In no time, the bowl of instant noodles was finished, not a single drop of broth left.
Jiang Ling brought out her freshly made bowl of noodles and saw the old man had already finished.
“Elder, are you full? If not, I still have some here.”
The old man waved his hands in embarrassment. “No, no, thank you for letting this old man taste such delicious food. It’s a pity I didn’t bring any money.”
As he spoke, he untied his carrying basket. “These are wild vegetables I gathered from the mountain today, along with some fresh pine mushrooms and straw mushrooms. They’re all wild things from the mountains, not worth much. Please don’t look down on them.”
How could Jiang Ling possibly accept? “I said it was my treat, I can’t take your things, elder.”
Under the old man’s insistence, Jiang Ling finally took some mushrooms and wild vegetables.
As for the bottle of mineral water, Jiang Ling insisted he take it, showing him she still had plenty.
After finishing her own noodles, Jiang Ling enjoyed the cool breeze at the door for a while.
Then she got up to start cleaning the second floor.
Suddenly, Jiang Ling thought of something.
She looked up. The light bulb seemed to be working normally again.
If it could still be used, she’d save herself the trouble of changing it.
Since the shop had been closed for years, there was a slight musty smell. Jiang Ling looked around; no one was passing by, so she left the door open to continue airing it out.
The second floor was smaller, with only one room partitioned off. There was also a small living area.
The furniture was complete, just somewhat old and not particularly new.
It took Jiang Ling just over an hour to finish cleaning.
As for the furniture, she’d have to make do. She was no longer the pampered young mistress. She truly had no money to buy new things.
Just as she was about to go downstairs for some water, she heard a sound from below.
“Is anyone here? Shopkeeper?”
Jiang Ling was puzzled. Who else would come so late at night?
“Is the shopkeeper in?”
“Coming!”
She had just descended the stairs when she saw a boy in Hanfu standing at the door, one hand braced against the doorframe.
He looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old.
Jiang Ling looked at his long hair tied up high. Was it currently trendy for boys in this village to have long hair?
Or was there a Hanfu event in the village tonight?
“Hello, what can I do for you?”
“…A female shopkeeper?”
Seeing him immersed in his Hanfu role-play, Jiang Ling also replied using classical language: “Young master, this humble shop is not open for business. What do you require?”
The boy was momentarily stunned, as if he had just remembered to perform a greeting.
It must be said, this little boy’s etiquette was quite reminiscent of ancient times. His chashou bow was even more standard than those acted out in TV dramas.
“I disturb you so late at night, shopkeeper. I was passing through this area. The road was slippery from the rain, and I unfortunately fell, sustaining a minor injury. I wonder if you might have any medicinal ointment here? I am willing to pay a handsome sum. I beg your convenience.”
Not bad, this little kid spoke in a classical manner quite convincingly.
Jiang Ling looked at his Hanfu. There were signs of friction at the knees, and some mud stains on his clothes.
He probably went out to play, took a tumble, got hurt, and dirtied his clothes. Afraid of getting scolded when he returned home, he thought to find a place to deal with it first.
Although his speech and actions seemed earnest, what well-behaved child would still be out playing at this hour?
“I do have some external ointment. Come in first.” As Jiang Ling spoke, she reached out to support him.
The boy was greatly startled, hurriedly pulling his hand away, his face reddening. “…Men and women… should not touch when giving or receiving!”
Jiang Ling was speechless. “How old are you, you little brat, to talk like that? You’re probably still in elementary school at your age!”
The boy was clearly intimidated by her. “I… am twelve… I am indeed still attending school.”
Jiang Ling rolled her eyes at him. “Hurry up, how much longer do you want to delay? Do you still want to go home or not?”
The boy sighed and finally stopped resisting, allowing her to help him walk towards the sofa near the door.
Once he was seated, Jiang Ling crouched down and lifted the hem of his robe.
This action startled the boy again, making him lean back. He tried to pull his leg away in a panic, but upon touching the wound, he gasped sharply in pain.
“See what you did, moving around for no reason. I’m the only one here. Do you think you can apply the medicine yourself?”
Perhaps having learned his lesson, the boy finally stopped squirming and let her handle him.
Jiang Ling picked up the scissors from the counter. Looking at the quality of this Hanfu set, it probably wasn’t cheap. She asked him,
“Can I cut the pants?”
The boy nodded.
Jiang Ling then cut the fabric, revealing the wound on his knee.
It was a nasty friction burn, with bright red blood still oozing!
In several spots, the scraped skin was wrinkled and bunched together. Jiang Ling gasped at the sight.
Seeing his relatively unchanged expression, she had thought it was just a minor scrape.
She hadn’t expected this little kid to be so good at tolerating pain!
“Wait here, I’ll get the medicine.”
Jiang Ling turned and walked into the aisles, grabbing a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao spray and a bandage. She also picked up a bottle of mineral water.
“Bear with it, it might sting a bit.”
First, she used the mineral water to simply clean the wound. She popped the cap off the Yunnan Baiyao bottle, gave it a couple of shakes, and sprayed it three or four times directly onto the knee.
Jiang Ling had never really treated a traumatic injury before, but when she was naughty as a child and got scraped, her grandfather always handled it this way.
The boy had already clenched his fists, bracing for the pain.
Suddenly, a cool sensation spread instantly across the wound.
The boy was somewhat surprised. So, applying medicine didn’t necessarily have to be a stinging, burning feeling.
Just a few light sprays, and the wound, which had been hot and swollen moments ago, immediately felt much more comfortable.
What kind of miraculous medicine was this? So effective!
Jiang Ling gently bandaged the wound for him.
The boy couldn’t help but start observing the woman before him. Her clothing was unusual, her hairstyle a bit messy. She looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old. (The female lead is actually already eighteen.)
Although her behavior was somewhat presumptuous, she was very beautiful.
Having grown up in the imperial harem, he had seen countless beautiful women, yet he had to admit this girl before him had a unique quality.
He had fled here in a panic to escape assassins, seeing only this small shop for miles around and not holding out much hope.
He never expected to encounter such a girl…
Suddenly remembering something, he anxiously looked outside again, peering into the dark depths with a worried expression.
“This kind of wound needs to be treated promptly, or it could get infected. I’ll give you this bottle of Yunnan Baiyao. Spray it three to five times a day, and it’ll heal quickly.”
After bandaging the wound, Jiang Ling placed the 60-gram bottle of Yunnan Baiyao spray into his hand.
The boy looked at the palm-sized bottle. It was neither wood nor metal, cool to the touch, with very tiny characters inscribed on it. How were they engraved?
Was the medicine applied just by spraying it a couple of times? What kind of divine medicine was this?
Unfortunately, time was tight. He couldn’t examine it carefully.
The boy reached into his robes, searching, but could only find three copper coins. The jade pendant at his waist had been lost during his escape!
This was awkward! His earlier words about paying a handsome sum still echoed in his ears.
How could he explain this?!
“Young lady, I…”
Seeing his troubled expression, Jiang Ling smiled and said, “I won’t charge you! Hurry home now. Your parents must be worried with it being so late.”
The boy’s pale face instantly flushed red.
He had no choice but to place the only three copper coins he had on the table and performed the chashou bow again.
“Young lady, please accept these three copper coins as a partial payment for the medicine. I know this is far from enough. Tomorrow, I will send someone to deliver the remainder. Please trust me. I promise I will not break my word!”
Seeing his serious expression, he seemed genuinely sincere.
“Alright, I’ll wait.”
After seeing the boy off, Jiang Ling was exhausted and collapsed onto the sofa.
To avoid anyone else coming in, Jiang Ling closed the door.
She hurriedly took a shower and went to sleep.
She slept very soundly that night.
Jiang Ling woke up very early the next morning.
The country air was fresh, and sunlight streamed in from outside.
Just as she was about to open the door, she suddenly felt puzzled.
She turned and walked towards the back of the storage room.
A silver-colored rolling shutter door stood right before her.
Only then did Jiang Ling remember. When she was cleaning last night, she had noticed the shop had doors on both the east and west sides.
It’s just that the rolling shutter door seemed rusty. She had tried a few times but couldn’t pull it open, so she had ignored it.
Now, Jiang Ling heard the sound of traffic coming from behind the rolling shutter.
She placed her hands on it, wanting to try again.
This time, however,
She opened it with ease!!