Chapter 53: Selling Vases Again
The letter was short, but every word was full of deep affection.
Jiang Ling folded the letter again and put it back in the envelope.
"I have received the letter and gifts. I am grateful for your help, Young Master Jiang. Please convey my thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince."
"yes."
With the official business completed, Jiang Yi felt much relieved and could now attend to his personal matters.
He glanced around.
"I've heard that Miss Jiang's shop has unique items. Although this is my second time here, I haven't had a chance to explore it properly yet. May I take a look?"
Jiang Ling smiled slightly, "Of course, please go ahead, Young Master Jiang."
Jiang Yi was overjoyed; he was finally going to buy what he wanted!
A few days ago, he heard that Zhao Jingxing had acquired a waterproof, transparent raincoat, and he guessed that it came from Miss Jiang.
Upon learning that Cheng Jiaojiao had a light lamp and a tinderbox, he became even more impatient!
Since we've come all this way, we should definitely buy a flashlight, a tinderbox, and a raincoat!
At this moment, Cheng Fang also handed over the porcelain that Jiang Ling had asked him to buy.
An exquisite box made of Phoebe zhennan wood contains a Ge kiln vase with a sky-blue crackle pattern.
The bottle is about the height of two palms, with delicate textures that allow light to shine through it.
Jiang Ling accepted the box and sincerely thanked them:
"I really like it, thank you, Young Master Cheng!"
Cheng Fang chuckled awkwardly, "It's nothing, Miss Jiang, you don't need to be so polite. We're already quite familiar with each other."
Jiang Ling turned around and put the box away.
“We’re about the same age, so just call me Jiang Ling from now on. You said we’re already so familiar with each other, calling me ‘young lady’ or ‘young master’ would sound too formal.”
Cheng Fang's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up. "Great! Jiang Ling."
The fact that he can call Jiang Ling by her first name proves that his relationship with her has progressed further.
"By the way, do you have anything else planned? Would you like to grab a bite to eat before you go?"
Cheng Fang showed a hint of regret on his face, "It's really unfortunate, today is my mother's birthday, and we have to rush back to celebrate with her. So we won't stay here for dinner."
"I see. Then we should head back immediately."
Jiang Ling glanced at the darkening sky outside, her tone somewhat complaining.
"Since today is your mother's birthday, you should have told me earlier. In that case, I won't ask you to meet today. It doesn't necessarily have to be today to deliver it."
Even the best of friends shouldn't ask each other for favors on such a day.
Cheng Fang hurriedly replied, "It's alright, we can still make it back in time by fast horse."
Then he called out to Jiang Yi, who was sitting on the shelf, "Jiang Yi, are you done yet?"
Jiang Yi focused on browsing the various shelves, not even stopping at his beloved pastries and instant noodle sections.
He was focused on finding three things: a lamp, a tinderbox, and a raincoat.
Soon, he came out carrying a tinderbox and a raincoat.
"Miss Jiang, do you have any more medical lights? The black kind?"
"There's one more right now, in the warehouse. Please wait a moment, young master, I'll get it for you."
Jiang Yi was overjoyed, "Thank you so much, Miss Jiang!"
Jiang Ling walked quickly back to the warehouse, found a flashlight on the bottom shelf, installed the battery, tested it, and found that it worked normally.
In that instant as I turned around, I suddenly remembered that there seemed to be an old-fashioned music box in the warehouse.
Where was it again...?
Jiang Ling glanced around and quickly focused her gaze on the box in the top corner.
She brought a ladder, climbed up, and steadily took it down.
Open the cardboard box.
Inside is a traditional Chinese style music box, set in the Tang Dynasty, which bears some resemblance to the era itself.
When the music box is activated, the Tang Dynasty-style maidservants carved on it will spin and dance, with a musician playing a drum in the middle.
When Jiang Ling walked out of the warehouse with a flashlight and a music box, Cheng Fang's expression was already clearly anxious.
He had originally planned to have enough time, but he had to delay the delivery of the gifts because he needed to coordinate with Jiang Yi.
Jiang Ling handed the lamp to Jiang Yi, "Young Master, try it on and see if you like it?"
Jiang Yi happily accepted it and eagerly pressed the switch, immediately projecting a beam of light.
It's still light out, so the effect isn't as noticeable yet.
But he still couldn't put this novel gadget down.
"Thank you, Miss Jiang! I'll take all three. How much is it in total?"
Jiang Ling smiled and said, "Young Master Jiang has traveled a long way to bring me this gift of gratitude. How could I possibly accept your money? These three items are my way of thanking you."
"That won't do. One thing at a time. I have to pay."
Jiang Ling couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to accept it.
Cheng Fang said, "In that case, we won't disturb you any longer."
Jiang Ling called out to him and handed him the box she was holding.
"It happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to prepare a gift. This music box was obtained by my father from a merchant in the Western Regions when he was a merchant in his early years. Although it is not very valuable, it is still a novelty. I'm sorry to have troubled you to come all this way today and not be able to be there to show your filial piety. Consider this a birthday gift from me as a junior to your mother."
Having just confirmed my friendship with Cheng Fang, as Cheng Fang's friend, there's no reason for me to refuse to give Cheng Fang's mother a birthday gift.
Cheng Fang hesitated for a moment, then solemnly accepted the gift with both hands. "Okay, I thank you on behalf of my mother."
Cheng Fang and Jiang Yi mounted their horses, and Jiang Ling smiled as she saw them off.
Back at the shop, seeing the three large and six small boxes filled with gold and silver jewelry on the ground, I didn't know what to do with them, so I moved them back to the warehouse first.
The warehouse is near the iron gate, so hardly anyone comes by.
By the time I finished all that, it was already dark.
Jiang Ling closed the wooden door and opened the iron gate.
It's still morning here.
She grabbed a piece of bread and ate a couple of bites.
He found Mr. Zhou's business card in the counter and dialed the number on it.
"Mr. Zhou, I have a celadon Ge ware vase on hand. Are you at the shop today? I'll take it over for you to take a look."
————
After Cheng Fang and Jiang Yi rode away...
The carriage, which had been hidden in the shadows, emerged again.
Afu lifted the carriage curtain, and two pairs of cold eyes inside stared directly at the inconspicuous Jixiang General Store in the distance.
A young man who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old spoke up from inside the carriage.
"It's just a rural general store. What's so special about it?"
Lu Yu's gaze was deep; "Do you remember the epidemic in Ping'an County? Aren't you curious about how it was cured?"
The boy's face darkened as he spoke of the epidemic.
"I know that nearly a thousand people were infected by that plague, but they recovered very quickly, and the casualties were minimized. I heard that a goddess surnamed Jiang gave them a magic medicine that could bring people back to life!"
Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. He originally thought these were nonsense, as there could never be any gods or immortals in this world!
But when he mobilized all his connections in the military to inquire about this information, the results he received were surprisingly consistent!
They even brought in patients who had been on the verge of death due to fever at the time.
Those people all said that it was because of the elixir given to His Highness by Goddess Jiang that they were brought back to life!
After this incident, Qin Zhao's popularity among the people grew, and the emperor valued him even more.
At this point, he became even more worried.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com