A few dozen li ahead, they would have to switch to water transportation. Meng Ruyi had grown up in a town and had never seen such a bustling dock before. As she watched people coming and going, a hint of curiosity appeared on her usually calm face.
Song Huaizhi had been deep in thought. Seeing this, he whispered to Meng Ruyi, "You've had a tiring day. How about we take a break and set off the day after tomorrow?"
"No problem!"
Meng Ruyi was overjoyed. She had been watching the people carrying goods back and forth with great interest. Before she even fully understood Song Huaizhi's question, her instinct made her agree.
However, he had some matters to attend to and might not be able to accompany Yu Yu (Meng Ruyi) to play for the time being.
Song Huaizhi sighed regretfully in his heart. Then he said to Jingzhe, "You accompany Yu Yu to have a stroll later."
"Yes."
Jingzhe was also curious, but she didn't show it on her face. Hearing Song Huaizhi's request, she nodded in surprise.
So they found an inn to rest for a while. Then Meng Ruyi took Jingzhe and Lianqiao to wander around.
"Miss."
As soon as Jingzhe spoke, Meng Ruyi covered her mouth and said, "Shh, don't talk. Call me young master!"
Jingzhe smiled helplessly. She saw the purple silk robe that Meng Ruyi had somehow found. It fit perfectly and made her look extremely wealthy, just like a young master who had sneaked out from some noble family.
"Young... young master." Jingzhe quickly adapted and asked Meng Ruyi, "It seems you've been preparing this outfit for a long time?"
"… Cough, cough." Meng Ruyi felt a bit guilty and said, "Not that long. But it's more convenient to go out in men's clothing, so I had this one specially tailored."
It happened that Song Huaizhi wasn't around today, so she could wear this outfit and go shopping on the street.
Lianqiao beside her covered her mouth and laughed. Her eyes were full of amusement as she looked at Meng Ruyi.
This small town was near the river and had a dock. The official road also passed by here, so it was naturally more bustling than other places.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Meng Ruyi and the others came to a broad street. Seeing the crowds coming and going, she couldn't help but smile.
"Young master!" Lianqiao exclaimed and said, "It's so lively here!"
"Indeed."
Meng Ruyi was also quite amazed. Just thinking about how much more bustling the capital must be than here, she somehow felt a bit of anticipation for the place that was getting closer.
"Let's go!" Meng Ruyi imitated the manner of a dandy. With a flick of her sleeve, she walked towards the largest jewelry shop. "Today, whatever my maid fancies, I'll pay for it all."
Lianqiao, the only one among them wearing women's clothing, said, "… Yes."
People around were whispering.
"Hey! I wonder which young master has come out. He's even buying things for his maid."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. He's really rich. This young master has fair skin and the clothes he's wearing aren't cheap either!"
"You've got some eyes!" A person watching the commotion chimed in and said proudly, "My uncle's nephew's granddaughter-in-law works as a servant in a wealthy family. I heard that the silk fabric they use for making clothes looks as smooth as jade. When you touch it, it's so soft that the calluses on your hands can scratch lines on it. It's extremely delicate!"
Meng Ruyi also heard the discussions around her and realized that she had been too ostentatious. So she covered her mouth and coughed softly, then led Jingzhe and Lianqiao, who were on the verge of laughing out loud, into the shop.
The name of the shop was very imposing. It was called Jubaoge (Treasure Gathering Pavilion).
Meng Ruyi glanced at it and walked in. Unexpectedly, the bullet comments on her vision seemed to be stimulated by something and started popping up crazily, making her unconsciously slow down her steps.
【Familiar!!!】
【Me too! Jubaoge... Oh my god, I remember. It belongs to the Tang family, one of the male leads!】
【The Tang family is really rich. They even have a shop here. I'm so envious. I'll take a whiff of their wealth!】
One of the male leads? The Tang family?
Meng Ruyi instinctively wanted to step back, but after a moment's hesitation, she stepped over the threshold.
It was unlikely that this male lead was here. According to the bullet comments, he was supposed to be the legendary imperial merchant male lead, a very rich and cunning character.
Among the male leads, except for the two she had already met, the others were probably not easy to deal with.
Seeing the shopkeeper approaching, Meng Ruyi sighed silently in her heart.
Forget it. She didn't want to think about it too much. She had come out today just to have a good time.
"Sir, may I ask what you'd like to buy?" The shopkeeper came closer. Seeing Meng Ruyi's extraordinary bearing and fine clothes, his smile became even more eager.
"It's okay. We'll just take a look."
"Then just call me if you need anything, sir."
The shopkeeper stepped back and followed behind Meng Ruyi.
One had to admit that this male lead was really rich.
Looking at these jewelry pieces, Meng Ruyi couldn't help but sigh. Although these were not as good as the top-grade items that Song Huaizhi had found, they were definitely among the best in this place.
If even such a small shop could have such a source of goods, one could only imagine how extensive the business of this male lead, the Tang family, was.
"Hmm?" Meng Ruyi's gaze fell on a dagger.
The dagger glistened with a sharp cold light, as if it could cut through iron easily. There was only a simple decoration at the end of the handle, a wolf's head, which made it look simple and low - key.
It was very nice and suitable for Brother Song.
The problem was, why would there be a dagger in a jewelry shop?
Before Meng Ruyi could say anything, the shopkeeper who had been following behind stepped forward and said awkwardly, "Sorry, sir. This is not an item we're selling."
What a pity.
"Is this the only one?"
Meng Ruyi felt sorry and couldn't help but ask.
"Of course." A smiling male voice came. Meng Ruyi looked up and saw a man in purple clothes. He was wearing the same color as her.
The male lead was very handsome and about twenty years old. Seeing Meng Ruyi looking at him, he smiled and nodded slightly, then continued, "This dagger was something I found in the northern region. If you really want it, I'm not unwilling to part with it."
Meng Ruyi's heart skipped a beat. She always felt that the person in front of her might be the legendary Tang from the Tang family.
No way! Was she this unlucky?
Meng Ruyi swallowed hard. Her eyes hurt from the sudden appearance of a large number of bullet comments.
Fine. This was indeed the legendary male lead, the Tang from the Tang family.
"Have you heard of the meteorite iron from the northern region, sir?" Seeing her in a daze, Tang thought she was thinking, so he said with a smile, "It can cut through iron easily and is extremely hard to find."
"But I can see that you really like this item, so I'm willing to part with it reluctantly." He showed a pained expression and gritted his teeth. "I bought it for a thousand taels of silver. How about I sell it to you for six hundred taels? This number is auspicious, and it can also be considered as a good connection between us."
Meng Ruyi: "…" Good grief. As expected, this person was indeed a business genius just as the bullet comments described, and he was extremely greedy.
Six hundred taels was simply outrageous. Half of that would be more reasonable! What a swindler!
"Six hundred taels?" Jingzhe gasped. She carefully looked at the dagger and calculated her monthly salary. A look of disbelief appeared on her face.
"Forget it." Meng Ruyi pretended to turn around. At the same time, she sighed to Tang, "If my father knew I spent six hundred taels on this thing, he'd break my legs."
Seeing that the person was about to leave, Tang reached out and rubbed the bridge of his nose.