Half an hour later,
Qin Yi stopped in front of a shop by the roadside, glanced up at the sign hanging above it, then walked in at a leisurely pace.
The shop wasn't large, the lighting was somewhat dim, and the air was thick with an oddly fragrant incense smoke. There wasn't a single customer inside. On both sides of the entrance stood several shelves, one side displaying women's daily necessities like rouge boxes, hairpins, and wooden combs, while the other side held neatly stacked bolts of cloth.
Qin Yi went straight to the counter at the very back and tapped it lightly.
"Knock, knock."
Behind the counter sat a beautiful young woman, around seventeen or eighteen years old, propping up her cheek with one hand. She wore a simple, light-green ru-style dress and was listlessly flipping through a supernatural novel with her eyes lowered.
Hearing the sound, she looked up and spotted a burly man dressed in Immortal Guest Lodge uniforms at the shop entrance, his gaze sweeping across the interior.
The young woman tilted her chin slightly in a subtle gesture, her eyes staring at the man with a somewhat odd look for a few breaths. After confirming he had no intention of fully stepping inside, she curled her lips and lowered her head to continue reading.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
The sound came again. The young woman furrowed her brows, lifted her gaze once more, took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slightly as she said:"You..."
"I'm down here, big sister."
"..."
The young woman stood up at the sound, only to see a pale, handsome little boy in front of the counter craning his neck up at her. She froze for a moment, then smiled and waved at Qin Yi, speaking in a coaxing, childlike tone:
"Little brother, do you know where this is? If you want snacks, they're at the shop next door."
Qin Yi nodded and said seriously:
"I know. I want to have a piece of clothing custom-made."
The shop here was called Meng's Clothing Workshop, and because its accessories and clothing styles all came from the Central Plains, and were both high-quality and reasonably priced, it was quite popular among the wandering courtesans and even brothel ladies of Yellow Bamboo Town.
The young woman sized up Qin Yi's tattered cotton clothes for a moment. Taking pity on how cute he was, she leaned forward, pressing her chest against the counter, reached out to pinch Qin Yi's cheek, and smiled with curved eyes:
"How about this, little brother? Big sister will buy you some snacks from next door, and you just run on home, alright?"
"..."
Ignoring the snacks offered on account of his looks, Qin Yi silently reached into his robe, pulled out a neatly folded sheet of rice paper, stood on his tiptoes, and placed it on the counter:
"Just make it according to this. Use the best fabric."
Seeing this adorable gesture, the young woman couldn't resist giving his cheek a little jiggle with her pinching hand. Only after Qin Yi stared at her in speechless exasperation did she sheepishly withdraw her hand and pick up the rice paper.
Unfolding it for a glance, the young woman was slightly taken aback. Raising a slender brow, she asked instinctively:
"Where did you get this design?"
"I drew it myself."
"Little kids who lie to their big sister wet the bed..."
"Uncle Zhou."
Qin Yi called out toward the entrance.
The burly man surnamed Zhou stood right at the door and had heard the conversation clearly. He spoke up from the doorway in a clear voice:
"Miss Meng, he's Ruan Su's little brother. The boss has given him a spending allowance of fifty taels of silver, so no need to worry about him being short on money."
The two seemed to know each other, or rather, the burly man knew the young woman unilaterally.
[What does that have to do with the design?]
Meng Peijiu muttered inwardly, then turned her gaze back to the design.
It was a very novel design. The waistline, shoulders, and elbows all balanced convenience with aesthetics, and the drawing itself was extremely professional. Besides the front, back, and side views, there were enlarged detail drawings and even annotations on the types of fabric to use.
"Can you make it?" came the childish inquiry.
"I can."
Meng Peijiu tucked the design into her robe and once again looked the boy over. After pondering for a moment, she decided to stop worrying about where the design had truly come from and asked softly with a smile:
"Little brother, would you sell this design? I could fold the price into the cost of the clothes."
Qin Yi was a little surprised.
This world had no concept of intellectual property. Aside from famous poems and songs, anything like a design printed in one's own mind was one's own property. Yet she was actually offering to buy it.
Was it because the boss was vouching for him?
Or because of his face?
Qin Yi nodded:
"Sure. How much silver do you think it's worth?"
A hint of contemplation flickered in Meng Peijiu's eyes:
"Since we're using the best fabric, hmm... let's just round it up for you. Fifty taels, how about that?"
Qin Yi's eye twitched.
He retracted his earlier assessment and seriously suspected this woman was fleecing him.
Fifty taels for one garment? Was it made of gold, or could it stop arrows?
Meng Peijiu seemed to read Qin Yi's silence. She let out a light laugh, waved her slender hand, and said with confidence:
"You can see the finished product before you decide. But consider this design the down payment."
Hearing that, Qin Yi immediately agreed and nodded:
"Alright, thank you, big sister."
Meng Peijiu smiled with curved eyes. In the end, she couldn't resist stepping out from behind the counter to ruffle Qin Yi's little head:
"Give big sister three days. Three days from now, little brother, you come..."
Mid-sentence,
Her gaze suddenly drifted toward the shop entrance.
At the same time,
Qin Yi also heard a faint, ragged panting.
His heart sank.
Turning to look, he saw a young girl appear at the doorway, breathing heavily, as if she'd sprinted all the way here. One hand gripped the doorframe while the other clutched a bundle of medicine packets, and her eyes were locked dead onto him.
Qin Yi silently took a step back, shielding Meng Peijiu behind him, and as the girl stepped into the shop, he spoke in an extremely rapid-fire tone:
"Sis, why are you here? Wait, okay, yes, I did sneak out, but isn't Uncle Zhou here to watch over me? You know him, right? Oh, right, I'm buying you clothes right now, and I was also thinking about dealing with that batch of goods we got yesterday, so I..."
Amid the rapid-fire words,
From the corner of his eye, Qin Yi noticed that Meng Peijiu, who he'd shielded behind him, was trembling almost imperceptibly.
He was just wondering if Ruan Su's fearsome reputation in Yellow Bamboo Town was that overwhelming, when he saw the woman being shoved aside.
Tsk.
"THUMP!"
"..."
Qin Yi crouched on the ground, clutching his head.
...
"So besides the custom clothes, you also have a batch of goods you want to move?"
"Mm."
"And you want us to send people to collect it?"
"Mm."
This Meng's Clothing Workshop, besides selling clothes and women's daily necessities, also served as the Immortal Guest Lodge's largest black-market trader on the side.
No questions about where goods came from, cash on delivery, fair dealing for young and old alike.
Back when she was still lucid, Ruan Su used to take Qin Yi around Yellow Bamboo Town to familiarize him with the place. When they passed by, she had specifically introduced him to this black-market trader, the only one she'd ever introduced.
Apparently, the owner of this shop, like the siblings themselves, had fled from the Central Plains during that war ten years ago.
So Qin Yi had snuck over here,
And now he had a lump on his head.
Back behind the counter, Meng Peijiu's gaze fell on the pair of them, one tall and one short, and she barely suppressed a laugh before letting out a sigh:
"Alright, so what do you two want to 'pawn'?"
With a lump on his head, Qin Yi cleared his throat and answered:
"Leather and tobacco, plus some spices. A decent amount. Also two Shaking Apes and over a dozen bladed weapons."
"Did you lot just wipe out some roaming bandits' hideout?"
Meng Peijiu was quick on the uptake, raising a brow at Ruan Su.
Ruan Su held Qin Yi's hand and said nothing. Talking would make her throat hurt.
Seeing this, Meng Peijiu didn't press further. She got up, turned toward the back of the shop, and hollered:
"Mom~ I'm heading out for a bit. Come down and watch the store."
"..."
Everyone simultaneously looked toward the curtain behind the counter. Most shops in Yellow Bamboo Town ran their business in the front, while the backyard and upper floor served as the family's living quarters.
Before long,
The sound of unhurried footsteps descending the stairs came from the inner room. The curtain leading to the back was pulled aside, and an old woman stepped out.
Meng Peijiu was most likely adopted, because her mother seemed far too old. Her hair was streaked with white, she had small eyes and high cheekbones, her face was rather sinister, and she wore all black, radiating an aura of grim, deathly gloom.
The old woman walked unhurriedly toward the counter while speaking, though her voice was unexpectedly gentle and kind:
"Little Jiu... haven't I told you before? For regular pickups, just let Meng Qi handle it. The mountains have been unsettled lately, so try not to go out."
Meng Peijiu glanced at Ruan Su and said:
"It's private goods Ruan Su found. I want to appraise them myself, then have Meng Qi haul them straight back."
"Little Su?"
Only then did Granny Meng shift her gaze to Ruan Su. The corners of her eyes curved, pulling at the wrinkles on her face, and her smile was somewhat unsettling:
"It's been a long time since I've seen you, girl. You never come by to visit this old woman anymore."
"..."
Ruan Su released Qin Yi and gave Granny Meng a bow.
Granny Meng smiled and nodded:
"Since it's Little Su's matter, it's good for you to make the trip yourself."
The moment she finished speaking,
In the dim light,
Granny Meng abruptly turned her head toward Qin Yi, who stood off to the side. She squinted with a smile, her aged voice so soft it felt like a spring breeze:
"Little one, why have you been staring at this old woman this whole time?"
Qin Yi met her gaze, still fixed on her face, and replied with a bright smile:
"I just feel like I've seen you somewhere before, Granny."
The smile on Granny Meng's face didn't waver. Her small eyes narrowed into slits, a glint of unreadable light flickering within them as she said:
"Of course you have. Your sister used to bring you by all the time to stroll in front of this old woman. But back then, you were always in a daze, not half as sharp as you are now."
"Oh..."
Qin Yi nodded in sudden realization, as if accepting the explanation.
Whether he was lucid or not, Ruan Su would occasionally bring him into town to pay respects to the local powers and get his face known, just to avoid any unpleasant misunderstandings.
Granny Meng waved her hand, turned, and walked behind the counter, telling Meng Peijiu:
"Go on now. Peijiu, don't make such a racket in front of Little Su. Remember to come back early."
"Okay~ got it, Mom."
The four of them left Meng's Pawnshop. As they were leaving, Qin Yi noticed the burly man surnamed Zhou also bowed a salute toward the shop.
It seemed,
This Granny Meng held quite a high status within the Immortal Guest Lodge.
And besides,
He had indeed seen her before.
But not in Yellow Bamboo Town.