Chapter 25: Entrusting One's Life to an Unworthy Person
Yang Fan left Ren's gold and silver shop, first went to the ceramics shop to order pots, bowls, plates, and basins, then went to the oil and rice shop to order rice, flour, oil, salt, and various food ingredients. After giving them his address, he asked them to have their apprentices deliver the goods directly to his home after closing time. Then he hurried off to catch up with Ma Qiang and Mian Pian'er.
Yang Fan saw a grocery store on the road, selling some hairpins, various sundries, thinking of that Anu girl at home who exchanged the hairpin for money and didn't even have anything to pin her hair up with, so she stopped to pick out a hairpin for her.
Yang Fan originally wanted to find a butterfly hairpin, but there wasn't one on the stall. The shopkeeper made a great effort to sell him a silver-plated peach-shaped hairpin, and when he didn't seem very interested, also threw in a doll mask, at which point Yang Fan agreed.
"Ma Liu, Ma Liu, you little scoundrel, come back here..."
Ma Qiao pulled the hand of Mian Pian'er and ran quickly, a shopkeeper with a goat beard chased after them, panting heavily and stopping to catch his breath. He threw down a handful of toothbrushes on the ground, stomped on them, and pointed at Ma Qiao's back, shouting: "You little scoundrel, don't ever ask my family to help you sell things again! You've ruined our reputation with these broken toothbrushes. How dare you try to peddle such trash!"
The shop owner flung his sleeve and returned to his store in a huff. Yang Fan arrived just in time to see this scene, and he himself was a victim of Ma's toothbrushes. How could he not understand the reason? Yang Fan secretly smiled to himself, quickly put on his mask, chased after Ma Qiao, patted him on the shoulder, and shouted: "Where are you going?"
Ma Qiao turned his head to take a look, but saw a smiling chubby baby, and couldn't help but be startled. Yang Fan lifted the mask, and Ma Qiao finally let out a sigh of relief.
"What's wrong, as anxious as a dog whose owner has just died?"
Ma Qiao said with a sad face: "I just went to Mr. Ding's store to ask about the sales of toothbrushes, but he got angry as soon as I arrived and said that our family's toothbrushes are made too poorly. Some customers bought them back and brushed their mouths bloody, and they shed hair after using them once. Not only did they shed hair, but they also had a bad smell, alas!"
Yang Fan looked at him with his head hung low and comforted: "This plan cannot be implemented, let's think of another way to make a living, why be so disheartened."
Ma Qiao said: "I don't mind, I'm just worried about my mother. My mother has been thinking of doing some business and making money for me to get married, but no matter what business she does, she always loses money. This time our family spent a lot of money buying materials, now these toothbrushes can't be sold, not only did we not make any money, but we also lost another sum, I'm afraid my mother will be heartbroken and her health will deteriorate."
Her face was flushed red from being pulled by him to run, and upon hearing him say that, she said: "You are naturally very filial, having a son like you is the good fortune of your parents. What does it matter if business is done at a loss? Wherever one falls down, one gets up from there."
Ma Qiao cried with a sad face: "But I always fall down in that place, I suspect it's a pit!"
Yang Fan suppressed a smile, took out several tens of coins from her pocket and stuffed them into Ma Qiao's hand, saying: "Take this money back first, and coax the old lady to be happy. You came today, just take a stroll around the street, see what small things are profitable, and can be done by ourselves, and then we'll start again."
Ma Qiao hastily pushed the money back, saying: "This won't do! You're alone in Luoyang with no relatives or friends. It's not easy to save up emergency funds. How could I take it?"
Yang Fan said: "Who says I have no relatives or friends? Ning is my aunt, and you are not my brother? Are you not recognizing me as your brother?"
"This... this..."
Ma Qiao thought for a moment after learning the truth, and saw his disappointed and heartbroken mother, so he put away the money with a blush and pulled Yang Fan to one side, saying in a low voice: "Let's do another job another day, this time we'll get something, and it will all be yours."
Yang Fan smiled and said: "Alright, let's do it this way."
The little girl glared at them and said: "No good words behind people's backs, what are you two talking about?"
Ma Qiao said: "Among men, even if I tell you the truth, you won't listen."
Mianpian'er hummed and raised her head: "Hurry up, stop dawdling, I haven't gone to see the hair accessories yet."
Yang Fan smiled and said, "Let's go, we'll first accompany Ning to see the hair accessories. Also, my family's bedding has been gnawed by rats and can't be used anymore, after buying the hair accessories, Ning will help me pick a few good fabrics."
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Three people walked forward with laughter, and Jiang Xun suddenly stopped in front of a hair salon. Ma Qiao took a look at the sign of the store and said to Jiang Xun: "Xiao Ning, let's not go to this place, we can't afford it."
That shop's facade was quite grand, it looked like a place that sold high-end hair accessories and jewelry. However, Jiang Xuan Ning still stood there, motionless, with an unusual expression on his face. Yang Fan and Ma Qiao exchanged a glance, feeling something was off.
They followed Jiang Xunying's gaze into the store and saw a noblewoman shopping inside. The woman had shiny black hair, styled in a bun, wearing a green jacket with small sleeves, over a light-colored half-sleeved shirt, with a white printed scarf draped over her shoulder, a bright red waist skirt, and a pair of deep green shoes with upturned toes.
She looks to be around thirty years old, with a mediocre appearance and a slightly plump figure. Beside her stands a man wearing a black gauze hat with a silk flower tucked behind his ear, dressed in a round-collared, large-sleeved garment, appearing to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.
This man has a clear and elegant appearance, with a thin layer of powder on his face, and a neatly trimmed beard under his chin. He looks spirited and handsome, and can be considered a refined young man.
That middle-aged woman was selecting hair accessories, while the man stood beside her ear, whispering and laughing intimately, as if commenting on the accessories she had chosen. In the Tang Dynasty, the most popular hair decorations were hairpins, earrings, and armlets, but necklaces, rings, and earrings were not popular. The woman chose a gold pearl flower hairpin.
The man whispered a sentence in her ear, making the woman laugh and slap him gently. On the man's shoulder, there was an animal like a cat, but much larger, with a red body covered in spots, its long claws tightly grasping the man's shoulder, its ears perked up as it looked around.
Look, the mistress hit the man, and it also bared its sharp teeth, lifted its small paws and tapped the man's head, making the woman laugh. This is a civet cat, often kept as a pet by nobles, if taken hunting, it is more alert than a hunting dog, with a speed like flying, commonly known as "grass flying".
Yang Fan looked at Jiang Xun Ning's face and said in a low voice: "Ning sister, don't you know that man?"
Jiang Xun Ning's face looked unpleasant, and he replied in a low voice: "That man... is called Liu Junwan."
Yang Fan asked: "Liu Junwan, who is this person?"
Ma Qiao's expression changed as he said, "Liu Junwen? Your fiancé? The man who is supposed to marry you at the end of the year, is that him?"
Jiang Xuning nodded silently, his lips already bitten white.
P: On the road, this chapter is scheduled to be released. I arrived in Beijing today and did some preparation work. Tomorrow afternoon, I will interview Mr. Huang Yi, and in the afternoon, I will attend Mr. Huang's new book launch conference. The meeting tomorrow afternoon should be live-streamed. Friends, please vote for me!
