Su Yi opened a bag of potato chips and ate them slowly while debating whether she should head deeper into the mountain or venture outward tomorrow. She needed to figure out exactly where she was.
“I should head out to take a look, and grab some tools while I’m at it. At least I’m not lacking food or drink right now!” Having made her decision, Su Yi stared up at the starry ceiling of her tent and gradually drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Su Yi was once again woken up by the chirping of birds. She hadn’t heard any strange noises throughout the night, which suggested that this area belonged to the outer periphery of the mountain. Wild animals were likely scarce here—a conclusion she had drawn from her two days of experience.
She casually grabbed two steamed buns from the dimension and washed them down with spiritual spring water to finish her breakfast. Then, she began preparing to leave the mountain.
First, Su Yi went into the dimension to pick out a set of period clothing. She chose a set of average quality that wasn’t particularly flashy, put it on, and pinned her hair up simply. After a good deal of effort, she finally made herself look like an ancient local.
Next, she began messing with her face. The spiritual spring had vastly improved her skin, making it fair and tender, and she even felt like she had dropped a few pounds. Because of this, she needed to disguise herself to ensure her safety; after all, she possessed zero combat ability.
After washing her face with the spiritual spring water, she used foundation to darken her skin by two shades. She then rolled around on the ground twice to make herself look as disheveled and wretched as possible.
That’s right—she had already concocted an identity for herself. She was the daughter of a merchant whose family fortunes had declined. While traveling to seek refuge with relatives, she had been robbed by bandits and had ended up drifting all the way to this place.
She also prepared a small, light bundle for herself, packing a thin change of clothes inside to act as a cover.
Leaving the dimension, Su Yi used her mind to transfer all the items from her little hut back into the dimension. She was afraid that someone might come by and claim the place, and it would be disastrous if she returned to find herself in danger.
With all preparations complete, Su Yi closed the door of the hut and began walking in the opposite direction of the mountain. According to her observations, this was the outer edge of the mountain, so walking this way would definitely lead her to people from whom she could gather information.
Su Yi had already stored Mimi back into the dimension, though she could still converse with it.
“We’ll see people very soon and find out where we are. Are you happy?”
“Mm-hmm~”
Mimi gave a very perfunctory response. It didn’t really matter to the cat; as long as someone played with it, it was content.
Along the way, there was a narrow, winding path that had been trodden out by people. Su Yi followed the path straight ahead. After walking about three or four li (around 1.5 to 2 kilometers), she finally spotted a small village.
Looking at it from afar, the village’s buildings were almost entirely thatched huts with very few tiled roofs. It looked extremely impoverished.
Su Yi walked up to the nearest house. The yard looked very tidy and was simply enclosed by a fence.
“Is anyone home?”
“Aye! Coming!” A thin, kind-faced woman stepped out. She looked to be around thirty years old.
“Young sister, is there something you need?” There wasn’t a trace of impatience on the woman’s face; instead, she looked entirely friendly.
“Big Sister, my name is Su Yi. I was originally on my way to seek refuge with relatives, but I unexpectedly ran into bandits who robbed me. I drifted all the way here and took shelter in that thatched hut over there last night.” Su Yi pointed toward the mountain as she finished speaking.
“Could you tell me what place this is?”
“Young sister, my surname is Sun. Just call me Big Sister Sun. Because it relies on the mountain, this place is called Kaoshan Village. It’s about twenty li away from the nearest town, which is Qingshui Town.”
“Big Sister Sun, who does that thatched hut belong to? Does anyone want it?”
“Nobody wants it anymore. An old hunter used to go into the mountains to hunt and lived there, but he passed away long ago. You can stay there without worry. It’s just that you’re a woman living all by yourself, so it’s not very safe.”
“That’s wonderful! Big Sister, I’m not afraid. Last night was very safe, and I want to settle down here. It’s close to the mountain, so it’ll be easy to find food.”
“Young sister, come inside and have a drink of water!”
“Thank you, Big Sister! No need, I want to head back first to tidy up and organize.”
“Alright! Young sister, come over for a chat next time.”
“Okay. Big Sister, I will come visit again another day.”
Su Yi bid farewell to the woman and prepared to head toward the town. She needed to earn some silver to buy tools that weren’t available in her supermarket.
She planned to sell some eggs and vegetables, but she had to check the market prices first.
Su Yi walked along the road alone. Twenty li was much too far, so she needed to find a means of transportation. She looked ahead and behind; seeing that there was no one around, she used her mind to summon an electric scooter.
Riding an electric scooter was second nature to her. After riding for about thirty minutes, Su Yi got off, not daring to ride any further.
She was afraid of being seen; this thing was far too bizarre. It would be terrible if people targeted her as a wealthy target or viewed her as a monster.
Qingshui Town was already visible in the distance. She walked forward slowly. Her current outfit was perfect; she looked just like a village girl, which fit her intended role as a vegetable vendor perfectly.
Su Yi walked around the vegetable market area, assessing the prices and checking the varieties available. The variety of vegetables was very limited, and the same went for fruits. She decided to sell fruits alongside the vegetables, since fruit was more expensive than vegetables.
Finding a corner, she ducked into the dimension to prepare her goods, packing a basket full to the brim with eggs.
Walking over to the fruit and vegetable section, she packed some produce into several large cardboard boxes. She then sprayed a bit of spiritual spring water onto the fruits and vegetables. Instantly, the produce looked incredibly fresh and exceptionally appealing.
With everything ready, Su Yi brought her goods out of the dimension and quickly moved them out of the corner. Perhaps due to the spiritual spring water, her strength had increased significantly.
Looking at her small stall, Su Yi realized she didn’t have a scale!
“Got it!”
Su Yi cradled a few plump, bright red apples and walked over to the neighboring stall.
“Auntie, these apples are for you. Could I borrow your scale for a bit?”
“Sure thing!” Liu Lanhua’s face wrinkled with a wide smile. Seeing how large and red these apples were, she knew they certainly wouldn’t be cheap, and she felt delighted.
She sold dried goods, so they weren’t competing for the same business, making her more than willing to help.
“That’s great! Thank you, Auntie!” Two dimples appeared on Su Yi’s face.
With everything set, Su Yi began to hawk her wares.
“Come buy! Come look! Fresh vegetables! Large, red apples! Juicy, sweet pears!”
“If it doesn’t taste good, it’s free!”
As Su Yi called out, she sliced open a few fruits for people to taste. The supermarket fruits were already high quality, and with the addition of the spiritual spring water, she felt even more confident.
Hearing her cries, the surrounding crowd was instantly drawn over.
“Everyone can have a taste, it’s free! Help yourselves!”
“Young sister, give me a catty of apples. They really are sweet!” an older woman said after tasting one.
“Young lady, give me a catty of pears,” an elderly man quickly chimed in after his sample.
…
Su Yi’s business flowed in an endless stream. Her prices weren’t high—matching the other vendors—but her unique hawking and the free-trial model, along with a helping hand from Auntie Liu Lanhua next door, allowed her to sell out completely in less than an hour.
“All gone! All gone! Come back next time!” Su Yi said with a smile to the customers who hadn’t managed to buy anything.
Once the crowd dispersed, Su Yi returned the scale to Liu Lanhua and packed up her things.
“Thank you for today, Auntie. I’ll be going now. I wish you a prosperous business!”
“Aye! Good, take care on your way, young sister,” Liu Lanhua said with a smile.
Su Yi carried her things and walked toward a teahouse. With nearly one liang of silver tucked into her shirt, she felt secure and ready to spend.
She needed to gather information in the teahouse to find out which dynasty and era this was. She hadn’t dared ask Big Sister Sun or Liu Lanhua earlier because such things were common knowledge. But a teahouse was different; all kinds of people and news passed through, and with so many people around, it was a great place to just listen in.
“Please sit, what would you like?” As soon as Su Yi stepped through the door, the waiter greeted her.
“Bring me a pot of tea!”
“Right away! Please wait a moment!”
While waiting for her tea, Su Yi overheard a lot of news. This place seemed to be a fictional, alternate world that she had never heard of before. However, it was a prosperous era where the country was wealthy and the people lived in peace, and the taxes weren’t heavy. The country she was in was called the Kingdom of Yunlan.
“Tea is here!”
Su Yi pulled out ten copper coins and handed them to the waiter. “Let me ask you something. How far is it from here to the county seat, and how do I get there?” In reality, a pot of tea didn’t cost ten coins.
“It’s about a hundred li from here to the county seat. It takes most of the day on foot. If your pace is slow, you’ll even have to spend the night in Qinghe County,” the waiter said as he accepted the money.
Su Yi thanked the waiter. After finishing her tea, she walked straight toward a blacksmith shop. She needed to buy her tools quickly to see if she would have any money left over. If she did, she could treat herself to a meal at a restaurant later to taste what the local food was like.
Entering the blacksmith shop, Su Yi looked around and already had a plan in mind.
“Boss, I want a shovel, a hoe, and a sickle.”
“Right away! Please wait a moment. That will be six hundred copper coins in total.”
“Five hundred and fifty! Lower it a bit, I’ll be a regular customer!”
“Young lady, this is the set price. I haven’t overcharged you. These things inherently cost this much.”
“Alright, here you go.” Hearing this, Su Yi counted out the money and handed it to the boss. She could understand; after all, metals and tools seemed to carry a high production cost in ancient times.
After taking her items, Su Yi left the shop and headed straight to a place that sold baskets and burlap sacks, because she had nowhere to store her new purchases, and all the storage items in her dimension were too modern.
After finishing her shopping, she had only one hundred copper coins left. She didn’t dare spend any more and needed to keep them as a baseline cushion, just in case of emergencies.
By the time she finished all of this, the sun was high in the sky. She needed to leave the town and enter her dimension to get something to eat.