That afternoon, the Hu Family left only Hu Ximei at home to look after Granny Xie, Xiao'an, and Hua. Everyone else went out, including Ji Huan.
The four of them borrowed two flatbed carts. Since it was their first time, they didn't dare to split up and went together to Willow Tree Village, which was the closest village to Dafeng Village.
But before that, Hu Liang first made a trip to town. Of the thirty taels Ji Huan had given him, he took ten taels and exchanged them for broken silver and copper coins.
Silver ingots weren't easy to use in the countryside—a detail Ji Huan hadn't considered. It showed that Hu Liang was indeed meticulous.
Widow Xie and the others had never done business before and thought they would have to go door-to-door. But to their surprise, as soon as they reached the village entrance, Ji Huan took a bronze gong out of a basket.
Holding the gong in one hand and a small mallet in the other, she struck it with a loud CLANG, producing a deafening sound.
