Green Mountain -
Chapter 264 - 208, fire burning, sugar figurine, honey three knives
Chapter 264: 208, fire burning, sugar figurine, honey three knives
East Market was bustling, with carriages shuttling back and forth and pedestrians weaving through like threads.
As New Year’s Day approached, the long streets were filled with citizens purchasing new year goods.
Merchants set up stalls along the street, some selling Spring Festival couplets, some selling Buddha Flowers, gold banknotes, candles for worshipping deities, and some selling cured meats, sausages, wind-dried chickens, and pressed ducks, presenting an array of dazzling goods.
In the midst of the busy market, Chen Ji suddenly felt the festive spirit, this being the first Spring Festival he would experience in this world... no, it should now be called New Year’s Day.
Chen Ji walked ahead while Xiao Man followed behind, bouncing and hopping with joy.
He turned around, puzzled, and asked, "Why are you so happy?"
Xiao Man replied with a smile, "After the young master went to the Medical Hall, Wang Gui, annoyed by my talking back to him, demoted me to a third-class maid. I only get to rest one day every two months. Moreover, on several occasions when I had a day off, Wang Gui made me clean chamber pots, trim flowers and plants, and pick vegetables. It’s been a long time since I was able to leave the mansion."
Chen Ji fell silent for a moment, "Xiao Man, why did you sell yourself to the Chen family?"
Xiao Man answered lightly, "My brother was getting married, and we didn’t have enough money at home, so my parents sold me to a broker when I was nine."
Chen Ji asked nonchalantly, "Who bought you for the Chen Mansion?"
Xiao Man replied as if it were obvious, "Auntie, of course. Don’t you remember? I clearly do. It was so cold that day, the Human Tooth stuck straws in our hair and made us stand at the entrance of the Imperial Capital’s Six Livestock Farm. Auntie was just passing by and didn’t intend to buy me because I was too small to work. But at that time, that Human Tooth was hitting and scolding me, and Auntie took pity on me, so she bought me for two taels of silver."
On the street, Chen Ji stepped aside to avoid an old man carrying a stick of candied haws and curiously asked, "Why did that Human Tooth beat you?"
Xiao Man said in a low voice, "At that time, a family wanted to buy me as a child bride. The Human Tooth said I had a bright face and asked for seven taels, but they disagreed and walked away. The Human Tooth, angry, started beating and scolding me because I didn’t say auspicious words that pleased them."
Chen Ji wondered, "Eh, if he was asking for seven taels, how did Auntie manage to buy you for only two?"
Xiao Man laughed, showing her small canine teeth, "Auntie was shrewd and patient; she bargained for a two-hour period, chopping the price down to four taels. Then, when Auntie discovered that the Human Tooth didn’t have an official seal, she called someone to catch the Human Tooth and sent him to jail. Those two taels weren’t for the Human Tooth, they were for the government officer..."
In the Ning Dynasty, brokers needed an ’official seal’ to operate, otherwise, they’d be thrown in jail.
The courts of Ning contained statutes: every trade requires a broker, every shipload mandates a dock. No broker during purchase means light scales, counterfeit goods. All brokers in towns, villages, and piers were chosen from among the responsible local residents. The government provided a signet, book, and subscription, listing merchants’ and ship owners’ places of origin, names, route permits, firm names, and merchandise quantities, who were to report to the government for inspection every month.
Chen Ji was lost for words, his own mother Mrs. Lu, had managed to get a maid on the cheap and still sent the broker off to jail. Xiao Man’s shrewdness must have been learned from Mrs. Lu...
He examined Xiao Man carefully, then after a moment said, "You wait here, I have something to take care of."
Xiao Man responded, "Young master, can this matter be remembered?"
"Cannot."
"Alright."
Chen Ji, carrying Wu Yun, left and disappeared into a small alley. Xiao Man was left standing alone, her curiosity leading her to look around, eventually fixating on the neighboring donkey meat bun shop.
She looked for quite some time, her mouth watering and wanting to buy one to taste, but after repeatedly taking out her wallet, she would put it back into her waist, unable to bear parting with her money.
Xiao Man stood like that on the bustling street, unashamedly staring straight ahead.
The bun shop’s apprentice, having been stared at for so long, felt uncomfortable and said, "Little girl, you’ve been watching for so long, do you want to buy one?"
Xiao Man looked longingly at the bun and said, "I’ve been looking for so long, could you give me one for free?"
The apprentice rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "You must be crazy."
At this moment, in the shadows under the eaves of the alley, Chen Ji silently watched Xiao Man’s back and said to Wu Yun, "Her speech logic is not flawed, doesn’t seem like she’s lying, but her appearance was too sudden."
Wu Yun meowed, "Do you think there is an issue with her?"
Chen Ji pondered, "To say there’s an issue, when I walked alone, she didn’t secretly follow me, she just stood there waiting... let’s keep observing."
"What do you need to do today?"
"Buy ginseng."
With that said, he turned around with Wu Yun and walked back into the shadows of the alley.
On the other side, Xiao Man was looking around when a group of eight or nine-year-old children passed by her, kicking a football.
The children were ragged and unkempt, bumping into passersby while competing for the ball. One of the children bumped into Xiao Man and was about to leave without apologizing when Xiao Man suddenly reached out, grabbed the child’s index and middle fingers, and twisted them downwards.
The child cried out in surprise, immediately dropping to his knees. He tried to struggle to his feet, but Xiao Man held firmly onto his two fingers, causing him pain that made him break out in cold sweat.
The determined look in his eyes, the child drew out a blade hidden under his tongue and tried to cut towards Xiao Man’s wrist.
With a slap, Xiao Man knocked the blade out of his hand and angrily said, "At such a young age, you should be learning propriety!"
The child froze for a moment, then quickly started begging for mercy, "It hurts, it hurts, merciful goddess, please spare my life."
Xiao Man looked to the passing bystanders, not seeing Chen Ji’s figure, she finally turned to the child, "Dare to steal from Xiao Man, do you want to die? Hand over the wallet!"
The child took out a light blue satin wallet from his chest, "Here it is, take it."
Xiao Man let him go and stood with her hands on her hips, scolding, "Scram!"
...
...
Dingchang Pawnshop.
Chen Ji stepped over the threshold and behind the high counter, an old Shopkeeper with white hair and beard squinted his eyes to look through a small hole, lazily saying, "What would you like to pawn... oh, sir, what brings you here!"
With that, the old Shopkeeper jumped down from his chair and deftly opened a side door to welcome Chen Ji inside.
He scolded the apprentice, "What are you dawdling for, serve the gentleman some tea."
Chen Ji waved his hand, "There’s no need for tea, I’m in a hurry. How about the ginseng you were keeping for me, how many have you collected?"
"Please wait, sir," the old Shopkeeper bowed and went to a side room, returning with two apprentices carrying two long red acid branch wood boxes. Upon opening them, forty sticks of ginseng were lined up, bound by golden threads on red silk cloth.
The old Shopkeeper explained, "As you previously instructed, sir, after the Bailu Pavilion was seized, the court was bound to auction off its assets. I greased some wheels and managed to snap up forty-two sticks at once!"
Chen Ji extended his hand and gently brushed over each ginseng root, "Is this all the stock Bailu Pavilion has?"
The old shopkeeper’s face showed difficulty, "For me to obtain this much was already a challenge. With such a low price of fifteen taels of silver per root, many pharmacies are vying for them."
Chen Ji hummed in acknowledgment and pointed to two of the roots, "I don’t want these two, I’ll take all the rest."
The old shopkeeper was startled, "Why does the master not want them?"
Chen Ji glanced at him, "The quality is poor."
The old shopkeeper was puzzled, "Just by reaching out your hand, you’re certain of their age? I’ve been running a pawnshop for over forty years and have never had an issue with ginseng. Whether they were cultivated or wild ginseng, old or young, I can tell at a glance, never mistaking it. After all, it was you who asked me to buy them, how could you refuse them after the purchase? Though my pawnshop is small, behind it is..."
Chen Ji swept his hand in front of the old shopkeeper’s face, "Sixty-one years old."
The old shopkeeper’s eyes widened, "You truly have such skill, to even discern my age?"
Chen Ji said with a slight smile, "Not only do I know your age, but I also know that you have two sons working in the government office, one a clerk and the other a constable. Your son who is a constable often patrols the East Market Pier, fond of taking bribes and extortion. Would you like me to have them brought in for questioning?"
The old shopkeeper fell silent as if he had been struck by frost.
Chen Ji took out the string of Buddhist Treasure that Chen Wenzong had given him, "Forty ginseng roots at fifteen taels each, totaling 600 taels. Here I have a string of Buddhist Treasure worth 1,700 taels of silver."
The old shopkeeper said after a moment, "Please wait."
Saying that, he brought out a string of Buddhist Treasure from the storehouse in the backyard, "Master, this Treasure is worth one thousand and eleven taels."
Chen Ji asked casually, "Is this Buddhist Treasure real or fake? Is it really one thousand and eleven taels? You aren’t bluffing me, are you?"
The old shopkeeper glanced at him carefully, wondering how the master didn’t know this. Could it be he was new to the job?
The shopkeeper said with a forced smile, "Please look, there are eighteen beads in total on this Treasure, the first six representing which temple it came from, the next six showing to whom it was given, facilitating traceability, while the last six represent the amount."
The shopkeeper continued, "The first method of protection against forgery is that the first six, second six, and last six are sculpted by designated monks appointed by Luocheng Tuoluo Temple, Imperial City Yuanjue Temple, and Jinling Qixia Temple, respectively. Their strokes and engravings are inimitable."
At this point, the shopkeeper took a magnifying glass made of colored glaze and focused on the beads, "The second method is secrecy. If you look closely, this Treasure is actually imprinted with extremely small scriptures—over a hundred characters covering only the space of a grain of rice, impossible for the average person to replicate. Moreover, only the Buddhist Sect knows the corresponding scriptures... All in all, it’s easy to differentiate the real from the fake once you handle this Treasure. The feel is completely different."
Chen Ji understood. In ancient times, the Jin Shang banknotes also used specialized handwriting for anti-counterfeit measures, which was not unusual.
As for this micro-engraving technique, it was like the banknotes he had used before. Simply feeling the embossed dots of braille, glancing at the watermark, and touching the material made it easy to distinguish between real and counterfeit notes—the textures were different.
He pondered for a moment, "If someone also mastered this technique of micro-engraving, then wouldn’t it be..."
The shopkeeper panicked, "Master, please be careful with your words. This idea must not be let known to the Buddhist Sect. Moreover, those in Jianghu who are skilled in micro-engraving have all been captured to become monks. The craft has already been lost among the common folk!"
Chen Ji smiled, picked up the two wooden boxes, and walked out, "Don’t worry, just a joke."
By the time he met up with Xiao Man, his hands were as empty as they had been.
Chen Ji bought two donkey meat sandwiches and handed them to Xiao Man, "Eat."
Xiao Man’s eyes sparkled, "Did the young master buy them for me?"
"Who else?"
Xiao Man took the sandwich, smiling from ear to ear, and took a big bite. With her mouth full, she asked, "Young master, can this count?"
"It can."
...
...
The night was quiet.
Chen Ji was already lying in bed asleep, while Wu Yun was nowhere to be found.
Sister Li Qiu’s cough came from outside Mingquan Garden, and Xiao Man, who had been dozing off on a small stool by the charcoal basin, immediately opened her eyes. She stood up, unlatched the door, and squeezed herself out through the crack.
Li Qiu pulled her aside, "I heard from the people in the mansion that the Third Young Master took you out of the mansion today?"
Xiao Man hummed in affirmation.
Li Qiu asked further, "Did you record everything?"
Xiao Man took out a folded piece of paper from her sleeve, "Here, I noted it all."
Li Qiu’s eyebrows raised in excitement as she quickly unfolded the paper, murmuring softly, "The 13th day of the twelfth lunar month of the 31st year of Jianing, the young master took Xiao Man to the East Market."
"The young master bought Xiao Man a donkey meat sandwich."
"The young master bought Xiao Man a sugar-coated haw."
"The young master bought Xiao Man a sugar figure."
"The young master bought Xiao Man honey three knives."
"Xiao Man also wanted a peach pastry, but the young master wouldn’t allow it."
Li Qiu, "?"
She looked up expressionlessly, "What is all this you’ve noted?"
Xiao Man laughed heartily and let out a satisfied belch, "Sister Li Qiu, just say if it’s detailed enough or not."
Li Qiu frowned, "It’s detailed enough, but you haven’t noted anything important. Are you bluffing me?"
Xiao Man said with a sense of grievance, "That’s really all that happened today. I remembered everything. If there’s anything else in the future, I’ll definitely note it too. Sister Li Qiu, rest assured, I wouldn’t bluff anyone, let alone you."
"Fine, you have a bit of conscience," Li Qiu turned and walked away. Xiao Man slowly reined in her smile behind her and then turned back into the room, securing the door tightly shut.
She glanced over at Chen Ji on the bed and then stuffed her mouth full of honey three knives from the table before sitting back on the small stool to doze off again.
On the small path in the Chen Mansion, Li Qiu walked quickly, head down, constantly looking around, fearing that she might be spotted.
After passing through several flower-laden gates, Li Qiu came to a corner of the wall and coughed softly. When a cough responded from beyond the wall, she tossed the ball of paper over and hurried back to Qunfang Garden.
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