I immediately gave up on thinking it through and started packing up to head down the mountain to sell the meat with the Old Man.
Before descending, Leng Yu, that arrogant little maid, said expressionlessly, “It’s better if we follow the Young Master, so he doesn’t end up lost somewhere again. Master doesn’t have the energy to always keep an eye on the Young Master.” She voiced this to her sister, Bing Qiao, expressing her wish to come down the mountain with me.
Bing Qiao smiled and nodded in agreement. Although she wanted to come along as well, there were still responsibilities waiting—someone had to stay with Mistress to tend the Flower Field and Vegetable Garden. There was a lot to do, so they decided only Leng Yu would come with me.
Hmm, I really need to find a way to stand on my own feet. Otherwise, that sharp-tongued little maid is just way too arrogant.
With Mistress’s parting reminders still ringing in my ears, the Old Man hoisted the deer meat onto the horse, and the three of us started heading down the mountain.
After walking for nearly half a day, we finally reached the city and entered the Marketplace. Leng Yu and I were both so tired that we just sat on the ground, not wanting to move.
I couldn’t help but admire the Old Man; despite walking such a long way, his face wasn’t flushed, and he wasn’t panting. Once we arrived, he immediately started shouting out, calling for customers.
I first took down the Water Flask from the horse and gave Leng Yu a couple of sips, then drank some myself to rehydrate.
That girl kept muttering something, “Young Master, you lecherous fellow, are you trying to take advantage of your servant?” or something like that, but I ignored her.
Even if I wanted to take advantage of someone, it certainly wouldn’t be you, you yellow-haired brat.
Customers didn’t just show up instantly. After waiting around for a while and getting bored, I told the Old Man I wanted to go look around elsewhere.
The Old Man didn’t think much of it and agreed but reminded me not to wander too far. Honestly, if Leng Yu hadn’t been with me, I don’t think the Old Man would’ve dared to let me leave alone.
After leaving with Leng Yu, I first checked prices for deer meat at other stalls. Once I had a rough idea, I went to look for everyday supplies that needed replenishing…
“Hmm, let me see. Mistress wants to buy salt… oil for the Oil Lamp, hmm… what else?”
“The hoe is a bit damaged and needs replacing,” Leng Yu reminded me at just the right moment.
“Ah, right. What else… forget it, just remember it.”
I took on the role of a hands-off manager, and I could faintly hear a sigh of helplessness from Leng Yu.
“The master’s job is to allocate the labor reasonably, not to do everything personally. That’s the principle of placing the right person in the right place.”
“That’s right. Making excuses and joking around is the master’s job. Young Master, you do that part very well.”
That sharp-tongued maid…
Just as I was about to scold this expressionless girl who always said things that gave me a headache, I suddenly heard a noise from above my head.
Leng Yu and I both instinctively looked up and saw a round object fall down—right where Leng Yu was standing.
“Ah-woo!” Startled by the suddenness, Leng Yu instinctively covered her head and closed her eyes. After a while, feeling no pain, she opened her eyes.
What she saw was a hand catching the round object and my face with a faint smirk.
“‘Ah-woo’ or whatever, that’s unexpectedly cute,” I teased, pulling my hand away from above Leng Yu’s head as I looked at her startled expression.
Of course, the outcome was obvious. Although she kept a poker face, Leng Yu was actually embarrassed and furious, and she stomped hard on my foot.
“You really did it! You did the one thing a servant shouldn’t do! You actually hit your own master!”
“Isn’t it always the Young Master who tells us not to always think of ourselves as servants?”
Ignoring me bouncing around holding my foot, Leng Yu turned her face away with no expression.
Ah, she’s angry. Looks like she doesn’t want to show her clumsy side in front of me.
I shook my head wryly, about to say something when I sensed someone approaching us.
I looked up and saw two or three men with rather fierce expressions glaring at us—more precisely, glaring at what I was holding.
“Found him! The thief is here!” one of them shouted, calling over the others who were still searching.
“Huh? Thief?”
I was a bit caught off guard, so I glanced down at the thing I’d instinctively caught just now and realized it was a steaming-hot Man Tou…
Looking back up, I vaguely saw something hidden on the roof.
“Don’t play dumb! Didn’t you steal our Man Tou? You’re still clutching it in your hand!” The men stepped closer, towering over us.
I looked at the Man Tou in my hand, then at the men, wondering to myself.
What is this? Some kind of ancient extortion trick?
“I didn’t steal it; it fell from the sky,” I explained honestly.
The men froze, instinctively looking up, then back at my innocent face, before shouting, “Do you take us for fools!?”
Yeah, I guess that’s it. Where there are believers, there are always fools.
“But I really didn’t steal it… If you don’t believe me, I’ll give it back,” I said, cutely holding out the Man Tou to them.
Unfortunately, these men weren’t interested in a child at all. Their faces remained fierce.
“You’re still playing dumb! I clearly saw a kid steal six of our Man Tou. You’re only returning one!”
Another man added, “And you’ve touched it! How do you expect to sell it now!?”
Thinking it over, I looked back up at the roof and saw the thing still hidden there. I finally understood what was going on.
Alright, this is bad luck. The Man Tou isn’t expensive anyway.
“I’m not arguing with you. Just consider that I bought six Man Tou. How much is that?” I reached into my sleeve, ready to pay and end this.
The man sneered, “One Man Tou is a hundred qian. Six of them? I’ll give you a discount—five hundred qian.”
“Five hundred what?” I raised my head and asked again.
“One hundred qian each. If you don’t have the money, take us to your folks. Otherwise, prepare to go to the magistrate,” the man said angrily, trying to intimidate the kid in front of him with wide eyes.
“Oh, one hundred qian each, six for five hundred. That means you’re basically giving us one for free,” I said, pulling my hand out of my sleeve. “Ahem… that’s really a windfall from the sky. Thanks a lot.”
Seeing me so calm and unhurried, the man thought he’d found a sucker and beamed, already thinking about raising the price next time. “Yeah, you’re pretty clever.”