Xiaoxiao was quite purposeful this time she went shopping, heading straight for the main items she needed to buy.
She got three washbasins, a porcelain cup for rinsing the mouth, a toothbrush—which, despite being crudely made, was still better than just rinsing with water—as nobody here had invented toothpaste yet, and they had to use salt instead, which was really ridiculous. No towels either, just cotton cloths for wiping the face. She got five to use in rotation for washing her face and bathing. As for the body scrubber, well, she found it, but it was exorbitantly priced—one piece costing a tael, how could it not be expensive? Xiaoxiao chose items typically used by the gentry; peasant families wouldn't fuss over such bathing luxuries!
She also picked up a good amount of seasoning; the food at her in-laws' was just too hard to swallow, largely because they skimped on seasoning—how tasty could something be with just salt? While the variety of spices here wasn't as extensive as in modern times, it was sufficient for Xiaoxiao. She wasn't a great chef herself, only knowing how to cook a few simple home dishes, so she didn't need that many spices. She bought salt, white sugar, rock sugar, vinegar, soy sauce! Ginger and garlic! This place only grew leeks, not ginger or garlic. The spices were proprietary blends, so each was expensive. Luxuries for sure, something that peasant households would hesitate to buy—only Xiaoxiao did!
Finally, she went to the butcher's and got five jin of fat to render into lard, and another five jin of pork belly to add to dishes occasionally. There were no convenience stores in the village, and going to the town to shop was really inconvenient; she had to buy in bulk when she could. Even a large family like hers would finish these purchases in just a few days. Fat turned out to be more expensive than lean meat, while ribs and large bones were surprisingly cheap. Pigs' innards cost nothing at all, which totally overturned Xiaoxiao's understanding; she bought three jin of ribs and three jin of large bones. She didn't take any of the free offal, honestly admitting that she didn't know how to cook it without it smelling bad. But she deemed ribs and large bones quite manageable! She planned to show off her cooking to everyone that evening!
Though she didn't waste anything, she had still managed to spend all of her money, truly becoming penniless. But she couldn't just not spend it; she'd have to worry about the future later. How sad, she really hadn't planned well!
Just as the two of them entered the village in their ox cart.
"See that? The Yang Family's third daughter-in-law is bringing back a load again!"
"You see? Carrying quite a bit of meat too? The Yangs are in for a treat; we hardly ever indulge in meat normally, and she buys so much in one go!"
"She really knows how to spend, doesn't she? Just married in for three days, and besides visiting her family, she's been shopping the other two days!"
The villagers were gossiping again!
Oh no! Why, why? On such a cold day, when everyone should be huddled indoors by the fire, could it be they're out here just to watch her? It can't be denied, Xiaoxiao figured it out—the country folk didn't have much entertainment, and they loved to gossip idly. Whose family got a new daughter-in-law, whose daughter-in-law wasn't laying eggs anymore, whose daughter-in-law got beaten again... And since the new bride of the Yang Family was a woman of notorious reputation, everyone was waiting to see her make a fool of herself!
Unwittingly, by just shopping for a couple of days, Xiaoxiao firmly established a reputation for being a spendthrift, and for many days thereafter, "The Yang Family's new daughter-in-law sure knows how to waste money" became a byword among the villagers at leisure times, only stopping once they saw the Yang Family's fortunes improving day by day!
Among the crowd was someone whose eyes lit up at the sight of the big and small bundles of purchases, saliva pooling in his mouth as he made his way toward the Yang Family's home!