Julie brought the three brothers to a nearby restaurant that was busy and lively.
The restaurant was called Ruyi Restaurant.
At the entrance, a waiter saw them and greeted them warmly with a big smile.
"Welcome, dear guests! I'll take care of your carriage and make sure your horse is well-fed!" he said as he went to handle the horse.
Julie didn't refuse. She just glanced at Little Black.
Little Black neighed softly but behaved well.
As the four entered, another waiter immediately came up to them.
"Dear guests, are you here to stay or to eat?"
"To eat. Do you have a private room?" Julie asked casually. She didn't mind eating in the hall herself, but thinking of the three men's good looks, she decided it was better to stay private.
The waiter's eyes lit up. "Yes! We have private rooms on the second floor. I'll take you there."
He quickly led the way, happy because customers upstairs usually spent more, which meant better tips for him.
In the private room, the waiter skillfully recited a long list of dishes without pausing for breath.
Julie looked at the three brothers. "What do you want to eat?" She wasn't picky and could eat anything.
Haven and Bailee both shook their heads. They weren't picky either.
Lorrie's eyes brightened. He knew that Julie wasn't just being polite and that he could really order something.
As a little foodie, he quickly picked something he wanted.
"Julie, I want to eat Squirrel Mandarin Fish," he said. Just hearing the name made it sound delicious.
Julie nodded. "Anything else?"
Lorrie shook his head.
He knew his limits and that they were out in public.
Seeing that he didn't order more, Julie added dishes herself: a plate of braised beef, a plate of white-cut chicken, a plate of cabbage, and a bucket of rice.
She didn't like drinking and had an average alcohol tolerance. She asked the three brothers if they wanted any wine, but they all shook their heads, so she didn't order any.
Soon, dish after dish and the rice were brought to their table.
Julie picked up a piece of braised beef. It tasted great — seasoned well with a slight spice, very generous in portion, and all beef without any cheap filler.
The three brothers also started eating eagerly. Throughout the whole meal, there was almost no talking — just the sounds of chopsticks hitting plates and bowls.
Julie finished eating quickly and was the first to set down her chopsticks.
Bailee and Haven soon finished too, quietly rubbing their slightly rounded bellies.
Today's dishes were too delicious; they accidentally ate too much.
Only Lorrie kept eating even after everyone else had stopped.
He didn't understand how Julie and his brothers ate so fast.
He thought he ate at a normal speed, not chatting during the meal.
At first, he didn't feel full, but later, seeing the leftover food, he didn't want to waste it.
So he stuffed all the remaining food into his mouth.
Only after swallowing and patting his now round belly did he feel truly satisfied.
He had heard that eating at a restaurant was expensive.
Julie thought it was fine. Lorrie was still young and growing.
Bailee and Haven had mentioned that men could still grow taller after sixteen.
Maybe Lorrie would grow taller next year if he ate more.
Julie wasn't sure if she could still grow.
After all, her current body was only seventeen years old.
If she could grow taller, that would be great.
Julie saw that Lorrie had eaten his fill and called the waiter over to settle the bill.
Then she drove the carriage, bringing her three husbands to the fabric shop where she had previously bought cloth.
It was still autumn and not too cold, but in another two or three months, winter would come.
This time, she came to buy cotton to make thick clothes suitable for autumn and winter.
They didn't need to make quilts for now — five pounds of cotton would be enough, and they still had extra cloth at home, so there was no need to buy more.
Julie told the three to wait in the carriage while she went into the store alone. She bought thirty pounds of cotton at sixty coins per pound, spending a total of eighteen hundred coins.
She paid with two taels of silver, and the shopkeeper gave her two hundred coins in change.
Julie carried the packed cotton back to the carriage.
Then she walked to the nearby grain store and bought five pounds of cane sugar, putting it on the carriage too. After that, she drove to a blacksmith's shop, still letting them wait in the carriage. She planned to buy a fire stove and hand warmers.
Winter was coming, and these things needed to be prepared early.
She didn't care how they lived before. Since she was here now, she wouldn't let them freeze.
Julie entered the blacksmith shop and saw a tall woman working on the forge.
Seeing a customer, the woman quickly put down her tools, wiped the sweat from her forehead and hands with a towel, and came over.
"Do you need something custom-made or ready-made? You can bring a design if you want something custom, but it'll take a few days and cost more. We also have ready-made items you can buy right away."
Julie nodded and followed the blacksmith to look around.
She quickly found what she needed.
Julie bought five fire stoves and three hand warmers.
Each hand warmer had a different design — orchid, plum blossom, and chrysanthemum.
Julie bought one of each and planned to let them pick which one they liked.
She also bought a lot of fragrant charcoal, enough to last the whole winter.
Fragrant charcoal, once lit, didn't smell bad like regular charcoal. Instead, it had a faint scent of spices.
She also bought a lot of silver frost charcoal for the fire stoves.
She planned to come again before the New Year to buy more just in case they ran short in winter.
Altogether, she spent sixty-five taels of silver.
Julie sighed inwardly. Money was really easy to spend.
Next time she came to town for a meeting, she would probably have to sell a few gold bars.
Julie loaded all the stoves and charcoal onto the carriage.
On the way home, she saw a vendor selling chickens. She bought four roosters and one hen — mainly for laying eggs.
The chicks at home still needed a few more months before they grew up. They were too small for now.
As for the old wild hen that didn't lay many eggs... she would make soup with it — probably delicious.
Julie didn't wander around anymore and drove the carriage straight home.
Mr. Leng was at the gate, anxiously waiting and wondering why they hadn't returned yet.
He was so worried that he almost wanted to go look for them.
But he wasn't familiar with the area and feared that if he left, they might return and not find him.
Not long after, he heard the sound of the carriage coming closer. When he saw Little Black, the horse, he finally relaxed.
Seeing that it was really them returning, he hurried to greet them.
When the three husbands got down from the carriage, he quickly came to help carry things.
When he saw an extra fire stove, he was a little surprised.
Julie understood that no matter what dynasty it was, there were always social classes, ranks, and rules.
She never thought about treating servants like family — she wasn't here to fight the system.
Doing things that hurt herself with no benefit wasn't something she would do.
But she also wouldn't let others freeze or suffer needlessly. That wasn't her way.
She gave the three hand warmers to Bailee, letting the three brothers divide them among themselves.
She also gave them the cotton to make winter clothes.
As for her own clothes, rough cloth was fine.
She usually worked in the fields at home and didn't need anything fancy. One set for the whole winter was enough.
They could use better fabric since they mostly stayed at home.
It was fine for them to look nice for themselves.
After all, no one liked to be messy and dirty all the time, like some tired old man.
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TL's Note:
To those sending coins or diamonds and then giving advice and everything, thank you so much. I'm still new here in WN and I still don't know about other things here. Again, thank you so much everyone.