"Big sister-in-law, I'll go to the dock to move goods first. I'll pick you up at the city gate in the afternoon," said Zhan Lao Er, smiling gently as he drove the ox cart towards the dock.
Li Shi led Zhan Feiyu in another direction. "Xiao Yu, come with Mother to South Street. Wenxing Bookstore has the most reasonably priced brushes and ink."
"Mm," Zhan Feiyu nodded.
Compared to the items on East Street, which easily cost dozens or even hundreds of taels, the shops on South Street sold goods that were both good and cheap. West Street was mostly for small vendors.
Zhan Lao Er went to North Street, which was adjacent to the dock. It was lined with inns and taverns. Chunfeng Pavilion and Xunfang Pavilion were also on North Street. Ordinary people wouldn't go to North Street to buy things.
Wenxing Bookstore.
Li Shi looked at her daughter, who was shorter than the counter. "Xiao Yu, how much paper do you want to buy?"
"Five reams of yellow hemp paper," Zhan Feiyu said, looking up. She skipped the highest quality Xuan paper, hesitated for a moment, and then added, "And one ream of rough-edged paper."
"Is it for you, young lady, to practice calligraphy?" the plump shopkeeper asked with surprise. Although the mother and daughter's clothes were neat and clean, they were patched and dusty, indicating they were not residents of the county town.
But seeing the fair-skinned and plump Zhan Feiyu, and hearing her polite and confident childish voice, the plump shopkeeper was surprised that a farming family would allow their young daughter to study. He smiled and said, "Yellow hemp paper is thirty wen per ream, and rough-edged paper is fifty wen per ream. Since you're buying so much, I'll give you the half ream of yellow hemp paper that's a bit moldy."
"Thank you, shopkeeper. I wish you prosperous business," Zhan Feiyu grinned. Even if it was moldy, it wouldn't affect her calligraphy practice.
Having spent two hundred wen at once, Zhan Feiyu once again realized that studying was truly expensive. "Mother, once I master my calligraphy, I'll come to the bookstore to copy books."
Zhan Feiyu had also thought about writing storybooks to earn money, but she had only been an ancient person for a few years. Setting aside her writing skills in terms of phrasing and sentence construction, she was also unsure of the taboos in the Daqing Dynasty.
Moreover, she was still young. The popular storybooks, even if they weren't obscene, were about romance. For a girl under ten years old to write such things would be like a centenarian hanging himself – he'd lived long enough.
"Don't worry about the money, your parents are here." Li Shi had been worried before, but since Steward Zhu had taken a liking to Xiao Yu, the expenses for brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones would no longer be a concern.
Seeing Li Shi's relaxed expression, Zhan Feiyu helplessly rolled her eyes towards the sky. It seemed she would have to visit Steward Zhu privately.
After Li Shi bought some needlework and a few miscellaneous items from the general store, the carrying basket was already full. Zhan Feiyu took out the most expensive rough-edged paper and hugged it to her chest. "Mother, I heard the wontons at the end of the street are delicious. Let's eat them for lunch..."
"Make way! Make way!"
"Ah! Run! Someone's going to get hurt!"
"The horse has gone mad! Everyone, dodge!"
Suddenly, panicked shouts erupted one after another, accompanied by the frantic clatter of hooves on the bluestone slabs.
Amidst the chaos, Zhan Feiyu looked back and saw a covered carriage speeding towards them. The black horse pulling the carriage had lost control. The carriage swayed from side to side, overturning the small stalls on both sides of the road. Pedestrians scattered, some fell, and screams filled the air.
"Mother, quickly dodge!" Seeing that Li Shi was also frightened, Zhan Feiyu grabbed Li Shi's hand and retreated to the left. As long as they got into the shops behind them, they would be safe.
"Don't push me!"
"Get out of the way! Let me go first!" Angry shouts rang out. A tall and sturdy man roughly pushed aside those blocking his path, disregarding whether they fell or stumbled, only caring about his own escape.
Just as they were about to step onto the stairs, Li Shi was suddenly pushed by a fleeing beggar, causing her to stumble. She and Zhan Feiyu fell into the middle of the road, and the maddened black horse was already upon them.
"You damn beggar, what are you pushing for!" the big man roared, then kicked the beggar who had pushed them away, sending him tumbling into the middle of the road as well.
With a bang, she hit the ground. Zhan Feiyu felt like her kneecaps were about to shatter, but seeing the beggar who had fallen face-first, Zhan Feiyu felt a surge of satisfaction. Serves him right!
Her gaze swept over the approaching mad black horse. Zhan Feiyu forgot about seeking revenge on the beggar and urgently shouted, "Mother, get up quickly."
Li Shi was about to get up but was hindered by the carrying basket on her back.
"Auntie, don't worry about the basket, run!"
"Quick, get out of the way!" the onlookers cried out in fear. Children wailed in fright, and timid women covered their eyes. Once the horse's hooves fell, it would undoubtedly be a scene of bloody carnage.
Suddenly, she felt a surge of force push her shoulder. Zhan Feiyu, who was helping Li Shi, hadn't even reacted before her small body was pushed and tumbled out, landing right in front of the maddened black horse.
Mom! Zhan Feiyu, who had fallen on her back, stared in disbelief at Li Shi, who had dropped her basket and gotten up from the ground.
"Xiao Yu!" As if suddenly realizing what she had done, Li Shi, who had retreated to the side, cried out hoarsely, looking at Zhan Feiyu, who was on the brink of danger, in terror.
Her mind went blank. The distinctive smell of horses assailed her. At such close range, Zhan Feiyu, lying on the ground, could clearly see the patterns on the horseshoe.
She would be crippled, if not killed! As the raised hooves were about to descend, Zhan Feiyu quickly curled up her body, bending her arms to protect the sides of her head.
The expected pain did not come. Instead, the black horse let out a pained neigh. Zhan Feiyu, who had been picked up, opened her eyes in a daze. The frenzied black horse fell to the ground with a thud, and bright red blood gushed from the wound on its neck.
"Big brother?" Zhan Feiyu, having narrowly escaped death, widened her eyes abruptly, her long black eyelashes fluttering. After a moment, she grinned foolishly. "Thank you, big brother!"
Yin Wuyan's expression was indifferent. He looked at the blood splattered on Zhan Feiyu's face with disgust, threw her to the ground with his left hand, and pulled his silver sword from the horse's neck with his right.
Her knees already hurt, and she had been thoroughly frightened. As soon as Zhan Feiyu landed, her legs went weak, and she sat down on the ground with a thud.
Seeing her foolishness, Yin Wuyan withdrew his gaze. His eyes flickered to the bloodstains on the sword, and his already cold expression became even more somber and terrifying.
Uh... Zhan Feiyu glanced at him and gave a guilty smile to Yin Wuyan, who exuded a chilling aura. Her chubby little hands secretly moved the rough-edged paper that had fallen to the ground behind her. This was fifty wen a ream!