Jason Liu turned his head to glance at the basin. "Oh, it really is a bear—though it looks like it's sitting in a cage!" he commented with surprise.
"This is a special animal from my homeland," Jason explained to Bran, pointing at the bear-like creature. "It has round ears, its fur is black and white, and it's known for being cute and gentle. We call it a panda, and it's very popular where I come from!"
Arya, Sansa, Robb, and Jenny took a quick look into the basin but soon lost interest and went back to what they were doing.
"Panda?" Bran tilted his head in confusion. His small, curious face was full of doubt. "Is it a panda or a cat?" he asked, looking up at Jason with wide eyes.
Jason smiled warmly at the young boy. "It's definitely a bear!" he said patiently.
"But if it's a bear, why does it have 'cat' in its name?" Bran continued, clearly puzzled. "It looks more like a cat to me. We have a black and white cat in Winterfell that looks just like it."
Jason paused for a moment, caught off guard by Bran's question. He hadn't thought about it before. Why did a bear have "cat" in its name? He was about to answer when he realized he didn't really know.
"The name was probably given by people a long time ago," Jason said, shrugging with a smile. "I guess nobody knows for sure."
Before Jason could explain further, Bran lost interest in the conversation and ran over to the other side of the room. There, Lena was showing him and the others how to use gel pens and A4 paper. Bran, eager to try the new items, quickly forgot about the panda and picked up a pen. Jason watched him go with a small chuckle.
"Kids always move on so fast," Jason thought, shaking his head with amusement.
He then walked over to where Robb was testing one of the gel pens. Robb was busy scribbling on a sheet of the smooth A4 paper.
"Robb, how do you like the pen?" Jason asked, curious about his reaction.
Robb stopped writing and held up the gel pen, his face lit up with excitement. "This pen is incredible! It's so comfortable to hold, and I can write much faster than I can with a quill. I didn't know writing could be this easy!"
Jason nodded, pleased. "Yeah, these pens are very common where I come from. When they run out of ink, you can just replace the refill and keep using them. It saves a lot of time."
Robb, Director Bernard, and Boris all looked impressed by the gel pen's simplicity and usefulness. On the other side of the room, Sansa, Arya, and Jenny were busy trying out the soap Jason had brought with him. They seemed just as excited about that as Robb was about the pens.
Arya tried writing with the gel pen too and quickly exclaimed, "Wow! This pen is so easy to use! I never knew I could write this fast!" She grinned at Robb. "We should get some of these for Father. He'll love them!"
Robb smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Don't worry, Arya. I've already thought about that. We'll definitely bring some back."
Bran, who was waving the pen around, chimed in excitedly. "And this white paper is so much nicer than that stinky parchment we usually use!" He held up a piece of the smooth A4 paper.
Everyone quickly agreed. The A4 paper was clean, bright, and smooth, unlike the rough, smelly parchment they were used to in Winterfell.
After everyone had tested the items, DirectorBernard was thoroughly impressed and decided to make a large purchase for Winterfell. He bought soap, gel pens, refills, and A4 paper in bulk.
Once the goods were packed into boxes, two of Winterfell's guards carried them out, while Director Bernard and Boris prepared to head back to Winterfell. Jason stood at the door, seeing his customers off and thanking them for their business.
Just as they were about to leave, Arya noticed Jon in the distance. He was sparring with another boy in an open area not far from the shop.
"Jon!" Arya yelled, spotting him. She held a large apple in her hand and, excitedly, ran towards him, shouting, "Hey, Jon! What are you doing here?"
Sansa, who was eager to return to Winterfell, called after her, "Arya, we're supposed to go back! I want to try out my new soap when I take a bath tonight." Sansa wrinkled her nose, clearly disgusted by the dirty streets of the market.
But Arya ignored her and kept running toward Jon. She had always been close to him and didn't care about his status as a bastard. Unlike her, Sansa had always kept a distance from Jon, influenced by their mother's cold attitude towards him.
"Jon's practicing sword fighting. Let's go check it out!" Robb said, curious, and began walking toward Jon. Bran eagerly followed behind.
Sansa hesitated for a moment, then sighed. She had no interest in watching boys play with swords and decided to return to Winterfell with Jenny instead. After all, Sister Mordane had always told her that a proper lady shouldn't be concerned with dangerous things like swords. Her role was to care for her future husband and children.
Robb wasn't surprised by Sansa's choice and quickly instructed, one of the guards, to escort her and Jenny back to Winterfell safely. Then he continued toward Jon, eager to see what was happening.
Jason Liu, curious about what was going on, decided to follow as well.
When they reached Jon, they arrived just in time to see him finish his sparring match. With a swift move, Jon knocked the sword out of his opponent's hand, winning the bout.
"Great job, Jon!" Arya cheered with delight. "Your sword skills are amazing! You've got to teach me more—I want to be as good as you!"
Jon smiled warmly at Arya's excitement. He wasn't surprised to see his siblings here, as he knew they were visiting the market to buy supplies.
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