Chapter Four: Everyday Life
In the fifteenth year of the Zhenguan era, Liu Bao'er was six years old.
During her two years at the Dou family home, Liu Bao'er had grown from an innocent toddler into a pretty young woman. Her daily studies in her grandmother's room continued, and her mathematical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary accountants. However, knowledge within the high walls remained incomplete. Over the past year or two, through the introduction of the mute old servant, she had anonymously offered Hu Liu, struggling to survive in the marketplace, some very simple yet effective "advice" (for example, having the old servant relay messages instructing him on how to repackage and bundle loose herbs for sale to customers with different needs). This allowed him to earn some small money and also helped her establish this initial, clandestine network of connections in the marketplace.
Hu Liu therefore revered her, his behind-the-scenes "little boss," as a deity. Previously, their communication relied entirely on the old servant relaying snippets of information. But today, Liu Bao'er decided to personally step into the fray; she wanted to see firsthand this real battlefield, brimming with infinite possibilities yet also harboring countless risks.
Under the cover of the mute old servant, she once again slipped out of the Dou residence through the small door used by the servants.
The hustle and bustle of Chang'an City was overwhelming.
She stood at the entrance of the West Market, deliberately concealing her presence and blending into the crowd. The sounds, smells, and colors instantly activated all her senses. Camel bells jingled, and merchants from the Central Asian region loudly hawked their wares in broken Mandarin; in front of silk shops, elegant ladies lightly stroked the shimmering Shu brocade with their slender fingers; the aroma of roasted mutton wafted from the eateries, mingling with the bitter scent of herbs from the neighboring pharmacy, creating a unique, earthy fragrance.
Hu Liu was already waiting in the agreed corner, his dark face plastered with an excited and ingratiating smile. He quickly stepped forward, but dared not get too close, only lowering his voice: "Young lady, you've finally come in person." His respect stemmed from the "anonymous guidance" that had benefited him greatly in the past.
"Just looking around." Liu Bao'er's tone was calm, but her gaze was like the most precise compass, scanning everything around her.
She lingered for a long time in front of the jewelry shops where foreign merchants gathered. She watched as those merchants with deep-set eyes and high noses drove up the price of glass cups to exorbitant levels, and then turned around and argued heatedly over the price of each bolt of silk in the silk shops. She noticed a key detail: when settling accounts, the foreign merchants always repeatedly checked the purity of the Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, finding it quite troublesome to carry such heavy copper coins.
"They're most afraid of receiving counterfeit coins, and they also find copper coins too heavy," Hu Liu chimed in, confirming her observation. "I've heard that some large merchant caravans would rather exchange spices or glass for silk directly than accept too many copper coins—it's too much trouble!"
Liu Bao'er seemed to be deep in thought. The pain points of currency circulation and the inconvenience of cross-border settlement—she astutely grasped this key point that could potentially unlock huge profits in the future.
When she turned to the rice shop in the East Market, her gaze became even more focused. It was during the spring famine, and rice prices had risen by 30% compared to the previous autumn harvest. She saw an old farmer squatting on a street corner, two bags of millet in front of him, his cloudy eyes watching the passersby. A rice shop assistant came up to ask the price, but he offered a very low price.
"There's been little rain this spring, and the Wei River is shallow," the old farmer muttered. "We need the money to buy salt..."
The shop assistant scoffed, "Once the new harvest comes in, your old rice will be worth even less!"
Liu Bao'er listened silently, her fingers subtly calculating in her sleeve. She recalled the grain prices from various regions that she had recently seen in the Dou family's account books, and then she thought of the rain records from the Imperial Observatory that she had copied last year. A vague outline began to emerge in her mind.
Standing in front of the rouge shop, she saw two young women with their hair in double buns choosing lipsticks, their focused expressions momentarily making her feel dazed. Such girlish sentiments were far removed from her own. Her fingertips brushed against the rough fabric of her clothes, where a small string of copper coins she had saved with her spare meal money was hidden—her "seed fund," which she had secretly accumulated without telling anyone.
As the sun began to set, she asked Hu Liu to buy two sesame seed cakes. Sitting on the stone steps by the roadside, she took small bites of the sesame-sprinkled cakes, the crispy aroma spreading in her mouth. This was the first time since she came into this world that she had tasted freedom in her own way.
On her way back, she passed through a dark alley and saw several beggar children fighting over half a spoiled steamed bun. The winner eagerly stuffed the filthy food into his mouth, while the loser huddled in a corner, his eyes numb.
Hu Liu spat, "These locust-like kids, it wouldn't be surprising if they starved to death by the roadside one day."
Liu Bao'er paused for a moment, took two copper coins from her small purse, and gently placed them in front of the loser. The little beggar looked up in astonishment, but she had already turned and left.
"The young lady is kind-hearted," Hu Liu said awkwardly.
"It's not out of kindness," Liu Bao'er said softly, almost to herself, gazing at the setting sun. "It's just... I don't want to forget where I came from, and what kind of situation most people in this world live in."
When she returned to the Dou family's cottage, dusk had already fallen. She lit an oil lamp, its dim light illuminating the corner of the wall. The sound of a night watchman's clapper could be heard outside the window. Liu Bao'er spread out straw paper and, by the lamplight, began to sketch what she had seen that day: the predicament of the Hu merchants in settling accounts, the fluctuations in rice prices, the bustling canal wharves... These scattered observations, corroborated by the data models she had accumulated in her mind, were piecing together an incredibly clear living map of Chang'an's commerce.
The hustle and bustle of everyday life still lingered in her mind. A bolder plan was beginning to take shape.
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