But Shen Ningning wasn't paying close attention to what he was saying.
She was too busy wondering, 'Should I give the old man the remaining red fruits I have?'
The Red Fruits were from the Immortal Realm, grown with water from the Spiritual Spring.
They could strengthen the body and improve health.
The little one thought for a moment, then took the initiative to place the red fruits in his hand.
"Grandpa, I'll leave this for you. Eat it when you feel unwell! I have to go now, I can't stay with you."
She had to keep traveling; her grandma and older brother were waiting for her.
Shen Ningning trotted away on her little feet.
The old man struggled to get a clear look at her, but his blurry vision prevented him from making out anything at all.
Shen Ningning walked for nearly another hour, and gradually, she began to see other people.
Her heart filled with joy, and she quickly picked up her pace.
The tall, wide city gates of the Capital City appeared in the distance.
She obediently walked over and got in line behind the bustling crowd to enter the city.
As Shen Ningning looked around, she noticed that not far from the city gates, there were many people in ragged clothes with sallow faces.
Some were lying down, others were sitting.
And some were completely motionless, with flies buzzing around their bodies, the stench filling the air.
Every one of them was so thin their cheeks were sunken, and their eyes were lifeless.
Shen Ningning froze for a moment.
'These must be the refugees Grandma talked about, right?'
Suddenly!
A luxurious carriage approached from outside the city.
"JINGLE JINGLE—" The bells on the four corners of the carriage roof chimed.
The crowd of refugees, who had seemed like "dead people," suddenly sprang into motion as if possessed.
A noble inside the carriage tossed a few date pastries out the window. They fell to the ground, covered in dirt, but the refugees didn't care and swarmed forward.
Anyone who managed to grab a piece of food immediately stuffed it into their mouth, and some even started brawling over a single bite.
A group of city guards came out, shouting angrily to stop them and even beating them with clubs. The refugees fought back, causing quite a commotion.
The scene instantly descended into chaos.
Frightened, Shen Ningning clutched her small cloth bag and used the chaos as a chance to run into the city.
Compared to the chaos outside the city walls, it was relatively peaceful inside, though beggars could still be seen huddled against walls everywhere.
A vendor pushed a water cart, accompanied by six guards, hawking his wares: "A bucket of fresh water, ten taels!"
The beggars stared hungrily but didn't dare to rush forward and try to steal any.
Ten taels!
Shen Ningning counted on her little fingers.
She remembered Aunt Qin saying that a vat of rice for her family would cost twenty taels to buy outside.
Ten taels for a bucket of water that would only last three days.
She then looked at a clothier's shop that sold shoes.
A decent pair of shoes cost three taels, and some of the beautiful, shimmering silks were priced as high as fifty taels.
Shen Ningning backed out of the shop, troubled.
She looked down at her own shoes, with her toes peeking out, and decided she should go to the apothecary first to see how much Silver she could get for her herbs.
After some searching, she finally found a shop with a banner bearing the word "Medicine."
Inside the shop, many well-dressed maids and servants were waiting in line to pick up medicine.
The clerks were extremely respectful to them.
When it was Shen Ningning's turn, the clerk merely glanced at her.
Then he waved his hand to shoo her away. "Get lost, little beggar! Go on, there's no food for you here!"
After he shoved her a few times, Shen Ningning quickly hugged a nearby pillar. "I'm not here to beg for food! I... I'm selling medicinal herbs!"
The clerk froze and looked at her again, his eyes filled with mockery. "You? What kind of herbs are you selling? And just so you know, we don't buy anything from dubious sources."
"Besides, if the quality is poor, our Huichun Hall definitely won't take it!"
Shen Ningning untied her tattered cloth bag and carefully took out the Purple Ganoderma.
"This... will you buy it?"
The clerk's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
His eyes went wide as he stared at the Purple Ganoderma in the little one's hand, still glistening with dew.
It was the size of his palm and of exceptional quality. In a drought year like this, you might not find one even in fifty years!
"Y-y-you wait here," the clerk stammered. "I'll go get the Shopkeeper!"
With that, he took the Purple Ganoderma and disappeared into the inner hall.
A moment later, a cry of astonishment was heard from within.
Soon after, a tall, thin Shopkeeper came out. The clerk pointed, and the man saw Shen Ningning sitting obediently on a stool.
The little girl's eyes were filled with curiosity as she looked around the apothecary, still clutching her tattered cloth bag tightly to her chest.
"Little one, is this Purple Ganoderma yours?" the Shopkeeper asked with a friendly smile as he walked over.
Shen Ningning nodded. "Do you want it?"
But the Shopkeeper said, "Not so fast. Let's go to the inner hall and have a proper chat."
Shen Ningning hesitated for a moment before hopping off the stool and following behind him on her small feet.
Once inside the inner hall, the Shopkeeper offered her a cup of tea, but Shen Ningning didn't drink it.
"Grandpa Shopkeeper, do you want it or not?" she asked, growing impatient.
"Of course I want it, as long as the price is right. But first, I have to ask, where did you get this Purple Ganoderma?"
'An herb of such fine quality couldn't possibly be wild-grown.'
"I grew it myself," Shen Ningning said.
The Shopkeeper was taken aback.
'Most large-scale herb merchants have their own medicinal gardens.
But it's a drought year. The Capital City has only seen two rainfalls this year, which is nowhere near enough for Lingzhi to grow.
Where on earth did this little girl get one?'
The Shopkeeper's eyes narrowed.
Shen Ningning felt a little uneasy. "Grandpa Shopkeeper, if you don't want it, I'll go ask another shop. Sorry to have bothered you."
She picked up the Purple Ganoderma from the table and made to leave.
"Wait!" The Shopkeeper placed a hand on her small one, smiling cheerfully. "I want it, of course I want it."
"For this Purple Ganoderma, I'll give you eighty taels a stalk. What do you think?"
In truth, according to market price, Purple Ganoderma was sold by weight!
One hundred taels a pound would not be an exaggeration!
But he wanted to test her to see if this little one knew the market at all.
Shen Ningning thought for a moment.
'Eighty taels... I could buy so many things with that!'
She nodded readily. "Sold! Five stalks for a total of four hundred taels!"
The Shopkeeper couldn't stay seated. He shot to his feet. "Five stalks?!"
Shen Ningning opened her tattered cloth bag, revealing four more Purple Ganoderma of the same exceptional quality!
The Shopkeeper nearly lost his footing.
'This little girl... she's a wealthy herb merchant!
At such a young age, to just pull out five stalks of Purple Ganoderma!'
"You... you..." The Shopkeeper's lips trembled, at a loss for words.
Shen Ningning blinked her bright, moist eyes and asked clearly, "Grandpa Shopkeeper, what's the most expensive thing you sell here? I'll go home, grow it, and bring it to you."
'She can just order up herbs like it's a menu? And she can provide anything?!'
The Shopkeeper said, "Ginseng, Longevity Root... if you have them, I'll buy them all."
Shen Ningning nodded lightly, making a mental note.
A short while later, the clerk came in with a silver note for four hundred taels.
The little one had only ever seen Silver, never a thing like this.
She hesitated. "Can I spend this? I need to buy things."
The Shopkeeper chuckled. "Of course. If it's inconvenient for you, I can exchange it for a bag of Silver, but it will be very heavy. You'll have to carry it carefully."
Shen Ningning nodded. "Silver is more convenient!"
「Half an incense stick later.」
She left the apothecary with the Silver.
Shen Ningning hadn't forgotten that she needed to find a doctor, but before that, she had to buy a few things to bring back with her!
The little one headed straight for the clothier's shop she had passed earlier.
With the heavy bag of Silver on her back, she walked with her head held high, full of confidence!
She entered the clothier's shop, and before the shopkeeper could try to shoo her away,
the little one had already spoken in her soft, sweet voice, "I want to buy this outfit!"
She stretched out her small hand, pointing to a set of men's robes hanging on the wall, clearly priced at eighty taels.