Chapter 56. They deserve a better life. ...
"Sister, come with me to a place in a little while."
No, wait a minute.
The moment the words left his mouth, Fusu hesitated again.
Not everyone is willing to walk that thorny path. What if Miaowu's own wish is to be a wealthy and carefree princess in a peaceful era? Her birth is the capital to fulfill that wish. With her own life, she will not allow the tragedy of her past life to repeat itself.
But what if she were willing?
Fusu gazed at Miaowu's still chubby cheeks. Her face shape and features inherited the gentleness of the Emperor and the elegance of Consort Miao. She was clearly a future beauty.
She is only five years old this year, but she can already read and write many classic texts. However, the content of any of them is sufficient for her to answer Fusu's question.
Which kind of life do you ultimately want to live?
Just as Fusu hesitated, unsure of what to do, Miaowu also frowned slightly. She asked, "Su'er, where are you taking me?"
“If you want to go somewhere else to have fun, you can go later. Our priority should be helping the old man sell the sawdust as soon as possible so he can go home and rest. That’s what you mean by ‘teaching a man to fish,’ isn’t it?”
She spoke in a persuasive tone.
They clearly misunderstood Fusu's words.
Fusu was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Okay, okay, I'll listen to whatever you say, sister."
In that instant, he made up his mind. He would give Miaowu the option to choose between two paths. If Miaowu only wanted to be a princess in the future, she could always come back.
But today, he was going to take her to the Xiangguo Temple. There, San Niang and perhaps other pitiful women who had been trafficked to Bianjing gathered.
He wanted Miaowu to truly connect with ordinary people, instead of being confined to the deep palace. If possible, the clues she obtained from the three women could also make her a meritorious official in the conquest of the sixteen prefectures, giving her a voice in her own destiny.
Indeed, having considered his father's advice and his own reflections over the past few days, Fusu had included the recapture of the Sixteen Prefectures as a "must-do" task. However, this was no easy feat and required considerable planning. He did not intend to tell anyone until everything was in place.
However, compared to the sixteen states, the most urgent task now is to help the old man sell his sawdust.
"How can we sell them quickly? Let's think of a way."
Miaowu grabbed Fusu, and Fusu called out again.
The group huddled together and whispered amongst themselves for a while. After a while, Fusu bought a large bowl of water with two copper coins, sealed it tightly in a bamboo tube, and then stood in front of the old woman: "Grandma, shall we go?"
The old woman looked up blankly: "Huh?"
She couldn't understand anything from the descriptions of beasts and fish, so she lowered her head and focused on drinking her beverage. She had originally planned to thank them properly after finishing and then continue on her way. But these children, who looked like little New Year's picture paintings and were clearly from wealthy families, said they wanted to go with her and even help her sell sawdust?
The old woman rubbed her ears in shock.
She doubted she had heard correctly.
Su Shi suddenly appeared out of nowhere: "Old man, trust us, really, we guarantee you'll sell even faster."
His quick wit was a powerful weapon against the elderly. The old woman nodded dazedly and led them to their usual street. Su Shi looked around, clenched his fists, and shouted, "Selling sawdust!"
"Fire-retardant, moisture-proof, water-absorbing, and shock-absorbing sawdust—don't miss out!"
The boy's tender voice drew everyone's attention.
Su Shi was not afraid of other people's opinions at all. He had done this before at the Imperial Academy and had long since developed a thick skin. At this moment, he turned the tables and began to promote his product to people with a smile.
"Ma'am? You really don't want these good sawdust shavings?"
“Look,” Su Shi pointed to the sky, “the plum rain season is just around the corner. Buying some sawdust to keep the house dry is really useful.”
The old woman had mentioned before that many people in the neighborhood didn't believe sawdust had so many uses and wouldn't buy her products. But what she didn't say was that those people were often very rude to her. They would either make sarcastic remarks or drive her away without any politeness.
But when dealing with children, especially a few neatly dressed, beautiful children, one's attitude softens unconsciously. The auntie whose name Su Shi had mentioned hesitated for a moment, then walked over: "Do your sawdust really have so many uses?"
"Of course it's real!" Su Shi said confidently. "If you don't believe me, we'll demonstrate it for you right here. If it's fake, we'll give you this whole bag of sawdust for free!"
The woman scoffed, "What use is that to me? It's useless!"
But I couldn't help but move closer.
The others also became somewhat interested and moved closer, wanting to see what this strange combination was all about. After all, they were just killing time anyway, so why not join in the fun?
The people of Bianjing had already experienced the baptism of a prosperous market. But at most, they would only look at billboards and shopkeepers' shouts. As for a guarantee of "freebies if it doesn't work out"? That was something they had never seen before.
This idea, of course, came from Fusu.
Even the idea of using sawdust as a "moisture-proof" agent came from him. For starting fires, pine branches were also used as a substitute. Earthquake protection? Ordinary households don't have heavy objects like sawdust to cushion their flames.
It only has a moisture-proof function, making it useful for rainy days, shady corners, and even for livestock. Ordinary people's houses don't pay much attention to the orientation, and more or less have corners that don't get sunlight. The usefulness of sawdust immediately becomes apparent.
Didn't you see everyone gather around as soon as Su Shi started speaking?
Seeing this, Su Shi shouted a couple more times, and after everyone he could call had gathered, Fusu and Miaowu exchanged a glance: it was their turn to make their appearance.
Miaowu picked up a bamboo stalk—newly bought, with a thick layer of light yellow wood shavings inside. Then, Fusu unscrewed the bamboo cup he had asked the shopkeeper for and began pouring water straight into the air.
The dull, flowing sound of water coming into contact with the sawdust reached everyone's ears.
After the half-cup of water was poured out, the light yellow sawdust darkened slightly. Fusu showed the rim of the cup to everyone, then scratched the sawdust a few times with his hand.
"Look, it's dry."
He took out his small hand, and it was clearly not wet at all.
"Really?!"
"If you don't believe me, why don't you try it yourself and see?"
Miaowu cooperatively passed the bamboo strips into the crowd. She possessed the kind of appearance that was utterly irresistible. Who could bear to ignore a young girl with delicate features who smiled at you?
The person who had just been skeptical hesitated, then reached into the sawdust and exclaimed, "It's really dry inside! It really can absorb water!"
Even when it's someone else performing, some people still don't believe it.
A word from one's own people is worth more than a thousand words.
What else is there to say? The rainy season is approaching, and every household has a few damp corners. Or you can simply fill in areas where the brickwork is uneven and water easily accumulates. After the rainy season, there's no need to deal with puddles; you can just scrape off the sawdust and sweep it away!
The onlookers immediately came up with several ingenious uses for the sawdust.
This was something Fusu and the others hadn't expected.
Ordinary people are never lacking in wisdom for living.
The old woman was thus surrounded by a large crowd.
She probably never imagined that a few words from the kids could make her business so successful. She was also glad that she had held back and hadn't said anything to object, whether it was when they asked her for sawdust to "do experiments" or when they threatened to give away all her sawdust.
When asked about the price of sawdust, she always replied, "One coin per pound, one coin per pound."
They did not take advantage of the situation to raise prices by even a penny.
Just like I said before.
If she sells it for too high a price, no one will be willing to buy it from her.
Upon hearing this, Miaowu secretly asked Fusu, "How many kilograms is this old man carrying? Is it a hundred kilograms?"
"A hundred jin? That's probably heavier than her." Fusu estimated, "At most, it's only a dozen jin."
A dozen or so kilograms, for a dozen or so coins.
It's not even worth as much as the two drinks she just had.
For some reason, even though the old lady's business was thriving and she should be happy, Miaowu felt a tightness in her chest, as if something was stuck in her throat. She felt depressed and speechless.
But when the old woman's large bag was empty, turning into a small string of copper coins, which she carefully stuffed into her bosom, Miaowu still leaned closer and said with a smile, "Grandma, congratulations on selling out! And I see there are still many people who wanted to buy but didn't get any. You can come back tomorrow and keep selling."
"I won't wait until tomorrow." The old woman smiled, revealing her gums. "I'll go home right away and bring another one over."
"But this day..."
But Miaowu couldn't bring herself to say anything to stop her. All she could say was, "Then I'll buy you two more drinks so you can take them with you on your way."
"How can I possibly take your drink again?"
The old woman suddenly remembered something, pulled out a handful of copper coins, and stuffed them into Miaowu's hand without saying a word: "Take these and have something to quench your thirst."
After saying that, he ran away in a flash.
She was someone who could carry over ten kilograms of sawdust and walk under the scorching sun. How could a few mere children compare to her physical strength? By the time they realized what was happening, she had already disappeared at the alley entrance, vanished without a trace.
Fusu: "..."
Miaowu: "..."
Su Shi: "..."
Huaiji: "..."
"Su'er, what should we do? Should we wait here, or send the guards to catch up with her and return the money to her?"
"No, please don't." Fusu immediately rejected the second suggestion.
In this era, people are very afraid of officials. When the old woman saw several strong young men chasing after her with knives, she was lucky not to have a heart attack.
As for the first suggestion...?
“Let’s keep this money. We’ll do as the old man said and buy some drinks later. Sister, didn’t you want to bring some perilla water for the Empress? This money is perfect for that.”
Su Shi, Miaowu, and Huaiji all looked over.
They didn't understand that a dozen or so coins was a small amount to them, but it represented a day's hard-earned money for the old man. Su'er/Zhao Xiaolang clearly knew this, so why did they still accept it?
“Since the old lady is a grateful person, if we don’t accept the money and act like we don’t care about this small amount, she will be more concerned about how to repay us, and she will feel even worse. It’s better to accept her kindness.”
"As for herself, with the method of live demonstration, she's not afraid of not being able to sell her sawdust in the future. Maybe people will even stick to her shop and not buy from anyone else."
"Zhao Xiaolang is right!"
Su Shi was the first to agree: "If we insist on not accepting it, the old lady might fall asleep tonight. Let's not trouble her. Come on, let's go buy some perilla tea!"
Miaowu pondered for a while and reluctantly agreed.
"By the way, Zhao Xiaolang, didn't you just say you were going to take the princess somewhere? Where are we going? Have I been there before? Is it fun?"
Fusu: "Of course you've been there, to the Great Xiangguo Temple."
Su Shi immediately laughed: "There? That would be so much fun!"
He first became famous at the Xiangguo Temple, and then set up a stall at the nearby night market. Su Shi had already considered himself a semi-host, and began to talk at length to Miaowu about the local scenery and customs.
From the guesthouse at Xiangguo Temple, to the temple's giant bell, the monks' vegetarian meals, and the delicious night market just a wall away. And then there's the Emperor's feat a few months ago, repelling the Western Xia envoy with a single sentence (it's quite reasonable to briefly explain the backstory he caused, isn't it?).
Miaowu's eyes shone brightly upon hearing this.
She was certainly aware of the reputation of this royal temple, but had never been there before.
Everything Su Shi said was incredibly vivid and novel.
But amidst her enthusiasm, she would occasionally furrow her brow and look behind her, even though she saw nothing. When she turned back, she seemed preoccupied and absent-minded.
Liang Huaiji, who had been serving the princess since entering the palace, discovered it, as did his younger brother Fusu.
The two exchanged a glance.
Fusu immediately walked quickly to Miaowu's side: "Sister, what's wrong with your complexion? Are you feeling unwell?"
I'm afraid it's not that you're feeling unwell, but rather that you have something on your mind.
Miaowu said, "I'm still thinking about that old man from earlier."
A vague thought lingered in her mind, stuck in her chest, making her uncomfortable if she didn't voice it. But what exactly was it? She couldn't describe it.
Only when she met Fusu's all-encompassing eyes could she naturally reveal her inner thoughts.
“I always felt that the old woman shouldn’t have to work so hard, only earning a dozen or so copper coins.”
She deserves a better life.
Fusu sighed: "Yes, she clearly deserves a better life."
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