Chapter 127 Chapter 128 Shopping
Jima hurriedly led Lianxi to the bathhouse under the setting sun, hiring two female workers to clean her from head to toe. The workers were reluctant, fearing that Lianxi’s cat ears were contagious and would corrupt their pure human lineage.
Jima pressed a silver coin into their hands, clearly indicating that “silver is pure and can cleanse evil” was their common belief.
They immediately accepted the silver coin and hurriedly dragged Lianxi into the bath barrel of the tent, as if afraid someone else would snatch her away. They scrubbed Lianxi clean from top to bottom, not overlooking even the dirt in her cat ears.
Afterwards, Jima dove into the market to buy things, starting with an alchemy set. She stopped a clerk trying to leave, slapped the list into his hands, and smiled at him:
“Please, if you can’t get it, I’ll be scolded when I go back.”
The clerk was momentarily stunned, turned his head, and opened the store door, saying, “Please wait.”
After a brief jog, he rushed into the store, forgetting to pitch some brochures on “practical tips to enhance fortune,” and even neglecting to take advantage of her ignorance to overcharge her.
Jima was satisfied with her abilities, idly sitting sideways on the horse, and unconsciously began checking her belongings, a habit formed from frequently forgetting her keys and wallet.
She patted her waist and felt the dimensional bag where all her exceptional items were stored. Although taking them out would be troublesome, the advantage was that she wouldn’t have to bear their negative effects, such as the anemia caused by the Blood Horn Cup; the downside was that if she didn’t carry the Blood Horn Cup with her, the blood consumed from within would not replenish.
The second pat was on the horse’s head, good, the travel horse was still there and hadn’t been stolen. The third pat was on the saddle bag, which was bulging, stuffed with jerky, salt, dried loofah, sponges, and even a frying pan.
She opened the saddle bag, and the precious “Potionology” was still inside.
Thankfully, nothing was missing.
Jima sighed in relief, but she felt like something was still amiss. She looked around and patted her thigh.
Where was the cat-ear girl she had bought so cheaply? She couldn’t have been abducted, could she? But that didn’t make sense; hybrids were typically looked down upon—if abducted, they wouldn’t be able to sell her.
Jima opened her mouth to call out Lianxi’s name but forgot what it was.
“Is anyone there?” Jima called out, “Is anyone there?”
“Miss, do you need assistance?”
A passerby nearby immediately came over.
“Leave, I’m not calling you.”
The passerby walked away disappointed.
Jima called out again, “Is anyone there? A female, with cat ears on her head.”
A faint female voice came from behind, “Master, I’m here.”
Jima turned to see the cat-ear girl wearing a straw hat, holding onto the horse’s tail tightly, like someone about to drown clinging onto a lifeline.
“What are you holding onto the horse’s tail for?”
Lianxi immediately let go of the horse’s tail and said, “Sorry, I pulled it too hard.”
She seemed extremely uneasy, like a timid rabbit that would faint at the slightest noise.
“No, I mean aren’t you afraid the horse will kick you?”
“Not at all, I can get up again.”
…..
Should I showcase her ability to take hits, or should I…
Jima shook her head and said, “Back to the first question, why were you holding onto the horse’s tail?”
“I… I was afraid of getting lost.”
“Oh, don’t hold onto the horse’s tail, just stay beside me.”
Lianxi cautiously walked to Jima’s right side. Seeing her sunken cheeks, Jima suddenly realized that since she had gotten her for free, she hadn’t fed her anything yet.
“Are you hungry?”
“No, I’m not hungry, I ate this morning.”
“What did you eat?”
“A kind-hearted person gave me corn.”
“That means you’re hungry.” Jima took out a water skin and a paper-wrapped piece of meat the size of a fist. “This is your dinner.”
Saying that, she jumped off the saddle and handed the water skin and meat to Lianxi.
The latter carefully held the food. She sat on the steps, untying the knot, and smelling the aroma of the meat inside, her eyes sparkled green. After hesitating for a moment, she looked up and said,
“Master, this is jerky.”
“Oh, what’s wrong?”
“Did you give me the wrong thing?” She reluctantly tied the string back, “I can manage with bread.”
“Don’t make a fuss; eat what I gave you. It’s just one silver coin.”
Lianxi lowered her head, redoing the knot, taking a piece of the cut jerky and biting into it, chewing quickly, swallowing hard. After finishing two fingers thick pieces of jerky, she couldn’t take it anymore and opened the water skin.
The water skin was finely crafted, with a copper mouth.
Although Lianxi was very thirsty, she raised the water skin, opened her mouth, and caught the pale yellow light wine flowing from the spout, afraid her saliva would dirty the water spout.
“Don’t be so formal,” Jima said, “This water skin is yours from now on.”
Lianxi couldn’t believe it. She rubbed the finely crafted leather water skin, with the copper spout gleaming like gold under the sunset. She felt that this water skin could buy her own existence.
“By the way, take your time eating. Look how thin you are; your stomach won’t handle it. Don’t go back home and feel stuffed to the point of bursting.”
“Okay, Master.”
After Lianxi ate another half piece of jerky, she carefully wrapped the jerky back up, storing it together with the water skin in her newly bought backpack.
Jima tossed the reins to her and said, “Hold on to these. Do you know the way?”
“I know.” Lianxi tightly held onto the reins, this time like someone about to drown clutching a life preserver.
“Take the horse to the city gate—who am I waiting on?”
“Understood, Master.”
“By the way, what’s your name again? I forgot.”
“Li… Lianxi.”
“I’ll call you Xiaoli from now on.”
“Okay, Master.”
A figure appeared at the store entrance, holding a wooden box half the height of his body, saying, “Customer, the things you wanted have arrived.”
The half-height wooden box was set down, filled with various glassware, oil-marked ceramic jars, and paper-wrapped candles, all stuffed with straw in between.
“Bigger than I imagined.” Jima glanced at the travel horse, “Luckily, it can barely fit.”
“Hiss~.” The travel horse lowered its head.
“There’s also an altar.” The clerk turned around, carrying an altar half the height of the wooden box, which also had a bellows tied to it.
“Troublesome.”
The clerk said, “Good thing you have a servant; it’s fine if she carries it back. Otherwise, you’d need to rent a cart.”
Jima glanced at Lianxi’s thin back. She had seen rural children around Lianxi’s age carry large bundles of firewood and hay on their small backs.
But it was a half-hour walk back home.
Still, it would be better to buy a cart; it would be useful for carrying firewood in the future and provide shelter from the rain.
“Where can I buy a cart?”
Lianxi quietly said,
“Master, I can carry it back.”
“You’re too thin.”
“I won’t fall.”
“If I say no, then it’s no, understood?”
“Understood, Master.” Lianxi lowered her head, anxiously looking down at her feet.
The clerk said, “The carpenters selling carts have probably closed by now.”
“That’s my concern; how much in total?”
The clerk looked at the wooden box; it was rare for someone to buy all the alchemy tools at once, as people usually purchased them little by little. The beautiful black-haired girl before him seemed wealthy, and she hadn’t even checked the goods; years of experience told the clerk that Jima was a prime mark for a heavy sale.
But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He felt that if he overcharged Jima, she would definitely be scolded when she returned home. Such a beautiful face, if she cried…
The clerk felt a pang in his heart and said, “A total of sixty-three gold coins.”
An incredibly fair price.
“Okay, here’s the money.”
“How will you carry the goods?”
“Wait a moment, Xiaoli, you stay here.”
Jima rode her horse down the street, spotting a cart with four wheels, and the wheels were banded with iron.
“Please stop.” Jima stopped the driver and asked, “Excuse me, what is this cart used for?”
“Beautiful lady.” The driver took off his hat and smiled at Jima, “This is for delivering goods to taverns.”
“Do you own the tavern?”
“Yes.”
“Then this cart is yours as well?”
“Indeed, miss. Is there something you need?”
“How much? I want to buy it; give me a fair price.”
The driver looked at Jima with amusement and said, “I’m sorry, miss. I love my cart and will never sell it. It took a long time to custom-make. If you want one made, I can recommend a good place.”
Jima blinked at him, smiled slightly, and clasped her hands together, saying, “Please, I’m in need of a cart.”
“One hundred—oh no, eighty gold coins.”
Six minutes later, Jima rode her travel horse, pulling the cart while waving goodbye to the driver. “Thank you, you’re truly a good person.”
The driver waved goodbye, and behind him was a pile of empty barrels.
Lianxi sat in the somewhat bumpy cart, gazing admiringly at Jima’s back.
“By the way,” Jima suddenly pulled the horse to a stop, “I haven’t bought you clothes yet; get down.”
Lianxi got off, and the cart was now parked in front of Black Mary’s shop, where exquisite clothing was displayed in the window—smooth, soft fabrics adorned with jewels.
Lianxi’s legs went weak. She looked down at her torn, yellowing dress and said, “M-Master, there’s no need to buy me such expensive clothes.”
Jima, too lazy to talk, reached out and grabbed the cat ears under her hat, saying, “I really should get you a collar; it’ll be easier to pull you along.”
“M-Master, really no need.”
“What I say goes.” Jima flipped the sign that indicated the store was closed and knocked on the door, “Mrs. Black Mary, do you have any maid outfits?”
“The store is closed, wait a moment—is it Little Qiao?”
Half an hour later, Lianxi sat on the cart wearing a black proper maid outfit, watching the light from the patrollers’ torches shining on the dim street, feeling as if she were in a dream today.
——
Lianxi: I am the loyal reader of Guan Bojiana, who will not cry, in a supporting role. However, I don’t like this name because QQ input method cannot predict it; even if you type it a hundred times, it won’t bring out the three characters of “Lianxi,” and I have to search for it slowly by myself.
PY transaction: I recommend a book written by a friend titled “As the Villainess Supporting Character, I Can Only Live for Seven Days.” I read a hundred thousand words; the plot is tense and interesting.
It is a bit hard on the protagonist; here, hard on the protagonist refers to the fact that although the main character often gets beaten and can retaliate against the villains, they don’t gain much. It’s like fighting a boss without getting any equipment (actually, they do drop items, but once you get them, they break immediately).
