Qin Sang nodded and said matter-of-factly:
"This Horse of yours has a Fungal infection. I imagine you don't have the money to treat it, and even if you did, it might not be curable.
If you don't sell it to me, the thirty taels you spent on it will be a total loss.
It's up to you. This is my final offer.
And this mule of yours, it's barely clinging to life.
Three taels of silver isn't money? That could buy hundreds of catties of grain.
If I didn't have a use for them, I'd turn and walk away right now from these half-dead animals of yours."
The Shop Assistant clenched his fist. Qin Sang's words were infuriating, but he had no retort.
People who sell livestock usually know a bit about treating them. The shopkeeper had already said there was no cure for this Horse—it was caused by being too filthy. Without water, the Horse would just continue to rot.
They'd even had a Butcher come to look at it, but the Butcher refused, saying he was afraid it would poison people.
Without water, it wasn't just the Horse that would die; all the livestock in the shop would perish.
In the past, if Qin Sang had made such an offer, the assistant would have chased her out with a big broom. But now, he could only say:
"I'll go call the shopkeeper."
Qin Sang knew the price was a bit of a low blow, but there was no helping it. Business was business, and you saved where you could.
It wasn't long before a tall, gaunt shopkeeper arrived. The assistant had likely already explained the situation:
"Madam, your price is truly a bit low. If you're sincere, how about five taels for the mule and eight for the Horse?"
This was close to Qin Sang's own bottom line:
"Then you'll have to throw in the carts."
The shopkeeper gave a bitter laugh:
"Madam, at that rate, it's hardly different from the original price. The mule can pull a flatbed cart, but a Horse cart is different from a flatbed. Normally, fitting out a Horse cart costs three to five taels. This old man can't make that deal, I really can't."
Qin Sang knew she was likely at his limit:
"Then make it two flatbed carts." She could sort out the canopies and such later.
The shopkeeper sighed:
"Alright then. But I must declare upfront, madam, since you're paying such a low price, once these mule and Horse leave this door, I take no responsibility whatsoever."
Qin Sang understood this was the shopkeeper's disclaimer. Even if the mule and Horse dropped dead the moment they stepped outside, the shop would not refund or exchange them.
"Fine. We can sign a contract."
The shopkeeper nodded, returned to the counter, and swiftly wrote up the contract with flowing strokes. Qin Sang pressed her fingerprint to it.
Holding the contract, the shopkeeper shook his head:
"If I weren't truly desperate, I would never sell at this price. Ah, well. As for these two carts, will you be driving them back yourselves, or..."
"We'll need to ask you to send someone to drive them back for us and teach us how to drive along the way. I'll pay an extra hundred coppers."
Consider it like getting a driver's license.
The shopkeeper hadn't expected Qin Sang to be willing to pay extra for driving lessons. He agreed readily.
Qin Sang poured the water from her bamboo tube into the Horse trough and even fed the mule the flatbread she'd brought in the morning, having Da Zhuang feed the mule.
If they just set off like this, the animals might very well die on the road before reaching home.
Both animals seemed oblivious to the scent of the flatbread. Instead, they buried their heads in the trough, only starting on the bread after licking every last drop of water clean with their tongues.
The shopkeeper and assistant personally saw them off, hitched the carts, drove them out, and then securely closed the shop door.
Qin Sang, holding Da Huang, got into the Horse cart with the shopkeeper. Da Zhuang rode the mule cart with the assistant.
Along the way, the shopkeeper and assistant earnestly taught Qin Sang and Da Zhuang how to drive. Fortunately, the mule and Horse had been trained before at the cart and Horse business and were quite cooperative.
Driving wasn't difficult either. Most of the time, the driver just needed to know the way and steer properly.
After learning for a stretch of the road, Tian Dazhuang itched to try driving himself for a bit. Surprisingly, he was quite steady.
Qin Sang also took the reins of her own 'Ferrari'. She didn't dare use the whip, afraid it might turn into a Race car and take off—she'd be done for then. She just let the Horse follow the mule in front.
After learning how to turn, reverse, start on a slope, and parallel park, and practicing a couple of times, Qin Sang felt there were no major issues left. She asked some questions about feeding the Horse and mule, paid the silver, and let the shopkeeper and assistant head back the way they came.
It must be said, having a vehicle for transport was truly fast.
A journey that would take an hour on foot took less than half an hour to return, and that was at a controlled pace, not letting the mule and Horse run.
The only drawback was probably the dust, which was immense, especially following behind the mule cart—it was practically like eating dirt.
Qin Sang planned to cut a piece of linen to make a mask when she got home. It would block at least a little.
Tianjia Village was already in sight when Qin Sang exclaimed, pulling on the reins to stop the Horse:
"Oh no, I forgot to buy grain."
Tian Dazhuang hastily stopped the mule cart too:
"Mother, do we need to go back to the county town to buy grain? Maybe we can buy it the day after tomorrow?"
Qin Sang thought for a moment:
"No. The price of grain rises by two coppers a day; we can't afford the delay. The villagers are still waiting to exchange grain with our family.
You take the things back with the mule cart. I'll make a trip back to the county town. With the Horse cart, it'll be quick."
"Mother, maybe I should go instead." Tian Dazhuang remembered the refugees who had tried to rob them and was worried about his Mother's safety.
Qin Sang waved her hand, stroking Da Huang on the cart shaft:
"I'll go. Don't worry, Da Huang will protect Mother, right?"
Da Huang immediately shifted from lying down to sitting up straight, as if assuring Tian Dazhuang that he could complete the protection mission.
Tian Dazhuang didn't want to disobey his Mother. After urging her to be careful, he took the backpack basket and continued driving the mule cart towards Tianjia Village.
Qin Sang reversed the cart. As the sun was blazing now, she found a deserted hillside and parked the cart in the shade of a tree.
She exchanged water and a cloth from her space, giving the Horse's skin a simple cleaning. Then she exchanged a large bottle of Iodine to disinfect and sterilize the fungal patches, finally applying an Antifungal ointment.
The Horse clearly felt much better. Looking at Qin Sang, its eyes seemed to well up with tears.
Qin Sang fed it some more water and beans, placed in a large ceramic bowl for it to eat.
Da Huang watched enviously from the side but didn't dare approach to snatch. Qin Sang smiled and tossed him a piece of jerky, then exchanged a pack of beef jerky and a loaf of bread for herself to eat.
After replenishing her fluids and energy, Qin Sang got to work. She exchanged five hundred catties of rice, one hundred catties of Soybeans, and ten catties of Millet from the Mall, packing them all in cloth bags and loading them onto the Horse cart.
She also exchanged some Sweet Potato, potatoes, Pumpkin, and a fish, as well as three catties of meat, planning to say she bought them in town.
Although the weather was hot and the meat couldn't be kept overnight, there were many mouths at home. Three catties of meat braised wouldn't yield much; it would just supplement their diet with some fat for a couple of meals.
She also prepared five small porcelain bottles each of the ointment and liquid medicine for the Horse, which should be enough.
She bought a few Bells and some Hemp rope to see if she could make a few alarm devices later.
The flatbed cart could still hold more, but Qin Sang was worried the Horse couldn't handle it. She decided to manage that another time.
It was still early. Estimating it would take another half hour to get back, Qin Sang sat in the shade and continued browsing through the Mall.
I wonder if there's a Storage space.
Qin Sang searched diligently, but clearly, the products here were just ordinary goods from the modern era. Magical items like Storage spaces, which weren't on modern shopping websites, weren't here either.
Then in the future, when she earned money, she'd still have to go to the trouble of hiding it.
Qin Sang suddenly noticed the Mall had a 'Warehouse' and a 'Shopping cart'.
What does 'Warehouse' mean? Storing items without selling them?
And the 'Shopping cart'—selecting items first without paying?