Ever since Xia Qingqing and Luo Suyue mentioned storybooks last time, Luo Suyue seemed to have flipped a switch and went to the bookstore to buy a whole bunch of storybooks.
Completely immersed in beautiful love stories, spending all my time reading storybooks except for eating and sleeping.
Even before going to bed at night, he would read a storybook for half an hour, and only reluctantly went to sleep when Fan Sheng started urging him.
Seeing how fascinated she was, Xia Qingqing became very curious about the storybooks in this world.
Unfortunately, she didn't know the writing system of this world, and Luo Suyue didn't know the writing system of her world either, so the two of them couldn't share resources.
However, Xia Qingqing quickly came up with a solution. She learned that Qiulian was literate, and since Qiulian didn't have any other work besides buying groceries and cooking, she simply asked Qiulian to read storybooks to her in her spare time.
Of course, it wasn't free work. Xia Qingqing wasn't that stingy; she had to give people some extra compensation for making them work overtime.
When Qiu Lian first heard Xia Qingqing say she would reward her with 100 coins for reading a storybook, she was overjoyed.
Keep in mind that her monthly wage was only one or two taels of silver, and she could earn 100 coins just by reading a storybook. That money was earned far too easily.
But the moment she got her hands on the storybook, her thoughts changed drastically.
Qiu Lian looked at the storybook in her hand with a flushed face: "Miss Xia, this... this servant... really can't bring herself to read it."
"Why? What story is written on it?" Xia Qingqing asked curiously.
These storybooks were shared with her by Luo Suyue, but she was unwilling to tell her what the stories were, and instead told her with a blushing face to ask Qiulian.
Qiu Lian stammered for a long time before finally saying, "Tell me, tell me a story about a general, and...and a scholar."
"What? Are they a male general and a male scholar, or a woman dressed as a man?" Xia Qingqing asked excitedly.
"It's not a woman dressed as a man," Qiu Lian said, her head bowed, feeling as if her face was on fire.
Wow, Xia Qingqing was dumbfounded. Were ancient literati really this amazing? Hehe, now she was even more interested.
Seeing that Qiu Lian was hesitant, he immediately tripled the reward, giving her 300 coins for reading a storybook.
The troubled look on Qiu Lian's face immediately disappeared. It's just reading a storybook, what's the big deal?
She cleared her throat and casually opened the book in her hand...
The reading lasted for an hour. Xia Qingqing noticed that Qiu Lian's voice was a little hoarse and called out to her, "Okay, that's enough for today. You can read the rest tomorrow. Go back and drink more water."
“Yes, Miss Xia,” Qiu Lian said, blushing as she left.
Liu'er curiously approached and asked, "Sister Qiulian, why did Miss Xia call you to her room? Why did it take you so long?"
Qiu Lian gulped down a large glass of water, let out a sigh of relief, and then said, "It's nothing, they just asked me to read storybooks."
She wasn't afraid that Liu'er would take her job if she found out, since Liu'er was illiterate and couldn't take it away even if she wanted to.
"What kind of storybook is it? Is it good?" Liu'er asked, blinking her bright eyes.
Qiu Lian shook her head sharply: "It doesn't look good."
"Is it not good? Then why do Madam and Miss Xia like to watch it?" Liu'er scratched her head in confusion.
"This is not your business. Just do your own job," Qiu Lian said sternly.
Because the masters in the house are all easy to talk to, Liu'er has become noticeably more restless these past few days.
But no matter how easy a master is to talk to, he is still a master. Whenever he doesn't like you, he can punish you if he wants to, or sell you off if he wants to.
The most important thing for them as servants was to recognize their own position.
Liu'er knew that Qiulian was doing this for her own good, so she quickly nodded and replied, "Sister Qiulian, I understand. I won't ask questions I shouldn't ask anymore."
"Okay, you go play with Miss, I need to prepare dinner," Qiu Lian said as she walked towards the kitchen.
......
Before he knew it, it was time for Fan Sheng to go out once a month to check the accounts.
When Xia Qingqing learned that Fan Sheng was going to the prefectural city, she immediately offered to go with him.
She's been in this world for almost half a month and hasn't even left the county yet. Ping'an County isn't very big, and she's already explored it all.
Fan Sheng looked somewhat embarrassed: "Qingqing, it's not that Brother Fan doesn't want to take you, it's just that you don't have a travel permit and can't enter the prefectural city."
The imperial court strictly controlled the movement of people. People from each place needed a travel permit to go to other places, and without a travel permit, it was almost impossible to move an inch.
People like them, who are from Ping'an County, can only move around in Ping'an County. If they want to go to other places, they need to bring a travel permit, otherwise they can't even enter the city gate.
"Are they that strict?" Xia Qingqing asked, somewhat surprised, as she wasn't quite aware of these things.
She thought it would be fine as long as she didn't buy a house or anything like that, but it turns out she needs identification to go out.
Fan Sheng nodded: "Yes, so you should just stay home and rest, spend time with your sister-in-law and niece. I'll be back in a couple of days."
People at this time didn't really like to travel far, since going out meant encountering unknown dangers, such as wild animals or robbery. So Fan Sheng couldn't understand Xia Qingqing's thoughts.
Just like Luo Suyue, the shop in the prefectural city has been open for so long, but she has never suggested that she go and take a look.
Xia Qingqing frowned: "But I still want to go out and see the world. It's not easy to come here, and I don't want to stay at home all the time."
Hearing her say that, Fan Sheng was also a little embarrassed. After thinking for a while, he said, "If you really want to go out, I will go to Zhao Yaren and ask if he can help me get a travel permit."
“Okay, thank you, Brother Fan,” Xia Qingqing said happily.
She had originally planned to use some tricks, like an invisibility talisman, but she didn't have many of those, and she didn't want to waste any other solutions.
Seeing how happy she was, Fan Sheng didn't say anything to spoil the mood.
In the afternoon, I took Xia Qingqing to find Zhao Yaren. At first, Zhao Yaren was unwilling to admit that he could get travel permits.
But unable to resist the temptation of the silver offered by Fan Sheng, he quickly relented.
Zhao Yaren asked hesitantly, "Is this young lady's identity alright? What if something happens?"
"Brother Zhao, don't worry. What problems could a young girl like her have? I also have a family. Most people in the county know me. Do you think I would dare to do anything illegal?" Fan Sheng said with a smile.
Zhao Yaren nodded, agreeing with what he said. He smiled and rubbed his hands together, saying, "However, this travel permit is not easy to obtain, Brother Fan, what do you think..."
“As long as we can get the stuff, money is no problem,” Fan Sheng said readily.
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