Chapter 114: Going Shopping

By the time the house was completely tidied up, it was nearly evening.

The Great Yu Dynasty¹ was quite lively at night, somewhat resembling the Song Dynasty that Jiang Dai and the others had studied before.

But it wasn’t the Song Dynasty after all. The Great Yu Dynasty was now prosperous and powerful, valuing both culture and martial prowess, so even this small town was stable and bustling.

Since there was a night market, Bai Tian and Jiang Dai naturally wanted to go for a stroll.

And so, the family of six set out lightly equipped.

Jiang Dai held Juanjuan in her arms, while Bai Tian held the familiar three ropes, keeping a firm grip on their three energetic sons who were prone to running off.

This was their first time going out since arriving here.

Back when they lived in the village, after dinner, it was basically time to lie down and rest, which was really quite boring.

Even when they had visited the county town before, they had to take an ox cart and make sure to return before dark, constantly worrying about how to earn money to raise the children. Who had time for fun?

But now, they had money and had moved to the county town.

And more importantly!

Jiang Dai hummed a little tune: 【Is this just for fun? Of course not!】

Juanjuan tilted her head and looked at her mother, wondering why it wasn’t considered going out for fun.

Wasn’t this exactly what going out for fun meant?

【This outing has three goals!】

【Goal one: Don’t lose the kids. Goal two: Find the storytellers and see what style they have here! Goal three: Of course, to check out other ways to make money.】

Juanjuan felt that her mother was really having a tough time.

She wasn’t even thinking about having fun while out but was still focused on how to make money.

In comparison,

Juanjuan glanced at her father and three older brothers.

Bai Tian: 【Woo-hoo! It’s a shame I don’t have my phone. This is an ancient night market, and it’s so lively. I should record this.】

Her father seemed even more excited and curious than her three brothers.

Her second and third brothers weren’t whispering in their hearts.

As for her eldest brother…

Eldest Brother: 【Let me sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy! This man has quite a bit of spiritual energy on him. Why is he carrying so much silver with him? What’s he planning to do?】

【Oh ho, if I’m not mistaken, that place over there is a brothel, right? Tsk tsk tsk…】

Juanjuan: ?

Her eldest brother was acting a bit strange, and… what was a brothel?

Juanjuan hesitated for a moment but resisted the urge to ask.

Along the way, whenever the four children expressed interest in buying something, Jiang Dai and Bai Tian basically bought it for them.

Just ahead was where the storyteller was set up.

“Can we listen to the storyteller for a while?”

Jiang Dai tried to negotiate with the four children.

She was genuinely afraid that the children wouldn’t enjoy listening to the storyteller and would start clamoring to go elsewhere after standing for just a short while.

To her surprise, all four children nodded.

Jiang Dai: ?

She cast a slightly suspicious glance at her three restless sons, who were tethered by ropes.

“Are you three really going to be able to stay put?”

It wasn’t that Jiang Dai was overly suspicious, but these three had to be leashed—their credibility in terms of not running off was just too low.

“Don’t worry, if they get restless, I’ll take them for a walk,” Bai Tian assured Jiang Dai, signaling her to relax.

Jiang Dai nodded and gave a thumbs-up of approval.

The three sons: …

The feeling of being walked like dogs was even more pronounced now.

When they reached the storyteller’s stall, they happened to arrive at the most exciting part of his tale.

“But this Sima Qiu was no ordinary man! In the blink of an eye, with a ‘clang!’”

“Hey! Guess what happened?”

The storyteller was a seasoned performer, skilled at building suspense.

Some in the crowd began guessing, while others urged him to continue.

With a sharp tap of his gavel², the storyteller continued:

“Zhang Xiande’s red-tasseled spear ac-tu-al-ly broke!”

“Seeing this, Zhang Xiande knew he had to run—so he took off as fast as he could…”

Jiang Dai blinked, listening to the storyteller while mentally outlining her own story and searching for suitable tales.

【This kind of routine… Others who transmigrate recite poetry. Would it be okay if I recited the Romance of the Three Kingdoms³?】

【Luckily, I read Romance of the Three Kingdoms a lot back then. Journey to the West⁴ would probably work too, but I’d have to make some changes! It’s just a shame my grandpa never let me read Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio⁵… What a loss.】

Juanjuan focused on eating her baked pancake while listening to the storyteller.

Once she became engrossed, she unconsciously tuned out even the whispers in her mother’s heart.

Translator’s Notes