Chapter 18 Let's Eat Something Fresh
Walking through the dockside market again, Fan Xiaoxiao kicked at the pebbles on the roadside in frustration. Ever since she arrived in this wretched place, she hadn't had a moment's respite. Sold, on the run, transmigrated into a book! One thing after another! Was she even allowed to live anymore?!
Overwhelmed by a growing amount of negative emotions, Fan Xiaoxiao frantically rubbed her hair and cried out in despair:
"Damn it! What kind of lousy place is this?!"
Her shout startled passersby, who all avoided her, fearing they might get into trouble.
"Er Ya! Er Ya!"
Fan's voice came from behind the crowd. Fan Xiaoxiao paused in rubbing her head and turned around. Sure enough, it was Fan who had rushed out to look for her!
"Sister! What brings you here?"
Fan, who had walked quickly over, was still a little out of breath and her voice was slightly panting: "Uncle Wang and Auntie need to discuss something. I was a little worried about leaving you alone, so Uncle Zhao said he would watch Xiaobao for a while and I came to find you."
Seeing Fan Shi's slightly damp clothes, Fan Xiaoxiao knew that she must have rushed out to find her after bathing Xiaobao. A warm feeling welled up inside her; in her original world, she had never experienced this kind of care from family. Although things were tough now, Fan Shi and Xiaobao truly loved her as a family.
Thinking this through, Fan Xiaoxiao sighed resignedly—well, life is only interesting when it's a mix of joy and sorrow! Having come to this conclusion, Fan Xiaoxiao smoothed her now-messy, bird's-nest-like hair, shrugged, and walked forward:
"Let's go, sister, let's go see what vegetables we should buy."
...
"Pork! Pork!"
Old Zhang, the pork vendor, leaned lazily against his stall, calling out his wares. His business was doing fairly well today; he had sold almost all of his meat, leaving only a pig's offal and some bones stripped of meat on his stall.
Fan Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up as she looked at the stall, and she went over to ask, "Boss, how much are these bone sticks and offal?"
Old Zhang casually glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao's dirty clothes and barely clean face, and snorted, "Three coins a bone stick. If you buy two bone sticks, I'll sell you the offal along with them."
A little uncomfortable with strangers, Madam Fan stammered and tugged at Fan Xiaoxiao, saying, "Second...Second Sister, why...why did we buy this? It's expensive..."
Fan Xiaoxiao shook her head and said to Fan Shi, "Xiao Bao was just sick, we need to give him a little nourishment. Boss, two big bone sticks!"
After saying that, Fan Xiaoxiao rummaged through her pockets for a while before finally pulling out the few copper coins from the money bag given to her by Xiahou Xia and handing them over. The shopkeeper counted the money, confirmed the amount, and then used two straw ropes to tie up the bones and offal that Fan Xiaoxiao wanted and handed them over.
Madam Fan wrinkled her nose, looking at the filthy, foul-smelling sewage, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. However, seeing the boss's contemptuous gaze, she didn't voice her thoughts. Just as Fan Xiaoxiao reached out to take the sewage, Madam Fan snatched it away first.
After the two had walked far away and could no longer see the pork stall, Madam Fan said hesitantly, "Sister, what do you want this stuff for? This, this is something even beggars wouldn't eat! It's filthy."
Fan Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow. She naturally knew that this was something even beggars wouldn't eat here, but that was because others didn't know how to prepare it.
"Oh dear, sister! You'll see soon enough! Those two big bone clubs are nothing compared to the important thing: getting into the water!"
The two chatted idly as they walked from the market to the port where merchant ships docked. Guqu Town relied on its waterways for its livelihood, and the main way to leave the town was by water. Fan looked puzzled: "Sister, why did you bring me here?"
"Just now, Uncle Wang and I were in a hurry to go back and tell Aunt Wang the news, so we didn't have time to come out and find out the news."
Madam Fan nodded knowingly and followed closely behind Fan Xiaoxiao. After a moment of silence, Fan Xiaoxiao pretended to be nonchalant and continued, "Sister... if... I mean, if we were to go to a very far place, would you be willing to go?"
There was a moment of silence behind her, and Fan Xiaoxiao couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She thought that if Madam Fan was unwilling to take Xiaobao with her, then she would have no choice but to force them to go together, which, to be honest, she didn't want to do.
Fortunately, her sister didn't cause her such worry; Fan's gentle voice sounded behind Fan Xiaoxiao:
“Our family is gone now. For me, the best thing is that we are all together as a family.”
Fan Xiaoxiao felt a weight lifted from her heart and smiled silently.
There weren't many people at the port today, with only one or two small merchant ships here. The port workers were chatting idly together.
Fan Xiaoxiao leaned closer: "Uncle! Can I ask you something?"
The workers chatting exchanged glances and laughed when they saw that the newcomer was a pretty little girl who looked to be only eleven or twelve years old. One of the men, a burly man with a thick beard, laughed the loudest: "Hahaha, little lady, what do you want to know?"
Seeing them laugh, Fan Xiaoxiao wasn't annoyed: "I'd like to ask if there are any merchant ships from our area that go to the vicinity of Tianshan?"
The burly man raised an eyebrow: "Why are you asking this, little girl?"
Sensing the doubt in the burly man's voice, Fan Xiaoxiao immediately wiped her eyes with her sleeve, which still had some pepper spray on it that morning, just in case. Sure enough, when she removed her sleeve, her eyes were already stinging and tearing up.
Taking advantage of her anger, Fan Xiaoxiao began to tearfully recount her grievances: "We have relatives who do small business in that area, but we haven't heard from them for a year! My nephew is almost three years old now and keeps asking for his father, so I thought I'd ask if there are any merchant ships there, so I can try to find out some news."
Most of the workers present were married, and seeing Fan Xiaoxiao's pitiful state, they all looked somewhat sorry for her. The burly man with the thick beard stopped laughing and replied in a deep voice, "Little girl, your timing is really unfortunate. The merchant ships from Tianshan just left a few days ago. I'm afraid you won't be able to come again for another three months!"
It's June now, and in three months, it will be September! Just then, the Bai family will completely collapse! Fan Xiaoxiao's face was somewhat grim. Not long after the Bai family's demise, war broke out everywhere. Now it seems they have no choice but to make other plans.
Afterwards, Fan Xiaoxiao asked them a few more questions. When she returned to Fan Shi's side, her face was so dark it looked like it was about to drip water.
"Let's go, sister, let's go back to the market and buy some coarse flour and cooking oil."
"Okay, sure."
After the two men had walked away, the bearded man shook his head and sighed, "He's a pitiful man too! His family is missing, and his hometown has suffered a terrible disaster."
"Who says otherwise? The merchant ships from Jingchuan County won't arrive for another ten days!"
"Sigh, it's all because of the taxes the Huang family pays when entering and leaving the town. Otherwise, the merchant ships wouldn't have had to wait so long!"
...
(End of this chapter)
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