After she secured the carriage and kept the receipt in her space, Qiao Mai stroked the horse's head and gave it an apple.
The horse happily raised its head at Qiao Mai. Qiao Mai smiled and made a promise to it.
"Don't worry. You'll have a good life with me. I promise I won't kill you, stew you, or eat you. I'll treat you well for the rest of your life. When you're old, I won't let you do any hard work. I'll take care of you until you die."
She drove the carriage to a place where there were fewer people. She got into the carriage and opened the basket she had bought.
The baskets weren't big. It was only the size of two watermelons at most.
She placed two watermelons in a basket and started picking around in the freezer.
She took ten apples and pears. They were not small, and the twenty fruits added up to more than ten catties.
She took a few grapes and put them inside. They also weighed about ten catties.
She had also put in ten catties of golden oranges. That was four fruits. Just as she was about to leave the space, she saw the strawberries in the strawberry field had ripened.
Qiao Mai used her mind to pick about ten catties of strawberries. There seemed to be only these few kinds of fruits in the north.
She had peaches in her space, but wasn't it too early to take them out?
Looking at the fruits in the basket, she sighed. She had already taken out so many. These peaches would not harm.
She took ten catties of peaches. It was a total of six baskets of fruits. These were much more than the two boxes of strawberries yesterday. If they did not give a satisfying price, she would leave immediately.
Qiao Mai drove the carriage to the entrance of the Wang family's mansion. At this time, Miss Wang and her brother were waiting there.
She immediately saw a woman leaning her head against the wall. It was Granny Xiao from yesterday.
Retracting her gaze, she greeted Miss Wang in the carriage.
"I won't get out of the carriage. Why don't you get in and take a look? If it doesn't work, I'll leave. It's too eye-catching to take these out."
Wang Jiaru got someone to carry a stool and stepped onto the carriage. When she entered, she was instantly overjoyed.
"Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied, very satisfied!"
"How much is this?"
"Name a price. It's not easy to get these fruits."
"Other than watermelons, I'll give you fifty taels of silver for a basket of fruits."
Qiao Mai thought for a moment. "Sure. If you don't want the watermelons, I'll sell them myself."
"I want watermelons too. I'll give you ten taels of silver for two watermelons. The sum is two hundred and sixty taels. Deal?"
"Deal!"
Miss Wang immediately took the silver notes from her sleeve, counted them, and handed them to her.
"Each banknote is worth ten taels. There are twenty-six notes here."
Qiao Mai took it and counted it, then nodded.
"Get your servants to unload the carriage. I still have to go to the city to buy some watermelons from the melon farmers."
"When will you come next time?"
"These will last you a while. It is the rainy season in July, so I'm afraid I can't come. It's going to be August."
"Can we go over and find you?"
"Why would you look for me? I have a stall in a small town. I only sell watermelons."
"Then come to the city. My Wang family will back you up."
"No, I still have relatives and friends over there."
Wang Jiaru had people move the fruits in the cart into the Wang residence at lightning speed. When Wang Zihan saw this, he no longer stayed with his sister. Instead, he followed the basket and entered his house.
After settling the money and goods, Qiao Mai drove the carriage away.
Miss Wang stood at the door and looked at her back thoughtfully.
If the world saw Qiao Mai as an ordinary woman, it would be a big mistake. She must have hidden something to be able to get fruits that others could not. This was a friend that Wang Jiaru was sure to make.
Qiao Mai drove the carriage back. On the way, she met the coach master. He was driving the carriage to the prefecture and happened to meet her.
"Oh, little miss, you bought a carriage?"
"Yes, I bought it when I found one suitable."
"Shall we be colleagues in the future?"
"Nah. I use this cart to transport my goods."
"Oh, if it's not enough in the future, note that I often work in this area. Although my home is not in Tianshui Town, it is in the surrounding villages. I wait for customers in Tianshui Town."
"Alright, I'll look for you if I need you in the future."
It was said that people of the same trade were enemies. The coachman seemed to have a silver tongue. As long as he was diligent, he would not starve to death.
When she was about to reach home, Qiao Mai put the watermelon and ice in the space into the cart and stopped at the embroidery shop.
When Shopkeeper Lu saw her, she finally relaxed.
"Sister, why did you buy a carriage just for a trip?"
Qiao Mai didn't get out of the cart. "I will visit the prefecture frequently and have to transport goods. It's inconvenient to keep relying on others. I saw a good cart and bought it."
"That's great. It'll be much more convenient for me to use the cart in the future."
"Sister, I'll put the melons and ice in the cart home first. We'll chat again tomorrow."
"Okay. I'll follow you and help you move it."
"No need. It's just a melon. I'll move it myself."
Lu Sanniang was stubborn. She let the two servant girls look after the shop and brought her daughters to follow behind the carriage to help.
The four of them placed the cart of watermelons and ice in the storage room.
Shopkeeper Lu asked worriedly, "The ice won't melt, right?"
"No, there's a thick blanket wrapped around the wooden box. It can be stored for a few days."
" Are you willing to wrap it with a new quilt?"
"Isn't it to make money? They will melt if you don't use it to wrap the ice. The quilt won't break."
Qiao Mai locked the door after taking a watermelon and went to the kitchen to cut it.
Ruxin and Ruyi quickly set up the table in the courtyard. Qiao Mai cut the watermelon and placed it on the table. The four of them sat around and ate it.
"How much is this watermelon?"
"Five hundred coins."
"If it's this price, selling it at fifty coins a piece is quite suitable. One melon can earn two to three hundred coins, and a month with ice and melons can earn thirty taels of silver, right?"
"Thanks to Sister, I don't have to pay taxes, and no one comes to find trouble. It's more than this amount."
"After being exposed to the wind and sun, you finally became a little fairer and fatter. But now, you look like you lost weight again."
"No, people can't sit all the time. That way, their bodies will be weak. Moving around appropriately is good."
Lu Sanniang took a big bite of the watermelon. "Can't you take care of your body and life?"
"How do you like this watermelon?"
Qiao Mai changed the topic and asked.
"It's delicious. It's better than the ones sold before."
"I bought them directly from the melon field. They're especially fresh. In the future, I can sell whole melons. I don't have to find a vendor to wholesale them anymore. I can buy them directly from the melon farmers."
"That's good."
The four women finished the watermelon and rubbed their stomachs.
Qiao Mai rested for a while before returning to her room and took two palace fans from her space. She replaced them with the wooden shelves here and placed them in a box before coming out to hand them to Shopkeeper Lu.
"I embroidered this recently."
"Yo, you work really fast. It didn't distract you from selling melons?"
"Because you cautioned me."
"Did you embroider it at night when you are home? It'll hurt your eyes. I'm not in a hurry."
"I can't sleep so early anyway."
"It's mainly because you're alone. You'll fall asleep with a man beside you. Are you missing a man?"
"Don't joke about this."
Shopkeeper Lu opened the box and admired it with her two daughters. "Tsk tsk, your craftsmanship is still the best. Look at this painting. It looks so real."
"As long as you're satisfied."
"Alright, I'll put it in the shop later. The customers will definitely be happy when they come."
Qiao Mai yawned, and the mother and daughters immediately stood up.
"Have a good rest. We'll leave first. Tomorrow, I'll get the girls to set up a stall for you, okay?"
"Sure!"
After the three left, Qiao Mai didn't feel tired at all. After entering the space, she started to get busy.
She found a notebook and recorded everything she had brought from her previous life.
She put away all the guns hanging on the wall, leaving only a silent pistol and a box of bullets.
She sealed the Ferrari with wood and used it as a platform, putting many items she seldom use on it.
She used the roof again. The roof in the space was flat and could hold a few goods. She placed all the light shelves on the roof. This saved four-quarters of land.