eurekapd Chapter 109 Buying Glauber's Salt
Chapter 109 Buying Glauber's Salt
Back at the inn, Song Jiaojiao asked the waiter to bring her hot water. It was already very hot in June, and after walking around, she was covered in sweat. She couldn't go on without taking a bath.
After tidying herself up, Song Jiaojiao arrived at the space. Most of the medicinal seeds that Manager Liu brought back last time had matured, with only a small number of rare medicinal herbs that grew too slowly not yet fully matured.
It seems I need to make time to visit Huichuntang and have Manager Liu check what medicinal herbs they have. I also need to buy some saltpeter. Song Jiaojiao knows that saltpeter can be used in medicine and should be available in pharmacies, but she doesn't know if there will be purchase limits. The biggest advantage of using saltpeter to make ice is that it can be reused, which can save a lot of money.
The peach trees on the loess soil have all survived. The peach branches that were broken off from Nanshan Temple last time have grown quite a bit on the red soil and have even borne a few small fruits. We can't tell what kind of peach they are yet; we'll only know after they bear fruit.
The grapes and kiwis in the space had already piled up quite a bit, just waiting for the fruits outside to ripen so they could be taken out together to make fruit wine.
After Li Yuan and the others move away, Song Jiaojiao can move the peach trees out and bring them back to Qingshui Village. The open space on the barren mountain will finally welcome its owner. If nothing is planted there, the rabbits will take over the land.
Thinking of the rabbits, Song Jiaojiao was surprised to find that the number of rabbits had doubled from only about fifty a month ago. If this continued, the barren mountain would have to change owners. Xu Fang was talking about this just a few days ago and found a lot of rabbit holes in the fence. It seemed that it was time to turn these rabbits into delicious food.
In her past life, Song Jiaojiao's favorite dishes were spicy rabbit heads and cold-cooked rabbit. Once this matter is settled, she can go back and research ways to cook rabbit.
The rabbits on the barren mountain collectively felt a chill.
Seeing the thriving space, Song Jiaojiao felt a sense of joy and ease. She no longer had to worry about starving, nor the torment of the 996 work schedule, or the heartache of pulling all-nighters revising manuscripts. She felt she could retire early and begin her retirement life.
For a happy future, it's time to cultivate a successor. Mu Qing won't do; she's too introverted and not good at greeting people. Wang Hefan has other plans for the future, so it seems only Mu Xue is left. Although she's still young, not even nine years old, in modern times that would be considered child labor.
However, being young has its advantages. It's perfect for nurturing her from a young age. Recently, she's been learning to read and write with Bai Shuqin and keeping accounts. Mu Xue has indeed shown talent in these areas, especially in arithmetic, where she learns faster than everyone else. Plus, she's become much more outgoing now, which is just right.
Mu Xue, who was being targeted by Song Jiaojiao, was still on the bed playing with her spoils of war, completely unaware of the horrific life that awaited her.
The next day.
Song Jiaojiao went to the house alone, without taking Mu Qing and the others with her. Just as Song Jiaojiao arrived at the shop, Li Yuan came out.
"Madam Song, you've arrived. Have you had breakfast yet?" Li Yuan greeted Song Jiaojiao as she came so early.
"We've already eaten. Uncle Li, if there's nothing else, let's go get the transfer done first. The government offices will be open for business right now." Song Jiaojiao wanted to get this done as soon as possible to avoid any further complications.
"Alright, Madam Song, please wait a moment. I'll go get the land deed and the house deed." Li Yuan said and walked into the house.
The two people with the valuables went to the government office to transfer the property. Because they arrived early, there was no one in front of them, so the process was completed quickly. The house cost 1500 taels of silver, and they paid 15 taels of silver as tax. They gave the house money to Li Yuan, and Song Jiaojiao left alone, saying that she could pick up the house and get the remaining keys the next day.
Seeing Wang Hefan's name on the property deed, Song Jiaojiao finally bought her own house in the county town. That's the bad thing about this dynasty: only widows who had no husband or children and were separated from their husband's family could live in a separate household.
This shows how lowly women's status was. Fortunately, the separation between men and women was not so strict, so women were not completely barred from going out on the streets.
Song Jiaojiao put the contract away, bought some snacks, and went to Huichuntang to see Doctor Qin. If it weren't for Doctor Qin, Song Jiaojiao would probably still be wandering around the county like a headless fly.
Fortunately, Dr. Qin wasn't making house calls today. The pharmacy was quite busy in the morning, so Song Jiaojiao was able to approach him once Dr. Qin had a break.
"Dr. Qin, I'm sorry to bother you," Song Jiaojiao said with a smile as she approached Dr. Qin.
Doctor Qin, who had just sat down and taken a sip of water, looked at Song Jiaojiao and said, "Oh, it's Madam Song. Please sit down." Doctor Qin pointed to the chair next to him.
"Is the house finished?"
"It's all done. I just went to the government office to complete the transfer. I have to thank Doctor Qin for this. I bought some pastries, please accept them." Song Jiaojiao pushed the wooden gift box of pastries in front of Doctor Qin and said.
"Perfect timing, I'm quite hungry after a busy morning, so I won't be polite." Doctor Qin opened the pastries and began to taste them. They were from the county's pastry shop. Despite the shop's unappealing name, the pastries were genuinely delicious, though not cheap.
"As long as it suits your taste, that's fine. I also have something I wanted to ask. I wonder if the pharmacy has any saltpeter?" Song Jiaojiao said with a smile, looking at Doctor Qin, who was eating pastries and sipping tea.
"Salt water? You mean mirabilite, right? We do have it, but not much. We don't produce mirabilite here, and the entire Great Jin Kingdom doesn't produce much of it. It's said that it's abundant in the north, and most of it is bought from other countries," Doctor Qin said after thinking for a moment, taking a sip of tea before continuing to ask.
"What's the point of asking this, Madam Song?"
"It is somewhat useful, but is there a purchase restriction on Glauber's salt?" Song Jiaojiao was worried that she wouldn't be able to buy it or that there would be a purchase restriction. The rest was a minor matter to her.
"No, not at all. Although the Great Jin Kingdom doesn't have many, it's enough. It's just that the price is a bit high, almost one tael of silver for one qian," Doctor Qin explained with a smile.
Song Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the price. It was fine if it was a little expensive; she was just worried about not being able to buy it. Drinks taste better with ice.
"Then give me twenty pounds first."
Doctor Qin nearly spat out his tea. "I already said it was too little! You're asking for twenty catties and 200 taels of silver right off the bat. Is that really money? Is this how you spend money?"
Doctor Qin's lips twitched, and he said helplessly, "Madam Song, we don't have that many. We can only sell you ten catties at most. If we sell them all to you, we won't have any left for our medicine later."
Song Jiaojiao thought, "Ten catties is fine. I can always buy some from other pharmacies later."
“Alright, ten catties it is.” Song Jiaojiao handed one hundred taels to Doctor Qin.
When Doctor Qin saw the money on the table, he called Dang Gui over and asked her to give the money to the shopkeeper and also to wrap up the Glauber's salt that Madam Song needed.
I really don't know how this woman carries so much money with her, especially silver ingots. I wonder how heavy it is.
Ever since Song Jiaojiao was looked at with suspicion when she took out money last time, she asked Xu Fang to make her a crossbody bag so that she wouldn't have to worry about not having an excuse to take money out of her space.