This action was noticed by the man with beady eyes, who thought she was scared and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Get out of here. It would be an insult to speak to you any further."
Su Ruanruan stood with her arms crossed and sneered, "You want me to leave? I won't. Not only will I not leave, but I'll also challenge you to a duel. Do you dare to accept the challenge?"
The man scoffed, "I don't hit women."
Su Ruanruan rolled her eyes. "Tch, who wants to fight you? I want to compete with you in literary talent."
These words were like a thunderclap, causing an uproar among the crowd.
How could this girl be indulging in such delusional talk in broad daylight? Judging from her attire, she doesn't seem to be from a wealthy family. How could she possibly be literate? And how could she possibly compare to a mere student who has completed the preliminary examinations?
"Compare me to my son? You should take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror. How many words can a woman like you know? What a joke!"
Gu Ji tugged at Su Ruanruan's sleeve, "Ruanruan, what are you doing?"
Su Ruanruan winked at him, giving him a reassuring look. Although he didn't know what Ruanruan was going to do, seeing her like this made him feel inexplicably at ease.
"Dare to bet with me? If I lose, he can stay and work as a waiter for seven days for free. If you lose, you and your son will apologize to this child and me! What do you say? Are you in for the bet?"
Gu Ji, who was inexplicably used as a bet, was also dumbfounded.
He shouldn't have come out today.
He felt like he'd been sold out and was even helping the seller count the money.
She felt incredibly wronged.
The shopkeeper ignored Su Ruanruan's unattractive face and glanced at her ample chest and slender waist.
He immediately gave his son a look, and the son understood instantly, clearing his throat.
"My shop has plenty of staff, we don't lack waiters. If you lose, you can become my father's concubine, and I might consider it... How about it? Don't force yourself, it's not too late to regret it now."
The little boy looked up at Su Ruanruan with his bright eyes and said, "Sister, don't gamble anymore. I am a lowly person, so let me be scolded. You must not ruin your life because of a few words."
"That's right, Ruanruan, have you had enough fun? Let's go back now."
Su Ruanruan simply smiled at them, then looked up at the lewd father and son, "Okay, I agree!"
Two people were sitting in the restaurant across the street, taking in everything.
"This girl is quite interesting."
Huo Yan withdrew his gaze, his eyes darkening.
She wasn't just somewhat interested; she was incredibly bold.
Not only did she dare to deceive him with menstrual blood, but she also dared to throw silver notes at him, and she would even glare at him with a fierce expression...
Over there, the student had already set the rules: "I won't make things difficult for you. Plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums are the four gentlemen most beloved by scholars. Just choose one of them and write a poem. However, I can't wait for you forever. Let's set a time limit of one incense stick. How about that?"
Having said that, he had already instructed the waiter to light an incense stick.
Gu Ji scratched his head. This might be simple for a scholar, but for him it was harder than helping a pig give birth.
A stick of incense?
Wang Anshi's poem "Plum Blossom" is very popular. Although I haven't heard of it here, even three-year-olds can recite it from her place.
"A few plum blossoms stand alone in the corner of the wall, braving the cold. I know from afar it is not snow, for there is a faint fragrance."
Without much thought, Su Ruanruan blurted it out.
"What a fine poem! What a fine poem!" A sigh came from the restaurant across the street, but the street was too noisy for Su Ruanruan to hear.
Now it was the student's turn to be dumbfounded. He never expected that this woman could speak eloquently in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
It must be a coincidence. Maybe she secretly read someone else's poem and just happened to use it today.
"This is definitely not a poem you wrote. I don't believe a young girl like you can compose poetry so fluently. If you write another one, I will believe you."
This was certainly not a poem she wrote, but she couldn't say that. Only she was thick-skinned enough to pretend she didn't hear Wang Anshi pointing at her and cursing from his coffin.
"Alright, then I'll compose another poem. But if you lose, you'll not only have to apologize to us, but you'll also have to give me ten more meat buns. How about that?"
The student agreed without hesitation.
Su Ruanruan smiled slightly, her red lips parting slightly.
"Autumn chrysanthemums surround the cottage like those of Tao Yuanming, encircling the fence as the sun gradually sets. It's not that I particularly love chrysanthemums among flowers, but that after this flower blooms, there are no more flowers left."
"What a beautiful poem! What a beautiful poem!"
Regardless of others' amazement, Su Ruanruan remained calm and said, "Now, it's my turn to test you."
Before the student could recover from his surprise, she had already posed the question.
"Three people went to stay at the inn together. The lower room cost thirty coins, but the innkeeper saw that they were pitiful and had the waiter return five coins to them."
"But the waiter took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and hid two coins in his own money bag. He only refunded one coin to each of the three people."
"So, in other words, they each paid ten coins, and the waiter gave each of them one coin."
"In other words, each of the three people actually paid nine coins, which adds up to twenty-seven coins. Adding the two coins from the waiter's money bag, the total is only twenty-nine coins. So, I ask you, where did that last coin go?"
This question stumped the young scholar, who quickly looked to his father, a businessman who was naturally more shrewd with money than the scholar.
But looking at my dad counting on his fingers, he definitely looked constipated.
Su Ruanruan looked at the father and son with a calm expression, and kindly reminded them, "You only have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
Not only them, but everyone present was whispering among themselves.
"Huh? Where did that missing penny go?"
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the father and son still hadn't figured it out.
Su Ruanruan looked at the burnt-out incense sticks, suddenly stood up, and patted off imaginary dust from her hands.
"What's wrong? Trying to back out? Hurry up! I'm busy right now."
The shopkeeper and his son looked extremely ugly, as if they wanted to tear Su Ruanruan apart and devour her.
"Everyone, you can see this clearly. This father and son are two-faced, their words are worthless, and they have absolutely no integrity. Remember their true colors and their reputation..."
"Shut up, stop talking nonsense. I admit defeat, you brat. Let's see how long you can be so smug."
Amidst the jeers of the onlookers, the two reluctantly said "sorry," and casually wrapped ten freshly steamed, fragrant meat buns in oil paper.
The young scholar's eyes were practically spitting fire; he felt utterly humiliated by a mere girl.
Just you wait, if he doesn't vent his anger, he's not his father's son.
As the show came to an end, the onlookers gradually dispersed.
Su Ruanruan then looked down at the thin little boy and saw that his worried gaze was fixed on the distance.
Following his gaze, Su Ruanruan also saw the two figures, one large and one small.
"Are they your family members?"
“Yes.” The boy’s gaze fell on the oil paper package in Gu Ji’s hand.
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