Money makes the world go round.
For Sun, getting people to do his bidding was as simple as speaking.
Shopping for furniture was even easier. He ordered it from the carpenter's workshop, and given the large quantity, they would certainly help deliver it.
So, Mr. Sun patted his chest and declared that there were no problems and he would handle everything.
"Mr. Gu, come back the day after tomorrow morning, and I'll give you the completed property deed. At the same time, we'll inspect the house for cleanliness, and I'll try to have the furniture delivered tomorrow."
Gu Zhaobei was pleased with Mr. Sun's efficiency and paid him a deposit of ten taels of silver for labor and furniture.
It was better to spend money to buy services.
As newcomers, they had no idea where to find people to do work or where to buy furniture; they were completely in the dark.
With Mr. Sun acting as the intermediary, he was well-versed in these matters, so it was best to leave it to him.
With a major task completed, the three of them felt a sense of relief.
Gu Qingcheng was happy, thinking that they would be staying for at least half a year. The system promptly sent her a welfare reward of 20 Cool Points, sourced from: The Joy of Owning Your Own Home.
Buying the house, cleaning it, and purchasing furniture would cost around 50 taels of silver. She then redeemed 20 taels of silver with Cool Points. After deducting the 20 taels of advance payment, she still had 100 taels of silver to spend.
So, she said to her parents:
"I have 100 taels of silver left. Let's set aside 50 taels for miscellaneous housing expenses, and with the remaining silver, let's quickly go and buy some essential supplies for living here."
"Alright," Gu Zhaobei replied, reaching out to catch the snowflakes that began to fall from the sky. He felt that time was of the essence and immediately agreed.
"Qingcheng, what's the temperature now?" Hu Lanfang asked.
She knew her daughter's system could check the temperature, while she could only guess.
"It's minus five degrees Celsius, and it's starting to snow. It will get colder. The temperature is dropping faster and faster. Let's buy all our supplies while it's not yet a frozen wasteland and we can't move around due to the cold," Gu Qingcheng said.
The temperature now was even colder than when they had come out in the morning. It was truly unfair.
They were wearing high-tech down jackets, which was why they didn't feel the cold.
Most of the common people on the street, despite wearing cotton-padded clothes, were still shivering, exhaling white mist, and quickening their pace.
Everyone wanted to finish their errands quickly and go home to escape the cold.
The three of them also felt the need to speed up their shopping. They walked along the busiest commercial street in the city, buying as they went.
On the way, the three of them first encountered a clothing store.
Considering that having a tailor measure them for custom clothing would take too long, they abandoned that idea and bought suitable clothes directly from the ready-to-wear store.
Each person bought five sets of loose cotton-padded jackets. Since they would be wearing down jackets underneath, they bought sizes one larger than normal.
They couldn't buy clothes of this era's style at the Mountain Cat Supermarket, so they had to get them from the stores. They definitely needed to dress like the people here.
Then, the three of them bought 15 sets of undergarments. This brought the total to 45 sets of undergarments. They didn't need to buy underwear here; they had disposable panties that could be thrown away after use.
They didn't know when they would be migrating south, and they wouldn't have the leisure time to wash underwear on the road.
Outerwear could be worn for ten days to half a month without changing, but underwear needed to be changed daily. Fortunately, the Mountain Cat Supermarket sold disposable panties.
Seeing that the three of them bought so many clothes, the owner of the clothing store was happy but also quite curious, as it was rare for customers to buy so many clothes at once.
Gu Zhaobei explained to the shopkeeper that they were taking them back to their hometown to distribute among their uncles, aunts, and siblings.
The shopkeeper understood and praised them for being thoughtful, saying that gifting new clothes was the best present now. With the weather getting colder, having new cotton-padded clothes was essential for winter.
The completed purchase of clothing cost a total of seven taels of silver. The shop owner helped them tie the clothes with straw ropes, and Gu Zhaobei carried them away alone. The owner secretly marveled at Gu Zhaobei's strength.
The clothes, totaling fifty to sixty items, weighed nearly a hundred jin due to the cotton-padded jackets. Gu Zhaobei carried them with one hand, appearing very relaxed. Wasn't he a strongman?
In reality, as soon as they left the shop and reached a deserted corner, Gu Qingcheng had already stored these clothes in the system's storage cabinet.
The three of them, feeling lightened, continued their shopping.
As the aroma of food wafted from the shops along the street, the three realized it was time for lunch.
"Dad, this Xinglin Restaurant has a lot of customers, and their business seems good. The dishes should be delicious. Let's eat here," Gu Qingcheng said, pointing to the restaurant across the street with its "Xinglin Restaurant" banner.
"Alright," Gu Zhaobei agreed readily, patting his rumbling stomach.
The three of them strolled into the restaurant.
"Customers, welcome! What would you like to eat? May I recommend some of our signature dishes?" The waiter was very enthusiastic and led them to a table by the window.
After asking for his wife and daughter's opinions, Gu Zhaobei asked the waiter for recommendations.
"Spicy Beef Soup with Stewed Swallow Dumplings, Frothy Pork Slices, Three Delicacies Fish Maw, Dried Tangerine Peel and Old Ginger Flavored Goose | Potato and Mushroom Stewed Chicken Legs..." The waiter rattled off a string of dish names.
They sounded… delicious. Gu Qingcheng swallowed hard.
"Waiter, give us the first five dishes you mentioned, plus a stir-fried seasonal vegetable."
Seeing his daughter's eagerness, Gu Zhaobei cheerfully made the decision.
"They sound delicious just by their names," Gu Qingcheng said with anticipation.
She was a big foodie, and with the impending natural disaster, she wished she could taste all the delicacies in the world before it struck.
Besides, when it came to stockpiling, she needed to stockpile fat too, didn't she, to survive the extreme cold?
Of course, that was a joke. She wouldn't be happy if she grew a "swimming ring" around her waist!
The food arrived about twenty minutes later, one dish after another. The taste was indeed excellent, especially the Three Delicacies Fish Maw, which was soft and tender, without any fishy smell. The chef had put a lot of effort into it.
Gu Qingcheng ate with great joy.
Unintentionally, she received another welfare reward of two Cool Points from the system, sourced from: The Joy of Food!
Gu Qingcheng found that the more she acted according to her heart and the happier she was, the more rewards she received! This suddenly gave Gu Qingcheng a wild idea:
Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the young students across the country were bound to such a system!
Ten Cool Points for completing homework; 1 Cool Point for perfect attendance; six Cool Points for first place in the 800-meter race in gym class...
With rewards appearing from time to time, and the ability to buy things in the supermarket with Cool Points, wouldn't children love to study?
Wouldn't they study happily?
Unlike now, where more than 70% of them viewed learning as a class enemy, filled with bitterness and resentment.
Based on Gu Qingcheng's experience, nine out of ten people could resolve even the most difficult matters by shopping, soothing their inner pain and grievances.
But precisely because not many people in this world could shop freely, there were so many dark emotions. Happiness belonged only to a minority of people who were financially independent.
And she, now, could achieve financial freedom just by being happy, so why wouldn't she?
After finishing their meal, the waiter came to present the bill.