"A letter from Yangcheng has arrived."
In the early morning, upon hearing the clerk's announcement, the Shopkeeper of De Sheng Chang's capital branch, whose eyebrows had not relaxed for days, finally eased up, even showing a bit of surprise.
"That quickly?"
The letter describing the operations of Miss Jun's Jiuling Hall had only been sent the day before yesterday.
"The letter just sent definitely hasn't been received yet; this must be the reply about Miss Jun's plans to open Jiuling Hall and when she will open for business," the managers took the letter, carefully verifying the wax seal and stamp.
"That's good, too. We've been eagerly waiting," said the Shopkeeper, rolling up his sleeves.
It was time for a meal, but he didn't roll up his sleeves in front of a table full of food. Now, he rolled up his sleeves while having the untouched dishes in front of him cleared away by the clerk.
"It is truly vexing; she opened a medical hall but never holds consultations, either going out to play or sleeping in at home," he sighed to the managers sitting beside him.
"Yes, after the young master has been ill for so many years, he finally took over the family business, and he's busy with everything, always worrying," one manager said. "Even the Misses at home still manage the business and do not simply enjoy the benefits of eating, drinking, and playing."
"You can't say that, on one hand, Miss Jun is still a girl and a relative, and on the other, she has shown great kindness to the Fang Family," the Shopkeeper gestured with his hands. "Besides, it's not about how much money she spends; as businesspeople, no matter how much money we have, it should be spent where it's useful. Wasting money is always wrong."
The managers all nodded in agreement, watching the Shopkeeper open the letter.
"A girl like her will not know how to do business, and as a girl from a government official family, she's very proud. It's not appropriate for us to make decisions for her. Now that the family has given orders, let's follow the family's commands," the Shopkeeper said while reading the letter, his smile instantly vanished, and his relaxed brows knotted into a lump.
"What happened?" the managers asked hurriedly.
The Shopkeeper placed the letter on the table and sighed.
"The young master commands that we should follow Miss Jun's arrangements in everything, not to act rashly without her instruction," he said.
The managers exchanged looks.
"What kind of arrangement is that?"
"Shopkeeper, the young master hadn't seen your newly sent message when he wrote this letter; he doesn't know Miss Jun hasn't made any arrangements."
The others chimed in as well.
The Shopkeeper shook his hand.
"No need for that," he said. "This is the second time the young master has said this. When Miss Jun just talked about opening the medical hall, the young master sent the signboard over. It's clear that he knows exactly what the Miss intends to do and has thought of everything. If he still says this after considering everything, then he truly wants us to do as instructed."
The managers nodded.
"I don't think we need to worry. Miss Jun was able to devise such intricate plans to resolve the Fang Family's crisis; she must be very confident in her actions," one of the managers laughed.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of those present became a bit odd.
That remarkable woman, Miss Jun, saving the Fang Family from a crisis—wasn't that just a story?
Can one believe the truth and lies of a story?
"Has Jiuling Hall opened its doors today?" the Shopkeeper asked the attending clerk.
The clerk nodded and then shook his head.
"It has opened," he said. "But Miss Jun is still not holding consultations."
The Shopkeeper exhaled.
"So, what about this time? Has she gone out to play or is she sleeping at home?" he asked.
"She went out early in the morning to play," the clerk answered.
...............
In the alley far from the main street, a crisp bell sound rang out in the early morning, drawing the attention of the playing children who looked over to see two girls leisurely walking by. One girl carried a flag with flamboyant script that the children didn't recognize. Their gazes fell on the girl behind.
This girl had a small box slung over her shoulder and a bell in her hand, the source of the clear bell sound.
The children saw the flag and the box and immediately crowded around.
"Is it candy for sale?" they shouted in a clamor.
"It's not candy, it's medicine," Liu'er said. "Do you want to buy some medicine?"
Medicine was a dreadful thing for the children, and they scattered at once.
Miss Jun laughed from behind, putting away the bell in her hand.
"I have candies, I have candies," she said, opening the medicine box with one hand.
The children eyed her warily and didn't come over until they saw Miss Jun actually grab a handful of candied fruits wrapped in colored paper from the box. Then they all happily surged forward.
Miss Jun distributed the candies to them.
"Don't just focus on eating candy. Go and ask if anyone in your family is sick and needs to see a doctor," Liu'er said on the side.
As soon as her voice dropped, a woman, having heard the commotion, came out and upon hearing this statement and seeing Miss Jun handing something to the children, she cried out in alarm.
"What are you doing?" she said, beckoning to the children, "Bao, come back quickly, beware of being snatched away by the kidnapper."
The candy was already in their hands, and coupled with the fear of kidnappers, the children ran back in a commotion.
"Mom, I got candy," a child said, holding up the candied fruit he had just received.
The woman glanced at the opened colored paper to see something glistening with syrup, looking very enticing and smelling sweet and sour with a hint of medicine.
"Oh my, what is this?" she hurriedly slapped it out of her child's hand.
The candied fruit fell to the ground, mixing with the dust.
The child immediately started to cry out in dismay.
Liu'er also widened her eyes in shock.
"Hey, what are you doing! This is a special candied fruit from Jiuling Hall, it's very expensive," she shouted.
The woman looked disgusted.
"What Jiuling Hall?" she said, defensively pulling her child behind her, "Where did these scammers come from?"
Liu'er wanted to say something more, but Miss Jun pulled her back and stepped forward herself.
"Big sister, I'm not a scammer, I'm a bell healer," she said softly, shaking the bell in her hand, and pointed to the flag that Liu'er was holding, "Look."
The woman looked where she was pointing.
"I can't read," she said, without looking at the flag, just giving Miss Jun a once-over and sneering, "A clean-looking girl, what a shame to learn to be a scammer instead of something worthwhile."
With that, she took her child and walked towards her house, glaring at the other children.
"Don't talk to strange people and don't accept things from them, beware of them putting worms in your belly, which could eat you from inside out."
The thought of having worms in their stomach was terrifying, and the children threw the candied fruits they held onto the ground and scattered like birds and beasts running home.
Watching the discarded candied fruits, Liu'er stamped her foot in anger.
"These people are just too much," she exclaimed.
Miss Jun looked unfazed and closed the medicine box.
"What's so excessive about that," she said, "It's to be expected, no surprise, just take it slow."
She continued walking forward, shaking the small bell once again, with Liu'er following behind.
.............
Manager Liu stood on the street, watching the girl walking ahead, her clear bell sound trailing behind her.
"Manager Liu, look, she really is acting as a bell healer," a shop assistant said in a low voice, "It's been several days now, roaming around the city, giving candy to children everywhere, and several families have come looking."
"So you're saying they all know about Jiuling Hall now?" Manager Liu inquired.
The shop assistant twisted his mouth into a wry expression.
"Yes, Miss Jun told people she's from Jiuling Hall, so all those people came looking," he said, looking down, "They said that if Jiuling Hall keeps causing such disturbances, they'll set dogs on her."
Setting dogs on someone... Manager Liu's eyebrows twitched.
"Well, we've become somewhat notorious," he muttered to himself.
*********************************************************************************************************
**************************
Thank you to Bing of the South for the He's Bi reward.
So: I love you all.
Have a wonderful weekend.