Chapter 96: Imperial Edict

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Imperial Edict

This way of selling vegetables, this style of market, had an ancient air to it that was still preserved even in modern China. Thousands of years of culture and daily customs had been passed down intact.

Dumplings required meat, so she first bought three pounds of pork belly, along with a piece of fat for rendering lard. She then bought a bundle of garlic chives and several seasonal vegetables—green chili peppers, purple eggplants, and long beans. She also bought a small wooden bucket to keep the two freshly bought live fish in, preventing them from dying before they got home.

Remembering that both Zhao Lan and Uncle Hu had injured their hands, she also bought some pork ribs and corn, planning to stew a pot of pork rib and corn soup.

’I’m still growing,’ she thought. ’As long as I get enough nutrition, I can still grow taller.’ With that in mind, she bought two pounds of beef.

She then bought all the seasonings the kitchen was missing, had some rice and flour weighed out, and finally loaded all her purchases onto the ox-cart.

"Got everything?" Hu Feng asked, raising an eyebrow. ’This girl,’ he thought, ’she seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the market, but she actually had a clear plan. She knew what she needed and what she didn’t, and she gathered everything with impressive speed.’

’Not like some first-time city visitors who get fascinated by everything, touching this and looking at that, and wasting a ton of time.’

Bai Zhi nodded. "All done. Let’s go to the fabric shop now."

The four of them headed toward the fabric shop in the ox-cart. On the main street, they passed a government-built notice board. A yellow notice was posted on it, and a large crowd had gathered around to look.

Although many people were looking, few could actually read the words written on it.

As they passed the notice board, Hu Feng suddenly stopped the cart. He turned to look at the bright yellow notice. As his eyes scanned the text, line by line, his relaxed brow slowly furrowed. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt a deep unease, and his head began to spin.

Uncle Hu asked, "What does the notice say?"

Hu Feng snapped back to reality, shaking his head to clear away the strange feelings.

He said, "It’s an imperial edict. The Emperor has made Chun Fei the new Empress, and it is being proclaimed to the world."

’For some reason, mentioning the Emperor and Chun Fei stirred a strange emotion within him. Could I have known them before?’

He shook his head. ’No, impossible. This is the Northwest Border, thousands of miles away from the Capital City where the Emperor and Chun Fei reside. How could I possibly know them?’

Uncle Hu simply grunted in acknowledgment and asked no more questions, just telling Hu Feng to get moving again.

’What did the affairs of the Imperial Family have to do with common folk like them, anyway?’

The cart stopped in front of the fabric shop, and Bai Zhi pulled Zhao Lan inside. The shop sold not only bolts of fabric but also ready-made garments. There were clothes made from all kinds of materials, but the poor from their mountain village had always worn only the cheapest and most durable coarse-cloth clothing.

This coarse-cloth clothing came in a limited range of colors, mostly dark shades like deep red, indigo, blue, black, and gray.

Clothes made from silk crepe, on the other hand, were light and comfortable and came in a much wider variety of colors. They were significantly cheaper than satin but considerably more expensive than coarse cloth.

Bai Zhi picked out a set of coarse-cloth clothes and a set of silk crepe clothes for both herself and Zhao Lan, making sure to choose bright, beautiful colors.

Zhao Lan had never in her life worn clothes made from silk crepe. Feeling the smooth material, seeing the vibrant color and the exquisite tailoring—it was countless times better than the rough burlap she was currently wearing.

’It was the kind of thing all women loved, and she was no exception.’ "This must cost a lot, right?" Even though she adored it, she couldn’t help but think about the money.