Chapter 14
"No way!"
"oh."
In the drugstore, the shopkeeper sorted out the accounts, put down the abacus, closed the account book, and glanced outside: "A Ping, it's almost time, hurry up and make some tea, the tea stall can be opened."
As a transportation hub, Wutong County sees a large and diverse flow of people daily, so it's not surprising that some incidents occasionally arise. Long-time residents have largely mastered safe ways to observe the situation. Everyone knows to run when they see something amiss, and they also know it's best to report it to the police before going out to watch.
Every time they watched the fun, the shopkeeper would earn some tea money. After all, it was so hot, and everyone would get thirsty watching the fun outside, right? However, at this time, a few strong men were needed to protect the tea stall. After all, when people got angry and started fighting, they would not limit their attack range.
"As expected of a shopkeeper, he's still able to do business at this hour!" Yu Qian saw the drugstore owner setting up a tea stall and ran over to buy herself a bowl of tea with a look of admiration on her face. "Unlike me, who only saves enough money to stay at home and never dares to start a business... Hmm, the tea tastes good."
"Chen's Pharmacy has been open for forty or fifty years. It's no small feat to keep it running in such a prime location." Because the hospital system was too deceptive, Qi Zhi resigned and became a doctor on "Another World Martial Arts." She's currently saving up for financial freedom. "Don't be fooled by his silly smile; he's incredibly shrewd... Uh, Qiao Qiao, where are you going now?"
"I'm going to talk to a local and find out some things. You guys go into the carriage and take a rest. It's too sunny outside." Bei Qiao took out a bag of melon seeds from the carriage, jumped off the car and walked towards the crowd watching and eating melons, blending in naturally.
After a while, Bei Qiao led a blue-dressed woman with a child from the crowd back, chatting and laughing all the way. The tough child immediately tried to climb onto the donkey cart when he saw it, but halfway up, the blue-dressed woman pulled him down, held him down, and spanked him.
The child wanted to stand on the front of the car to watch the excitement, but the woman in blue would not allow the child to get on a stranger's car. Even though Bei Qiao said it was okay, she would not let the child climb up. Finally, Bei Qiao took out the bench from under the car, which solved the problem.
Bei Qiao sat sideways in the front room of the donkey cart, and the child sat on a bench next to the woman in blue. The three of them stayed in the shadow of the donkey cart, holding the tea they bought from the shopkeeper, drinking tea and chatting, occasionally looking up to see how the people on the street were fighting.
Bei Qiao touched the remaining melon seeds in his pocket, looked at the child again, and finally did not take out the melon seeds. He just offered the woman in blue a cup of tea.
The woman in blue gladly accepted it, drank half of the cup of tea, and handed the rest to the child. A few elderly women who were tired of standing around happened to know the woman in blue. When they saw her find a place to sit, they all came over with tea bowls and fans to greet her: "What are you doing here? This pretty little... Oh, it's a little girl. Who is this pretty girl?"
"I just met her. She's from out of town and wanted to know what's going on here, so I told her... Hey, aunt, do you know why these people started fighting? I came late and didn't see the beginning. I just watched the excitement and didn't understand it."
"I don't know either! I came later than you! Do you know?" The woman in blue who was asked the question shook her head and looked at other people.
"I don't know. Why would I know this? Aren't these common situations? It happened before. Suddenly, a fight broke out, and no one knew what happened before or why they suddenly started fighting..."
Everyone started discussing it. To be honest, they always felt that this might be a show put on by the nearby shops to make money from tea and snacks. However, it was just a guess after all, and it didn't cost money to watch the fun, so they kept this guess to themselves and didn't say it.
"Girl, don't worry. Things like this today aren't common, so it's okay if you do. This place is great, the transportation is convenient, and it's not too hot in the summer. It's just that the food here isn't very cheap, like the one across the street." The woman in blue pointed to a store across the street and said in a low voice, "The fruit is really expensive, and..."
"Mom, I want candy!"
"What candy are you eating? Sit down!" The woman in blue, who was talking excitedly, pushed the child back and said, "Stay in the shade and don't run around! The sun is so strong, what if you get a heatstroke? What were we talking about just now? Oh, it's really expensive, but that's not the point..."
"Oh, yes, speaking of this, I remember..."
"No way, there's such a thing! Why did I hear..."
"Hiss... Hush! It's not appropriate to tell anyone about this. Keep your voice down..."
Yu Qian was originally sitting in the carriage, lost in thought, when she heard people outside gossiping crazily. She couldn't help but come out from behind the curtain and ask to join in. Qi Zhi finished sorting out the herbs in the carriage, then slowly pricked up her ears and poked her head out: "Just listen for a while, I have nothing else to do anyway."
Seeing that someone was interested in their gossip, everyone got even more excited, taking turns to dish out their own cherished gossip: "...That's when it was really scary, you know? That's why I say, these street fights are just minor incidents, we're not afraid of them at all!"
"Exactly! And I dare say, those guys who overturned the stalls are definitely not locals! I'm not exaggerating, I know at least five out of ten people in Wutong County!"
"Five is too few, right? We have eight!"
"Hahaha……"
Several groups of people who caused congestion on the street outside were still pushing each other. The stalls nearby that were affected and could not set up their stalls had already sent people to the county government office. Regardless of whether anyone would die or not, they would not be able to do business if the situation continued like this.
The few people left behind to watch over the stalls kept their eyes on the groups of people fighting, guarding against them escaping after the fight. If nothing else, at least someone should compensate for the overturned stalls, right?
People were fighting and gossiping on the street, but because it was so hot, the farce didn't last long.
Seeing the child standing up and tugging at her sleeve out of hunger, clamoring to go home, the woman in blue, who happened to be a little hungry herself, stood up and said goodbye. By this time, the county yamen had been summoned for quite some time, and the people crowded in the street were quickly evacuated. The few people who had been fighting were led away by yamen runners by the shoulders. The street became clear again, and the overturned stalls were restored.
"Hey, I have to go back to eat too."
"Yeah, it's too hot, let's go first..."
With the woman in blue leading the way, the gossiping aunties and grandmas soon left. While it was lively and beautiful, it couldn't be eaten.
"Fortunately, we didn't delay for too long. Let's go to the inn." Bei Qiao watched them leave with a smile, stood up, picked up the melon seed shells, returned the tea bowl, put away the bench, climbed back to the front room and pulled the reins: "Qianqian, which inn do you want to go to? The one with the greatest reputation, the one that the locals think is the safest, or the one that is the most affordable?" The cheapest one was ruled out first. It was obvious that the safety factor was not high enough as soon as he heard it.
"The safest one, right?" Yu Qian looked at the departing crowd with a look of regret. "Alas, I still don't understand what this melon is all about, but I almost ate too much of the other melons... Wait, how did you know which inn is the safest and most affordable?"
"That's what the old lady with the palm-leaf fan said." Bei Qiao turned around and pushed Yu Qian back, who had stuck her head out. "Sit tight, we're about to set off."
Yu Qian sat back down, bewildered. "Really? When did it happen? Isn't everyone gossiping all the time?"
Following the information he had previously learned, Bei Qiao drove to the Guiyan Inn that the old lady had recommended. Looking at the time, Bei Qiao decided to find a place to park his donkey cart and log off to have lunch, lest he get hungry.
"Why don't you just log off in my room?" Yu Qian, who was paying for the taxi, offered, "Your compartment doesn't have a door, just a curtain. It's not safe enough."
"Okay, thank you for your help."
"What's the trouble? I just caused you trouble, didn't I? It's even!"
"I'm not getting off. Someone needs to watch over the herbs. It's inconvenient to carry so many sacks in and out." Qi Zhi tugged at the sacks and finally gave up the idea of getting off: "I'll log off and eat on the way back."
"Okay, I'll finish eating and come back as soon as possible." After parking the donkey cart in the backyard of the inn, Bei Qiao patted Huihui's neck and gave him a few instructions: "Be good, I'll be back soon. If you meet anyone strange, shout loudly, and if you see danger, just kick them."
"Qiao Qiao, can the donkey understand you when you talk like this?"
"I understand, let's go." She knew that he rolled his eyes at her. She must be a smart little girl.
After feeding Huihui some more food, Beiqiao and Yu Qian followed the waiter through the back door into the Guiyan Inn. This inn had three types of rooms: the top-floor room, the ground-floor room, and the large bunk bed.
After walking to the front desk and asking around, Yu Qian chose the "Di" room. It came with three meals a day and hot water, which was enough. Since she was staying alone, she didn't need a huge room. As for the dorm bed... "Baby, I refuse to endure that kind of hardship!"
"One hundred copper coins a night, ten days is one ounce of silver, I can't afford it!" After paying for two nights and getting the key, Yu Qian was not in a good mood: "The rent is so expensive, why do I have to find a room by myself?"
"It's expensive, but it's worth it. Didn't you notice the five-pointed star on the plaque?" Bei Qiao raised his hand and patted Yu Qian's shoulder: Maybe the inn opened by players can be paid with cash?
"There's a five-pointed star." Yu Qian walked up the stairs behind the front desk to the second floor. "That's great!"
Since it's a shop opened by players, it means that the room has all the amenities, such as lights, running water, and a bathroom heater! Suddenly, I remembered that if I hadn't discovered this inn today, I would have had to use the public wooden tub in the inn to bathe.
Using the key to open the wooden door of Room 3, Yu Qian placed the small bag she was carrying on the table, leaned over it and yawned: "Close the door, and sit down wherever you want."
The door here refers not only to the wooden door of the room, but also the anti-theft door hidden in the wall inside the wooden door.
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