After the fires of war, Qingshitai could be said to have fallen into utter decline. With no pillar to hold it together, the Zhao family had sunk into infighting; a great many shops along the streets had shut their doors, dragging the town’s overall economy down with them.
Li Qiuchen had been wandering around town these past two days, and one thing was obvious: no one was buying goods. Many things laid out on street stalls simply would not sell.
A lot of common mountain produce—dried mushrooms, nuts, hazel grouse, wild rabbits—had all begun to drop in price.
After making a full round, he still hadn’t found a suitable house… There was no need to look for rental notices at the door; one glance inside to see whether anyone lived there was enough. The town had quite a sizable population and not many empty houses. The few that were vacant were mostly dilapidated from age and neglect.
As he walked, he happened to see Granny Liu coming from the opposite direction with a slab of meat in one hand and a jug of wine in the other. Li Qiuchen thickened his skin and went over to greet her.
They had met once yesterday at the Zhao residence, so they could be considered acquainted. On top of that, Li Qiuchen was young and sweet-tongued. After a few polite exchanges, Granny Liu pulled him back to her home, and he managed to cadge himself a midday meal.
The man of Granny Liu’s household had died early… though at her age, it could not really be called early. Her family was not especially poor. They had done business in the past, and now she still lived in a small courtyard with three large tiled rooms.
She had two sons. Her eldest did business outside and rarely came home more than a few times a year. Her younger son had just come of age and was an apprentice in a tailor’s shop; his timid, useless temperament was what worried her most.
That was what she said, but judging by Granny Liu’s vigor, Li Qiuchen felt she did not look at all like someone whose husband had been dead for several years.
Qingshitai was not large to begin with, and news spread quickly.
In the past, when Granny Liu said she had become a medium, basically no one believed her. At most, a few old sisters who knew her well would invite her over to mutter a few words.
But yesterday, she had shown her face in grand fashion at the Zhao residence. Never mind whether she had solved the problem or not—at the very least, many people present had seen the change in her eyes.
With that, Granny Liu had become famous, leaping straight into the ranks of the most sought-after figures in Qingshitai.
In the past, the petty vendors who fought with her over scraps no longer dared to compete. Some even took the initiative to bring gifts and curry favor. The wine and meat in her hands had not cost her a single wen.
All morning, Granny Liu had been immersed in the floating delight of being flattered and praised.
Then she ran into Li Qiuchen, and a ladle of cold water poured over her head, knocking her back to her original shape on the spot.
“Auntie, some people may say nice things about you, but that doesn’t mean they have good intentions.”
Li Qiuchen reminded her in a low voice, “There’s still been no news from Squire Zhao. If you act so high-profile, aren’t you afraid someone with ulterior motives will fabricate some charge against you and secretly report you to the authorities?”
Granny Liu shivered and instantly came to her senses, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“How did I not think of that… Thank heavens you reminded me, Xiaohe. In these times, you never know what’s in another person’s heart. Everyone knows I received twenty taels of silver from the Zhao family. Who knows who might be jealous behind my back?”
“Forgive me for asking, but what is your relationship with that Eighth Master Chang?”
“Eighth Master Chang? Who’s that?”
Granny Liu looked utterly blank.
“The immortal you invited yesterday.”
“I don’t know him.”
Li Qiuchen said in surprise, “You met him last night…”
“Last night? I was sleeping at home last night. I didn’t meet anyone?”
Granny Liu was even more astonished than Li Qiuchen. After staring blankly for a long while, she suddenly reacted and hurriedly pressed her palms together, muttering rapidly, “So that immortal is called Eighth Master Chang. A sin, a sin. Great immortal, you are magnanimous—please don’t lower yourself to argue with an old woman like me. When I go back, I’ll carve a tablet for you and set it up for worship, offering incense day and night.”
So you didn’t know anything at all?
Then what background did this Eighth Master Chang have?
According to that Wang Su, even the Earth God knew Eighth Master Chang’s name.
That meant he was not some random mountain demon or wild spirit.
Only, it was unclear why he had possessed Granny Liu, while Granny Liu knew absolutely nothing about this Eighth Master Chang.
Granny Liu was also broad-hearted. After muttering for a while and feeling no headache or fever, she decided the immortal probably had not blamed her. At once, she perked up, craned her neck, and loudly ordered her daughter-in-law to take the meat and stew it. She had a guest to entertain today.
After what had happened yesterday at the Zhao residence, she did not dare treat Li Qiuchen as an ordinary child.
“Actually, there’s something I’d like Auntie to help me decide.”
As soon as Granny Liu heard Li Qiuchen say this, joy blossomed across her face.
Was this not exactly the sort of thing she now specialized in doing for others?
“You child, why be so polite with me? If there’s something, just say it.”
Li Qiuchen smiled and said, “You know my home is in the mountains. This time, I originally came to town only to sell some medicinal herbs. Who would’ve expected something like that to happen to Old Master Zhao, and for me to just happen to run into it? I didn’t really do much, yet I accepted such a heavy favor from them for nothing.”
Granny Liu’s old face flushed as she listened.
Why was this child so bad at talking? Why did it sound to her as if he were pointing at the mulberry while cursing the locust?
“Now that I have money in my pocket, I don’t want to keep sleeping at the cart inn anymore. I was thinking of finding a place to settle in town. But after asking around outside all morning, the houses in our town are far too expensive, and the inns are expensive too…”
“And here I thought you were talking about something else.”
Granny Liu said in puzzlement, “Xiaohe, if you want to find a place to stay, why not go to Third Brother Zhao? The Zhao family are major landowners. Nearly half the businesses in Qingshitai belong to their family. How could they not be able to arrange something properly for you?”
Li Qiuchen spread his hands and said, “You’re right, but I was thinking that no matter how you look at it, this time the Zhao family owes us a favor. Maybe one day, when we run into some real difficulty, we can use it. A favor is something that grows thinner each time it’s used. For such a small matter, it doesn’t seem worth opening my mouth to them.”
This was a lie.
In truth, he had gone to great effort to leave a fairly decent positive impression on the old shopkeeper. If he then opened his mouth to ask them for a house, it would somewhat ruin the image he had built.
What Li Qiuchen was planning now was to gradually integrate into Qingshitai, obtain an identity here that could stand in the open, and prepare for entering the county school in the future.
It was not that he expected trouble, but one could never be too careful.
What if their standards for review were strict, and they wanted to investigate his background and information?
After listening, Granny Liu laughed loudly. “You child, you sure have a lot of little schemes in your head. But having schemes is a good thing, unlike that second boy of mine—so cowardly you couldn’t beat a fart out of him with three sticks.”
“If you don’t mind, then stay here with Auntie. Auntie has an empty room. It was originally prepared for my second son to take a wife, but it won’t be used anytime soon. Just stay here at ease. There’s nothing for anyone to say about it!”
Li Qiuchen quickly shook his head. “That wouldn’t be appropriate, would it? Where would Second Brother stay when he comes back?”
Granny Liu glared. “His old mother isn’t dead yet. Would sharing a kang with me crowd him? If you rent someone else’s place outside, they’ll see you’re young and not a local, and who knows how they’ll cheat you. Stay here with me. I won’t ask you for money. Xiulan cooks, and we’ll eat together. Think how much trouble that saves you!”