First signs
The spring rain continued for more than ten days, and Wang Pan'er's stall was deserted for more than ten days as well.
Whenever he had free time, Mu Chuan would start tutoring Wang Xiaoyao.
Before the sky had even cleared, Wang Xiaoyao could already recite the Three Character Classic backwards fluently, and he would always get satisfactory answers to Mu Chuan's questions, even engaging in several rounds of debate on insightful points. His quick wit impressed Mu Chuan, who exclaimed, "If he were a man, he would surely have passed the imperial examinations and had a smooth path to success."
As Wang Xiaoyao devoted himself to his studies, the last spring rain came in torrential downpour. The rain washed away the dampness of spring, the sun reappeared in the sky, and the temperature rose sharply, marking the arrival of summer.
As usual, Wang Pan'er pulled out mung bean paste from the large water vat, tidied up the cart, and pushed it out of the courtyard. Before even reaching the market, she noticed that the streets were bustling with people, unusually lively.
Thinking it was just some local custom, Wang Pan'er made herself a bowl of mung bean soup and pulled Zhao Niangzi next door to ask, "Sister, what's the auspicious day today?"
“You wouldn’t know if I hadn’t been out at my stall these past few days.” Zhao Niangzi set up her stall early and, taking advantage of the bustling market, worked tirelessly throughout the morning market hours. Her mouth was parched, so she gulped down half a bowl of mung bean soup and said contentedly, “They’re setting up a mine here and are hiring. Many farmers and young children have come out to find work.”
Wang Pan'er asked, "Which mine is managed by the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce?"
Zhao Niangzi replied, "Yes, it's because the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event that so many people are going."
Wang Pan'er continued, "So it seems that the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce has an excellent reputation."
“Absolutely! Not to mention that the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce is the largest in our Jinzhong area, joining it requires overcoming numerous hurdles. Just the shops under the guild demand that their goods be of the highest quality and that they adhere to their industry standards and treat their employees well. That alone is enough to win the support of the people. Even in the event of natural disasters or man-made calamities, the guild can work alongside the government to provide relief to us ordinary people.” Zhao Niangzi’s face showed longing. “You wouldn’t believe it, everyone is scrambling to get jobs at the mines they operate.”
If what Zhao Niangzi said is true, then the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce is indeed very well-run.
Seeing that Wang Pan'er was listening attentively, Zhao Niangzi added, "Many of the leading shops in our industry here have the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce sign. If one day I can go from a stall to a shop and then join the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce, that would be a great honor for my family."
"My sister's mutton soup is absolutely amazing, the taste is definitely not a problem. But if you want to become a big restaurant, you need to plan carefully, and you can't skimp on the time and effort required."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Niangzi pursed her lips: "Well, let's take it one step at a time. If it's really too difficult, we can't force ourselves. The future is too far away. We ordinary people should enjoy every day as it comes."
In this life, we live for the feelings brought about by the seven emotions and six desires, so whether we are happy in the present moment is naturally the most important thing.
Wang Pan'er strongly agreed and wanted to continue chatting with Zhao Niangzi, but a customer came to the stall, so she had to give up the idea.
Yesterday, Wang Pan'er made an agreement with the manager of Bazhen Pavilion to sell ingredient packages. After finishing with the first wave of customers buying breakfast today, Wang Pan'er sent Wang Xiaoyao to Huirentang to buy medicinal herbs.
Based on past experience, the morning market is busy for a while, then quiet for a couple of hours. Although there are many people at lunchtime, most diners just order a spoonful of sauce or noodles with toppings, which is not complicated. The three of them can prepare the food very quickly. After lunchtime, they have to wait for the students to pass by after school, and then the workers who have finished work will start to go home one after another. That's when the real battle of the day begins.
The downtime in between can be used to make ingredient packets.
Right now, people are flocking to the mines to find work, passing through the market town where Wang Pan'er and her friends live from time to time, and many people from other places are asking for directions.
Wang Pan'er casually pointed and then propped her head up to continue flipping through the lighthearted storybooks that Mu Chuan had found.
Just as I was engrossed in my story, a head suddenly popped over the cart and shouted, "Wang Pan'er!"
Wang Pan'er was so startled that she dropped the book in her hand to the ground.
She raised her eyes in annoyance, but before she could utter a curse, she noticed that the middle-aged man in front of her looked familiar, so she stopped and didn't respond.
Following the faces in the original owner's memories, Wang Pan'er checked them against the others and was basically able to confirm that the visitors were villagers from Wangjia Village.
What bad luck!
She grabbed a fork and shoved the villager's head off the cart: "What are you barking about? If you spit your stinking saliva into your ancestors' pot, can you afford to compensate for this whole pot of meat?"
The newcomer nearly got stabbed by the fork and was furious: "You're not dead? You actually managed to get away!"
"What Wang Pan'er, Li Zhaodi? If you want to buy something, choose it and pay for it. If you don't want to buy anything, don't interfere with your ancestors' business."
Seeing the intruder's menacing gaze, Mu Chuan quickly pulled Wang Pan'er behind him to protect her.
"Are you this brat's lover?" The villager glanced at Mu Chuan with disdain, then continued to curse Wang Pan'er with his yellow teeth. "You really are a slut. You ran away from your marriage, and Sanya followed you. Thanks to you, no girl in Wangjia Village can find a match now. You are the sinner of the entire Wangjia Village."
"Do I know you? Don't try to claim kinship with me. You're not here to steal my stall, are you? Taking advantage of me, a weak woman who lost her parents and has no one to prove her innocence. You worthless scoundrel, you just want to sell your daughter, right? It's not that your daughter isn't related to you, but it's that you can't get a dowry to buy a wife for your son. I think you should give up. A coward should die without descendants. Don't go around hurting other people's daughters."
The middle-aged man was instantly enraged and grabbed a bamboo tube from the cart, smashing it towards Wang Pan'er.
Mu Chuan held Wang Pan'er close, and the bamboo tubes were all slammed down on him. Even with his good temper, he couldn't bear it any longer and squeezed out a "Get out" through gritted teeth.
"You're just a mistress telling me to get lost? Today I'm taking her home to marry someone else."
"Who are you going to marry?" This was the scene of bullying that Brother Mang encountered when he rushed over from the street.
Fortunately, the patrolling underlings relayed the message quickly.
Mang Ge propped his machete against Wang Pan'er's cart, grabbed the middle-aged man by the collar, and distanced himself from him. "This couple has been doing business here honestly. Did you get my permission to interfere?"
“Exactly,” Zhao Niangzi from next door chimed in. “The couple has a great relationship, why are you making up stories about them when you’re not even related to them?”
"You're really something!" The middle-aged man, still not stopping even with Mang Ge grabbing his collar, said, "You must have sold your ass quite a bit, since one after another, they're all eager to protect you."
"Screw your father's balls!" Mang Ge spat out a sentence in the middle-aged man's face. "I'm in charge of this street. If you cause trouble here, you're just looking for trouble with me, Mang Ge. I have a wife. If she misunderstands because of your foul language, I'll beat you until you're childless."
Mang Ge's threat was very powerful; Old Deng is a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong.
This experience made him wonder if he had mistaken the person for someone else. Wang Pan'er had been thin and emaciated since childhood, while the woman before him was plump and full of energy.
Although the middle-aged man was unwilling, he was still chased out of the market by Brother Mang.
Mang Ge chased the people away, then returned; "Did the young lady really run away from her arranged marriage?"
Wang Pan'er, with a stern face, forked out a piece of meat weighing about a pound: "It crawled out of a coffin."
"Tsk." Mang Ge picked up his machete. "He's a real piece of work."
Wang Pan'er packed up the chopped meat and handed it to Brother Mang: "Thank you so much, Brother Mang. If it weren't for you, I don't know how much trouble he would have caused me today."
"Although I've already received the money, it's all part of the job. But this braised meat is delicious, so I won't be polite with you. Don't take it too hard, young lady. Your husband is a bit weak, but his heart is with you. You have to look forward to the future."
Wang Pan'er had no energy to explain her relationship with Mu Chuan. She nodded, slumped back down at her stall, and didn't want to talk to anyone anymore.
The fear and resentment this body felt towards the vampires of Wangjia Village were etched into its very bones. Wang Pan'er felt her heart tighten, and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.
Ever since Mu Chuan met Wang Pan'er, she had always been like an unyielding cockroach. Now, she was crying so hard she could barely breathe, while saying that she was fine. Mu Chuan was at a loss and frantically tried to wipe the tears off her face.
"I'm really not sad anymore, it's just that my body can't help it."
"Go ahead and cry if you want to. You're the bravest woman I've ever met."
"How embarrassing." Wang Pan'er sniffed and grabbed Mu Chuan's hand that was wiping her face. "Can I borrow your shoulder?"
Mu Chuan, unusually uninhibited, readily pulled her head close to his chest. Like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, she hid her face between the fabric of Mu Chuan's clothes.
A hand gently stroked her hair: "What are you afraid of losing face for? You have plenty of face to spare."
This person's behavior is gentle, but why are their words suddenly so sarcastic?
Wang Pan'er opened her mouth and bit his shoulder. The bite wasn't strong enough to penetrate the fabric, but Mu Chuan's muffled chuckle came through: "Are you a dog?"
"You're like a wolf," she said in a deep voice. "A dog like you, you'd bite right away."
Wang Pan'er didn't really intend to bite Mu Chuan, but after returning home, Mu Chuan leaped high like a dog catching a frisbee and caught a pigeon, startling Wang Pan'er.
"What are you trying to do, you little dog?"
"What do you mean by 'sneaking around'?" Mu Chuan didn't know where Wang Pan'er got so many strange yet vivid words from. However, having stopped the pigeon, he had no time to think about anything else. "These are my family's carrier pigeons. Stopping them is perfectly aboveboard. My attendants must have found out where I am!"
"They even raise carrier pigeons! The Mu family is really wealthy!" Wang Pan'er had only ever seen carrier pigeons in novels and movies, and she asked with great curiosity, "Let me see, what's the difference between this little thing and an ordinary pigeon?"
"They're just ordinary pigeons, kept by professional pigeon trainers."
Mu Chuan untied the small note rolled up from the pigeon's left leg and unfolded it.
The young master is in trouble; send men immediately.
"It must have been my henchmen who found my trail." Wang Pan'er mimicked the sarcastic tone and burst into laughter again. "Your henchmen seem a bit dim-witted. If it weren't for your good luck today, when you caught them with your quick eyes and hands, who knows when we would have been able to make contact!"
Mu Chuan, after being ridiculed by Wang Pan'er, gritted his teeth, grabbed the pen and paper, tied the letter to the other leg of the carrier pigeon, released it again, and said to Wang Pan'er, who was laughing so hard she was bent over, "You are really unreasonable!"
"Alright, alright, I won't laugh at you anymore!" Wang Pan'er calmed down. "But now that you've contacted your attendant, are you about to leave?"
Mu Chuan's expression darkened, and after a long while, he gave a barely audible "hmm".
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