Siyan took the silver, but still frowned, his fingers unconsciously fiddling with the abacus at his waist: "Then...what about the interest? From yesterday to now, at a daily interest rate of one cent, I should add fifty cents."
Upon hearing this, Old Man Chen laughed out loud, his white beard trembling with laughter, revealing the cigarette stains on his back teeth: "Okay, okay! I'll treat you to the most famous honey water in Chang'an, young master. I'll pay the fifty cents in interest!" He took out fifty copper coins from his sleeve and slapped them into Siyan's hand. The copper coins were still stained with the warmth of his palm.
The sunlight from Chang'an City filtered through the leaves of the locust trees, casting dappled shadows on the fortune-telling stall like a flowing ink painting. Su Jinli watched as Jiang Yan squatted down and patiently helped Si Yan collect the money. Nianli, curiously, approached Old Man Chen and, looking up, asked, "Grandpa, can you tell me when I'll finish my sugar painting?"
Old Man Chen was so amused that he laughed and twisted her pigtails: "Young lady, this candy dragon is so delicious that you can't finish it even after the sun sets."
"Really?" Nianli's eyes lit up.
"Of course it's true," the old man winked, "because when you smile, the sugar painting becomes three times sweeter, and the more you eat, the sweeter it becomes."
Su Jinli looked at the heartwarming scene before her and suddenly felt that this trip to Chang'an was truly worthwhile. From Hangzhou to Yangzhou, and from Yangzhou to Chang'an, the journey had been thrilling but also filled with unexpected warmth.
"Where's the next stop?" Jiang Yan brushed away the fallen locust petals from her shoulders, his eyes full of smiles, as if filled with the sunshine of the entire spring.
"Let's go to Luoyang to see the peonies!" Nian Li cheered immediately, shaking the sugar dragon in her hand rapidly, and the sugar threads shimmered with golden light in the sun. "I want to wear the biggest peonies, covering my head with them, just like the dolls in the New Year pictures!"
Si Yan had already taken out his abacus and started clacking at it, his face full of seriousness: "The Luoyang peony has a short flowering period. It takes three days to transport it from Chang'an by water. It needs an ice cellar to keep it fresh. The shipping fee plus the ice fee, and then selling it at the price in Beijing, I can make at least a profit from one pot..."
Su Jinli smiled and tapped his abacus: "Let's have fun first! If we count the money later, there won't be any candy cakes to eat when we return to the inn tonight."
Si Yan immediately held the abacus in his arms, looking aggrieved: "I'm just calculating..."
The family chatted and laughed as they walked down the street. Siyan was still muttering about the shipping costs of peonies, while Nianli, holding a sugar painting, chased a colorful butterfly. Jiang Yan followed closely beside her, guarding her and preventing her from bumping into passersby. The fortune-telling stall behind them gradually receded into the distance. Old Man Chen's laughter, waving his folding fan, lingered on the wind, blending in with the hustle and bustle of West Market.
The West Market wind carried the aroma of burnt sesame cakes and the soft fragrance of silk, carrying their laughter far and wide. Su Jinli looked at her chattering children and her gentle, smiling husband, and suddenly felt that her life's journey was like a box of honey, each one opening with a different surprise and sweetness. From her grandfather's home in Hangzhou, to the salt merchant's farce in Yangzhou, to the adventure of catching a thief in Chang'an, there might be more unknown challenges ahead, but as long as she had these few treasures by her side, even the most winding road would eventually lead to the sweet taste of honey.
"Jiang Yan," she tugged at her husband's sleeve, looking at a piece of shimmering brocade in a streetside silk shop, "when we get to Luoyang, buy me a piece of material embroidered with Yao Huang and Wei Zi."
"Okay," Jiang Yan squeezed her hand, the warmth of his palm radiating through her skin. "Buy the best brocade and find the most famous embroiderer in Luoyang to make new clothes for you and Nianli, and a brocade bag for Siyan to hold the abacus."
Si Yan immediately responded, shaking the abacus in his arms: "The money for buying the material..."
"It's mine!" Su Jinli interrupted him with a smile, reaching out to pinch his chubby cheeks. "Okay, little money-grubber, first think about how to polish your new abacus."
The sun was shining brightly, stretching the shadows of the three of them long, huddled together, their silhouettes cast in warmth on the bluestone pavement. This family's story, like the hawking of the West Market, was bustling and sweet. Amidst the vast mountains and rivers of Dajing, they continued to write their own sweet chapter of life. Their next stop, Luoyang, was sure to be another adventure filled with the fragrance of flowers and laughter.
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