On the first day of vacation, Gong's Dad was still working at the Ministry of Justice and had not returned, while Gong's Little Brother was back home for his vacation.
When Gong's Little Brother returned home that day, he saw his sister in the family's courtyard and was stunned for a moment. He said, "Sister, you've become thinner?"
"I lost weight during the training period."
"How was your training? You look a little fatter though."
"Uh, it was alright, alright." Gong Xiaonan scratched his head awkwardly.
Madam Gong came out from the room. Seeing Gong Xiaonan back, it had been a month since the mother saw her son, so Madam Gong did miss him somewhat.
Today, it was a rare occasion with both her son and daughter on vacation, so Madam Gong said she would later go to the vegetable market to buy some meat and good food to replenish the sister and brother properly. She also wanted to buy some nice fabrics for her daughter to make some beautiful clothes.
When Gong Xiaohua heard this, she said she also wanted to go along.
She had been thinking of going to the street to see if she could make a shallow, big iron pot, and she also wanted to go to the medicine shop to buy some spices. She was really craving the delicious modern food.
As a special agent in modern times, she had to be skilled in all kinds of knowledge and abilities. Cooking skills were one of the many essential skills.
The army had once invited national-level culinary masters to personally impart cooking skills in order to train them, and she had good aptitude with cooking skills comparable to a master level.
Madam Gong looked at her daughter, then looked at her son. Her half-grown boy was also growing tall. There were not many nice clothes at home either. She decided that the three of them would go out shopping together, and her children could also help carry things.
After eating breakfast, the three of them came to West Market Street. Gong Xiaohua asked her mother if she could make a shallow, big iron pot.
Her mother rejected her outright. Firstly, iron was always under state control.
If you wanted to use iron to make tools, you must have documents from the government to explain in detail the purpose of making the tool.
If she said she wanted to use iron to make a pot, the government people would beat them out directly.
Secondly, the pots at home were enough, there was no need to spend money making another pot. After all, a pot like this sold for a high price in the market now.
"Mother, I just want to try a different way of cooking to change the taste."
Madam Gong thought for a while. Her daughter also loved eating a lot before the accident. She often loved to play with food. Now she had lost her memory, but her fondness for food had not changed.
Seeing her daughter's hopeful face, Madam Gong gritted her teeth and brought her siblings to the kiln site to see if they could make what she wanted. After all, the cooking utensils at home were also made at the kilns.
They found a relatively large factory and explained to the boss that they wanted to custom order a big shallow pot.
According to the size and shape described by Gong Xiaohua, the boss said he could give it a try but did not guarantee success.
They also had to prepay a deposit of 100 wen. After the finished product was made, they would pay the remaining 100 wen. If it did not succeed in the end, the 100 wen deposit would be fully refunded. They could collect the goods after half a month.
After signing a contract with the kiln owner and paying the deposit, the three of them walked to Chongren Street.
It was Gong Xiaohua's first time shopping on the street. The wide variety of snacks and little items dazzled her eyes.
She looked at one stall then touched things at another stall. The ancient people were truly clever with their hands and mind.
The three of them came to a fabric store with a female owner. Seeing Madam Gong and the three of them walking in, the boss's wife greeted them with a smile.
"Madam Gong, how do you have time to come today?" Then she turned her head to look at the two people beside Madam Gong. She was familiar with her son, Gong Xiaonan.
She looked at the other person several more times and found that it was Gong Xiaohua. She exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Hey, Madam, who's this fat beauty beside you?"
Madam Gong grinned and proudly said, "Aunt Zhou, this is Xiaohua. You don't recognize her!"
"Is that so? Girls look prettier when thinner. Come on in! It just so happens new fabrics have arrived in the shop today. If clothes made from them are worn by your Xiaohua, she would truly look like a fairy coming to the mortal world...”
After speaking, she grabbed Madam Gong's arm and walked in, shouting at her son in the shop at the same time, "Gouzi, go upstairs and bring out the new goods that arrived today for Madam Gong!”
Gong Xiaonan and Gong Xiaohua followed behind their mother. Gong Xiaonan whispered to Gong Xiaohua, "Aunt Zhou is truly crafty at doing business. Every time our mother comes, she tricks her into buying a lot of dusty, old goods."
Gong Xiaohua looked at Gong Xiaonan then at Madam Gong, whispering to Gong Xiaonan, "Then why does mother still shop at this store?"
Gong Xiaonan scratched his nose and said, "That's because Aunt Zhou knows our mother's weakness. She's always able to deceive mother."
"What weakness?" Gong Xiaohua asked.
"What else could it be? The thing our mother cares about most is your marriage. Every time in front of mother, Aunt Zhou can praise you as a celestial fairy. She's fooled that way."
Gong Xiaohua: ???
Sure enough, after a while, Gouzi came out cradling some fabrics in his hands. While not top grade, the colors and materials were still superior. But they looked somewhat dull and were obviously stock that had been lying around.
Aunt Zhou held up a bolt of yellow cloth and went on and on to Madam Gong, "Mistress, look how this yellow sets off fairness. Worn by your Xiaohua, wouldn't she truly look like a fairy coming down to earth...!"
When Gong Xiaohua saw her mother nodding her head frequently as if wanting to buy everything, she quickly stepped forward and said, "Mother, just buy some practical ones. My little brother and father and the others work every day, we can't wear these. Why not buy some nice ones for yourself."
Seeing this, Aunt Zhou quickly said to Gong Xiaohua, "Xiaohua dear, why wouldn't you use them? Girls have to wear better looking clothes when not working..."
She seemed intent on talking on if they did not buy.
"Aunt Zhou, my mother doesn't know fabric, but I do know some."
Only then did Aunt Zhou stop speaking.
In the end, under Gong Xiaohua’s insistence, they bought two bolts of black, one green, as well as a bundle of gold thread, spending one or two taels of silver before leaving with satisfaction.
Carrying the cloth behind them, Gong Xiaonan gave his elder sister a big thumbs up.
Just as the three of them had walked out of the shop, preparing to go to Qi’s Old Medicine Shop, they happened to run into someone harassing them.
At this time on the second floor of Yipin Pavilion Teahouse.
Today, Qin Chuyuan was gathering with several good friends here.
Suddenly, a youth sitting by the window lamented, "What a pity.”
Hearing this, the others asked, "Brother Lin Zhiyuan, what makes you so regretful?"
Lin Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows and said, "Look, it's the little overlord from the Wang family relying on his sister’s favor in the palace to harass the young mistress of a commoner family downstairs again."
"Let's take a look too." After speaking, several like-minded youths walked to the window and looked outside.
They saw a girl of about fourteen or fifteen with tall stature. Her long, black, sleek hair was tied up high behind her head. Her eyes were bright and spirited, with trimmed eyebrows and straight nose. Dimples showed at the sides of her cheeks. Although her figure was plumper than ordinary girls, she had the charm of a plump beauty.
Lin Zhiyuan could not bear to see such a plump beauty get bullied by the pig head of the Wang family.
He said to the still motionless Qin Chuyuan, "Chuyuan my friend, this shop belongs to your family. The Wang family doesn't dare offend you. Why don't you go help that poor beauty?"
Hearing this, Qin Chuyuan took a sip of tea and said, "I won't help."
"You really have an iron heart."
Standing behind Qin Chuyuan, Li Zichen was curious too. He shifted two steps to the side and craned his neck to glance outside the window.
At first he didn't notice, but later he found the girl being teased by the Wang overlord was actually his niece. Beside her stood his elder sister and eldest nephew.
Li Zichen came to Qin Chuyuan and bent down to whisper, "Master, the girl being harassed is my niece. Can I ask master to..."
Before Li Zichen could finish speaking, Qin Chuyuan almost spit out his tea. He turned to look at Li Zichen with an expression that seemed to say, Are you kidding me?
Li Zichen awkwardly said, "Master, it really is her."
Qin Chuyuan got up and went to the window, looking outside. He recognized Gong Xiaohua with one glance. Her looks had changed greatly but that presumptuous attitude still made people uncomfortable to look at.
