After walking and stopping along the way, it was already dawn when they entered Wuhe County.
The surrounding villages basically go to the market on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, and the county is extremely lively on these two days every month.
Because it is located on the border, some people from neighboring countries come to do business.
Li Miaomiao separated from the people in the village when she entered the city. She observed the stalls of the vendors as she walked.
Steamed buns, steamed buns, mutton and pork are all sold, and there is no shortage of various shops in the inn.
She walked into the restaurant, which sold not only oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar, but also various condiments, including licorice, fuliu vine, dogwood, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and Sichuan peppercorns.
There is no chili. Although the dogwood has a pungent taste, it is still far behind the chili.
Seeing that there were more people, she picked up her backpack and left. After searching for a while, she saw a Luban shop next to a restaurant.
There were quite a lot of people inside, so she walked in and walked around.
The stools, tables, and cabinets in the shop are all of ordinary style and relatively practical.
When the shopkeeper was a little less busy, she walked over and nodded politely.
"Shopkeeper, may I ask you about this wood collector?"
The shopkeeper took a sip of water and looked her up and down. Seeing that her clothes were still patched, he said casually:
"I accept it, but it depends on the style. People from a hundred miles away will come to my store. I don't accept everything."
Li Miaomiao didn't pay attention to his slightly snobbish tone. She would meet all kinds of people when doing business.
She placed the backpack on the ground, removed the top layer of cloth, and placed the petal-shaped wooden box in the backpack on the counter.
"Shopkeeper, this is a multi-function box I made myself. Take a look."
She pushed out the grids hidden inside one by one. With the rotation, the four grids unfolded like a four-petaled flower. The top layer was unable to support the wooden shaft in the middle.
So she added a pillar, and for the sake of visibility, she carved patterns around the pillar.
The shopkeeper has seen many tables and wooden boxes, but he has never seen such a strange box.
"Can you let me have a look?"
Li Miaomiao extended her hand and said, "As you wish."
The shopkeeper turned the wooden box in front of him and discovered that the shape of the grooves in each grid was different.
The first floor is simply round, but with flower vines carved on the side.
The flower vines extend from the bottom to the top layer, looking like a vine growing around the wooden plate.
The second floor gradually became more complicated, and the grooves on the grid became two, shaped like two leaves of uneven sizes, with very smooth arcs.
The three-layer groove is shaped like a shell, with three arcs in the middle, where four things can be placed.
The shape of the fourth floor is a bit weird, but it looks good.
"Girl, what shape is this?"
"Four separate petals."
In fact, it was love. Li Miaomiao was afraid that he would think of the heart, so she expressed it differently.
The shopkeeper clasped his forehead, curious, "There are such strange petals."
Another group of people came into the store, and when they saw a very beautiful plate placed on the counter, they couldn't help but gather around to look at it.
"This plate is so weird. What is it for?"
"The more I look at it, the better it looks. Shopkeeper, what is this box for?"
The shopkeeper didn't take the unattractive girl in front of him seriously just now, so he only heard something about the box.
"The girl next to me brought it. Let her explain it to everyone."
This was a good sales opportunity, and Li Miaomiao would not let it go. She nodded slightly to the store manager, and then showed a sweet and polite smile.
Then he slowly explained to everyone: "It's called a multi-function box, and its main function is to place cakes, melons, fruits, tea cups, etc."
"If we want to eat several different foods on weekdays, we need to bring out four to five plates. Not only do we have to go back and forth several times to clean up, but it is also troublesome. With the multi-function box, one can solve the problem."
In order to show them the use more intuitively, Li Miaomiao borrowed a few things from the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper noticed that the girl was very eloquent, so he just wanted to see if he could sell this. He had some fruits at home, so he asked his clerk to bring them over.
In fact, Li Miaomiao just wanted to borrow some peppercorns, dogwood, fennel and other seasonings for demonstration, but the shopkeeper also brought out some dried walnuts and sesame seeds.
She thanked the shopkeeper and then put the items into the grooves of different shapes.
Due to the constraints of shape, those peppercorns resemble leaves and petals.
Just as the color, aroma and taste of food whet one's appetite, pleasing to the eye can also easily increase the desire to buy.
When she manipulated it like this, the crowd exclaimed.
"Putting it up like this makes the sesame seeds come alive to me."
Her customers for the wooden boxes are those who are not short of money. Only rich people have the time to play with these objects.
For ordinary households, more emphasis is placed on practicality.
The multi-function box has some practicality, but not much.
So some people who watched the excitement turned and left.
A burly man in luxurious clothes approached with a servant. He just heard what Li Miaomiao said from behind. He first looked at the wooden box on the counter and then looked up at Li Miaomiao.
"Can I get started?"
"Of course you can."
Li Miaomiao took a step to the side and gave up her position to him.
"Thank you."
After thanking her, the man collected the wooden boxes layer by layer and then unfolded them.
The boy next to him said happily: "Master, this is interesting."
"It's quite interesting."
The man put it away and unfolded it again and again, with a big smile on his face.
The shopkeeper was afraid that the young master of the He family would damage the wooden box. He wanted to give Li Miaomiao a warning, but when he saw the smile on her face, she still seemed a little indifferent.
Li Miaomiao was not indifferent. She knew that the young master would buy it based on her previous business experience.
The next moment, Master He folded the wooden box again and put his hand on it.
He asked boldly: "Girl, how do you sell this multi-function box?"
He directly went over to the shopkeeper and asked Li Miaomiao if she could just make a one-time transaction and take the money and leave.
Shanglijia Village is too far away from Wuhe County. She can't carry one to sell every time she goes to the market. She has to do business with someone for a long time.
"Sir, this is my first time in the county, so I'd better ask the shopkeeper to help me come up with a price."
Her smile was calm and generous, neither dominating nor showing surprise, and her steady demeanor made He Wen look at her with special eyes.
"Shopkeeper Wang, tell me a price."
They are all businessmen, how could Shopkeeper Wang not know Li Miaomiao's intention of doing this.
"Master He, wait a moment, let me estimate the price."
The restaurant next to Lubanpu.
In the private room on the second floor, a man holding a folding fan and wearing blue clothes saw He Wen and the boy coming out of Lubanpu downstairs. The boy was holding a strange box in his hand.
He said with great interest: "Brother Lin, look at that article. If you don't study well, you will only lose your family."
"Your family background is good enough in your village. If you compare it to the capital city, even here in Wuhe County, it's not good enough. Why don't you think carefully about my brother's proposal?"
The speaker is Guo Ce, the son of the county magistrate. He has a sister who serves as concubine in the palace.
Lin Dalang has been traveling to the county every day these days, just to find a good future. Unexpectedly, he has not even been admitted as a scholar after studying for ten years. Now he can only buy an official position and be promoted.
Unexpectedly, the method Guo Ce gave him to raise money was to supervise a disabled person.
While he was thinking, another person walked out of Lubanpu next door. When he saw that person, he suddenly showed disgust.
"Why is she here?"
