Yang Xi watched Miss Jiang’s carriage depart until it was completely out of sight. Then, Yang Xi’s voice rose considerably, “Let’s go too.”

The caravan set off again. The rumors in Huaizhou weren’t as severe as in Jiazhou. After two days of travel, the number of people on the road increased.

That day, they encountered a town market. It was rare to see so many people gathered, and since it was a market day, the Wu and Zhao families wanted to stop and buy some grain and other necessities. After discussing it, they decided to stop and browse the market first, then stay in town for two days to rest properly.

At the Zhou family’s house, Ye Shi didn’t want to move and stayed in the carriage. Zhou Xiaomei wanted to go but was worried about her mother.

Ye Shi smiled, “You go too.”

Zhou Yu chimed in, “The carriage is being watched; don’t worry about Mother.”

Zhou Xiaomei had been cooped up in the carriage for too long, and since her older brother had said so, she took out her purse and got off.

The town market had many stalls, mostly run by ordinary people. Many sold eggs they had saved themselves, and some sold coarse-grain snacks.

The convoy stopped at the entrance of the market. The families didn’t gather together to shop; even Third Yang hadn’t followed the Zhou family.

Yang Xi, smelling the aroma of food and hearing the vendors’ calls, felt her mouth water. “Shall we have a bowl of wontons first?”

Zhou Yu was also tempted. “Okay.”

The family headed straight for the wonton stall. There weren’t many people there. A bowl of meat wontons costs four coins. Although the soup was free to refill, the people were still reluctant to spend the money.

The Zhou family sat down, each ordering a bowl of wontons. Yang Xi whispered, “It is indeed a bit expensive.”

The stall owner, with sharp ears and a worried expression, said, “I don’t want to raise prices, but flour prices have risen sharply this year. If I don’t raise prices, my stall, which supports my family, will go out of business.”

The stall owner’s words resonated with the diners, who began discussing grain prices. The discussion eventually turned to taxes. Grain prices didn’t rise when taxes were collected, but when people needed grain and had no money, prices nearly doubled.

Suddenly, someone muttered a curse, “This world is unbearable.”

The stall fell silent instantly. Everyone knew the Emperor was incompetent, yet no one dared to speak out. For a moment, the only sound at the stall was the clatter of people eating wontons.

Zhou’s wontons arrived, and Yang Xi ordered an extra bowl. Zhou Xiaodi carried it back to the carriage, then quickly ran back to eat his wontons.

The stall owner’s wontons had generous fillings, and the bone broth was delicious—worth the price.

Yang Xi ate a bowl of wontons and drank two bowls of wonton soup; the hot wontons were especially comforting.

Zi Heng ate slowly, and coupled with his upbringing, this child ate with great care, clearly not from a commoner’s family.

Yang Xi stared at the freshly wrapped wontons, her eyes lighting up. “Boss, could I just buy your wontons on their own?”

The stall owner was stunned. “How do you mean, buy them on their own?”

Yang Xi pointed at the wontons. “You wrap them for me and freeze them—sell them by the piece or by the bowl; either is fine. That way it’ll be convenient for me to just cook them directly when I get home.”

The stall owner understood. He was happy to sell more wontons. “Sure, I’ll wrap as many as you want, but I can’t sell them by the bowl without soup for four coins. There are eight wontons in a bowl, so I’ll sell them to you for three coins a bowl.”

Yang Xi smiled. “Okay, I’ll pay you first. We’ll pick up the wontons when we come back from shopping.”

She counted out fifteen coins and handed them to the stall owner. She wanted ten bowls, and she would pay the remaining fifteen coins when she came back to pick them up.

Upon hearing this, the customers all said, “We’ll have a bowl to go too.”

Ziheng finished his wontons, his little face flushed. He was so happy that he even skipped around a few times, very lively.

Zhou Yu held his son’s hand. “Be careful not to get bumped.”

Ziheng nodded emphatically, “Okay.”

Yang Xi didn’t want to buy much; she mainly wanted to enjoy the atmosphere of shopping and the strong scent of incense, which helped soothe the fatigue of the journey.

Yang Xi bought several small baskets to carry her things, bought some rice stored by the locals, and bought the most eggs.

She also bought a pair of layered soles for the family, as they couldn’t wash their feet often while traveling, and these soles were comfortable and wouldn’t cause any musty smells.

Finally, she bought some whole-grain pastries.

They strolled from the entrance inwards, and the further they went, the more Yang Xi noticed that everyone there was with children. Soon, only adults came out at the end of the street; the children were gone.

Zhou Xiaomei whispered, “Sister-in-law, is that a slave trader’s stall at the end of the street?”

Otherwise, there was no way to explain the missing children.

Yang Xi stopped. “Let’s go back.”

She was pregnant and didn’t want to see children being bought and sold.

Zhou Yu held his son’s hand. “Okay.”

Back at the wonton stall, Yang Xi handed over fifteen coins, but the stall owner only took ten. “Thanks to you, madam, all the wontons are sold out today. I only need to cover my costs.”

Yang Xi thanked the stall owner for insisting.

The stall owner was delighted; he had already planned to make some wontons every day, freeze them, and sell them door-to-door.

When she returned to the carriage, Yang Xi paused in surprise at the extra brother and sister. “Who are they?”

Third Yang glanced at his expressionless jiefu and chuckled dryly. “I bought them. Ziheng needs care, so I bought a servant to accompany him. This girl is a good cook; she can cook, so my sister can rest.”

Yang Xi chuckled. “Don’t drag me and Ziheng into this. Tell me why you bought these siblings.”

Third Yang lowered his head. “This girl looks a bit like my deceased eldest sister.”

Yang Xi patted Third Yang’s shoulder. The boy’s maturity made people forget his age. Actually, Third Yang wasn’t that old; he also missed his family. “She just looks like her.”

Third Yang knew what his sister was worried about and smiled, “I know what I’m doing.”

He wouldn’t project his feelings for his eldest sister onto a maid. If he did, his parents would be furious and come looking for him at night.

The sister was fourteen years old and named Sun Erniu, while the brother was ten years old and named Sun Chutou—very down-to-earth names.

Third Yang changed their names; the sister was now named Sun Liu, and the brother was named Sun Rong.

The other families didn’t care about the extra siblings, since it wasn’t their money being spent.

They found an inn in town to rest, took baths, changed into clean clothes, and slept soundly, their energy returning.

Not in a hurry to continue their journey, Third Yang brought his books to ask questions; the boy had bought quite a few books for Yang Xi and himself as well.

Zhou Yu leaned back. “Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re going to take the imperial examinations!”

Third Yang pouted, “I’m not taking the imperial examinations.”

The dynasty had vanished sometime earlier; he just wanted to understand more things, broaden his horizons, and make up for his shortcomings!

Zhou Yu put down his book. “Before, I answered whatever you asked, but I’ve thought about it carefully and realized that won’t work.”

Third Yang sat up straight nervously. “Jiefu doesn’t want to teach me anymore?”

Zhou Yu’s eyes sharpened. “If you want me to teach you, you have to listen to me. From now on, you’ll learn whatever I teach you. I don’t give up halfway here. Think carefully about whether you can persevere before coming back to me.”

Third Yang’s face became serious. He knew that before, his jiefu had answered his questions casually, and he knew he hadn’t won his approval.

Now, his heart was pounding. Now he had finally gained his jiefu’s approval!

(End of Chapter)

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