142 Can You afford It?
"20 catties," Gu Yundong repeated. She didn't know what they were trying to do with their expressions.
The shopkeeper frowned. "Miss, you're here to cause trouble, right? Twenty catties? Do you know how much it costs?"
"One tael of white sugar for twenty-five copper coins!!" The shopkeeper sneered. "Can you afford it? You asked for twenty catties so easily."
Gu Yundong knew that white sugar and brown sugar were quite expensive. She had bought sweets on the streets for the two children as snacks. The sweets were slightly cheaper.
Previously, in the prefectural city of Xuanhe Prefecture, she had forgotten to buy white sugar when she went to the grocery store to buy oil, salt, rice, and noodles.
It was only when she returned to Aunt Ke's house to take out some things that she remembered. At that time, she wanted to buy it. Aunt Ke said that sugar was expensive and she wouldn't need much anyway. They had it at home, so she could use it at home.
Gu Yundong did not refuse. However, the white sugar Aunt Ke took out was not pure white sugar. It was just brighter than black sugar. However, she only used it as seasoning when cooking braised pork. She rarely used it for other purposes.
Later on, when she came to Yongfu Village, she never thought of buying candy, mainly because it was inconvenient. She had forgotten about it a few times when she went to the county city in town. Therefore, when she needed candy, she could only take it from her space when Madam Dong was not paying attention.
Fortunately, Madam Dong did not know what she had brought with her when she came from the prefectural city. She was not as sharp as Aunt Ke.
She had specially come over to buy it today. She did not expect it to be so difficult to buy 20 catties of white sugar.
And… it was so expensive.
But hearing the shopkeeper's words, Gu Yundong was unhappy. "Why do you care if I can afford it? Do you have it in your provision store? If not, I'll buy it elsewhere."
The shopkeeper snorted and asked the waiter to go to the warehouse at the back to get it. He walked to the counter and began to calculate. "One tael for twenty-five copper coins. Twenty catties costs eight taels of silver. Miss, have you brought enough silver?"
Gu Yundong did not want to say anything more, but the other customers in the shop watched her and started discussing quietly.
"This girl is quite bold. She actually wants to buy 20 catties of white sugar. She's really generous."
"Don't tell me she's pretending. Look at the clothes she's wearing. One look and you can tell that she's from the countryside. It's good enough that she has eight copper coins on her. Eight taels of silver."
"Let's see what you say later."
Hence, the few people who had bought the goods stopped walking and looked at Gu Yundong.
Shao Qingyuan stood at the door and did not go in. He did not know what was going on inside. He only saw that Gu Yundong had not come out in a long time. She looked inside. Seeing that she was fine, he turned back.
The waiter quickly brought out a large bag of sugar and placed it in front of Gu Yundong. He said arrogantly, "Here, it's all here. Do you want me to weigh it for you?"
Gu Yundong opened the bag and looked down. Her expression immediately became complicated.
This… was also considered white sugar?
"Shopkeeper, I want that kind of very white sugar. It's like white clouds. Isn't this too black?"
The shopkeeper suddenly walked out from behind the counter, closed the bag, and put it behind him. "What nonsense are you talking about? And very white sugar. Let me tell you, this is the best we have. Are you buying it or not? If not, get lost."
He was about to spit out saliva. "You're here to cause trouble because our shop's business is good, right? I knew it. You look poor and keep saying that you want to buy 20 catties of white sugar. You've never seen the world, so you're spouting nonsense here. If you have the ability, find me white sugar like white clouds. If you find it, I'll buy it back at ten times the price."
With that, he pushed Gu Yundong. Shao Qingyuan rushed forward and grabbed his hand. He looked at him coldly.
Gu Yundong was also annoyed. "You're the one who hasn't seen the world. I'll make some for you to see. Don't forget what you said when the time comes."
As soon as Liu Wei arrived, he heard her last sentence.