Chapter 6 Arrival in Bianjing (Second Update)

Once inside the cabin, Shen Miao washed a crabapple and ate it. The fruit was so sour that she wrinkled her face, but she hadn't eaten fruit in a long time, so she endured the sourness and ate several. Later, she even luxuriously soaked them in a little salt water before eating them. With the addition of salt, the fruit became even more delicious, with a hint of sweetness.

She couldn't help but sigh to herself: Although she had never met Xie Qi or Xie Jiu Ge'er before, through this meal and fruit, she had clearly felt the huge difference between the well-mannered, respectable scholar and her ex-husband who only wanted to live off women and take shortcuts.

The days on the boat that followed were uneventful and passed quickly. One morning more than ten days later, Shen Miao, who had changed from a boat to a car, was standing outside the Shangshan Gate, which had appeared in the painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".

When she changed trains in Caizhou, she rented a donkey cart. Now she sat astride the shaft of the cart, gazing up at the bustling scene of the Song Dynasty capital in a daze.

After handing over some copper coins to the guards at the gate and having her credentials verified, Shen Miao entered the city smoothly. As she approached the city gate, she looked up in amazement. What a tall city tower! The gate opening was at least eight or nine meters high! And extremely thick. Shen Miao felt that she had traveled more than six zhang in the donkey cart, which is about eighteen meters in later times, before finally stepping out.

No wonder when she studied history in her previous life, she learned that when the Liao and Jin armies marched south, they were easily defeated when they encountered such fortified cities. The walls were so thick that even with catapults, they would be difficult to breach.

Further on, Shen Miao saw colorful pavilions and archways, and a flying rainbow bridge. Everywhere there were tall, fluttering wine banners and signs. As she continued walking, she even encountered a camel caravan loaded with goods!

"Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is indeed an extremely realistic work. She seemed to have stepped into the painting and become a part of the bustling street scene of Bianjing. Because there were too many people in the inner city, the driver jumped off when crossing the bridge and pulled the donkey cart step by step through the crowded people.

The donkey also became agitated from being squeezed.

The street was bustling with vendors and pedestrians, selling all sorts of things. In particular, the small shops at the intersections of the streets and alleys would extend their low cabinets piled high with goods out onto the street to attract customers.

Shen Miao couldn't help but chuckle to himself: It seems that "occupying the road for business" has existed since ancient times.

Kaifeng Prefecture has the Bian River and Huimin River flowing through the city, so the "Bridge Market" and "River Market" are the most bustling. The entire riverbank is lined with small shops. Most of the restaurants along the river have their doors open facing the road, but they also have a stilted shed built on the back facing the river. As Chen Miao walked and looked around, he felt that this was probably the origin of the "illegal buildings" of later generations.

The bridge market is more flexible, with vendors setting up stalls on both sides of the wide bridge surface, known as "floating stalls," while some merchants also set up fixed stalls under sheds.

Sitting in the car, Shen Miao looked around, paying the most attention to the stalls in the market area as they crossed the bridge. She didn't know how badly the shop left by her parents had burned down. She had no spare money and wanted to make some food to save up, so setting up a stall was the best option.

But after looking around, Shen Miao became less confident. Bianjing had an exceptionally complete range of goods and a wide variety of delicious food. If her skills weren't good, or if she didn't sell anything novel, she feared no one would come to buy her food!

Just as they were about to cross the bridge, Shen Miao saw a peddler covered in a dazzling array of goods. She quickly asked the cart handle to stop and wait a moment. She got off and picked out two bamboo windmills.

The peddler was quick-witted and eagerly demonstrated how to play with the windmill while saying, "Madam, you have a good eye! These bamboo carts are two for one coin each. They're made from old bamboo from Fengyang, so they're durable, drop-proof, and waterproof. You can play with them for a long time!"

After much deliberation, Shen Miao thought of the zodiac years of her original siblings and chose one windmill painted with a small snake and the other with a large horse. Each windmill blade was polished smooth so it wouldn't hurt a child's hand. Shen Miao was amazed that such exquisitely made toys costing only one coin for two were so well-made.

The coachman chuckled, "Is this lady returning from visiting her parents' home? Even on a trip, she doesn't forget to bring back little trinkets for her children. Such a loving mother and filial children; your family is sure to prosper in the future."

"Thank you for your kind words." Shen Miao smiled as she got into the car without offering any further explanation.

After a period of time, the driver finally let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow with the handkerchief hanging around his neck: "Madam Chen, we've arrived at Jinliang Bridge."

After Shen Miao paid the money, the driver helped her unload two boxes of luggage and placed them at the entrance of the alley behind Jinliang Bridge. This alley was planted with several tall weeping willows, hence the name Yangliu East Alley.

It is also the place where the original owner grew up.

However, Shen Miao still didn't feel safe here. She thought about it carefully along the way and decided to go to Shen Ji Tangbing Shop first, and then ask the neighbors about the situation. Once she had a clear idea of ​​what was going on, it would be better to go to Uncle Shen's house to pick up her two younger siblings.

As soon as she stepped off the carriage with her large and small bags, two or three women chatting and doing embroidery under the willow tree at the alley entrance looked over. Shen Miao had been married for three years and hadn't returned since, except for her funeral. The once pampered and well-proportioned young girl, cherished by her family and spoiled by her parents, was now thin and haggard. So the women stared at her for a long time, too embarrassed to call out to her.

Shen Miao noticed them and quickly found the names of these women from the memories left by the original owner of the body. She immediately pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped her eyes hard. Her eyes reddened, and she sobbed, "Aunt Gu, Aunt Li, Aunt Fang, I am the eldest sister of the Shen family! Aunts, you have watched me grow up since I was a child. How come you don't recognize me now?"

She then tossed her handkerchief aside and covered her face, weeping.

The three older women then swarmed around her, all holding her hands and sobbing uncontrollably. They rushed to comfort her, saying, "Oh dear, eldest sister, your aunt almost didn't recognize you! You... how come you've become as thin as a stick? Oh dear, you didn't even send a message when you came back, so your aunt could have asked your second brother Gu to come and meet you outside the city!"

"Oh dear, big sister, you've finally come back! You don't know, half of your house was burned down! Your good uncle only came to see it twice. He heard it would cost at least forty or fifty strings of cash to repair it, and he's too scared to come back ever since!"

"And you should go home right away! Your Ji-ge and Xiang-jie were kicked out of the house by your heartless aunt with a broom. Now the two children are very pitiful, all alone in that drafty and leaky house, and they are only surviving because of the help they receive from the neighbors."

"That's not all! Your Ji-ge was sick the other day, his whole body was burning up like a furnace. Your Uncle Gu carried him to the clinic overnight and gave him two doses of medicine before he woke up. He still can't get out of bed!"