Chapter 277: Change of Plan
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling pulled the waiter up and smiled at the shopkeeper. “Shopkeeper, please forgive me. This is my first time here, so there are many things I don’t understand, so I asked Brother Waiter some questions to find out more.”
When the shopkeeper faced Mu Yangling, his disposition turned sunny. With a beam, he said, “Miss, you’re too polite. I’m just worried that this kid will spout nonsense and delay your matters. It’s simple if you want to eat mutton. Any eatery in the city has it. There are a few mutton restaurants along the way.”
Mu Yangling finished the mutton soup in her bowl and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. Then, she stood up and cupped her fists. “Thank you for your guidance, Shopkeeper. I’ll settle the bill now and take my leave.”
Mu Yangling took out some money to pay for the meal and pulled Bowen and the rest out.
Xiuhong hurriedly finished all the mutton soup before catching up. “Cousin, why are we leaving in such a hurry?”
“We met a smart person.” Mu Yangling looked ahead and sighed. “I originally wanted to sell the sheep to a few families like in Three Springs County, but that shopkeeper could guess that I was here to sell mutton based on what little he heard…”
“Others aren’t stupid. Since we have no one to rely on in Xingyuan Prefecture, we have to be careful. Otherwise, we won’t even know if we’re sold.”
“So what do we do now?”
“Let’s try the mutton restaurant. If it really doesn’t work, we’ll go to the market and ask for the price.”
However, progress was not very smooth because they did not even get to see the owner of the mutton restaurant. However, the shopkeeper said that they already had a collaborative butcher and would not want the mutton Mu Yangling brought. Even if Mu Yangling said that theirs was top-notch grassland sheep, the shopkeeper was unmoved.
Mu Yangling encountered the same situation three times in a row. Xingyuan Prefecture was different from a county like Three Springs County. These shop owners clearly trusted their long-term partners more than Mu Yangling, who appeared out of nowhere.
Mu Yangling thought about it and felt that since she couldn’t work with them, she could just find the butcher they collaborated with and sell the sheep to that butcher. Although she would receive less money, it would save her the trouble of running around.
Mu Yangling looked at Zhang Liu and said, “It’s up to you now.”
Zhang Liu’s eyes were filled with confusion. Mu Yangling gave him half a tael of silver and said, “Go and find out who supplied the mutton to these shops.”
Zhang Liu was street-smart and knew best who to ask about these things. After receiving the money, he went to buy some food and deliberately ate not far from some stalls. From time to time, he would say a few words to the stall owner. In no time, Mu Yangling could see that Zhang Liu was already squatting down with the stall owner as he ate, even joking and laughing loudly.
Xiuhong and Bowen widened their eyes, dumbfounded. Bowen stuttered and asked, “Erm… Brother Liuzi is so capable. How can he become buddies with that guy so easily?”
“Humans are biased. Everyone in Three Springs County knows that the two brothers are beggars, and the two of them aren’t very bold. I’m afraid even beggars looked down on them. Even if they have the ability, they won’t be able to use it. But this is Xingyuan Prefecture, and he’s wearing newly-bought shoes and a wolf fur coat. Not only can he afford to eat sugar stir-fried chestnuts, he can even treat a stranger to it without any care. That vendor doesn’t know his background, so he naturally has some respect…”
Bowen seemed to be deep in thought. “That’s why Sir said that you can’t judge a book by its cover and shouldn’t despise someone just because they were down on luck at the moment. Who knows if this person is actually capable and promising?”
Mu Yangling looked at Zhang Liu, who had already left for another street. Then, she retracted her gaze and looked at her brother seriously. “Even if the other party is not very capable and promising, we can’t look down on him. Respecting people is basic morality. Those who respect others will always receive respect from everyone. Bowen, Xiuhong, remember this.”
Xiuhong was originally listening in a daze. When she heard her name, she immediately replied in unison with Bowen, “We’ll remember.”
Mu Yangling nodded and glanced in Zhang Liu’s direction. “I’m afraid he’ll take some time. Let’s go shopping in the bookstore first. Bowen, Xiuhong, I brought you guys here this time to let you see the world.”
In this world, other than the south, there were no female studies in the north, so she felt that it was a pity. “Xiuhong, I also want to buy a few more books for you and Xiulan. Now that you’ve finished reading the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic, you can recognize the basic words. Therefore, you have to start reading some history books. Yes, it’s best to read some general books. They record what famous scholars see and hear on their travels.”
“Sister, don’t forget about poems. My teacher said that it’s best for girls to read some poems. The rest are secondary.” Bowen was very concerned about this matter because he had three sisters studying at home.
Mu Yangling paused for a moment before nodding. “You can read this too. Yes, poems and songs can temper your emotions.”
Xiuhong lowered her head like a defeated rooster. She didn’t like to study. She felt that what she had learnt so far was enough for her already, but her cousin always said that studying more could broaden her horizons. Though, she didn’t know exactly what was broadened.
On the other hand, her younger sister read with an obsession. It was clearly just the Three Character Classic.
However, Xiuhong didn’t dare to say it in front of her cousin.
However, Mu Yangling was very excited. This was something she had planned long ago. Whenever she had the time, she would come to Xingyuan Prefecture to buy books. This was because the collection of books here was much more complete than in Xingzhou Prefecture. Of course, they were also cheaper.
Mu Yangling followed the direction that Zhang Liu had just walked in and realized that he was squatting in front of a restaurant. She was slightly stunned before she smiled happily. This kid was smart enough to figure out her thoughts.
Mu Yangling patted Bowen and said, “Go tell Zhang Liu that we’re going to the bookstore first and will probably take a long time. Tell him to wait for us here after he’s done.” As she spoke, she took out a tael of silver from her purse and handed it to him. “Give this to him. Since this kid is street-smart, that half tael of silver might not be enough.”
“Aye.” Bowen took the money and ran over to pass it to Zhang Liu, conveying Mu Yangling’s words.
Zhang Liu was excited. If he performed well, would the lady keep him and his older brother?
Filled with fighting spirit, Zhang Liu looked at Bowen with bright eyes and promised, “Young Master, don’t worry. I’ll definitely do my best.”
Bowen was confused. He didn’t know why Zhang Liu suddenly felt as excited as if he had eaten an immortal pill. He nodded and stood on his tiptoes to pat his shoulder, imitating his older sister. “Yes, work hard and my sister will treat you fairly.”
With that, he ran away.
The vendor standing with Zhang Liu came up and asked, “Brother, how many years have you worked for that young master?”
Zhang Liu nodded. He’d wanted to say that he was a slave, but he remembered that Mu Yangling had said that there were no slaves in the Mu family, so he said, “I’m a short-term worker in their family. Young Master and Young Miss are going to buy books, so they asked me to shop around to buy some things for them.”
This explained why the other party had given him a tael of silver.
The vendor’s eyes immediately lit up as he looked at him. “Way to go, Brother. From the way Young Miss and Young Master trust you so much, you must be doing really well. In the future, when you save money, you can go home and get a wife. You haven’t gotten a wife yet, right?”