Chapter 10: Kyoto is expensive and hard to live in

After walking out of the black-hearted pawnshop, Li Yaoguang felt that she finally had some money. Although it wasn't much, it was enough to barely make ends meet. That's what she thought, but unfortunately, the reality slapped her in the face.

Walking on West Street, a street in the inner city where dignitaries gather, there are no vendors wandering around, but there are shops lining the street, including restaurants, teahouses, and cloth shops. Each store has a large frontage and is decorated in a luxurious or elegant style. It is obvious at first glance that this is not a place that an ordinary person like her can afford to go in and spend money.

However, as a modern man, who prides himself on having seen the world, he is always brave enough to try new things. Weighing the money in his hand, Li Yaoguang bravely stepped into a pastry shop on West Street. The neatly dressed waiter came up to greet him warmly, but left after asking about the price.

It's just a piece of cake, made into a small pink plum blossom shape, with a sweet taste. A serving is no more than eight small pieces, but the packaging is exquisite. They dare to charge only one or two taels of silver for it. Why don't you grab it?
Haha, Li Yaoguang said she couldn't afford it. Her idea of ​​going into a good store to buy some snacks for her little cousin disappeared instantly. Excuse me, such a vulgar person, so I'll leave as I can't afford it.

Li Yaoguang walked decisively, without even glancing at the sudden change in the waiter's expression behind him. He walked hurriedly, heading straight for the market he had entered on the way there.

The inner city is not as lively as the outer city's Wa Market. Due to the strict control in the inner city, although there are markets, they are mostly concentrated in areas where civilians or slaves gather, to facilitate these people to buy items.

Li Yaoguang went straight back and soon reached the fork of West Street. He walked along a neat little street before finally returning to the bustling market town. Once he stepped in, he felt that this place was a completely different world from the outside world, with the sounds of hawking endless.

"We have just released Yulouchun wine, and we welcome you to taste it..."

"Shaobing, shaobing! Freshly baked shaobing."

"You can't tell fortunes without paying..."

"Writing letters for others..."

"Are there any customers going to the Fuguifang in the east of the city? Let's get in the car and go now."

"Selling pears, selling pears, freshly picked big pears, crisp and sweet..."

Standing on the street, surrounded by the crowd, listening to the hustle and bustle of life, Li Yaoguang finally felt like he was alive again.

It was almost sunup, and he had eaten the same three Swiss rolls in the morning. He was already starving. Smelling the aroma wafting through the streets, Li Yaoguang happened to see a young man carrying a basket and selling pears on the street.

Listening to his hawking, Li Yaoguang couldn't help but think of Yun Gelai, the man who sold sesame cakes with Wu Dalang in the Water Margin. Li Yaoguang smiled knowingly, his mouth suddenly filled with saliva, and he subconsciously called out to the person who was about to pass by him.

"Hey, the pear seller."

Perhaps it was because business came to his door. The pear seller had sharp ears. When he heard the voice, he immediately turned around with a smile on his face. Even though Li Yaoguang was a child who was as tall as his chest, the other party was polite and reasonable.

"Hello, Sister Gui, good afternoon. Do you want to buy some pears?"

In Li Yaoguang's impression, Dajing always addressed girls and boys as "sister" and "brother". This one with "gui" is a respectful title. Li Yaoguang understood, nodded, and pointed at the basket in the other party's hand and asked, "How much are your pears?"

"Haha, Miss Gui has a good eye and knows what's good! My pears are from a century-old tree. Not only are they big, they're crisp and sweet, and they ripen earlier than other pears. They're hard to come by, so the price is…"

"How many?"

"Hehe..." The other person smiled, then stretched out his empty palm, flipped it back and forth in front of Li Yaoguang, and said, "Don't bully your sister, these pears are ten cents each."

Li Yaoguang was shocked. "Ten, ten cents each?" Not one pound?
When the pear seller saw Li Yaoguang's expression, he thought the other party thought it was too expensive, and then a wry smile appeared on his face.

"Do you think it's expensive, dear sister? But I'm not trying to deceive you. I'm an honest man and I'm giving you a fair price. To be honest, dear sister, among the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, merchants are the last, and business is difficult. For civilians like us who come to the inner city to do business, the city gate guards are strict. They have to check our ID cards and ask us to pay a head fee. When entering the market, we have to pay a stall fee, a patrol protection fee, and finally a group head fee. The cost is high, so the price of the same thing in the inner city is naturally higher than that in the outer city."

And he didn't say yes, this is the West Inner City! Most of them are dignitaries, why would they care about such a small profit? "Sister, I sell pears in the streets and alleys. Although I don't have to pay for the stall, the price is also high. I can't take care of these pear trees all year round and not even get any compensation for my hard work, right? Sister, you are a noble person, so you can't spend more time to travel all the way to the South Inner City, or simply go out of the city with your ID card just to buy a few pears, right? My small business is really just to earn a few hard-earned money, sister, buy a few?"

How many to buy?
Li Yaoguang touched the four taels of silver hidden on his chest with a bitter look, and shook the hundred Tongbao coins in his bag and wanted to cry.

Regardless of ancient or modern times, poor people cannot afford to live. Previously, he thought he could support himself for a while, but now he can’t even afford a few baskets of pears!
"Maybe you can give me a discount?"

Li Yaoguang bargained for the price and the other party smiled bitterly.

“Sister Gui, it’s a small business, and it’s hard for me to do this. I really can’t let you off.”

Alas! We are all poor people in this world. "Forget it, give me four." We can't afford the exquisite cakes and pastries. Although pears are expensive, they are fresh and good in appearance. I bought four, one for my aunt, one for my uncle, one for myself and my little cousin, just to treat it as a luxury.

Li Yaoguang, who had transformed herself into a fussy housewife, picked out four of the best-looking and largest pears from the basket of pears, took them from the young man, and carefully put them into the bag she had been carrying tightly on her back since leaving the pawnshop. She then fumbled with the rope to untie the rope, took out four Tongbao coins and handed them to the other party.

Seeing the other party carefully checking the authenticity, Li Yaoguang asked a question.

"Brother, do you often sell pears in this market?"

The young man nodded, "Yes, Miss, you eat well. You must patronize my business often in the future. I promise that my pears are the best in the whole city."

"Haha." She didn't need to be so enthusiastic in selling. A poor person like her probably wouldn't buy such luxury goods often in the future. "I just want to ask the young man for some information."

"Oh, to ask something. What do you want to ask? I will tell you everything I know."

Seeing the other party happily putting away the four Tongbao coins carefully and looking at him with a smile, Li Yaoguang inexplicably felt that he might be ripped off?

"My dear sister, my dear sister?"

"Ah!" Li Yaoguang sighed again after being called back to his senses. "Never mind. I just wanted to ask you which pastry shop in this market sells good pastries at low prices, and whether there are any economical and affordable restaurants."

Seeing how stingy Li Yaoguang was just now and how he was bargaining, he didn't look like a wealthy man from the western inner city at all. Looking at his clothes and considering that this was a place where the servants of masters gathered, the pear seller guessed that Li Yaoguang was probably a servant in some family and was not well off.

However, the other party still bought their own pears, paid the full amount, didn't give fake money, and didn't look down on others. The pear seller's heart softened, but he didn't lie or hide anything. Instead, he enthusiastically pointed out several affordable places in the market to answer Li Yaoguang's questions.

"Sister Gui, just go to the places I mentioned. Even though the restaurant at the corner is a small stall, the food is really good and the price is affordable. The Ma's Bakery at the end of the south side of the square is very sweet and the prices are reasonable."

After hearing the other party's sincere introduction, Li Yaoguang felt relieved, thanked the young man, and went to the place introduced by the other party.

She was not stupid. After finding the place, she did not go in directly. After all, she was still afraid of being cheated. She observed secretly from outside for a few minutes and saw that the customers coming in and out did not look like dignitaries. They all had satisfied smiles on their faces when they entered and left. The store owner was also warm and thoughtful. The fragrance wafting from inside was also very good. Only then did Li Yaoguang step in.

At Ma's Bakery, Li Yaoguang bought a pack of peach cakes and a pack of mung bean cakes. Seeing that there were also his son's favorite rice dumpling candies, Li Yaoguang thought of his little cousin and asked the shopkeeper to weigh out half a pound of them, which was a full eight ounces.

Even though it was considered cheap, it cost her four hundred coins, which was a total of forty Tongbao coins.

It really is worthy of being the Western Inner City. The price of just cakes and candies is enough to make people feel painful. Carrying three bags of cakes and candies out, Li Yaoguang was full of emotion that it is not easy to live in Kyoto with high prices.

When they arrived at the small street food stall and asked the price, Li Yaoguang was shocked to find out that a portion of vegetarian soup noodles cost her fifteen cents. This was because in her memory, when she followed this body's mother to the market, a portion of meat soup noodles in the restaurant only cost eight cents.