Chapter 58 That's banana thread!
Xie Mingyi gave He Chuan a silver ingot last time, but he couldn't bear to spend it.
He was all alone at home; it was a case of one person being full while the rest of the family wasn't hungry.
He carefully wrapped the silver ingot in a handkerchief, placed it under his pillow, and secretly treasured it.
He was running low on money, so he brought his best mechanical gadgets to the ship, only to be nearly beaten up.
Fortunately, a knowledgeable manager stopped him and allowed him to board the ship to sell the goods.
However, He Chuan didn't have the money to bribe anyone. Not to mention the exquisite little shops on the second floor, he couldn't even get a stall in the lobby on the first floor.
He could only put a table in the corner of the deck, but after a long time, He Chuan's stall remained deserted.
“Take me to see it,” Xie Mingyi said.
Looking into the woman's delicate smiling eyes, He Chuan nodded as if possessed, and then led Xie Mingyi to his small table.
However, the boy's movements were stiff and uncoordinated throughout the journey.
Xie Mingyi arrived at the stall and saw that the table was at a suitable height. She nodded in satisfaction, thinking that this little brother had listened to her advice and was teachable.
She stood behind the table, her slender, delicate fingers carefully arranging the messy items on it.
While working with her hands, she spoke to He Chuan, "You need to arrange them by category so that guests can easily see and find the items that interest them."
"Miss Xie, what brings you here?" A young lady from a prominent family stood in front of the stall, her voice filled with surprise.
"A relative's child from afar came to play and made some little trinkets. Would you like to take a look?" Xie Mingyi generously displayed the nine-linked rings in her hand.
“Perfect timing, my little brother keeps pestering me to buy him these toys.”
The woman smiled faintly as she looked through the items on the table, becoming more and more surprised. "What an exquisite Kongming lock! I'm afraid even more than 80% of the craftsmen in the capital would find it difficult to make."
The woman originally intended to buy a few items out of respect for Xie Mingyi, but the more she looked at them, the more she liked them, and she left with a large pile of items in her hands.
"How are you? Happy?" Xie Mingyi placed the five taels of silver she had just earned into the boy's hand.
He Chuan stared blankly at the huge sum of money in his hand, thinking, "This silver coin was given to me by her own hand. What should I do if I can't bear to spend it?"
"The things you make are certainly excellent, but even the best wine needs advertising." She went on and on about how to do business.
He Chuan bent down slightly, listened attentively, and occasionally responded with a few words to show that he had learned something.
A sudden gust of wind would carry the faint scent of Xie Mingyi's perfume and flowers onto the boy's face, making him momentarily dazed.
He Chuan's heart seemed to skip a beat. He didn't know whether to inhale or hold his breath, for fear of offending the beauty. The greedy beast in his heart was scratching at his lungs.
"Just want to sneak a sniff," the boy thought.
Meanwhile, Xie Mianmian escaped into a small shop, the very place where the golden monkey and its owner had been.
This is a shop selling exotic women's dresses. The dresses are designed to cleverly blend the characteristics of exotic and Zhou Dynasty clothing, making them exquisite, gorgeous, and extremely beautiful.
Xie Mianmian discovered that the golden monkey had returned and was sitting upright on a table.
The child ran up to it, examined it closely, and asked with concern, "Little monkey, are you alright?"
The golden monkey shook its head, then handed Xie Mianmian a brocade pouch.
"Oh!" the child exclaimed softly, "Didn't you already throw it into the river?"
The golden monkey squeaked and gestured with its hands, explaining that it had just taken a brocade pouch from one of the men's arms when they weren't looking and then thrown it into the water.
Then, the golden monkey patted its little chest, indicating that it was super powerful.
Xie Mianmian took the brocade bag, and discreetly opened a small opening in front of the guests not far away. Inside, it was full of silver notes, a very generous amount.
Having never seen so much money in her entire life, Xie Mianmian quickly clutched the brocade pouch tightly and hid it deep inside her clothes, patting it on the back afterward.
Xie Mianmian whispered in the golden monkey's ear, "Thank you, little monkey. This money represents the hard-earned savings of many people. I will give it to my brother to handle."
She gently stroked the golden monkey's fluffy little head and finally said the words it had been waiting for most: "You are the most amazing little monkey Mianmian has ever seen, you're practically a master thief!"
"Squeak squeak squeak!" The golden monkey proudly rubbed its head against the child's soft palm.
Xie Mianmian pulled a bunch of bananas from her sleeve; she had just taken them from the fruit platter in the hall.
With gentle, small hands, peel back the golden outer skin to reveal the sweet, soft, white flesh inside.
"We don't need to covet those bad people's food; you can have all of these mushy treats."
The golden monkey stared at the banana with its bright, large eyes, swallowing hard. But its owner wouldn't let it eat food from other people.
But it's okay if it's from Mianmian!
The golden monkey happily took it and ate it in small bites, chewing and chewing. "What a happy day! It's fun and delicious!"
Xie Mianmian noticed that the little monkey's hands looked just like hers, but much smaller.
She took the golden monkey's left hand and curiously observed the lines on its palm.
The golden monkey let the child tug at its hand while it ate a banana, but it still couldn't resist sticking its head in to look.
So the two cubs lowered their heads, foreheads touching, and stared intently at the tiny palms of their hands.
Xie Mianmian pondered for a moment and said, "Look, your wisdom line is very long, which means you are a very clever little monkey."
The golden monkey proudly raised its head.
"And this curved one, wow, amazing."
The golden monkey quickly brought its head close to its left side, its eyes almost crossing over.
"This is a banana thread! You'll have plenty of bananas to eat in the future, and who knows, you might even become a banana king!"
"Squeak squeak squeak!" Upon hearing this, the golden monkey couldn't help but jump around happily.
The two little ones were both immersed in their own worlds, one trying to fool others and the other indulging in daydreams.
Just then, a voice came from the side.
He was the owner of the golden monkey, a foreign man who spoke with an awkward accent in the Great Zhou language.
With no customers left in the shop, the female owner took a short break, and the foreign man pulled her aside to chat.
"You know I often travel all over the country with transport ships, I've practically covered the entire Great Zhou. I've seen more strange things than the clothes you sell. Want to hear about them?"
The female boss rolled her eyes at him. "Say it or don't, don't bother me while I'm doing business. Get lost."
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you," the foreign man said in a low, mysterious voice, "You have no idea what I saw, I saw..."
Seeing that he was still keeping her in suspense, the female boss picked up her abacus.
"The Little Mermaid".
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