"Please take a look, sir, this is the place."
The innkeeper dropped the copper lock, opened the door, and a gentle creaking sound was heard.
"This was my wife's brother's original residence. He went to the county a while ago, so it's been vacant. It's a bit small, but it's in a good location. There's a sweet water well in this alley, clear and sweet, hence the name Sweet Water Alley. People from many other alleys come here to fetch water, and it's not far from Central Street."
The innkeeper introduced as he walked, and Zhong Lin, holding Little Stone, also stepped inside.
Indeed, it wasn't big, just a single entry courtyard. The left side was the wing room, the right was the kitchen, and there was a small outhouse in the corner. A date tree grew by the right wall, with dates already knocked clean, leaving only a few at the very top.
Zhong Lin, holding Little Stone, toured through all the rooms, feeling very satisfied. But he still lowered his head and asked Little Stone, "How is it? Do you like it here?"
"Yes, I like it." Little Stone nodded with a face full of joy but quickly added, "As long as I'm with you, Second Brother, I'm willing to live anywhere."
Zhong Lin knew this was Little Stone's psychological shadow from his disappearance in Black Mountain. He reached out and rubbed his head.
"Innkeeper, I'm very satisfied here. I plan to rent it. Name your price, the honest price."
Zhong Lin emphasized the word "honest," which spoke for itself.
The innkeeper didn't hesitate and said, "If you're sincere about renting, it's three taels of silver a year. How about that?"
Zhong Lin calculated the prices in Black Mountain County, with one tael of silver exchanging for a thousand large coins. However, this was the official price, and there were fluctuations based on local prices, about eight hundred large coins on average.
Five large coins could buy a bowl of noodles, so indeed, three taels of silver wasn't expensive.
"Alright, three taels it is."
"I have one condition. You must pay the three taels of silver all at once, meaning you must rent for at least a year. If you vacate earlier, I will not refund the money," said the innkeeper.
"Agreed."
Seeing Zhong Lin agree, the innkeeper smiled too, turned around to prepare the contract, and soon they pressed hand seals and exchanged the rent.
"Let's go buy some things. We'll be living here from now on," Zhong Lin said with a smile.
"Mm-hmm."
Little Stone nodded excitedly and pulled Zhong Lin out onto the street.
In half a day, the essentials were bought, such as beddings, pots and pans, and various food supplies.
These are daily necessities, indispensable.
Nine taels of silver would be a fortune in Lower River Village, but it only took a day in Black Mountain County to reduce it to just four taels, making Zhong Lin sigh at the cost of living!
"It's hard to settle down!"
Zhong Lin sighed.
Though he sighed, what needs saving should be saved, and what needs spending should be spent. Some money cannot be skimped on, like food.
Both were severely malnourished. Zhong Lin was as thin as a stick, while Little Stone's head was big and his body small, with dry yellow hair.
So food was not something to skimp on; rather, they needed to eat better than average to make up for past deficiencies.
In the kitchen.
Little Stone poked the fire under the stove with a stick to make it burn brighter, keeping an eye on Zhong Lin's actions while inhaling deeply to smell the aroma of meat wafting through the kitchen.
"Second Brother, is it ready?"
"Yes, it's ready to eat."
A simple plate of stir-fried greens with pork, made with specially bought pork belly, both fatty and lean. Stir-fried over high heat, the fat melted and infused into the greens, giving the dish an oily texture, making both mouths water. Paired with rice, it was a feast even an immortal wouldn't trade.
It's important to know that in ancient society, fatty meat was more expensive than lean meat; without fatty meat, lean meat couldn't even sell.
Of course, offal was also high-quality protein, but unfortunately, Zhong Lin couldn't get rid of the smell; otherwise, it would have been more cost-effective.
What a pity about the fried intestines!
After dinner, Little Stone went to wash dishes willingly, while Zhong Lin found a few stones and threw them at the dates on the top of the date tree.
With a series of thuds, dozens of green dates fell from the top.
"They're quite tasty, and sweet enough to relieve the greasy feeling. Stone, come eat some dates."
"Coming."
...
Black Mountain County, East Market, Shuimo House.
Shuimo House mainly sold writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, as well as printed books. After some inquiries, Zhong Lin finally arrived here.
Zhong Lin's eyes were fixed on the words "Shuimo House," analyzing the structure of these characters and comparing them in his mind with Chinese characters.
Of course, there was no connection between the two, but it was certain that the characters in this world were hieroglyphic.
"No, I still need a system to study this world's characters. Relying solely on comparison could easily lead to semantic errors."
Zhong Lin shook his head and stopped staring at those three characters.
On the streets on both sides of Shuimo House's entrance, several stalls had tables full of writing materials. Many scholars were here to write letters and paint portraits for others, and some copied books for sale.
However, business wasn't great, given the low productivity and poor living and educational levels of the era. At most, poor families would ask someone to bring a verbal message; few wrote letters. So more ways for these scholars to earn money were by copying books for Shuimo House in the back.
Zhong Lin had been hanging around here for two days, focusing more on those painting scholars.
Compared to letter-writing, scholars with painting skills had a better life. Those writing letters might only write three letters after sitting all day. Writing letters didn't sell by the character like calligraphy did. According to Zhong Lin's observation, a letter was only three large coins.
Only the painting scholars were different. Their business was good, and the prices were high, with the majority of clients being the elderly and children.
After some understanding, it was found that the elderly mostly wanted portraits, while children wanted things like hundred-day photos.
An elderly person and a child, one dead and one alive, these two groups were the easiest to make money from.
After walking around, Zhong Lin stopped at the stall of the busiest scholar.
The scholar was slender and tall, wearing a green robe, with his hair bun fixed by a wooden hairpin. He was focusing intently on his brushwork.
After a while, the painting was done. The subject was an elderly gentleman with gray hair, sitting solemnly on a chair.
"Finished."
"Thank you, Mr. Xu, I am very satisfied."
The scholar handed the painting to the client and smoothly accepted the payment.
Zhong Lin, with his keen eyes, noticed that the scholar charged three qian of silver, equivalent to two to three hundred large coins.
From starting to finishing the painting, it only took the time for two sticks of incense to burn, about half an hour, earning him two to three hundred large coins. Zhong Lin couldn't help but feel envious for a moment.