She left the West Market, passed by a small stall selling fried beans, and came to Yanshoufang. She then walked along the main street from Guangdefang, passed through several alleys, and finally returned to Yonghefang where the bookstore was located.
It was already dark, and the sound of the closing drum could be heard in the distance. With trembling hands, she unlocked the bookshop's door with the key and plunged into the hall, lying on the ground for a long time before catching her breath. She simply packed her things in the dark, locked the door, and headed for the inn on Yonghefang Street. She was hungry and thirsty, so she had to go back and fill her stomach first.
After walking around for most of the day and taking a long detour, it was already dark and the curfew had started on the streets. We couldn't cancel our room at the inn, so we might as well have a good night's rest and recharge our batteries.
There are still many things to do tomorrow, such as selling the donkey, checking out, moving, and going to the bookstore to clean and organize. It would be difficult to sort out the dozen or so boxes of books in order in just one day, let alone drying, repairing, and annotating them.
Xu San and the carpenters will also come tomorrow to remove the bright tiles from the roof, repair the roof, etc.
There were so many things she didn't dare think about them; even thinking about them would just make her a mess. She pounded her head, deciding to eat first and sort things out in the morning. She reached the main street and, upon entering the inn, ordered the waiter, "A bowl of mutton soup, three steamed buns, and a dish of vegetable stew."
"Okay! I'll be right there!"
Xiao Er was very nimble and quickly brought a large bowl of hot, fragrant mutton soup and three golden-brown steamed buns. Then he called out to Xu Jiang eagerly, "Sir, please enjoy your meal. Your vegetarian stew will be here soon."
Xu Jiang didn't have time to answer, so he just nodded randomly, then picked up the soup bowl and took a big gulp.
happy.
She picked up a steamed bun, broke it into pieces and dropped it into the soup. Once it softened, she slurped it down. The freshness of the mutton and the aroma of the chives washed over her throat, soothing her hungry stomach. She downed half a bowl in one gulp before slowing down to savor it. The vegetarian stew arrived, a delicious blend of vegetables and soup.
After the meal, she asked the waiter to keep the bill and told him to bring hot water upstairs later. She then went to the stable to check on a few donkeys before returning to the guest room to pack her things and wait for water to take a bath.
Halfway through cleaning up, there was a knock on the door from the waiter, bringing hot water. Xu Jiang went to open the door, and just as the waiter was about to bring the water in, he was bumped from behind, and the water instantly spilled all over the floor.
The waiter turned around and was about to start cursing, but before he could do so, someone grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him aside. He stopped and looked around, his face suddenly changed, he even put on a fawning smile, and bent his waist like a bow.
"Oh, I'm blind and blocked your way. Please, please!"
Xu Jiang looked up and met the man's eyes, only to see that his gaze was like lightning, as if it wanted to pierce through her. She was terrified and quickly lowered her head to avoid him, retreating back into the room. Fortunately, the man did not linger for long, just a glance and then went to the guest room inside.
The waiter straightened up, silently cursed the man's back as "bad luck", then turned around and shouted to Xu Jiang in the room: "Sir, please wait, I will fetch you two more buckets of water." After that, he ran downstairs with the wooden buckets.
Not long after he left, an old woman came up from downstairs, holding a broom and a rag and cleaned the floor neatly without leaving a trace of water.
Xu Jiang thought to herself, "This inn's rules are good, but the room rate is a bit high." She walked to the door and looked into the hallway, wondering who the person who had just passed by was. The waiter's expression of fear and hatred made it clear that this person was someone not to be trifled with. She was new to the capital, so she decided to avoid such people if possible.
The waiter quickly brought back hot water, and Xu Jiang took a bath and then went to bed. She had been busy all day and couldn't open her eyes the moment she hit the bed. In the middle of the night, she heard a loud noise, but she was too exhausted to wake up, so she slept until dawn.
The next day, she got up in high spirits, packed her things and went downstairs to check out, only to see several officers standing in the lobby, escorting a disheveled man out.
When she asked the waiter, she learned that a child had been abused last night. The screams were so loud that they disturbed the guest in the Tianzi Room. Coincidentally, the guest was an official appointed by the court. After he brought the child in for trial, she found out that the person who beat the child was actually a kidnapper.
"Poor thing, poor thing! That child was caught in a flood, and his parents were swept away. On his way to find his relatives, he met a kidnapper and was abducted to the capital. Along the way, he was beaten for trying to escape. Yesterday, he probably wanted to take advantage of the kidnapper's drunkenness to escape, but he was discovered and got a good beating. The kidnapper was drunk and didn't use any force. The child's legs were broken. If it weren't for that official's intervention, he might have been beaten to death. Alas..." The waiter sighed as he spoke, and then added, "If this kidnapper is caught, he will definitely be sentenced to death. The Plague God usually looks unlucky, but this time he can be considered to have done a good thing."
"God of Plague?" Xu Jiang was puzzled.
The waiter leaned over and glanced around. Seeing that no one was there, he whispered, "That's the one who spilled your bath water last night."
It turned out to be him.
Xu Jiang didn't ask any more questions, nodded with a look of understanding, then adjusted the bag on his shoulder and went to the counter to check out.
As soon as he finished, Xu San entered the inn. When he saw her, he smiled and said, "Boss, I've found a good buyer for your two donkeys. You can take them over to see me now."
"Thank you for your help. Now that everything is settled, let's go."
As they left the inn, the waiter had just driven out a donkey and cart. Xu Jiang gave him ten copper coins as a reward, and then he and Xu San drove the donkey away. Both the East and West Markets of the capital had horse markets, but the West Market was closer to Yonghefang, so the two went to the West Market.
With the donkey, the two of them could travel much faster. They drove through the streets and alleys and soon arrived at the horse market. The market was crowded, so Xu Jiang and Xu San got off the carriage and walked. Along the way, many horse teams came up to ask for prices, but Xu San ignored them and led Xu Jiang straight to the largest stable. Someone was selecting horses in front of the stable. Seeing Xu San approach, he smiled and greeted him with a friendly face.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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