Xu Wen glanced sideways and saw that it was the young woman who had just stepped forward to speak out righteously.
Meeting his direct gaze, the young woman shyly ducked away, her fair, delicate face blooming with two blushes. She pinched her embroidered handkerchief to cover the lower half of her face, and her voice, sounding like an oriole, rang out once more: “Do not misunderstand, young master, this maiden was merely overcome by a momentary impulse and thus uttered reckless words, hoping the young master will not take offense.”
The young woman acted coy and bashful, while Xu Wen delivered a heavy blow.
A soft laugh slipped from his nasal passages, steeped in undisguised mockery, “Miss Chen, is it? What am I supposed to misunderstand? I haven’t misunderstood anything at all. Go back and tell your master that I am no gentleman, nor can I pull off falling in love with someone just because of a damsel-in-distress rescue trope.”
Miss Chen’s face turned white in an instant, and she stared at him in shock.
“Curious how I knew about it? I’ll tell you the next time we meet.”
Xu Wen chuckled softly inside. He had no idea why these people kept targeting the original host. Was it because they saw the original host lacked a background and appeared timid, prompting them to bully him repeatedly?
First came the pig-headed bully, followed by a deliberate approach.
This daily life… turned out to be just as lively as his old days.
“For a single handkerchief, I can offer six copper coins here. If the little brother finds this acceptable, I will fetch the money right away.” The shopkeeper examined the finished product embroidered by Xu Mother for a moment, nodding with satisfaction. With such neat stitching and fine details, this was truly not bad! Once he transported these embroidered handkerchiefs to a nearby large city, he would be able to turn a tidy little profit!
However, Xu Wen sat straight up, a pair of sharp, piercing eyes staring fixedly at the shopkeeper: “This price doesn’t quite match the quality of the goods, does it?”
The shopkeeper’s expression froze, and he swallowed uneasily, “How does it not match? In the past, I always sold them to that woman at this price. Why is it that when it comes to you, problems and dissatisfaction suddenly arise!”
Impossible. This young brother looked like someone who had never seen the outside world; how could he possibly know that the price he sold these handkerchiefs for far exceeded the money he was offering?
The shopkeeper was being evasive and shifty with his words. Xu Wen hadn’t expected one setback after another, but he also had no intention of letting the handkerchiefs—which Xu Mother had spent painstaking effort embroidering until her eyes strained—be sold off dirt cheap. Thus, he darkened his face, took back the bundle on the table, and snatched back the single handkerchief the shopkeeper was holding as well.
“Since the shopkeeper has not a shred of sincerity, there is no need to discuss this business further.”
Xu Wen turned and walked out.
The shopkeeper’s face turned the color of a liver from anger, and he hammered his fist heavily onto the countertop.
A moment later, a cold sneer curled his lips. He wanted to see who else in this little town would buy these handkerchiefs. Toss and turn as they might, sooner or later they would only come scurrying back in embarrassment to beg him to buy them!
Xu Wen walked out of the shop, but he was not in any rush to find another buyer.
Or rather, he had never even thought about looking for other shops to take in the embroidered handkerchiefs. Combining the plot lines and the original host’s memories, Xu Wen had roughly figured out what kind of impoverished boondock Ping’an Town was, which could be summed up as “a desolate place where even exiled officials refuse to visit.”
Aside from this ready-made clothing store, the shopkeeper was not a local, which was why he had connections to sell items that looked useless yet exquisite.
However, Xu Wen knew that in the plot, the shopkeeper of this clothing store would later amass a fortune through a uniquely created embroidery technique, becoming especially famous for embroidered handkerchiefs and even blazing a trail of popularity all the way to the bustling capital.
Yet clearly, the clothing store styles and fabric designs Xu Wen had laid eyes on inside the shop just now were, well, utterly ordinary and even carried an outdated rustic vibe.
Xu Wen had initially found it strange, but gave it no further thought until he opened the bundle and caught sight of the exquisite embroidered handkerchiefs inside, at which point it fully clicked for him.
Afterward, he was angered to laughter by the shopkeeper’s brazen, lowball pricing tactics.
He couldn’t help wondering: in the storyline, how on earth had that shopkeeper managed to acquire Xu Mother’s self-created embroidery technique? Had he cajoled Xu Mother into selling the technique worth taels of silver for a pittance? Or had he murdered for wealth?
He hadn’t finished listening to the original book, but he also understood deeply that the trajectory of a cannon fodder character rarely warranted the author spending ink and brush on details.
The eventual fate of the Xu family probably wouldn’t even appear in the book.
Yet this also implied the unknown; with no fixed conclusion, it naturally also symbolized hope.
Sorting out his thoughts, Xu Wen figured that with Xu Mother’s unique skill in hand, coupled with his own oversight, the Xu family wouldn’t fall back into the bitter days of not knowing where their next meal was coming from.
So he wasn’t in a hurry to chase after quick cash; he decided to go check the notice board first, and perhaps he might even run into the murderer who had killed the original host.
The place where the official exam results were posted was at the entrance of the town. When Xu Wen arrived, a crowd had already gathered there, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks, waiting for the moment time arrived to witness the thrilling outcome.
Xu Wen didn’t squeeze his way through, instead standing back in a shady spot at the rear, crossing his arms to await the results.
Strictly speaking, provincial examination lists should, at the very worst, be posted right in front of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner’s Office, yet here, the provincial exam results could be perused just as casually at the town entrance.
Tch, after all, the original novel was a long-term resident of toxic ranking lists, and the author’s cultural literacy was limited, so it was understandable.
Soon, government officials dispatched a contingent of guards. The bright yellow provincial examination list was slowly unfurled and then pinned straight onto the wall, completing the process.
Guards stood on both sides brandishing long spears to hold back the swarming townspeople, from time to time barking coldly at those stretching their necks and shoving forward: “Step back, step back! Stop pushing!”
Before long, the people who caught the first glimpse of the names on the list reacted in different ways. Some shouted excitedly with delirious expressions, “I’ve passed! I’ve passed! I made the list!”
Others wept bitterly, covering their faces in profound grief, “Oh Mother, I failed the exams again. I’ve let down our ancestors, wuwu!”
Some rejoiced while others sorrowed, their grief and joy entirely disconnected.
There were also neighborhood aunties who loved joining the excitement, clutching their vegetable baskets as they crowded in. Though they couldn’t recognize many characters, their enthusiasm was through the roof, exchanging knowing glances with nearby companions and chiming in every now and then with remarks like, “Isn’t this so-and-so from the village entrance? How ironic, they failed again.”
After the crowd around the notice board gradually dispersed, Xu Wen stepped forward. Right as he arrived, a surprised voice rang out from the thinning crowd: “Isn’t this that kid from the Xu family in Ping’an Village? It’s his first time taking the exam, and he actually passed!”
“Auntie, who did you say? Is it that family that can barely scrape together enough for meals, yet insists on funding their eldest son’s studies?” An older woman’s eyes lit up with excitement as she squeezed right over, loudly dropping her voice into a carrying gossip whisper.
Xu Wen paused in his tracks, listening with intense interest.
Behind him, a group of people marched past. They wore uniform dark-colored garments, and every single one of them emanated a chilling, murderous aura as they scanned their surroundings, as though searching for someone. Neither Xu Wen nor the gossiping women engaged in heated conversation noticed them in the slightest.