Yun Ruoxia felt that if she got hungry while traveling alone in the city, she could simply go to a street stall and eat a few coins' worth of wontons and be done with it, doing whatever she wanted and being free.

If she were to go to Wen Siqing's place and eat out every day, even if he treated her to a meal each day, she would still be overwhelmed with food.

Besides, she wasn't exactly close to this person. The topics they could talk about were limited to the same old things, just polite small talk. She could pretend today, but she wouldn't be able to pretend tomorrow.

However, since this person has said so, she can't very well refuse him in public. At worst, she can just agree verbally. Whether she goes to see him or not is up to her.

Yun Ruoxia nodded and smiled:

"Alright, if I have some free time, I'll go to the paper shop to find the young master for a meal."

Wen Siqing was satisfied, but he still lingered, unwilling to leave.

Yun Ruoxia was a little confused. She didn't know what was going on with this person. He wasn't leaving, but she wanted to leave too, thinking of going back to report to Yun Ling.

Yun Ruoxia had considered flicking the reins and riding away, but... never mind, she would ask him where he was going first. If he wanted to stay here, she would leave.

"Are you going back to Jiaozipu, sir? How about I escort you there?"

"Alright, thank you for your trouble, Second Aunt."

Wen Siqing had been waiting for Yun Ruoxia to offer to take him back. The day was hot and humid, and if he walked back, he would definitely break out in a sweat and feel very uncomfortable. Hiring a carriage from the side would be too wasteful, as it was only a short walk.

Therefore, it would be best if Yun Ruoxia personally escorted him back. This would save him the trouble and allow him to talk to her a few more times. Why not?

Just like before, Wen Siqing leaped onto the deck with each step and sat down contentedly next to Yun Ruoxia.

He continued to chat with Yun Ruoxia casually, and Yun Ruoxia responded casually as well. The two of them finished this short journey by exchanging words back and forth like this.

**

After leaving the shop, Yun Ruoxia hurried to Dongtou Village. After all, with this shop deed, the young ladies in her family could move to this shop, and she could go back to her own room to live. Just thinking about it made her feel comfortable.

When I got back to my doorstep, I saw Yunling leaning against the door eating watermelon. The watermelon looked red and had a slightly grainy texture, so it must be delicious.

Yun Ruoxia parked the carriage and went into the courtyard without saying a word, grabbing a slice of watermelon first.

"Aunt, has everything been settled?"

"Of course, I even got a free meal from him."

Seeing Yun Ruoxia's smug look, Yun Ling nudged her with her elbow.

"Auntie, he doesn't seem like a stingy man after spending time with him."

Yun Ruoxia spat out the watermelon seeds from her mouth, took a bite of the flesh, and nodded.

"It's not like him, but what does it matter to me whether it's like him or not? Someone with his qualifications wouldn't be interested in me."

“Oh, what’s wrong with my aunt? She’s beautiful and capable, even better than the young ladies in the city. I’m afraid she wouldn’t even look at him.”

"Alright, alright, while you're eating this melon, your mouth is as sweet as honey. Now that you've got the contract, you'd better act quickly. I don't want to be squeezed together with you two kids."

Yunling nodded and fed the last bite of watermelon to Xiaobai, but the little guy just kept licking it and didn't bite down for a long time. Frustrated, Yunling had no choice but to break off a piece of watermelon flesh and hold it to its mouth.

"Silly little white rabbit~"

"Woof woof~"

**

The next day, Yunling packed up the cotton pads that Zhang and the others had made, wrapped twenty pieces of paper in cloth and stuffed them into the cotton pads at the Lu family's house, and then carried them one by one to the carriage.

After finishing these tasks, Yunling took the remaining three meat buns from the pot, stuffed one into her mouth, and put the other two in her hand. Without even having time to drink water, she drove the carriage into the city.

Based on the city's regional distribution, she first delivered to the more distant western part of the city, then to the eastern part at noon, and finally to the northern part.

Almost every wealthy family in the north of the city had ordered their cotton mattresses, so they didn't have to go to much trouble to find them and could deliver their items accurately.

The last order of cotton pads was naturally delivered to Lu Family Trading Company. The sun hadn't set yet, and Lu Yinghuai was probably out on business and wouldn't be back so early, so Yunling felt reassured and knocked on the door.

The woman who opened the door was someone Yunling had never seen before. Although Aunt Cao had heard of Yunling from Uncle Cao and Mother Lu, she had never seen her in person and naturally did not recognize her.

"My lady, I've come to deliver a cotton pad."

"Oh, cotton pads, is that right? Wait, I'll go and inform the madam and see how many copper coins she needs from the treasury."

Yunling quickly stopped her. If Madam Lu knew that she had come to deliver cotton pads, she would inevitably have to keep her for a meal. In that case, they would inevitably discover the trick of hiding twenty banknotes inside, which would not be allowed.

"No need. Sister Lu painted a picture for our family before, and we haven't been paid yet. Consider this cotton pad as payment."

After saying that, Yunling quickly stuffed the cotton pad into Aunt Cao's hand and ran back to the carriage, ignoring Aunt Cao's calls from behind.

After delivering the cotton pads, Yunling drove the carriage to Pingli Lane. The journey was smooth as usual, until suddenly a blinding light flashed from nowhere.

Yunling hurriedly tightened the reins to prevent an accident, but an accident still occurred. When she came to her senses, an old man with white hair was lying under her horse, still complaining of pain.

Suddenly, someone jumped out from beside her, pointed at her, and started cursing:

"How do you drive a carriage? Driving so fast, are you in a hurry to be reborn? You almost killed your father-in-law!"

The word "extortion" immediately popped into Yunling's mind.

She was scammed!

Yunling never drove her carriage fast, especially in crowded places like this. She moved even slower. When she was blinded by the light, she immediately tightened her grip on the reins and didn't feel any force pushing her away. So she was being watched.

Yunling looked in the direction the sun was setting; she was walking with her back to the light, so...

She looked at the crowd ahead and saw a man who looked at her furtively. Beside him stood a familiar face—the owner of the fabric shop who made "night-blooming blue alternatives".

Yunling knew that this matter was definitely related to this person.

"Ouch, that hurts! My foot hurts so much!"

"Father-in-law, don't be afraid. You, if you don't speak, are you trying to renege on your debt? Well, I didn't expect you to look so respectable but have such a black heart. Come quick, everyone come and see this person. He's a beast in human form, he's utterly despicable."