Entering the city
The three had no food, so Wang Pan'er dug for food wherever she went, and she really kept them from getting thirsty or hungry.
When we got tired, we would find a stone block or wooden stake and sit down.
"Sanya, have you decided on a name yet?"
The little girl hesitated for a long time before speaking up: "I want to be called Xiaoyao."
The word "逍遥" (xiaoyao, meaning carefree and unrestrained) comes from a story Sanya heard at a storyteller's stall in the market. It was about a chivalrous hero who traveled the world, skilled in martial arts, always ready to help the needy and compassionate, and ultimately achieved a carefree life. Sanya was convinced that "逍遥" must be a good word.
Wang Pan'er frowned, seemingly dissatisfied: "I once heard a play where there was a swordsman named Li Xiaoyao, who was a heartless jerk who started a relationship but then abandoned the woman."
Sanya: "...Huh?"
But could she think of a better word than this?
Mu Chuan rolled his eyes slightly and picked up the conversation: "How about changing it to Yao, which has the character '王' (king) on it, meaning the most beautiful stone? Beautiful stone is jade, and jade can be carved into a vessel."
"Wow!" Wang Pan'er clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Wonderful, wonderful!"
Mu Chuan thought of the salt-sprinkling trick Wang Pan'er had performed for him, which he had praised in the same way, and his ears burned with embarrassment: "Don't always make fun of me."
Wang Pan'er made a vow: "I am sincere!"
Wang Xiaoyao couldn't understand anything about stones or jade, just as she couldn't fully comprehend the content of their conversation. All she knew was that she had received an excellent name.
We joked and played around all the way, and time flew by.
As dusk began to fall, the three of them found themselves standing beneath the blue stone archway at the entrance of the small town.
Wang Pan'er stared at the faded three characters "Da'an Town" on the plaque, her molars grinding together.
She was prepared to walk for several days, and even carried a tinderbox and a brazier on her back, looking like a portable stove god. In the end, it only took her about five or six hours to walk.
"Young Master Mu," she said, turning around and enunciating each word clearly, her index finger almost poking the man's nose, "Why didn't you tell me the town was so close??"
Mu Chuan's sleeves were stained with bits of grass, and the knife wound on his shoulder throbbed faintly, yet he maintained the composure of a young master from a noble family: "Country paths are difficult to travel, and I thought you might find it too far. Besides, you've had a long and tiring journey, wouldn't it be better to take a shorter route?"
"What a huge loss!" Wang Pan'er held up her middle finger and thumb, pointing them at Mu Chuan's face. "I actually traded such a tiny distance for saving your life!"
Mu Chuan pursed his lips and pulled his head back a little: "I thought you would say that it would be too close and our parents would find out."
“There’s no need to worry about that. People don’t leave the village easily. The market between the villages is the farthest place the villagers have ever been.” After saying that, Wang Pan’er paused, then moved closer to Mu Chuan again, looking him up and down: “You’re so well-fed and smooth-skinned, you must come from a very wealthy family. So, Young Master Mu, is your life really only worth this short distance?”
Mu Chuan gave her a disgruntled look: "I was separated from my attendants during an assassination attempt. All my money is in my baggage. I only have a hundred taels of silver notes on me for emergencies."
One hundred taels, for emergency use!
Sanya—no, she should be called Wang Xiaoyao now—was so shocked that her pupils dilated.
At the market, a peck of rice cost thirty coins, a pound of meat cost ten coins, one hundred coins made one string, ten strings were worth one silver, and one hundred silver was worth one gold. She could calculate clearly that the money that could save their lives was just scraps of silver in Mu Chuan's eyes.
Wang Pan'er began to hatch a plan, wanting to take this opportunity to coax Mu Chuan into contributing money, while she would contribute her skills, to jointly set up the stall: "Even a small amount is still money, young master, think again, what will you do after you've used up all this money?"
Mu Chuan's voice trailed off: "I don't know."
"If you don't know, then you'd better listen to me obediently."
Mu Chuan would absolutely be willing to take this life-saving money; he'd give it even if it were just silver, let alone a hundred taels of gold. But right now, he only had a hundred taels of silver notes. If he handed them over, he would be completely in a passive position. If he didn't give them, it wouldn't be gentlemanly behavior, either morally or logically.
Mu Chuan was caught in a dilemma.
He struggled for a long time, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled out the silver note as if he were tearing his heart out. Finally, with a death wish and a muffled "Oh," he reluctantly handed the silver note to Wang Pan'er.
This is truly a stroke of genius. I only intended to appease a shareholder, but unexpectedly, I snagged a huge, generous benefactor—such a pure and honest guy.
If no one was around, Wang Pan'er's face would be beaming with joy.
Wang Pan'er snatched the silver note and squinted at it in the setting sun. "Tsk tsk, Xiaoyao, look! Even the silver note from our Young Master Mu exudes an air of nobility."
She forced a smile, accepted the money with an air of seriousness, but after taking only a few steps forward, she couldn't help but break down in laughter: "Hahahaha, I only wanted to partner with you, but you actually handed over all your assets!"
Mu Chuan followed behind, watching the arrogant and smug woman in front of him. He twitched the corners of his mouth, a forced smile, his eyes filled with desolation.
This is the umpteenth time; I'm so angry I'm starting to feel numb.
Wang Pan'er knew she had gotten a great deal. Noticing that Mu Chuan hadn't followed, she bowed slightly and very respectfully raised her hand towards the inn: "Young Master Mu, please come in."
Mu Chuan glared at Wang Pan'er and strode inside.
Wang Xiaoyao watched as one person laughed loudly while the other seemed utterly hopeless, and shook his head in confusion.
Their conversation left her even more baffled.
This inn is just an ordinary inn, even a bit old. But it's quite popular, with many drinkers chatting in the lobby and guests coming and going in a steady stream.
Wang Pan'er gently tapped the table, and the waiter, who was counting money, looked up: "Sir, would you like to check in?"
"Yes, one room."
"One...one room?" The waiter accidentally dropped all the coins he had counted. He looked at the three people in the group, incredulous.
Mu Chuan couldn't figure out what Wang Pan'er was up to, but it was really inappropriate for two women and one man to live in the same room, so he corrected her, "Two rooms."
Wang Pan'er handed over the silver note: "I'll pay, I'll decide, one room."
In this line of work, prying into customers' privacy is a major taboo, so the waiter looked away.
Of the three, the taller woman was clearly in charge, so she handed over a doorplate with a key attached: "Hey, please keep this safe, sir. Go upstairs and turn left to the third room."
"Alright," Wang Pan'er put away the change she received and gave the waiter half a string of cash. "Could you please bring me two more blankets and two more pillows?"
The waiter was all smiles after receiving the money. Although he found the woman quite strange, he still happily went to move the quilt.
Once inside the room, Wang Pan'er made a makeshift bed on the floor while arranging for the two of them: "Mu Chuan is injured, so he'll sleep on the bed. Xiao Yao and I will sleep on the floor."
Wang Xiaoyao was more than happy to sleep with Sister Pan'er. She was just waiting for Mu Chuan to lower the bed curtains, take off his shoes and coat, and crawl into bed.
Mu Chuan asked in confusion, "We don't lack money for a hotel, so why are you sleeping on the floor with three people crammed into one room?"
"Do you think I wanted this? Look at the expressions on those people's faces. Everyone is making up a whole drama for us."
Mu Chuan still kept a straight face, quite displeased: "So you've finally learned to be ashamed?"
"Young master, you seem out of touch with reality. This inn is full of people and eyes. The hundred taels of silver we showed you may seem like a small amount to you, but for an ordinary family, it would be enough for three to five years of food, clothing and other necessities."
Wang Xiaoyao nodded seriously. Although she was illiterate, she could still calculate the value of money.
“I’m taking out this hundred-tael silver note and giving so much change because I’m afraid someone might get jealous and have bad intentions.” Wang Pan’er placed her hand on Mu Chuan’s uninjured shoulder with trust and expectation: “You are skilled in martial arts and have good hearing, so I’m entrusting you with the important task of guarding against thieves.”
"Then why don't you just hand over the silver to me for safekeeping?"
Wang Pan'er couldn't help but laugh. She lifted the hand that was on her shoulder and hooked her pretty chin: "You're such a naughty thing, dreaming."
The tickling sensation on his chin made Mu Chuan realize his stupidity after a moment of distraction. He was caught between anger and embarrassment, so he quickly took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and hurriedly pulled down the curtains.
To be fair, Wang Pan'er wasn't bad-looking, but she was still somewhat lacking in striking beauty. At this moment, however, Mu Chuan found the captivating eyes before him incredibly alluring. Only after those peach blossom eyes disappeared from his sight did his wildly beating heart begin to calm down.
"Pfft."
Wang Xiaoyao laughed as she watched Mu Chuan flee in disarray, finally understanding the situation.
The two sisters also made their beds on the floor and lay down fully clothed.
After so many days, I'm finally sleeping in a normal room.
Wang Pan'er slept soundly through the night, and as dawn broke again, she stretched and got up from her makeshift bed on the floor.
Wang Xiaoyao had already prepared the water for washing her face and handed her a clean towel to wipe her face.
After they finished washing up, they came to visit Mu Chuan through the curtain.
Mu Chuan also woke up and sat upright in the center of the bed.
Wang Pan'er asked him, "Young Master Mu, did you sleep well last night?"
Mu Chuan blushed: "Miss Wang is incredibly insightful. It turns out that more than one person tried to steal the lock, but I forced them all to back down."
Wang Pan'er gave Mu Chuan a thumbs up: "Young Master Mu is so powerful. Thanks to Young Master Mu, Xiao Yao and I got a really good night's sleep."
"loquacious."
The two went back and forth, with Wang Xiaoyao listening intently while holding the basin of water.
After leaving the inn, Wang Pan'er and Mu Chuan made the rare unanimous decision to find a permanent place to live.
The inn was located in a bustling area, and the brokerage firm was not far away. The waiter kindly gave directions.
The newly appointed broker, looking down at the three men in coarse clothes standing at the entrance of the brokerage, rolled his eyes before leading them through the winding alleys to the smelly market town of Rakuho.
The town of Rakugo is mostly composed of lazy, unambitious men, unemployed convicts released from prison, and wicked servants who have been sold into exile. They have no land, and no merchants dare to stop working; they are extremely poor and destitute, pitiful and despicable.
Wang Pan'er was speechless. This was a case of treating people differently based on their status!
Mu Chuan had always had his food, clothing, shelter, and transportation arranged for him since he was a child, and he had never been treated like this before. He covered his nose and scolded Fang Ya harshly, "You didn't ask for our preferences and acted on your own. Is this how your master taught you to do things?"
Fang Ya flicked the dust off his fingernails: "What, you have the money to rent a better house?"
Wang Pan'er took out her money pouch and shook the loose silver coins inside, making them clatter: "Open your dog eyes and look carefully. Find me a proper house in a market town."
Upon seeing the bag full of silver, Fang Ya immediately changed his tune: "Hey! You three are really low-key. It was my oversight that I didn't ask you properly. I'll give you a 10% discount on the commission as an apology. I'll take you to find a good place right away."
Mu Chuan watched Fang Ya's performance and thought to himself that he had really learned something new.
They followed this snobbish man around and eventually settled on a two-courtyard house.
Twenty taels of silver a month, with a deposit of one month's rent and three months' rent paid in advance, Mu Chuan thought it was a good deal and asked Wang Pan'er to take out the money.
This young master is indeed a spendthrift. This house, which is three or four hundred square meters and has a large yard, cost him three months' rent as a deposit, and he has already spent most of his money. It really proves the saying that you don't know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt until you're in charge of the household!
Wang Pan'er pulled Mu Chuan behind her: "We're all lazy and don't like cleaning the yard. Renting a three-room courtyard is enough, but the location has to be good and close to the market."
Finally, they found a satisfactory house for three taels of silver.
Mu Chuan sat in the new room, extremely unhappy, looking pitiful and wronged. He complained, "You clearly have enough money, yet you rented such a small courtyard. I shouldn't have let you manage the money."
Delicate and spoiled brat.
However, without this young master, how could we have lived in such a nice house, and how could we have directly considered setting up a stall?
Wang Pan'er has a very high tolerance for Xiao Fuxing.
She stood in front of Mu Chuan and stroked his hair: "I won't rent a big courtyard. First, you'll leave sooner or later, and I don't know how long you'll stay, so I'm too lazy to move around. Second, if the courtyard is too big, it will become overgrown with weeds and won't look good. Third, we only have one hundred taels of silver, and we still need to eat, wear, and use the money. If we don't have enough money to set up the stall, we'll quickly run out of money. You don't know when you'll be able to contact your attendants again, so we need to save enough silver to ensure our future. As long as we have enough to eat and wear, I will provide the best lifestyle."
Mu Chuan had been pampered since childhood, never considering the cost of his food, clothing, or daily necessities. Hearing the woman in front of him point out the reasons clearly, he found them quite reasonable.
Seeing that Wang Pan'er's attitude softened, he immediately began to reflect on himself: "I was only thinking about the present and didn't consider your future life."
"It's alright, it's alright. Without you, I'd still be digging for wild vegetables in the mountains!" Wang Pan'er said, as she magically produced an oil paper package. "Osmanthus pastries, some people have been eyeing them for a while..."
The gesture pleased Mu Chuan, who accepted the osmanthus pastry and then suggested, "Then hurry up and buy all the household supplies and clean the house."
So well-behaved!
Wang Pan'er couldn't resist grabbing Mu Chuan's head and messing up his newly straightened hair.
Mu Chuan, his face flushed, broke free and said, "You've gone too far!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
