High-class maid

"Xing'er, if I had known we could leave the manor openly tomorrow, I would have embroidered a few more purses. Now it's all over, I can only sell one."

At night, Shan Tao lay in bed chatting with Shen Xing'er.

"Oh dear, I didn't realize my Shantao was such a little money-grubber. Remember, we just need to get the job done; nothing else matters."

"Well, I didn't mean anything by it. I just think it's such a pity. I need to save up money to buy fertile land."

"Have you ever thought about buying a courtyard house in the capital?" Shen Xing'er asked.

"A yard? I already have a home, why would I buy it? I'd rather buy a few acres of fertile land and rent it out." Shan Tao was puzzled.

“You can rent out the yard after you buy it, so you can have a home, a home that belongs to you.”

"My own home..." Shan Tao murmured, touched by Shen Xing'er's words.

She thought of her future sister-in-law and her brother. He was fine before the engagement, but after the engagement, he ran to his future wife's house every day and even argued with her mother for her sake. She had seen her mother secretly crying in the house several times.

"What you say makes sense, but I don't have any extra money right now, and all I have left is three acres of fertile land," Shan Tao said dejectedly.

"Good mountain peach, how old are you? Isn't it enough that you've saved up three acres of fertile land? You're already amazing." Shen Xing'er quickly comforted her when she saw that she was in low spirits.

"Yes, Xing'er, are you planning to buy a courtyard house?" Shan Tao asked.

“The capital is located right under the emperor’s nose, and our Great Qin is growing stronger every day. Courtyards in the capital will only become more and more valuable in the future. We work in the Ministry of Personnel, which is a respectable job. We are still young, so why not save up some money to buy one?” Shen Xing’er countered.

"Yes, what you said makes sense. So, are you planning to buy it?"

“I don’t plan to buy a courtyard house, I plan to buy a shop. But as you know, land in the capital is incredibly expensive, and I don’t know if I can find a suitable one. Let’s talk about it when we get back to the capital.”

"Xing'er, you're so lucky. Your aunt and uncle are willing to buy you anything. Unlike my family, my sister-in-law has been trying to control my family even before she's officially married into the family," Shan Tao said dejectedly.

"So you should save up money to buy a yard. Your aunt is good to you. Now you don't have to give her your monthly allowance anymore."

Although Chen Shan's wife was confused when it came to her son, she had nothing to say about Shan Tao. In this male-dominated era, she actually didn't want Shan Tao's monthly allowance and let her keep it for herself.

“My mother is sometimes confused and sometimes she’s not. Since that’s the case, I’ll save up money to buy a courtyard house, and then we can be neighbors,” Shan Tao said.

"Great! The better, the more money we have, and the youngest landlady we can be!"

"What is a landlady? Is she an old woman?" Shan Tao asked.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. Go to sleep, we have to get up early to leave the manor tomorrow." Shen Xing'er smiled awkwardly and brushed it off.

The two sisters had a good night's sleep, and the next day arrived in the blink of an eye.

"Xing'er, Shantao, wake up. People have all gone out of the manor." Wang Shi and Chen Shan's voices came from above. Shen Xing'er thought she was dreaming, so she turned over and went back to sleep.

"You little rascal, you stayed up late again last night, didn't you?" When she couldn't wake her daughter, Madam Wang used her trump card and touched Shen Xing'er's face with her cold hands.

"Snake!" Shen Xing'er screamed in fright. She opened her eyes and saw Wang Shi and her daughter Shan Tao staring at her, trying not to laugh.

"Mom, what are you doing! You scared me to death!" Shen Xing'er patted her chest and said.

"Since you won't get up when I call you, I have to resort to my trump card. Hurry up and get dressed, we're going to the street." Wang tossed her clothes and got up to talk to Chen Shan's wife.

Shen Xing'er turned her head to look at the sky outside the window and said, "Mother, it's only just dawn, isn't it a bit too early to go to the street?"

"It's not early at all. Another lady in the kitchen said that the morning market in Jinling is very famous, and you can see things there that you can't see during the day," Chen Shanjia said in a low voice.

Wang Shi left the mansion once, and Shen Xing'er secretly left the mansion many times, but Shan Tao's mother never went to the street, so she was very excited.

Seeing Chen Shanjia's impatient look, Shen Xing'er and Shan Tao exchanged a smile and quickened their pace of washing and dressing.

As the four of them packed their things and went out, the sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds, as if it had been waiting for them.

"Mutton soup! Our freshly made mutton soup, served with hot flatbread. Come and have a taste."

"Young ladies, this is an antique from three thousand years ago. You'd like to come and take a look. The price is negotiable."

"Vegetables for sale! We have fresh cabbages and crabs today. Ladies, come and take a look!"

"Candied hawthorn, candied hawthorn, three coins for one, five coins for two, give me two."

The street vendors' calls continued incessantly. Although it was early winter, the group felt quite warm after walking around for a while.

The group entered the mutton soup shop, and each person ordered a bowl of hot mutton soup.

"They're drinking mutton soup so early in the morning here? We usually drink it at night back home," Shan Tao said softly, noticing the numerous mutton soup stalls on the street.

"Young lady, you must be from out of town. In Jinling, we drink this in the morning. After drinking it, you feel warm and energetic, and you won't feel cold when you go to the river to catch fish and shrimp."

The proprietress heard what Shantao said and explained enthusiastically.

"I see. Every place has its own customs. Drinking a bowl of mutton soup does make you feel warm all over," Shen Xing'er agreed.

"Drink up, and see how it differs from what we have in the capital," Madam Wang urged.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the morning market became increasingly crowded. Since many shops were not yet open for business, the group wandered around the streets again.

"Hey, there's a fortune teller over there, little sister, let's go get our fortunes told!" Wang Shi and Chen Shan's wife's eyes lit up when they saw it, and they pulled Shen Xing'er and Shan Tao to go.

"Hey, Mom, if you want to go, then go. Why are you dragging me along? I don't believe in this stuff." Shen Xing'er said, heading towards the handicraft stall.

"I'm not going either. I want to keep strolling around the market. You can do the math if you want," Shan Tao said, breaking free from Chen Shan's grasp.

"Okay, then don't wander off. We'll meet at the mutton soup stall when the morning market closes," Wang said.

"I know mother."

"Keep an eye on your purses! Don't lose them again this time," Chen Shan's wife also advised.

"Okay, okay! You all keep an eye on your wallets too."

The two arrived at the handicraft stall. Upon closer inspection, they found it was a stall where clay figurines were sculpted. The old man's beard was longer than Shan Tao's hair, and the figurines he sculpted were so lifelike that they looked just like the real thing.

"Little girls, would you like to have your hands pinched? I can give you a discount if you pinch two," the old man asked.

The two nodded vigorously, without asking the price, and let the old man start making their own.

a quarter of an hour later

"Waaaaah, why is it so expensive? Waaaaah, can I give it back to him?" Shan Tao said, holding her little clay figure, on the verge of tears.