Fine beads of sweat dotted Liu Yiyi's nose tip, and the inner garment on her back was soaked through with sweat. She had walked for quite a while but had only managed to get past one row of shelves.
At this rate of searching, she feared that even if she searched until the end of time, she wouldn't be able to find a large quantity of flour.
Just as she was growing increasingly anxious, suddenly, something cold pressed against the small of her back.
"I've been watching you sneaking around here for a while, little lady. You must have some ill intentions! What on earth are you up to? Confess quickly, and I might spare your life."
Liu Yiyi's heart skipped a beat. Oh no! I've been caught by the Anluo guards at the dock!
"Sir, please listen to me..."
She pinched her throat and put on a voice sweeter than honey. "My goods were just stored in the warehouse today. I suddenly remembered that I left something in one of the boxes. I've been trying to find it, but I just can't figure out where the box is..."
Liu Yiyi slowly turned around, forcing the sweetest smile she could muster in her life. She decided to go all out and use the age - old tactic of the beauty trap for the first time.
However, when she saw the person in front of her, that charming smile froze on her face instantly.
The person opposite curled their lips in disgust. "Little sister, that smile of yours is really disgusting..."
The person in front was wearing a blue cloth cap. With a thin face and a well - worn blue robe, they looked every bit the scholar. But right now, they were munching on a red, juicy, and crispy water radish in their left hand, making a loud crunching sound.
"Second Brother!"
Liu Yiyi's eyes suddenly widened, on the verge of tears of joy.
The person in front of her was none other than her second brother, Liu Shuheng, who had been traveling around the world and rarely at home.
Liu Shuheng was born with a pair of smiling eyes, with extremely black and long eyelashes. Even when he was frowning, there was still a hint of cheerfulness on his face. Now, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, some reddish - brown spice powder on his body, and half a radish in his right hand as a "weapon", he looked even more like a carefree and cynical character.
"Second Brother, what are you doing here?" Liu Yiyi exclaimed in surprise.
"Ask me?" Liu Shuheng tapped her head with the radish in his hand. "I'm traveling around the world and just stopped here. But what about you? Why did you come to Qingzhou? And you've been looking around furtively like a little thief... Hmm, could it be that after not seeing each other for a few years, you've also started doing this kind of lawless business?"
"Second Brother, what are you talking about!" Liu Yiyi said displeased.
She looked around, then pulled Liu Shuheng into a corner and whispered, "Actually, I'm here to look for flour..." There was an undeniable sense of anxiety in her lowered voice.
After listening to his sister's words, the smile on Liu Shuheng's face gradually faded. He frowned slightly. "You mean Yanchuan has been retaken... and the Feng family's army will attack Yuecheng tonight?"
"Yes!" Liu Yiyi said anxiously. "But I can't find the flour!"
"If I can't find the flour, the fire - attack plan won't work; if the fire - attack plan doesn't work, we won't be able to send a signal to General Hu... Second Brother, do you know where the flour is in this warehouse? I've made an appointment with Yanqi and the others to meet at half - past the Weishi hour!"
Liu Shuheng listened to his sister's rather convoluted explanation and suddenly broke into a smile. "What a coincidence..."
Liu Yiyi was taken aback, then exclaimed in surprise, "You know?"
"No..." A meaningful smile appeared on Liu Shuheng's face. "I have something better than flour."
He pulled Liu Yiyi through the maze - like shelves until they stopped behind the seventh row of shelves in the west. There, dozens of large willow - wood boxes were piled on the ground, looking like a small wooden mountain.
Each box was coated with tung oil and waxed, obviously to prevent moisture.
Under Liu Yiyi's confused gaze, Liu Shuheng walked forward munching on the water radish. He picked up a crowbar from the corner and quickly pried open a box, revealing the bamboo tubes sealed with wax paper inside.
Then, he pried open another box. Inside were neatly arranged small clay pots, each wrapped in cotton wool, looking like a row of chubby dolls.
"These..." Liu Yiyi's eyes widened, and her voice trembled.
Liu Shuheng gave her a disdainful look. "We set them off every year during the New Year when we were kids. Now you can't even recognize them?"
Liu Yiyi's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. It wasn't that she couldn't recognize them; she just couldn't believe it!
"Is it really...?"
"Yes." Liu Shuheng's smiling eyes curved. "They are fireworks."
"Oh my god!"
Liu Yiyi was so overjoyed that she almost jumped up.
Fireworks were even better incendiary tools than flour.
"Why are there so many fireworks here?" Liu Yiyi asked.
"Have you forgotten?" Liu Shuheng raised an eyebrow. "In three days, it will be Qixi Festival..."
Liu Yiyi was momentarily stunned.
Yes, today was the fourth day of the seventh lunar month. In three days, it would be the Qixi Festival.
There had been too many changes recently. She had been running around every day, so busy that she didn't even have time to catch her breath. With the country's affairs weighing on her mind, she had completely forgotten about the festival.
However, if it was the Qixi Festival, it was understandable why there were so many fireworks here.
Watching fireworks on Qixi and praying to the Weaver Girl was a tradition in the Great Sheng Dynasty.
Although Yuecheng had been occupied by Anluo for more than a decade, since most of the residents were from Sheng, these traditional customs were still retained.
But... how did her second brother know there were fireworks here?
Liu Yiyi shook her head and voiced her doubts.
"Of course it's because..." Liu Shuheng casually threw the radish top into a basket in the corner and shook the water off his fingers. "I transported these fireworks here!"
"Do you think your second brother has been traveling around all these years without asking for money from home? How do you think I've been living? By trading goods from north and south, of course!
"If Yuecheng needs fireworks, I transport them here; if Yunzhou needs porcelain, I send it there... Come to think of it, I've sold furs from the north, agates from the Western Regions, and pearls from the South Sea!"
His hand stroked the smooth edge of the box, and a smile played on his lips. "These thirty boxes of fireworks this time will probably be enough for my living expenses for a year!"
Liu Yiyi was overjoyed.
She grabbed her second brother's hand, lifted the hem of her skirt, and rushed out impatiently. "Come with me quickly! We have to tell Yanqi this good news right away!"
"Hey hey hey..." Liu Shuheng grumbled unhappily behind her. "Yanqi, Yanqi... Who is this Yanqi kid to you?"
When they returned to the inn where they were staying, Pei Yanqi and the others hadn't come back yet.
Liu Yiyi was extremely anxious. She paced back and forth at the staircase and occasionally peeked out through the window lattice.
That eager look of hers really annoyed Liu Shuheng to no end.