“You may have learned all the kung fu, but there’s still a lot to learn in society, like how to talk and interact with others—that’s a skill in itself. Also, you’ve always lived on the mountain, so you have no concept of money. This time, besides seeing the world below, your task is to buy two packs of salt and ten jin of rice and bring them back,” said Franklin, handing him a ten-yuan bill.

“Ah, where do I buy these things?” He had eaten salt and rice before, but never bought them.

“You can buy them at the Shantang market I told you about. As for how you buy them, that’s up to you.” With that, Franklin slung his bag over his shoulders and went back to his room.

When Samuel Bennett reached the foot of the mountain, he saw people walking in the distance. Since he was hurrying, he slowed down to match the pace of ordinary people.

Soon, he arrived at the Shantang market. Today happened to be market day, which falls on the fifth and tenth of each month. People from all around the area would come to the Santang market to see what they could buy for their households. Small vendors would bring all kinds of goods early in the morning. On market days, the crowds were huge, and if you came late, you could barely move, let alone find a spot to set up a stall.

By the time Samuel Bennett reached the Santang market, it was nearly noon. As he approached the entrance, he saw a dense crowd, like a river of people. It was hard to squeeze in directly, so he had to move slowly with the flow.

The street at Santang market wasn’t wide, only about four or five meters, and just a few hundred meters long. On both sides, vendors displayed their goods. Some carried them in baskets and simply set the two baskets together as a makeshift counter, standing behind to watch. Some just spread a plastic sheet on the ground and laid out their goods. Some brought local specialties from home and placed them directly on the ground. Those who brought goods by cart would start selling right from the cart, just parking it by the roadside—these were handcarts, wheelbarrows, or bicycles, rarely motor vehicles.

As he moved slowly with the crowd, everything seemed new and interesting. Since he wasn’t moving fast anyway, he stopped at each stall, picking up this and touching that, but didn’t buy anything. He knew he had to buy the salt and rice his master had instructed first before getting anything he liked. Otherwise, what if he didn’t have enough money left for the rice? Getting scolded by his master was a small matter, but messing up his first trip out would be hard to explain.

After walking dozens of meters, he noticed some permanent shops at the edge of the street. These shops didn’t disappear when the market ended; they were always open. There were snack shops, barbershops, traditional medicine shops, and some general stores and fabric shops. Up ahead, he spotted a shop called Santang Grain and Oil Store.

Shops usually kept a meter or two of space clear at their entrances, not letting vendors block the doorway. Otherwise, with the market so busy, no one would be able to get in to shop.

He walked into the Santang Grain and Oil Store, where all sorts of things were neatly arranged: rice, corn, wheat, flour, salt, lard, rapeseed oil, noodles, sauces, cured goods, and other seasonings. At the front was a counter, with two people behind it—a young man and a middle-aged man. He went straight to the rice section and said:

“I want ten... jin... of rice.” It was his first time speaking to a stranger, and he felt a bit nervous, even struggling a little.

Seeing a customer, the young man came over. “Alright, do you want early-season rice or late-season rice?”

“There are two kinds?”

“Yes, early-season rice is a bit cheaper, late-season rice is more expensive but tastes better.”

“Then I’ll take ten jin of late-season rice,” said Samuel Bennett.

“Alright.” The young man weighed out ten jin of late-season rice and packed it in a woven bag.

“Anything else?” the young man asked out of habit.

“Two packs of salt as well.”

The young man took out two packs of salt and put them in the bag. After finishing, he looked expectantly at Samuel Bennett.

Samuel Bennett didn’t know what he meant and didn’t move.

After a moment, the young man couldn’t help but say, “You need to pay now.”

Oh, Samuel Bennett suddenly remembered that you had to pay for things. He quickly handed the ten yuan to the young man.

The young man just smiled to himself, thinking this must be the boy’s first time shopping. He didn’t mind, and gave Samuel Bennett four yuan and twenty cents in change.

Samuel Bennett took the change, picked up the woven bag, and went back out to the street. Feeling a bit hungry, he went to a snack shop and had a bowl of noodles. This time he didn’t embarrass himself—he asked the price first, one yuan a bowl, paid, and after eating, saw it was time to head back up the mountain. Otherwise, it might be dark by the time he got home, so he started back.

After noon, the crowds on the street began to thin, so he walked faster. Along the way, he bought a jin and a half of roasted sunflower seeds, two jin of homemade rice wine from mountain folk, and a few pieces of candy he’d never tasted before, then left the market.

By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, it was already late. He quickly activated “Yijin One-Yuan Skill” to check that no one was around, then used “Treading Snow Without a Trace” to speed up the mountain.

Chapter Eight: Setting Up a Stall

On the mountain

Franklin sat by the stone table, drinking the rice wine his disciple had bought on his first trip down the mountain, shelling sunflower seeds, while Samuel sat nearby, savoring the candy.