The Youngest Daughter, Chang Le - Chapter 71: Above the Wharf

Chapter 71

Of course, the thick-skinned Zhu Changle couldn’t really let him leave. After confirming that the family crisis was resolved, she ran in front of Qiuli and spread her arms like a bandit, blocking his way. “You’re going the wrong way! Let’s go see the sea.”

Qiuli looked at her with a half-smile, standing still.

This was no challenge for Zhu Changle, who stepped forward and dragged him along.

Qiuli looked at the wrinkles on his sleeve, thought for a moment, and then gave in. This outfit was ruined anyway, so he might as well let her have her way.

The two walked at a leisurely pace. At first, Zhu Changle would comment on the things she saw, but gradually she fell silent. She had always known that life was difficult, and had even been involved in it herself. She had witnessed the discontent of the common people, seen their outward aggression, and also seen how hard they struggled just to survive.

No matter what they did or how they did it, at least they had the vigor of life in them.

Now, however, there was calm, but it wasn’t a deathly stillness. They were still working hard carrying goods, doing business, and scrubbing their doorsteps clean.

Zhu Changle didn’t know how to describe this feeling. At times like this, she somewhat regretted not having read more books.

The fishy smell grew stronger as the wind blew it towards them. The closer they got, the stronger it became. Zhu Changle took a deep breath and ran forward. When she realized the person behind her was still walking slowly, she ran back to drag him along. “Hurry, hurry, we’re here!”

Qiuli wrinkled his nose, trying to bear it, but when he could no longer stand it, he took out a handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth.

This was a harbor, but there were no decent-looking ships docked nearby. Men in short clothes were running up and down the shore.

“Qiuli, look…” Zhu Changle turned her head, but before she could finish, she burst into laughter. “Hahaha, Qiuli, is that really necessary?”

“It stinks,” Qiuli said in a muffled voice, making Zhu Changle laugh even harder. People nearby all turned to look, some even forgetting what they were doing, just staring blankly.

Qiuli pulled her back to his side. “What did you want me to see?”

“There, there.” Remembering the matter at hand, Zhu Changle pointed at the bamboo rafts bobbing in the water and said in a low voice, “Could these be their boats?”

It was no wonder Zhu Changle was confused. In the Great Wan Kingdom, boats were extremely common, with some places even having boats in every household, differing only in quality.

But here, there wasn’t a single boat in sight, only numerous bamboo rafts.

Qiuli was silent for a moment. “My knowledge of Yunbei is limited, but I didn’t know about this.”

Surprisingly, Zhu Changle didn’t tease him about this. She walked closer to watch them unload the baskets, noticing that the top portion of several baskets was empty.

She walked along the shore, and after a round, she found fish, shrimp, and crabs, but few baskets were full.

Qiuli didn’t ask what she was up to, just followed her around with his nose and mouth covered.

“You… do you want to buy?”

Zhu Changle looked at the old woman with bare feet. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and her pants were also rolled up a bit. Her hair was wrapped in a cloth, and her dark yellow face was covered in deep wrinkles. If it weren’t for her female voice, one might have mistaken her for a man at first glance.

The dialect of Yunbei wasn’t hard to understand if spoken slowly.

The old woman curled her toes, and just as she was about to pick up her basket and leave, the woman in red spoke. “Yes, I’d like to buy some crabs. Do you have any?”

“Yes, yes, I do,” the old woman’s face immediately lit up with joy. She tipped over her basket to show her. “Big ones, very big.”

Zhu Changle had only said that because she saw the basket was full of crabs. She squatted down to look. “They are quite big. I’ll take them all.”

“Ah?” The old woman was both surprised and delighted. Her dark hands, gripping the basket, showed some white from the force. “It’s a lot.”

“We have many people at home. I’m not sure if this will be enough,” Zhu Changle reached for her waist, but her smile suddenly froze. She turned back, extending her hand pitifully for help. “I forgot my purse.”

Qiuli raised an eyebrow and looked around. “Here?”

Zhu Changle followed his gaze and suddenly understood. She was about to say something when she heard the old woman behind her say, “Not bad people, no.”

“You mean there are no bad people at the dock?”

“Right, right, none,” the old woman shook her head repeatedly, then pointed at her basket. “All helpers, they help.”

“They help you fish?”

The old woman tapped her arm. “No strength, no strength left.”

Zhu Changle understood. The old woman was too old and had no strength left, so the people at the dock were helping her.

She didn’t ask why her children or spouse weren’t helping. She reached back, felt something placed in her hand, and brought it forward. Looking at the piece of silver in her palm, she was very satisfied. Qiuli was so useful!

“Is this enough?”

The old woman stepped back in fright. “Too much, too much, don’t need so much.”

“Auntie Liang, what’s wrong?” People nearby had been keeping an eye on these two outsiders, and seeing Auntie Liang seemingly frightened, they immediately ran over. Others also put down their work and gathered around.

“It’s nothing, they want to buy my crabs. They’re not bullying me,” the old woman quickly explained to them. Afraid that the two in front of her might be scared off and the deal would fall through, she pushed the others away and waved for everyone else to leave.

The first person who came over didn’t leave. He shielded the old woman behind him, his not-so-tall figure suddenly appearing majestic because of this action.

“Auntie Liang’s crabs are the best at the dock. How many do you want to buy?”

Zhu Changle liked him for his earlier action, so she spoke even more frankly. Her movement of handing over the silver was particularly swift. “I told the old lady, I want all of these. But we didn’t bring anything to carry them, so we’ll have to buy the basket too.”

The man’s eyes couldn’t move away from the silver. “The basket, the basket isn’t worth much. This, this much silver is too much for the crabs. This much… a hundred copper coins, a hundred copper coins would be enough.”

The small piece of silver was nothing in Zhu Changle’s eyes. In the capital, she would casually give out larger pieces as rewards. But she had also seen commoners counting copper coins to get by, and knew what this piece of silver meant to them. It could be a few drops of oil in their pot, a full meal, or even life-saving money.

She hadn’t thought of it before, but after Qiuli’s reminder, she realized the silver might bring trouble to the old woman. But now, the situation didn’t seem to be developing as she had worried.

Even when she was willing to pay, they only asked for a hundred copper coins, which was probably already a high price for them.

Seeing the old woman tugging at the man’s sleeve, Zhu Changle smiled. “How about this: consider this silver as a deposit. From now on, I’ll come at this time every day to get a basket of crabs. If you catch any rare fish, you can sell those to me too. When you feel this silver has been used up, we’ll consider the deal complete. How does that sound?”

The man’s face lit up with joy. He turned back to look at the equally delighted old woman, then nodded in agreement. “Alright.”