Chapter 62: Flea Market

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Flea Market

Goods at the farmers’ market were the cheapest.

After arriving at the market, Yun Zhen found the owner of the farming tool shop, planning to ask him for some information.

Seeing her, the shopkeeper was overly enthusiastic. She was his God of Wealth, after all. Smiling somewhat sycophantically, he asked, "You’re back, miss! What are you buying today?"

Yun Zhen waved her hand. "I’m not buying anything, sir. I just want to ask you where I can find cheap bedding and cotton shoes. Also, where can I buy frostbite ointment?"

"The farmers’ market only sells agricultural products and by-products," the shopkeeper explained. "You’ll have to go elsewhere for bedding and cotton shoes. However, since you want something cheaper, I recommend checking out the flea market out back. They sell both new and used bedding there. The prices are low, and the quality is decent. They have clothes and shoes, too. As for frostbite ointment, you’ll need to go to a pharmacy for that."

Yun Zhen committed this to memory. "Thank you."

The shopkeeper smiled amiably. "You’re welcome. Come find me whenever you need farming tools in the future."

"I definitely will!" Yun Zhen said, adding, "Is the flea market right out back?"

The shopkeeper pointed the way. "Walk straight ahead. You’ll see a small gate. Just go right through it."

Noting the directions, Yun Zhen replied, "Thank you, I’ve got it."

Following his directions, she walked a few steps and indeed spotted a small gate only wide enough for one person to pass through. "Found it," she murmured.

Stepping through the gate, she found the area much more bustling than the farmers’ market. Various shops lined both sides of the street, flanked by crowded stalls. People of all ages wove through the thoroughfare.

"Selling out and going home! Cotton shoes, normally twenty bucks a pair, now fifteen for two pairs! Styles for men, women, and children! Brand-new plush gloves, three bucks a pair! Sizes for both adults and kids!"

Yun Zhen followed the voice and saw a massive silver-white van parked by the roadside, its cargo bed filled to the brim with colorful shoes. A crowd of elderly people squeezed tightly around the vehicle.

Yun Zhen pushed her way through the throng. "Sir, is it really fifteen bucks for two pairs of shoes?"

The vendor gave her a curious look. It was quite a rare sight to see a teenage girl amidst a group of toothless old ladies. "Little miss," he replied, "my shoes are indeed fifteen bucks for two pairs, or seven-fifty for one. Are you looking to buy a style that fits you?"

Yun Zhen first inspected the shoes on the vehicle, slipping her hand inside one of the new pairs. It was indeed fuzzy, lined with dense yet soft fur. Her heart filled with joy. With these shoes, the villagers’ feet wouldn’t suffer from frostbite anymore.

"I need to buy quite a lot," she told the vendor. "I’m not sure if you have enough in your van."

Hearing her naive remark, the vendor laughed. "I have hundreds of pairs in this van. Don’t tell me you’re buying thousands."

Well, she wouldn’t need that many.

"Please get me one hundred and thirty pairs," Yun Zhen said. "I need sizes for both adults and children. Pick the ones with the thickest fur."

"How many?" Hearing this, the vendor exclaimed, "Little miss, you aren’t planning to buy these and resell them at the original price of twenty bucks, are you? Let me tell you, it’s not worth it. Once you leave the flea market and set up a stall elsewhere, people won’t be interested in cheap shoes that cost ten or twenty bucks. You won’t make a profit off the price difference."

Seeing how young she was, the vendor wanted to steer her away from making a mistake. However, Yun Zhen was buying them for the villagers to wear; she had no intention of reselling them. She shook her head. "No, I’m buying them on behalf of others."

Seeing her determination, the vendor stopped trying to persuade her. "If you insist on buying, we need to get one thing straight. Once the goods are sold, I don’t accept returns or exchanges."

Yun Zhen indicated she understood.

"What sizes do you need?" the vendor asked. "I’ll find them for you."

Having done needlework with the young women and wives of the village in the past, Yun Zhen had a good grasp of most of the villagers’ foot lengths. Counting on her fingers, she listed, "I need thirty pairs for a foot length of four cun, five pairs each for five cun and six cun, sixty pairs for seven cun, and thirty pairs for eight cun."

A total of one hundred and thirty pairs.

The vendor was almost utterly bewildered by her words. Fortunately, he managed to figure out the conversion. She wanted shoes around size twenty, size thirty-six, and size forty-three. That was a huge range.

He packed a large burlap sack full of shoes. "Since you’re buying so much, I’ll let you bring back any shoes that don’t fit for an exchange by tomorrow afternoon. But after tomorrow, no more exchanges."

"Thank you."

Yun Zhen paid him nine hundred and seventy-five dollars. Looking at the brightly colored gloves in the van, she thought of the villagers’ hands—frostbitten, oozing blood and pus, and simply horrific to look at. "Sir, I also want those three-dollar gloves," she said. "One hundred and thirty pairs of those as well. Forty pairs for children, and ninety pairs for adults."

She figured gloves were probably like socks and wouldn’t have overly strict size requirements. She watched someone slip their hands into a pair and clap them together. The soft, muffled sound they made was enough to tell her just how thick and plush they were.

The vendor silently rejoiced, realizing he had truly been visited by the God of Wealth today. "Just a moment, miss. I’ll count them out for you."

He grabbed a large bag, his hands moving with lightning speed. "One, two, three, four, five... one hundred and thirty! That’ll be three hundred and ninety dollars."

After paying, Yun Zhen stood there holding a massive sack of cotton shoes in one hand and a bulging bag of gloves in the other.

Oh no! She didn’t have any hands left for anything else. Carrying bedding was definitely out of the question now. She could probably still manage the frostbite ointment, though.

Never one to hesitate when unsure, Yun Zhen asked, "Sir, do you know where I can buy frostbite ointment?"

Having just spent over a thousand dollars, she had easily bought the patience of even the most indifferent vendor.

"You want frostbite ointment? There’s a small pharmacy just around the corner up ahead."

Yun Zhen nodded. "Alright, thank you."

She turned the corner and found the pharmacy. Placing her heavy bags by the entrance, she stepped inside and was immediately greeted by a strong, bitter medicinal scent. Various small boxes were neatly arranged on the shelves.

A doctor in a white coat walked over and asked, "What seems to be the problem? Are you here for an injection or to pick up medicine?"

"Hello, doctor," Yun Zhen began. "I’d like to buy some frostbite ointment. How much is one box?"

"We only have Vaseline frostbite ointment in stock," the doctor replied. "It’s a bit pricey—three dollars a box."

Yun Zhen did a quick mental calculation. She still had three hundred and twenty-two dollars left. "I’ll take one hundred boxes. Do you have that many in stock?"

"You really need that many?" The doctor was momentarily surprised but quickly recovered. "I’ll go get them for you."

She grabbed a cardboard box, packed all the frostbite ointment inside, and wrapped it with tape a few times to fashion a makeshift handle.

Money really didn’t last long. Earlier, she had lamented not having enough hands to carry bedding. As it turned out, after buying the cotton shoes, gloves, and frostbite ointment, she only had twenty-two dollars left to her name. That wasn’t even enough to buy a single quilt!

Finding a secluded spot with no one around, she chanted silently, "Return!"

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Along with the loud booming sounds, a brilliant white light illuminated the thatched cottage. Yun Zhen had returned home.

"Goddess!"

The villagers looked at her with eager, reverent eyes, filled with the utmost devotion and trust.

The village chief couldn’t wait to speak, his voice brimming with pleasant surprise. "Goddess, the premium farming tools and the wheelbarrow Divine Artifacts you bestowed upon us from the Immortal Realm are incredible!"

Yun Xiu smiled at his daughter. "Today, we didn’t just clear all the snow out of our courtyard. We also smashed the layer of ice underneath, loaded it into the wheelbarrows, and dumped it all in the river ditch. We even cleared a main path through the village that connects to every household!"

The villagers chimed in excitedly, speaking over one another.

"The pointed pickaxes work exactly like the Goddess said! With a single strike, the ice shatters into huge chunks and separates perfectly from the ground."

"And the wheelbarrows! Loading the ice and snow into them and pushing it away is a hundred times easier than carrying it by hand!"