“Sir, are you all right?”
Seeing the man fall, Lu Yiyi quickly let go of Yun Zhu’s hand and ran over, attempting to help him up.
However, being so young and lacking strength, she couldn’t budge him.
Yun Zhu cautiously pulled her daughter back, her face full of guard.
“Huh? Sir, why is your hair yellow?” Lu Yiyi studied the fallen man curiously, looking back and forth between his hair and his eyes before gasping in surprise, “Aah! Sir, what’s wrong with your eyes?”
Yun Zhu had not expected to encounter a blue-eyed, blonde-haired foreigner in a small place like Daliang County.
By now, the fallen foreigner had finally caught his breath. Using awkward Tianqi dialect, he said, “I am only twenty-eight years old! You should call me Brother or Uncle!”
There was a hint of annoyance in his voice.
He had traveled back and forth to the Kingdom of Tianqi several times, and every time, half-grown children would call him “Sir.” It really made him angry!
“You’re younger than my mother?!” Lu Yiyi’s little mouth opened slightly in shock.
*He looks so old!*
“Are you two mother and daughter?” Eric looked at Yun Zhu with bright eyes. “Lady, you look very young and beautiful! Could you tell me your names?”
“I…”
Lu Yiyi was about to answer when Yun Zhu interrupted her: “Sir, since you are fine, we will be taking our leave!”
Yun Zhu pulled her daughter along as they squeezed into the bustling crowd.
“Yiyi, when we’re away from home, you shouldn’t speak to strangers, because they might very well be bad people. Do you understand?”
Although Lu Yiyi was young, the events of the past two days had forced her to absorb a great deal. She nodded with a serious little face: “Mother, I’ll remember!”
“Lady—” From a distance came the call of that foreign man: “My name is Eric!”
Not wanting to cause trouble, Yun Zhu led her daughter away from the wharves in a hurry and went to the marketplace in the eastern quarter.
The eastern market was entirely different from the one in the northern quarter. The streets were much wider and cleaner, lined with passing horse-drawn carriages and devoid of roadside stalls—only shops stood side by side along the avenue.
Holding her daughter’s hand, Yun Zhu walked into a pawnshop with a clear target in mind.
“Sister, are you here to pawn something?” The shop assistant glanced at the mother and daughter’s plain attire and asked in a cool tone.
“Is your manager in?” Yun Zhu asked.
The assistant looked at her sideways: “If you have something to pawn, pawn it. If not, hurry up and leave. Our manager doesn’t just meet anyone!”
Yun Zhu’s brow furrowed.
*Was Tu Er reliable or not?*
Last night, he had claimed that this pawnshop possessed the best reputation in all of Daliang County, honest to young and old alike!
Yet looking at things now, that didn’t seem to be the case at all.
“Xiao Deng!” Just then, a middle-aged man lifted the curtain behind the counter and stepped out, looking at the assistant with displeasure. “I was only gone for a moment—is this how you treat our guests?”
The assistant named Xiao Deng turned pale: “Manager, I… my attitude was poor just now. I was wrong!”
The manager said with a cold face, “On your very first day here, I told you that as long as someone steps through this door, no matter their identity, they must be treated as an honored guest. Tell me, how many times this month have you put on an attitude with our customers?”
“Manager, I promise I’ll never do it again! Please give me one more chance!” Xiao Deng said with regret, nearly falling to his knees before the manager.
“The silver you drew this month already covers your wage. Leave,” the manager said without mercy.
Ignoring Xiao Deng, who wiped away tears as he departed, the manager politely said to Yun Zhu, “Apologies for letting you see such a sight, Sister. May I ask what item you wish to pawn?”
Yun Zhu reached into her bosom—actually drawing it from her pocket dimension—and handed over a compact makeup mirror.
The moment he saw the mirror, the usually composed manager showed an undeniable look of shock on his face.
“This is…”
“This is a vanity mirror from overseas,” Yun Zhu had prepared her explanation long ago.
The manager did not take the mirror directly. Instead, he fetched a piece of silk cloth to wrap around the mirror’s handle, carefully receiving it and examining it inside and out.
“Little Sister, this vanity mirror of yours is a rare treasure!” The manager said with excitement. “Do you truly intend to pawn this mirror?”
Having run a pawnshop for most of his life, this was the first time he had ever received a mirror so clear and beautiful.
Not only was the mirror surface crystal clear, but even the handle and the framing materials were things he had never seen before.
He was willing to bet that a second mirror like this could not be found anywhere in the entire Kingdom of Tianqi!
“Pawn it!” Yun Zhu said without hesitation. “Manager, if this is an outright sale, how much is it worth?”
“An outright sale?!” The manager was overjoyed, then said, “For an outright sale, a firm price: five hundred taels! What does Little Sister think?”
Yun Zhu pondered briefly.
The manager’s heart leapt into his throat, terrified that she might back out.
Yet this price was truly the absolute limit he could offer.
“Deal!” Yun Zhu said straightforwardly. “All of it in physical silver!”
In these chaotic times, paper bank notes could turn into worthless paper on any given day. Physical silver was what gave a person a sense of security.
The pawnshop owner respected his customers’ privacy; he did not inquire about the origin of the mirror, nor was he curious about how Yun Zhu intended to carry away thirty or forty pounds of silver.
Leaving the pawnshop, the mother and daughter walked to a deserted street corner, where Yun Zhu swept the silver into her pocket dimension.
This was not the first time Lu Yiyi had seen her mother perform “magic tricks,” so she wasn’t surprised.
“Mother, are we rich people now?” Lu Yiyi looked around vigilantly, lowering her voice to ask only after making sure no one was near.
“Haha~” Amused by her daughter’s loveliness, Yun Zhu pinched her nose. “That’s right. Mother is going to take you to a restaurant for a grand feast right now!”
Her little girl already understood the principle of not flaunting one’s wealth!
There were several large restaurants on the street, so Yun Zhu let her daughter choose for herself: “Which restaurant would you like to eat at?”
The little girl looked left and right, pointing at one called the “Zuixiao Restaurant”: “Let’s go to this one!”
Seeing the irrepressible excitement on her daughter’s face—completely lacking yesterday’s caution and timidity—Yun Zhu’s expression softened: “Alright, this one it is!”
Stepping into the restaurant, Lu Yiyi shrank back slightly at the sight of the lavish decor and the crowded main hall.
“Don’t be afraid, Yiyi. We have money, and we’re here to eat. We don’t need to fear anyone!” Yun Zhu encouraged her daughter in a quiet voice.
Lu Yiyi’s eyes lit up.
*That’s right, Mother has so much money now!*
*There’s no need to worry about being unable to pay for the meal!*
The little girl instantly straightened her back.
Yun Zhu smiled and asked the waiter directly for a private room.
Looking at the mother and daughter’s simple clothing, the waiter had doubts in his heart, yet he still complied with Yun Zhu’s request and led them to a small private room.
Once they entered the room, the waiter immediately handed over the menu. Unsure if Yun Zhu could read, he introduced thoughtfully, “Drunken Crab, Longjing Shrimp, Braised Perch, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and Sliced Roast Suckling Pig are all signature dishes of our restaurant. Would the Madam and Young Lady like to order one or two to try something fresh?”
Yun Zhu opened the menu, which was filled with traditional characters she recognized, and ordered a few more: “Bring us one serving of each of the signature dishes you just mentioned. Add a Crispy Fried Chicken, a dish of Cherry Pork, a Pouch Pork Tenderloin, Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs, and oh, a bowl of Jade Dew Double-White Soup.”
With every dish Yun Zhu ordered, the waiter’s heart leaped.
With so many dishes, even ten people wouldn’t be able to finish them all. Could this mother and daughter pair be here to eat a dine-and-dash meal?
It had to be said that the waiter had stumbled upon the truth.
Yun Zhu had brought her daughter out today to see the world and enjoy a feast, and she truly had no intention of spending a single piece of silver.