she had made sure to account for everyone. She would buy one set for each family first, and if it wasn’t enough, she could always buy more later.

Seeing Yun Zhen turning her attention to other goods, the shopkeeper silently gulped. "I’ll get some boxes to pack these up for you." He found ten large cardboard boxes and packed up all of Yun Zhen’s selections. He figured this girl had to be a retailer stocking up her own inventory.

The shopkeeper worried about her logistics. "Miss, your handcart is too small to carry all this. Where is your vehicle parked? I can transport these directly and load them onto your vehicle for you."

Yun Zhen smiled. "Could you please leave them in the alley between the farmers’ market and the flea market? My family will come move them later."

"No problem." The shopkeeper notified the clerk watching the front, fetched an electric tricycle, and loaded all of Yun Zhen’s goods onto it one by one, intending to deliver them personally.

Yun Zhen gazed enviously at the electric tricycle, which was far more convenient than her handcart. It was a pity she couldn’t drive one on the road yet. The second day of the Lunar New Year would be her birthday, and she would finally turn eighteen. In this world, eighteen was the age of adulthood. Once that day came, she was definitely going to buy an electric tricycle of her own.

"I also need twenty-three large bags of laundry detergent!" Yun Zhen picked out the ten-*jin* bulk bags. They were in blue packaging with the words "Bird Brand" written in massive characters on the front. This world was truly wondrous—there was a specific product for everything, whether it was for bathing, washing hair, or doing laundry.

The shopkeeper grabbed a burlap sack and stuffed her chosen detergent inside, thrilled to have run into such a big spender today.

Yun Zhen then spotted the toilet paper and inspected the various large and small packages one by one.

The shopkeeper spoke up from behind her. "Do you want hanging tissue packs or small desktop tissue boxes? Buying them wholesale by the case is much more cost-effective. A case of hanging tissues contains fourteen packs, totaling fourteen thousand eight hundred sheets. The small packaging has forty-two packs per case; they’re extra large, extra thick, and don’t tear easily when wet.

"A case of hanging tissues is thirty-two yuan.

"A case of desktop tissues is fifty-nine yuan."

He pulled two packs of tissues from the shelf to show her. "You can take a look at the packaging. The hanging type comes in a large pink floral pack. It’s quite large, so a case only holds fourteen. The desktop tissues are just a bit larger than your palm; a case holds forty-two packs, with eighty pulls per pack."

Yun Zhen opted for the desktop tissues. She bought twenty-three cases—an absolute mountain of boxes that completely filled up the bed of the electric tricycle.

"Let’s ring it all up," she said, done with her shopping here.

The shopkeeper pulled out a calculator. "Body wash is 19.90 a jug, so twenty-three jugs are 457.70. Shampoo is 18 a jug, twenty-three makes 414. Conditioner is also 18, so another 414. Detergent is 29.90 a bag, twenty-three bags are 671.60. The desktop tissues are 59 a case, twenty-three cases are 1,357. The total comes out to 3,314.30 yuan. You can just give me 3,300 flat."

Good thing Yun Zhen had made plenty of money today. "Here you go."

The shopkeeper hopped onto the electric tricycle. "I’ll go deliver these to the alley for you first."

With her shopping at the farmers’ market concluded, Yun Zhen headed to the flea market to see if she could find some padded winter clothes.

On the bed of a black pickup truck, a megaphone blared loudly: "Thickened thermal underwear, fifteen yuan a set! Winter padded coats and trousers for men, women, and children sold as sets, thirty yuan a set! Older models of padded coats and trousers sold in bundles! Socks and cotton-padded shoes—just make an offer and they’re yours!"

Thirty yuan a set, and it included both a coat and trousers? How could Yun Zhen miss out on such an incredible bargain?

"Sir, I need one hundred and thirty sets of padded coats and trousers, along with thermal underwear. Give me the same number for socks and shoes, too." Yun Zhen’s opening request immediately floored the vendor.

"One hundred and thirty sets. Are you sure?" the vendor asked.

Yun Zhen nodded. "I’m sure. But I want to pick them out myself."

"They’re all right here in the truck bed. I’ll get you a large clear bag, and you can pack them up yourself as you pick them," the vendor said, quickly retrieving a massive transparent bag.

Yun Zhen began picking out the clothes according to everyone’s sizes: one hundred and thirty sets of thermal underwear, one hundred and thirty sets of padded coats and fleece-lined trousers, and one hundred and thirty pairs each of cotton socks and cotton-padded shoes. After making her selections, she had the vendor tally up the cost.

The vendor tapped away on his calculator. "Thermal underwear is ten yuan a set, so one hundred and thirty sets is 1,300. Padded coats and trousers are thirty a set, making 3,900. Socks and shoes are ten a set, adding another 1,300. The grand total is 6,500 yuan."

He thought for a moment before adding, "I’ll throw in ten military-green overcoats for free. They’re lined with wool and have four layers of extra-thick insulation. Normally, these go for two or three hundred yuan apiece."