Li Zheng was forced to stop the donkey cart.

"I'll go down and take a look," Qiu Yan said, jumping off the donkey cart.

“I’ll go with you,” Qiu Dayu said, following closely behind.

The two men went forward and saw a woman in plain clothes kneeling on the ground with her head bowed low.

Beside her lay a pipa that was neither new nor old.

Hearing the surrounding chatter, Qiu Yan finally realized that the woman was trying to sell herself to bury her father.

Qiu Yan had seen similar things on TV before, but she never expected to witness it herself today.

"Raise your head and let me see you!" someone shouted, and the surrounding area burst into laughter.

The woman in plain clothes slowly raised her head. Her face was veiled by a white veil, and her beautiful eyes instantly attracted everyone's attention.

They were all wondering what a woman with such beautiful contact lenses looked like.

Her pitiful appearance stirred Qiu Dayu's compassion.

Qiu Dayu stepped forward and asked, "Girl, you only said you were going to sell yourself to bury your father, so where is your father's body?"

The woman parted her thin lips slightly and replied earnestly, "My father's body is on the hillside outside the mortuary."

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed in dismay, realizing that he didn't even have a home.

Now, everyone began to doubt the woman's identity.

Someone whispered, "Could it be that she's a runaway slave?" This sparked another round of discussion among the crowd.

Harboring runaway slaves will result in the entire family being implicated.

"How much are you planning to sell yourself for?" Qiu Dayu asked.

The woman in plain clothes looked at Qiu Dayu for a moment, her eyes showing no fear, only expectation, "Five taels of silver."

Only five taels of silver?

Upon hearing that it was so cheap, several men who had been eager to take a concubine hesitated to accept it.

Something unusual must be going on.

Qiu Dayu turned to Qiu Yan and said, "This girl is quite pitiful. Let's help her." Helping her would also be a way for us to do good deeds.

He doesn't have that many twists and turns in his mind.

If he had money, he would have saved the person himself, but alas, he was penniless.

"Five taels of silver, I'll take it!" At this moment, a bearded man walked into the crowd, leering at the woman in plain clothes.

As the burly man spoke, he suddenly lifted the girl's veil.

"Ah..." The woman in plain clothes was startled and hurriedly covered her face.

But at this moment, everyone saw her face clearly.

There were two deep knife scars on the left side of her face.

No wonder she sold herself for a pittance.

Instantly, the surrounding area erupted in uproar, with people smacking their lips and watching the woman in plain clothes make a fool of herself.

"I wouldn't take someone who looks like that even if they were given to me for free."

"Exactly, this is nowhere near worth five taels of silver."

"..."

Qiu Dayu was also somewhat surprised, then looked at Qiu Yan, who was deep in thought.

"No, no more..." The bearded man looked dejected. He had thought she was a stunning beauty, but she turned out to be an ugly monster.

If he wanted to buy a girl, there were plenty available at the human teeth dealer; why would he be greedy and buy an ugly woman?

Hearing the slanderous words of those around her, the woman in plain clothes reddened her eyes, and crystal tears slowly fell.

As the bearded man left, the surrounding people scattered.

Qiu Yan crouched down, meeting the woman in plain clothes in eye level. "You can play the pipa?"

The woman in plain clothes nodded earnestly, "Yes, I have been proficient in music since childhood."

Qiu Yan helped the woman in plain clothes up with both hands, "Play a couple of notes for me to hear."

"Xiaoyan, you're not a man, so why do you want to hear a girl play a tune?" Qiu Dayu was a little confused about what Qiu Yan was trying to do.

The woman in plain clothes thought to herself, "Could it be that the girl in front of me wants to take me to a brothel?"

Thinking about this, she felt uneasy.

Despite her thoughts, she gently picked up her pipa and began to play softly. The gentle and beautiful tone of the instrument attracted even more onlookers.

Qiu Dayu listened intently, and Qiu Yan, though not knowledgeable in music, felt that the pipa music was just as described in the poem: "The emotion precedes the melody."

Qiu Yan nodded and waved to stop.

After some questioning, she learned that the woman's name was Song Jiao, that she lived on the border, and that she had always lived with her elderly father.

She was previously a courtesan.

Song Jiao did not elaborate on the reason for her disfigurement, only saying that it was because someone held a grudge against her.

Because her appearance was completely disfigured, she was kicked out of the music hall.

Her father was bedridden for many years, and she used all her savings to pay for his medical treatment.

Now that they have no income, they have even sold their house.

However, my father still died of illness.

She could only come up with this solution because she had no money to bury her father.

After learning more about Song Jiao's background, Qiu Yan asked, "Would you be willing to perform at a restaurant? You can earn a monthly wage."

It turns out they were going to a restaurant, not a brothel.

Song Jiao breathed a sigh of relief and nodded hurriedly, "I'm willing. If you buy me today, I will be yours. Where I go or stay is entirely up to you, Master."

She has always been a performer, not a prostitute.

Qiu Yan smiled faintly at Song Jiao, "Okay, come with me."

Song Jiao's face lit up with joy. She quickly pressed her right hand down on her left, bent her knees, and bowed to Qiu Yan.

Li Zheng was standing right behind the two of them. Hearing that Qiu Yan had bought the girl, he was somewhat surprised, but he didn't ask any further questions.

Qiu Dayu, on the other hand, originally only intended to give the girl some money so that she could bury her father, but he did not expect that Qiu Yan would actually buy her.

Qiu Dayu chattered incessantly the whole way, which annoyed Qiu Yan to no end.

With Song Jiao joining them, the originally spacious donkey cart became crowded.

Upon arriving at the main street, they first went to the Renai Church.

Because of the way the herbs were processed, Dr. Hu of Renaitang had more praise for Qiu Yan.

"I never imagined that Miss Qiu, at such a young age, would be so skilled in medicine."

Qiu Yan replied modestly, "I wouldn't call myself an expert; I only know a little bit about it."

This time, she sold herbs for more than six taels of silver, three times more than before.

Qiu Dayu looked enviously at the silver in Qiu Yan's hand, and a desire to make money grew in his heart.

Thanks to Chef Chen Ming, Xingyuelou's business has improved significantly compared to before.

However, there is still one problem: not many local residents come and go.

People still prefer to dine at Shuangxilou Restaurant.

But seeing that his restaurant was finally making some money, Zhou Zifang was quite satisfied.

When Qiu Yan and the others returned to Xingyue Tower, they didn't go through the front door but drove their donkey cart directly through the back door.

Seeing Qiu Yan return, and this time accompanied by a strange couple, Zhou Zifang couldn't help but ask her a few questions.

"Qiu Yan, who are they...?"

"Qiu Dayu, this is my uncle, Song Jiao, the new girl, oh, she's here for you. Uncle, Song Jiao, this is Manager Zhou from Xingyue Tower." As soon as Qiu Yan said this, everyone around looked at Song Jiao.

Song Jiao's face flushed red!

Qiu Dayu was extremely surprised that Qiu Yan actually knew the manager of Xingyuelou!

Qiu Yan's words might cause the young shopkeeper to misunderstand for life.

He was secretly pleased, at least Qiu Yan would give him face in front of this young shopkeeper.

They're so young and they've already become shopkeepers. Look at myself, there's no harm in comparison.