Pearl Su took the rattan basket and started taking out the herbs one by one.
Shopkeeper Zhou noticed a fairly big piece of lingzhi mushroom. He picked it up and looked at it carefully, then put it back down.
He also looked over the rest of the herbs she had taken out. After checking all of them, he said to Pearl Su,
"Miss Su, the most valuable one is this lingzhi. I'll give you one hundred fifty taels for it. For the other valuable herbs, twenty taels. And for the common herbs, five taels. What do you think?"
Pearl Su nodded and smiled. "Shopkeeper Zhou, your prices are always fair. That's fine by me."
"You really are a straightforward person. Good, so the total is one hundred seventy-five taels," Shopkeeper Zhou said with a loud laugh.
"Come, let's get your money."
At the front of the store, Pearl Su took a silver note worth one hundred fifty taels and twenty-five taels in silver coins. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Shopkeeper Zhou."
"No need to thank me. Miss Su, I hope you'll come again to sell more herbs."
Suddenly, Shopkeeper Zhou leaned in and said with a teasing smile, "That man with you, he's your husband, right? He's very handsome."
Pearl Su glanced at Alaric Yun. He stood there calmly, gentle like a breeze. She turned and gave the shopkeeper a polite smile. "Shopkeeper Zhou, I'll be leaving now."
After leaving the clinic, Alaric Yun asked her, "Why didn't you explain it to him?"
"It was just a small comment about our relationship. No need to worry about it," Pearl Su said casually. "Besides, we probably won't see him again."
And it worked as a good excuse. If someone tried to make her marry again, she could use this as a reason to say no. That was actually helpful.
Alaric Yun looked at her for a moment and gave a soft smile. "Really?"
Pearl Su said to him, "Come on, let's go shopping."
They went to a clothing shop. Alaric Yun waited on the side while Pearl Su asked the shopkeeper for two sets of men's clothes and some shoes and socks.
The shopkeeper was a chubby woman. She smiled when she heard Pearl Su's request. "Young lady, are you buying these for your husband? He's very handsome."
She glanced at Alaric Yun, then gave Pearl Su a look and continued, "You're really kind to your husband."
Pearl Su almost wanted to hold her forehead. Why did everyone think the same thing? And how did she even guess these were for him?
If she were really buying for him, she would ask for his opinion first.
"No, not for him. Please bring me a small size," Pearl Su said, correcting her.
"Oh, oh," the shopkeeper came back to her senses and realized her mistake. "Alright, young lady, please wait a moment."
The shopkeeper brought over the clothes. One set was gray, one was dark ink-colored, along with two pairs of black shoes and white socks.
Pearl Su looked at them. Everything seemed fine. She said, "Okay, I'll take these two sets."
Then she asked, "Do you have any cotton?"
"Cotton? Sorry, young lady, we don't sell cotton here," the shopkeeper said with an apologetic face.
"Oh, do you have any fabric scraps?" Pearl Su asked again.
"We do have some," the shopkeeper replied, looking at her with curiosity. "But what are you going to do with scraps? There aren't many."
"How much do you have?" Pearl Su asked.
"It's only half a jin. Miss, what are you using this for?" the shopkeeper asked again, still curious.
Half a jin... Pearl Su thought for a moment. That was only enough for one use during her monthly period. Seeing the shopkeeper still pressing, she leaned in closer and whispered, "For my period."
The shopkeeper suddenly understood and exclaimed loudly, "Oh, miss, that's not a good choice for that."
She leaned close to Pearl Su and whispered, "Come, I'll show you something made just for that."
She led Pearl Su to a corner of the counter and pulled out a bundle of thick cloth with four thin strings attached.
In a low voice, she said, "Miss, this is a period cloth. It absorbs fast, holds a lot, and can be washed clean to use again. It's practical and easy to use."
Pearl Su stared at the cloth and suddenly understood. So there was something made for periods! She had actually planned to make do with just fabric scraps.
"Shopkeeper, I'll take a bundle of this. Also, could you calculate the total cost for everything?"
"Yes, miss, I'll do that right now." She picked up the abacus and began clicking away.
"Two sets of clothes, one tael each, two taels total. One pair of shoes, three hundred wen, two pairs make six hundred wen. Two pairs of socks, twenty wen each, forty wen total.
"The period cloth bundle is five hundred wen. Altogether that's three taels and one hundred forty wen. Miss, just give me three taels and one hundred wen, how's that?"
"Alright." Pearl Su took out a ten-tael silver ingot and handed it over.
The shopkeeper quickly took the silver, made the change, and efficiently packed up all her things. With a big smile, she said, "Miss, do come again next time."
Only after Pearl Su and Alaric Yun left did the shopkeeper mutter, "Didn't expect she was a young lady. And that handsome man wasn't her husband? Were those clothes she bought for her little lover?"
After leaving the clothing store, it was already noon. Pearl Su decided it was time for lunch.
Now that she had enough silver, she wanted to try the local food.
She found the only restaurant in town and specifically asked for a private room. The weather was too hot, and resting in the main hall wasn't comfortable.
Once seated, she ordered three dishes and a soup. The two of them waited a short while, and the food was quickly served. With no rush, they took their time eating.
The dishes were heavy on sauce and salt, and the soup was also quite salty. Pearl Su didn't really enjoy it and just ate enough to fill her stomach.
But Alaric Yun didn't seem to mind at all. He ate more than half of the food himself. After the meal, feeling full, Pearl Su wanted to relax a bit and help with digestion.
She called over a server and asked, "Do you have any chilled sour plum soup? Bring us a pot if you do."
The server looked awkward and said with an apologetic smile, "Guest, we don't have sour plum soup here, let alone chilled. We can't afford ice in a small place like this. That's a luxury item. But how about I bring you a free fruit plate instead?"
Pearl Su sighed and nodded. "Alright."
After the server left, Alaric Yun looked at her and asked, "Miss Su, what kind of soup is this sour plum soup? I've never heard of it."
"Oh, it's a type of drink. It helps with digestion, cools you down, and is good for the skin." Pearl Su paused, then explained, "It's made from eight ingredients in specific amounts: dried sour plums, dried hawthorn, dried rose buds, roselle flowers, dried tangerine peel, dried mulberries, licorice, and dried mint leaves. You soak them first, then boil them, and add rock sugar."
"In the summer, you chill it over ice. It's sweet and sour, very refreshing. It's the perfect drink after a meal to help digestion."
Alaric Yun was surprised. "Those ingredients sound ordinary, but roselle and rose buds aren't something common people can use."
"Roselle only grows in the southern Yue Kingdom, and rose buds come from the Western Yi Kingdom. Both are rare and usually only used by nobility in their countries. They're considered beauty-enhancing treasures."