Chapter Twenty-Four: Rushing to the Market

  Back in the east wing, Sun saw that Shi had already finished eating and was mending clothes. After putting away the bowls and chopsticks, Ye Baiju pulled Qi Zhen'er's siblings to sit down.

  "Zhen Er, tell me, what are your plans?" Ye Baiji had always thought that Qi Zhen Er was a clever and cunning little girl, with thoughts even deeper than her own, so she never used to beat around the bush when speaking to her.

  Qī Zhēn'er lowered her head, staring at the dense needlework in Sun Shi's hands, and after a long while, she sighed and said: "Bái Jú sister, I want to tell you something as your neighbor, are you willing to listen?"

  Ye Baiji was overjoyed, and she hugged Qi Zhener tightly, exclaiming: "Why wouldn't I be willing? I've always hoped to have a sister like you who's clever and sensible. If you were my neighbor, I'd be thrilled!"

  Qī Zhēnér was being held so tightly by her that she couldn't breathe, but after hearing Yè Bái Jí's words, her heart still felt sweet and gentle. Having a neighbor who liked her meant that in the future when she fell ill, there would be someone to take care of her.

  "But this matter needs to be considered for a long time, and I don't know if it can be done yet. Household registration and all that, I don't even know how to handle it, after all, I don't understand anything." Qizhen poured a basin of cold water, extinguishing Ye Baiju's excitement.

  Sun listened to the praise and looked at Qi Zhen'er. This little girl is small, but she understands a lot of things. She's also a poor child, carrying her younger brother through the mountains and forests at such a young age.

  Ye Baiji didn't expect this and asked: "Household registration? I don't understand this either. Why don't we go ask Grandfather?"

  Qī Zhēnér pulled Yè Bái zhǐ back excitedly: "Grandfather is in a bad mood now, you won't be able to ask him anything if you go now, and it will only annoy him. I'll find out more in a few days and then go ask Grandfather." Since Old Master Ye had already spoken and treated Qī Zhēnér's siblings as his own grandchildren, she would be being pretentious if she still called him "Old Master Ye", so she changed her words to call him "Grandfather" like Yè Bái zhǐ did.

  Ye Baiji thought this was a good idea, she was also too excited by Zhen'er's words as a neighbor. Looking at Zhen'er's calm and composed appearance, she secretly thought to herself that she wasn't even as good as a ten-year-old little girl.

  After dinner, Ye Shixian already knew that Sunshi was ill, but he didn't even come to take a look, and directly returned to the room he shared with Sunshi.

  Qizhen'er saw it and sighed at Yeshi's ruthlessness and Sunshi's tragic fate, feeling that every family has its own unspeakable sorrows.

  Ye Baiji didn't come back at night either. I guess she was afraid of being beaten by Ye Baizhi again, so she followed Ye Baisong and mixed for a night.

  Ye Baiji didn't bother with them either and followed Sun Shi to her room, where they chatted about all sorts of private matters that night.

  Unfortunately, the soundproofing was poor, and Qizhen'er heard everything.

  Qizhen'er was fine, and Hu Zi naturally didn't want to leave her. He lingered on Qizhen'er's bed and refused to get up. Qizhen'er also didn't want to trouble Old Master Ye, so she said something and let Hu Zi stay behind.

  The sister and brother chatted, occasionally inserting a word or two into the conversation next door, making for a lively evening.

  But Sanfang was often sleepless, and had fewer restful nights. After all, such a big piece of cake had reached the tip of his tongue, but was pulled away by someone, leaving him feeling very itchy inside.

  The next morning, as soon as the sky brightened up, Zhen'er and her siblings got out of bed. Ye Baiji went to cook breakfast, while Qi Zhener saw that she was busy and prepared food for the pigs and chickens. After finishing feeding them, Ye Baiji also finished cooking breakfast.

  Breakfast was simple too, just cooked some noodles, sprinkled some green vegetables, and the three of them ate together before setting off.

  Last night, Ye Baiji had already instructed Sunshi to pretend to be ill and rest in bed, not opening the door no matter who came to visit. They tried to rush back before noon.

  On the road, Ye Baiji asked: "Zhen'er, why did you feed the pig and chicken today? It's none of your business, why did you feed them?"

  The chickens and pigs were raised in the northeast corner of the east wing. During the days when Qizhen was ill, she often heard their cries, and also heard Yebaiji mention that they were being raised by her uncle's family. Her uncle's family was not at home, and it had always been Ye Lao and Sunshi who helped with feeding them. Now that Sunshi was ill, judging from Yebaiji's tone, the third house should have taken over, but Qizhen thought that the third house probably didn't have that kind of awareness. After all, last night the pig feed was later than usual, and the pigs cried for a long time before Ye Lao came stumbling along with the pig feed.

  It's still unbearable for Qizhen to let an old man do such a thing. Besides, she lives in the Ye family and does nothing, which is always a bit embarrassing. Feeding pigs and chickens are what she's used to doing, and it doesn't feel like anything. This is actually quite good.

  The three of them walked quite quickly along the way, fortunately, Hu Zi had been walking on mountain roads for several days and his pace was practiced, plus he had been eating well and sleeping well at Ye's house these past few days, so his spirits were still pretty good.

  Jiuyang County town is not far from Yushu Village, and it takes about an hour's walk to get there.

  Zi Zhen and the others rushed to the city gate, just when there were the most people. There were peddlers carrying goods on poles, travelers with bundles on their backs and packages in hand, as well as vegetable farmers and rural folk selling produce from their fields.

  Zijin'er had never been to a fair before, and didn't know if the county seat of Longxing was also this prosperous, but from the city gate of Jiyang County here, it seemed that this place was still relatively thriving.

  Zi Zhen'er had never done anything like gathering information before, and didn't know where to start. After entering the city, she followed Ye Baiji, who was familiar with the place, and carefreely wandered around with her everywhere.

  All the way Ye Baiji walked with her eyes straight ahead, not glancing sideways, as if she knew where she was going. She didn't stop until she reached a street.

  "Huh? Why isn't it here?" Ye Baiji led Qi Zhener and her siblings around a corner, searching for half a day at the street intersection, muttering to herself.

  Qī Zhēnér saw her searching around like she had lost something and asked: "Bái Jì sister, what are you looking for?"

  Ye Baiji pointed to the tree at the street corner and said, "There used to be a blind man who played the erhu here. People said that although he couldn't see, he knew a lot of things. As long as you gave him money, he would tell you what you wanted to know. I even came here with San Shu to ask him something. Why isn't he here now?"

  Zijin'er suddenly understood and it was no wonder that Ye Baiji came to the city to inquire about the news with such confidence, as it turned out that there was such an all-knowing person.

  At this time, a vendor selling rouge and powder next to them interrupted: "You're looking for Hu the Blind? He's dead."

  "Dead? How did he die? When did it happen?" Ye Baiji asked.

  "It's been a while. I heard he was afflicted with a terrible illness, and just like that, he was gone. He didn't have any family members, so it was the charitable organization outside the city that helped with his funeral arrangements." said the peddler.

  "Miss, want to gather some information? What kind of information do you want to gather? I walk around the streets every day, maybe I know what you want to know too."

  Ye Baiji's eyes lit up as soon as she heard it. "Then I'll ask you for information, how much money will you charge?"

  That little peddler also seemed to be quick-witted, he had spoken up at the right time when Ye Bai Zhi was looking for Hu Xiangzi, winning over their favor. Now, he cleverly volunteered himself, giving one a feeling of being lost in the mountains and rivers, only to suddenly come upon a village hidden behind flowers and trees.

  But Ye Baiji wasn't a fool either, she wanted to ask for information, but she wouldn't be foolish enough to ask directly and then let others take advantage of her. First, she would ask about the price, if it was suitable, then she would ask you, if not, there were many other channels outside that could provide the information, it just required some effort.

  "I think you're a straightforward person, we may be street vendors, but we also need to talk about integrity, right? How about this, I'm not just doing the business of selling information, miss, if you buy some cosmetics from me, I'll chat with you for free. You want to know what, I'll tell you everything, no holds barred. What do you think, miss?" The vendor said cunningly.

  Qī Zhēn'ér listened to his words and couldn't help but praise him for being clever. He didn't want money, just wanted people to buy his things, and even if he told others, no one would say he was mercenary, yet he still made a lot of money in reality. This person is not simple!

  Ye Baiji and Qi Zhen'er exchanged a glance, both thinking this plan was feasible.

  The peddler, seeing that they were somewhat moved, continued to persuade: "Miss, look at my rouge, it's really good in color and fragrance, suitable for a young lady like you. Besides, this kind of thing you will always use, and my price is not expensive, don't believe me? Go ask Liao San outside, he's got a reputation for being trustworthy, no one has ever been cheated by him."

  Qī Zhēnér listened to his words and asked in confusion: "Are you surnamed Liào? Are you related to the Liào family from the county town?"

  Liao San sneered for a moment, and soon covered it up. Ye Baiji lowered her head to carefully select the lip color, not noticing. But Qi Zhen'er, who had been paying attention to him all along, did notice.

  "They are a prominent family with a good reputation, how could we ordinary people be related to them?"

  "Oh, sorry little brother, I don't know." Qizhen'er said with her mouth, but in her heart she was even more certain that this person was related to the Liao family. Even if he wasn't a relative, he must be someone who knew the inside story. His last sentence sounded like praise for the Liao family and self-mockery, but paired with his tone, it was as if he felt it was humiliating to be linked to the Liao family.