The little girl stuttered as she explained in a small voice. Zhao Ce hung his head, feeling the warm air flow from the little girl's words brushing past his ear. After hearing her explanation, Zhao Ce realized that he had misunderstood her.
"That's right. The little girl is used to being thrifty. Even if I buy a fan for eighty coins, she probably still feels it's too expensive," he thought.
Zhao Ce stood up straight and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I misunderstood," he said.
Su Caier quickly waved her hand. "Husband, you didn't make a mistake..."
"It's my fault for not explaining clearly to my husband..."
Zhao Ce smiled and patted her little head, then asked the nearby clerk who was whispering to his partner, "Excuse me, how much does this type of sunflower fan cost?"
The clerk, seeing a potential big sale, was still smiling and introduced, "This type of fan with a whole sunflower leaf costs ten coins. These woven reed fans cost five coins each."
"Five coins each..."
Zhao Ce was surprised at how cheap they were. Why should the little girl have to find materials to make her own fan when he could buy one for her here?
He looked down at the little girl and said, "Shall we buy this one?"
Su Caier winced a bit at the price, but she had just refused once and caused her husband to apologize to her. It wouldn't be good to refuse him again in front of others. If she kept refusing him outside, it wouldn't be good either. After all, her husband was a man and the head of the household.
So Su Caier reluctantly extended one finger and said, "Then, let's buy one."
"I want the woven one."
Looking at the little girl's expression, Zhao Ce suppressed his laughter and said, "Sure, we'll only buy one. I originally planned to give you a little fan as a gift, but this woven reed fan is actually more practical. I'll give you even better and more practical gifts in the future."
Su Caier's eyes lit up. Gifts? Was this a gift from her husband?
The clerk handed a sunflower fan to the little girl, who received it solemnly with both hands. She flipped it over, then looked at Zhao Ce with shining eyes. "Thank you, husband!" she said sweetly.
Zhao Ce also smiled at her. The clerk felt a bit out of place and moved behind the shelves, trying to make himself less noticeable.
The little girl held her new fan, and Zhao Ce led her on a shopping spree in the store. They bought a pot and many bowls and even bought extra salt. They bought everything they could in this grocery store.
The basket was almost full, and there were still neatly tied pots and bowls on the side. The little girl also helped carry many things, and the two of them carried big and small packages. Zhao Ce even bought a new basket in the store and put everything in it.
The little girl didn't want to put down her sunflower fan, so she held it and said, "Husband, I'll hold this." Zhao Ce smiled and said, "Sure." They went to the next door to buy rice bran and also got some soybean oil. After putting everything back in the basket, they left it with the shopkeeper for the time being after paying.
Zhao Ce said, "Let's go buy some steamed buns to eat." Su Caier thought of the little girl from earlier and muttered to herself that she wasn't that young anymore. But when they arrived at the steamed bun shop and smelled the fragrance of the freshly steamed buns, her eyes seemed to be glued to the steam rising from the steamer. She stared at the white and plump steamed buns inside and couldn't help but look back at them.
Zhao Ce asked the shopkeeper, "How much are the buns?" The shopkeeper said, "One coin for plain buns, two coins for meat buns. They are all freshly made with white flour." As she spoke, she opened the top steamer and showed them the neatly arranged white and plump buns.
Su Caier swallowed her saliva and looked at the buns inside. Even though she had eaten snake soup last night, the buns smelled so good.
Zhao Ce ordered two meat buns and gave four coins to the little girl next to him, saying, "Come on, eat up and we will find Zhao Wenhua later." Su Caier was a bit overwhelmed by the smell of the buns and took them over.
She looked at the white and plump meat buns in her hand and swallowed her saliva. Zhao Ce took a bite of the bun and thought it tasted pretty good. He finished it in three or four bites and was given another one in front of him.
He looked down and saw that the little girl's bun was still intact in her hand. "Husband hasn't eaten enough, so I'll give mine to husband," she said. Zhao Ce chuckled and said, "I'm full. You try it." "I wasn't very hungry anyway." "This bun tastes good. Let's come back later and buy some to take home."
Su Caier saw that her husband was really full and only took a small piece for herself. She put it in her mouth and tasted it. The white flour skin was covered in meat juice, and it was fragrant, soft, and delicious. Su Caier narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and said, "It's delicious!" Zhao Ce asked, "Do you like it?" "Let's hurry up and eat. We have to find Zhao Wenhua." Su Caier felt like she was going to waste time. She quickly opened her mouth and took a big bite. Her chubby cheeks were bulging, and she tried to eat the bun quickly.
Zhao Ce looked at her and laughed, "No need to rush like that. Be careful not to choke." He then took out a bamboo tube from his book box and let the little girl drink some water. The little girl still had the bun in her mouth and drank a small sip of water.
The shopkeeper said, "Oh, are you two newlyweds? You're so affectionate." Su Caier blushed and hid behind her husband. Zhao Ce laughed and replied, "We'll come back to visit your shop later. We have to go now." The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Take care."
Zhao Ce held Su Caier's hand and let her slowly eat the bun as they left the shop. The shopkeeper watched them go and muttered, "They seem mismatched, but also harmonious. I feel like I've seen that young man somewhere before." Meanwhile, a fragrance of cosmetics and powder wafted over.
The shopkeeper quickly put on a business smile and greeted someone named Chunxiang. Chunxiang was a young maid of about eleven or twelve years old who served the courtesan of the Drunken Fragrance Tower in the city. Chunxiang ordered two meat buns and two vegetarian buns, as her mistress had to maintain her figure and could only eat half of each. The rest would go to waste.
While the shopkeeper was packing the buns, Chunxiang looked at Zhao Ce and Su Caier in the distance and said, "Shopkeeper, do you know that couple? The man is dressed well, but his wife is wearing tattered clothes. He doesn't seem like a good man." The shopkeeper forced a smile and said, "I feel like I've seen them before, but can't remember where. Although the young woman is poorly dressed, they might still be affectionate." Chunxiang didn't inquire further and paid for the buns before leaving with them.