章 5: Chapter 4 Xuanbao Confronts Someone
Granny Lei said excitedly, "These persimmons look great for selling, and since it's still some time before they fully ripen, they could fetch a good price in the city. Leave a basket for Xuanbao and the other children to eat, and sell the rest. Fourth brother, sixth brother, remember to buy some treats for Xuanbao with the silver you earn."
This was all thanks to the good fortune Xuanbao brought with him.
"Okay!" The two brothers agreed in unison.
Ruo Chuan had already thought of how to sell the persimmons for a good price, "These persimmons have grown well, are bright red and clear, and large in size. You can still enjoy them fresh now. The butlers from wealthy households will definitely buy them once they see them. Fourth brother, I'll take four baskets to sell in the prefecture city, and you take two baskets to the county city. Set the price based on the situation, but don't sell for less than fifteen wen per jin. If you have to, sell them tomorrow or sell them individually for ten wen each, but not less than five wen each."
No one in the family could outdo Ruo Chuan in business.
Among the Ruo Family six brothers, whether it was a love for literature or a passion for martial arts, the sixth brother, Ruo Chuan, was an exception; he loved to earn silver.
At five years old, he already knew how to weave baskets and sell them in the fields during the busy farming season, then sold steamed buns, wild fruits, and water.
They all thought no one would buy them, that it was a futile effort, but in the end, he sold everything.
That busy season, at the age of five, he had earned a whole liang and two qian of silver.
In recent years, he had even travelled to the south and north with the Escort Agency doing business. It was just that the silver he earned was all spent on hiring famous doctors from various places to come and treat his family members' illnesses and to buy medicines.
The wandering monk who treated Xuanbao was also invited by the sixth brother.
Ruo Shui nodded and agreed, "Okay!"
After the two brothers had discussed and agreed, they immediately carried the persimmons onto the cart and covered them with thick thatch, shielding them securely.
The remaining three baskets, Ruo Shui moved back to the west wing to sell the next day.
Granny Lei wrapped a few wild vegetable and mixed-grain cakes with clean, sun-dried lotus leaves, and handed them to Madam Liu and Ruo Chuan, "Take these to eat on the road."
"Thank you, Mother." The two of them took them.
Ruo Xuan, with her little arms and short legs, struggled to climb onto the cart.
Indeed, this was not easy for a plant that had only recently transformed into a human.
Finally up on the cart, Ruo Xuan settled in and declared, "Let's go."
Granny Lei laughed and cried at the same time; ever since Xuanbao could talk, he was simply too adorable!
"Xuanbao, be good. Next time Granny goes to the city, I'll take you with me, okay?" she said as she reached out to pick her up.
Granny Lei didn't feel comfortable with Ruo Xuan going to the city.
Now that Xuanbao could walk, and knowing the fourth brother and his wife were going to the city to sell goods, what if they got busy and didn't pay attention and Xuanbao wandered off somewhere and got lost?
The child snatchers nowadays were quite formidable.
Ruo Xuan declined Granny Lei's hand, not understanding why they had to wait for another time, "No, why wait for the next time? I don't want to wait. I have never been to the city, and I want to see what it's like."
She had once heard from a fox spirit sister who came to collect Ruo Shui water from the Ruoshui Riverbank that the human world was beautiful, that the cities were lively and prosperous, with many delicious and fun things.
As a flower, she couldn't move or walk until she transformed into a spirit. For a hundred years, she had always stayed by the Ruoshui Riverbank, where the view was of miles of frozen ground, devoid of grass and desolate with no human in sight, along with the three thousand Ruo Shui waters.
Although the Ruoshui Riverbank was beautiful too, especially during sunrise and sunset, she dearly wanted to witness the bustling human world that the fox spirit sister talked about.
Her words almost broke the resolve of the four adults!
Granny Lei looked at her darling granddaughter's big, clear and bright eyes that brimmed with unjust sadness and couldn't hold back anymore.
If she wished to pluck stars from the sky, Granny Lei would be willing to take her to pluck them.
With a grand wave of her hand, she declared, "Go, if Xuanbao wants to see the city, then let's go!"
In the past, Xuanbao was different from the other children; if they went out, people would either mock or pity her. Some even suggested in front of Xuanbao that they should just desert her while they had the chance, spewing nonsense like she was of no use, would be a burden to marry off, and was a liability to the family. Therefore, they seldom took her out.
Ruo Shui also promptly said, "Go, in the future, wherever Xuanbao wants to go, dad will take you."
Madam Liu agreed tearfully, "Right, wherever you want to go, Xuanbao, mom will take you there."
Ruo Chuan added, "Xuanbao, if your dad and mom don't take you, Uncle Six will take you!"
Ruo Xuan then smiled, "Granny, dad, mom, little uncle, you're all so good!"
Ruo Xuan thought to herself: Being human is wonderful! Previously, in the heavens and earth, there was only her, a lone flower, and aside from the occasional Upper God or spirit-transformed animal coming to collect Ruo Shui and having a brief chat, it was very lonely.
Now she had many family members, and she was no longer alone.
At that moment, she didn't realize that what adults often told children was just to pacify them. They might be serious at the time of speaking, but achieving it was another matter!
*
Two carts set off in different directions.
The Ruo Family were newcomers who lived at the end of the village.
It was quicker to take the mountain path from the end of the village to enter the government city.
To reach the county city, however, taking the official road at the head of the village was faster.
Heading to the official road at the head of the village meant crossing half the settlement. Ruo Shui pushed the cart while Madam Liu and Ruo Xuan sat on it, making their way to the official road.
At this time, dawn was breaking, and the sun had yet to rise. The village was very quiet, with only a few roosters crowing, a few dogs barking, and a few strands of cooking smoke rising.
Ruo Xuan sniffed the air. Was this the scent of the human world's kitchen smoke?
It smelled good!
Ruo Xuan nibbled on her wild vegetable pancake, curiously surveying the surrounding farmyards, and noted that her own house was the biggest and most attractive in the village.
The green tiles, stone pillars, and the mottled patterns of flowers and birds on the wok-handles all testified to the Ruo Family's past wealth and prominence.
She glanced up at Madam Liu and Ruo Shui's heads, saw a flash of black qi, and pondered: Dad, Mom, and my uncles – the third, fifth, and sixth – they all had faces of wealth and honor; Grandma too had the face of fortune and longevity, rich and honored. She should have been enjoying her blessings by now.
Why would such a family with enduring blessings be plagued by misfortune?
With her cultivation gone, she couldn't see clearly.
The sun was about to rise. She might as well practice her cultivation.
Luckily, she was a flower with sentient awareness, understanding the "photosynthesis" cultivation method, which allowed her to bask in the sun, eat, watch, and cultivate, all at the same time.
Ruo Shui had just reached the official road with the cart when they encountered Granny Tan and her son Zhen Hu from the same village.
Seeing Ruo Shui pushing the cart, Granny Tan immediately stopped them, "Ruo Shui, are you going into town to sell something? What are you selling?"
He first glanced at Ruo Xuan in Madam Liu's arms, then disdainfully shifted his gaze, eyeing the four bamboo baskets.
He seemed desperate to see through the straw covering the baskets to check what was inside.
How could the Ruo Family, who were so poor they could barely keep the pot boiling, have anything to sell?
Madam Liu and Ruo Xuan, who were eating wild grass pancakes, simply nodded in reply, "Mm-hmm."
"What a coincidence, my son Hu is going to the city to study. He's in a hurry. Ruo Shui, stop for a moment and let us ride with you. I really can't walk anymore. Ah, Ruo Shui's wife, are you eating wild vegetable pancakes? They smell pretty good. My son Hu hasn't eaten anything yet!"
Zhen Hu said lazily, "Auntie, I'm hungry. How about giving me a piece of that wild vegetable pancake?"
"The pancakes are all gone. If you're too tired to walk, Granny, just take a ox cart, or let Zhen Hu carry you. Zhen Hu, you're fourteen and strong. It's not time for you, an old man like Ruo Shui, to be carrying so much stuff on the cart; we can't manage it and there's no room to sit." Madam Liu did not like this mother and son and refused outright.
Are you kidding? A fourteen-year-old wanting to ride on a hand-pulled cart? This is not an ox cart or a horse cart, after all.
Her husband, although strong, had a long way to go into the city!
He was already pulling two baskets of persimmons. To pull them along with her and her son, that would be too exhausting.
If she wasn't holding Xuanbao, worried that she might fall, she wouldn't have the heart to sit on the cart, making her husband tired.
Besides, Granny Tan was a gossipy and greedy person. Zhen Hu was known for his petty thievery. If they saw the ripe persimmons in the baskets, who knew what they would do?
Naturally, Madam Liu would never agree!
Ruo Shui felt the same. It was best to avoid unnecessary trouble. He simply moved past Granny Tan and her son and continued on his way.
Granny Tan, tugging at her son, caught up with them, "Riding the ox cart costs four copper coins! Can't you just squeeze in a bit more? Me and my son Hu are not fat. It wouldn't be much trouble for Ruo Shui. Besides, my son Hu is a scholar. How could he have the strength to carry me? He could keep Xuanbao company on your cart. Xuanbao is so big now, she can't speak yet, can she? It would be nice for Hu to teach Xuanbao to speak. My son Hu has great fortune. It would be good for Xuanbao to share in some of it!"
Zhen Hu was the only male heir in three generations of the Zhen Family. She had given birth to five daughters before finally having a son, a treasured child. Why would Granny Tan be willing to let Hu carry her?
Zhen Hu looked disdainfully at the dazed Ruo Xuan nibbling on her pancake, "Xuanbao is just a simpleton. What's there to teach? Even if I was the reincarnation of Lord Literary Star, I couldn't make a simpleton speak! Auntie, doesn't Xuanbao still have a pancake in her hand? It's so big, she can't finish it. Just tear off half and give it to me. I'm so hungry. She's just a useless burden; eating so much is a waste of food! Better to give it to me. When I become a Top Scholar one day, I will buy you sesame buns. I'll honor you with my fortune!"
Ruo Xuan, who was nibbling on her wild vegetable pancake while cultivating, listened to Zhen Hu call her stupid and try to take her pancake. She was displeased.
That was too much!
She was the only sentient daylily at the Ruoshui Riverbank!
Even Lord Literary Star, who had come to Ruoshui Riverbank to gather Ruoshui water for ink preparation, was amazed to find her, praising her for her intelligence!
"I'm not stupid. I can speak, I don't need your teaching," Ruo Xuan replied, looking at his face. "You won't be a Top Scholar; you can't even become a Scholar. You'll be a disobedient, rebellious, and prodigal child in the future."
Ruo Xuan even kindly reminded Granny Tan, "Old Granny, be careful that your son doesn't make you so angry that you die! A doting mother often spoils a child, and this is beyond saving! Remember to do good deeds in the future, and maybe you'll manage to live a few days longer."
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