After a leisurely bargaining session, the final transaction price for the two hard plastic bottles was 18 Kan and 5 Hiki, including Yuanye's genuine leather wallet as an extra. The manager of the "Earth Store" even wanted to buy his hiking bag and clothes, but since Yuanye had enough money for the moment, he politely declined.
One string of Yongle Coins weighed over seven pounds, but luckily they were not too bulky and were strung together, making them not too hard to carry. Most were wrapped into two bundles carried by Tao Liulang and Jing Qilang, while Yuanye still carried his hiking bag, with over five Kan inside. It would certainly have been more convenient to convert it to gold and silver, and the Earth Store was willing to trade in gold and silver, but Yuanye didn't dare to accept, as he couldn't distinguish the authenticity of gold and silver. A place like Earth Store, similar to a pawnshop, was far from being a good place, so even if it was a little cumbersome, copper coins were still safer. Even a fool could tell the real from the fake.
He was very satisfied with this transaction. 18 Kan and 500 Wen were already enough to ensure that he and his simple-minded son could eat and drink for a long time, long enough to determine whether they could return to the modern world and long enough for him to find a way to establish himself in this era. Also, this amount was not large enough to make the "Earth Store" risk ruining its reputation by causing a big trouble, harboring evil intentions to rob and kill a Samurai of unknown background, so there was no need to worry too much about safety.
Honestly, if those two shabby plastic bottles could be sold for a high price of a thousand taels of gold, he wouldn't dare to bring them out to sell, and if he was forced to sell them, he wouldn't dare to take all the money.
Any sensible Chinese person knows what it means to "have a jade and invite disaster," and children holding gold in a busy market is a path to death. Things are very good now.
Yuanye successfully completed the day's biggest task, and now it was time for a delightful shopping spree.
He first went to a bookshop to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, as it was necessary to start copying the "Barefoot Doctor's Manual" in pinyin.
It went smoothly. They had "Pen Bags" available, a thick cloth bag that could secure writing brushes, ink, and inkstones, which could be hung on the saddle, convenient for carrying these fragile writing materials while riding a horse. The entire set cost only 450 Wen, which was fairly cheap.
Uh, actually it wasn't that cheap, as this money could buy enough coarse wheat to feed a poor person for a year.
The paper was Mino Paper, feeling similar to rice paper, probably due to its nearby production, and a stack only cost 87 Wen.
Yuanye also casually spent 22 Wen to buy a stack of locally produced coarse paper from Owari Edition, intending to use it for wiping. He thought his behind might not like leaves and sticks.
Next, he looked for a clothing store, but finding none, he went to a weaver's shop to buy cloth.
He and Meng Ziqi needed clothes from this era. Although their "strange attire" surprisingly hadn't caused any trouble under the current circumstances, Yuanye thought it best to adapt to local customs for safety.
He chose and bought the "Songjiang Fine Cotton Cloth." Although its origin might not be Songjiang, it should be from the Jiangnan area of Great Ming, transported through Kaido Town as a semi-luxury item for sale. The store's high-end products, such as brocade, silk, and expertly printed and dyed cotton cloth, were all Great Ming products. It seemed someone from Great Ming was smuggling goods, and on a considerable scale, almost audaciously so—they were even selling it in Owari Province, which is in the central region of Japan. It's likely more severe around Kyushu, Kaido Town, and Kyoto.
The shipment volume was very high, signaling large-scale smuggling, and there might even be a large interest group involved.
The coarse silk, coarse cotton cloth, cotton cloth, and ramie cloth were produced in Owari, Minoh, and Sanhe, and were very cheap. He spent over 900 Wen to buy some coarse cotton cloth and cotton batting, mainly because the two followers' clothes were so worn they almost exposed their bottoms. He didn't want to see men's bottoms every day and wanted to make a few quilts, especially since the simple-minded son needed extra attention to stay warm, requiring a thick quilt.
He also considered buying an iron pot to try cooking, but there weren't any ready-made ones, so he had to give up for the moment. However, he did buy some seasonings and tea—there were spices and tea for sale in the liquor store, such as pepper, fennel, asafetida, tea cakes, and loose tea. However, these were priced as luxury goods for commoners.
The price of liquor was close to two Kan per stone, and it looked very murky, meaning the quality was poor. Not being a drinker, he just glanced at the price and walked away.
The miscellaneous stuff kept piling up, and the money was too heavy for the three of them to carry. He simply circled back to the Horse Market and spent 1 Kan, 9 Hiki, and 50 Wen to buy a second-hand "rabbit cart" to haul goods, which could also serve as a transportation tool in the future—he couldn't ride a horse, a packhorse wasn't suitable for riding, and warhorses were too expensive, beyond what he could afford now. Overall, the rabbit horse had the highest cost-performance ratio.
As for what a rabbit horse is...
A rabbit horse is a donkey. In ancient Japan, there aren't many records of donkeys, but they weren't rare in use. In the Tang Dynasty, China used donkeys extensively for transport, with numerous donkey stations renting donkeys for people to travel in the city. Japan, learning comprehensively from the Tang system during the Heian Era, naturally introduced donkeys and regarded them as valuable livestock, though they previously hadn't seen donkeys, treating introduced donkeys as a kind of horse known as a rabbit horse.
For instance, in the dictionary "Iroha Joclassification" compiled at the end of the Heian Era, donkeys were labeled as "rabbit horses," described as follows: Rabbit horse, with horse-like form and appearance, rabbit ears, a voice like thunder, fond of warmth and averse to humidity, eats little and endures hard work.
Hence, in various ancient Japanese notes, donkeys and mules were included under horses, considered a type of packhorse and not listed separately, rarely appearing in texts. Thus, the price of packhorses appears so cheap—selling donkeys and mules as horses naturally lowers the average price of packhorses.
Now, Yuanye, in the Middle Ages of Japan, secured a second-hand "rabbit cart" and officially became part of the vehicle-owning class. Although the "rabbit horse" had somewhat aged teeth and the cart was a bit shabby, it felt alright to ride in.