Now, let alone my mother and father, even Nanny Lin who is always in front of me.

If you see her on the street, she won't be able to tell unless you tell her in advance.

After dressing up Ai Shutong, Nanny Lin asked her to wait in the room for a while. She went out to send Shen's mother and daughter away and then came back to pick her up.

"What do you mean? Mammy, you don't want to follow me, do you?"

Ai Shutong asked in surprise.

Nanny Lin nodded affirmatively, dashing Ai Shutong's hope, "I must follow you. I won't feel at ease if you go out alone."

Ai Shutong lost most of her strength at once, "Then why did you dress up like this for me?"

"I look like this, no one can recognize me, just wait for me at home, I'll go out and buy something and be back soon."

Nanny Lin: "Princess, if you want to buy something, just tell me directly and I'll buy it for you. There is no such thing as a master doing work and a servant waiting."

Ai Shutong: "Mammy, I died early in the morning. I am not a princess, and you are not a slave."

"And if the monthly salary stops there, I can't just wait to starve to death. I have to learn how to buy things and how to live."

Nanny Lin didn't understand why the princess became like this. She used to be so well-behaved, but now...

Ai Shutong saw disappointment in her eyes, but no matter how disappointed she was, she couldn't force herself to lock herself in this house.

She wants to go out and see the outside world.

The matter was settled under Ai Shutong's tough attitude, and she went out looking like a child who had stolen adult clothes.

Outside the small gate on the east side is a long alley. Walking south along the alley, you will reach Yongxing Street.

There are shops on both sides of Yongxing Street, including traditional dim sum shops, tailor shops, and of course the small beef noodle restaurant that Nanny Lin mentioned.

She also saw many rickshaws waiting for customers on the street. Of course, with her current attire, the drivers were too lazy to even look at her.

Ai Shutong walked along the street, and finally saw a bookstore at the end.

This is a small bookstore. The owner is a gentleman in a long gown. When he saw a child in loose clothes walking in, he subconsciously frowned.

Books are so expensive nowadays, and how can a person who doesn’t even have clothes that fit him afford them?

"This is not the place for you, go somewhere else."

Ai Shutong took out a dollar from her pocket and said, "I want to buy a student dictionary suitable for beginners."

About a quarter of an hour later, Ai Shutong walked out of the bookstore with a fountain pen copybook, a dictionary, a stack of newspapers, several magazines and a fountain pen.

I spent all the two dollars I had, and I haven't even bought enough ink for a fountain pen.

No wonder there were so many illiterate people during the Republic of China. It was because the cost of studying was too high.

After buying the things, Ai Shutong did not go back directly. Instead, she went to the restaurant to ask how much a bowl of beef noodles cost.

The waitress inside was a middle-aged woman in a purple coat. She didn't chase Ai Shutong away, but said in a somewhat unpleasant tone, "One cent a bowl."

Ai Shutong looked at the bowl of noodles she had just served to the diners. The bowl was not small and contained quite a lot of noodles, but there were only two small pieces of beef and a few vaguely visible green leafy vegetables in the bowl.

Ai Shutong nodded in understanding. It was just the beginning of spring and green leafy vegetables were less available and more expensive. If she put too much, she would lose money.

My pocket is empty, and even if I want to try something, I have no money to spend.

After leaving the noodle shop, Ai Shutong had lost interest in continuing shopping. It was too painful to see things she wanted to buy but not have the money to buy them.

Ai Shutong quietly opened the small door of the east courtyard, quickly slipped in, and locked it again, leaving it in the same state as when she first went out.

Then he returned to the backyard quietly.

Nanny Lin was looking out the door of the east room. When she saw her come back, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Ai Shutong found it somewhat amusing, trotted into the house, turned around and closed the door.

"Mammy, you are too timid. Look how scared you are."

Nanny Lin looked at her first, and seeing that there was no change, she moved her gaze to her hands.

"What did you buy?"

Ai Shutong: "Some books. I want to learn how to write."

She had already put the pen in her arms, waiting for a while, and then she would find an opportunity to take it out with a legitimate reason.

Nanny Lin looked up at the sky, then turned around and told her to stay in the house and study hard, then hurried out of the backyard.

Ai Shutong put everything in her hands on the table, took out the black pen from her arms, walked to the bed, opened the bedside table, and put it inside.

Then I changed into a cheongsam that fit me well.

Then he walked back to the table, sat down, and flipped through the newspaper on the table.

Morning Bell, China News, Beijing Evening News, Xinmin Evening News, Times Daily, United Daily News...

Magazines include "Observation", "New Youth", "Eastern Magazine", "Beiyang Pictorial", "Good Friend"...

The cheap ones cost a few cents, and the expensive ones cost at most a dime.

I first took a newspaper and read it. It not only contained domestic current affairs, but also major foreign events. I turned to the back and saw advertisements, novels, and in the corners there were divorce notices and rental notices.

Wait, for rent?

After a careful look, I found that it was indeed for rent. The address was in the Caishikou area in the south. It was described in quite some detail. It was a three-story building with studios, two-bedroom units, and three-bedroom units. The prices ranged from seven to twenty yuan.

This gave Ai Shutong an inspiration. It would be a shame to leave such a big house empty. Why not rent it out? After a quick calculation, the monthly rent would be quite high!

She stood up hurriedly and was about to leave when she saw the empty handbag on the table. Ai Shutong sat back down disappointedly.

It costs money to put an advertisement in a newspaper. How can she put one in a newspaper when she is so poor?

He resigned himself to his fate and took out the ink stick, slowly grinding it in the inkstone. As he was grinding, he thought that he still had to bring back supplies for the Prince's Mansion.

After the ink was ground, she ran to the bed, took out the pen, and sucked the freshly ground ink into the pen.

After struggling for a long time, I was finally able to practice calligraphy.

She knew a lot of characters, but for some complicated characters she didn't know, she looked them up in the dictionary and tried hard to memorize them.

By the time it was almost time for lunch, she had already written five or six pages of calligraphy.

She nodded in satisfaction and carefully put it away before Nanny Lin set the table.

Today's lunch was made by Shen, including braised pork tenderloin, spicy shredded tripe, shiitake mushrooms and hair algae, and a bowl of rice.

After setting the table, Nanny Lin was about to leave when Ai Shutong called her, "Nanny, please eat with me. There is so much, I can't finish it."

Nanny Lin was an old-fashioned person and insisted that she could not eat at the same table with her master.

Ai Shutong said, "Since you serve me as your master, shouldn't I be the one to take the monthly payment? If you need to buy groceries or have other expenses, just ask me for it."

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