With that, he ran into the general store. He ca out a mont later and said with a smile, "Let’s go."
Qin Fang nodded, chatting idly with the boy as they walked.
The boy was simple and honest, not much of a talker, but he answered whatever Qin Fang asked. He seed to be a straightforward person with no ulterior motives.
The boy’s na was Qiao Yan, but everyone called him Shi Tou.
’...Another Shi Tou.’
Qin Fang hadn’t forgotten the three people he’d first gotten to know at Fishern’s. One of them was Monkey, and of the other two, one’s nickna had been ’Shi Tou’.
But both of them had died on the night of the chaos at Fishern’s.
After nodding, he continued chatting idly with Shi Tou as they headed toward their destination.
First, he bought forty jin of beef, basically clearing out the Huang Family’s entire stock for the day. The Huang Family’s Shopkeeper was grinning from ear to ear as he packed it and loaded it onto the handcart... That beef alone cost Qin Fang five taels of silver.
Next, they went to the Ji Family’s establishnt... Shi Tou was a True Martial Practitioner, born and raised, so he naturally knew the way, saving Qin Fang the trouble of asking for directions.
He bought a hundred jin of Qianqiu Drunk.
This stuff was expensive... a single jin cost one tael of silver!
It was squarely in the realm of luxury goods.
That was a hundred taels of silver spent just like that.
But Qin Fang didn’t feel the pinch in the slightest... ’As long as Master likes it, that’s all that matters.’
The hundred jin filled two large vats.
He then asked Shi Tou where the best pastry shop in True Martial was. Shi Tou led the way, and Qin Fang spent another few dozen taels of silver on all sorts of pastries.
Finally, they visited a clothier, where he bought several bolts of high-grade fabric, spending another few dozen taels...
All told, he had spent over two hundred taels in a single outing.
As Shi Tou pulled the cart full of goods down the street, many people saw and were quite shocked.
’The value of these goods was enough to cover a common family’s expenses for ten years!’
’...But what was this compared to what his master had given him?’
Thinking he had everything he needed, he and Shi Tou finally headed for his master’s ho.
Seeing the familiar gate, Qin Fang let out a soft breath and stepped forward to knock.
"Who is it?"
His mistress’s voice ca from inside.
Qin Fang took a deep breath and said, "Mistress, it’s ."
There was a mont of silence from within, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. The door swung open, and his mistress looked out to see Qin Fang standing there with a smile.
"Fang?! Is it really you?!"
His mistress’s eyes lit up, and she grabbed onto Qin Fang, refusing to let go.
She looked him over from head to toe, patting him here and there.
"You’ve gotten thin, so thin..."
’Where am I thin?’ Qin Fang thought. ’The density of my muscles and bones is constantly increasing, so my weight is only going up.’
’For all she knew, his seemingly lean fra could weigh two or three hundred jin!’
’...Then again, in the eyes of an elder, their beloved juniors are never well enough.’
’This just ant his mistress truly saw him as her own son.’
Qin Fang smiled. "Thin? I’ve actually gained quite a few jin..."
His mistress was overjoyed, wiping away tears as she smiled. "You are thinner, but you’ve gotten much sturdier, too... Co in, co in."
Qin Fang nodded, then called to Shi Tou to start moving the things inside.
Only then did his mistress notice the cart piled high with goods behind him.
"You bought all this?"
His mistress was surprised, then chided him gently. "We don’t need anything at ho. Why did you buy so much? Such a waste of money!"
Qin Fang laughed. "Well, I’ve already bought them, and it’s not like they’ll give a refund..."
Then he gestured for Shi Tou to continue bringing things in.
Seeing Qin Fang act this way, a look of gratification appeared in his mistress’s eyes...
’The amount of stuff didn’t matter to her.’
’But she deeply appreciated the sentint behind it.’
Once everything was moved inside, Qin Fang took out two taels of silver and handed them to Shi Tou.
Shi Tou was stunned and quickly shook his head. "No, no, this is far too much!"
"Just take what I’m giving you."
But Qin Fang brooked no refusal, pressing the silver into his hand with a smile. "For all your hard work today."
"But... but..."
He instinctively glanced at the mistress.
Although his mistress also thought it was too much, she sighed helplessly. "Just take it. You saw how much this boy bought today—you can tell he isn’t short on money..."
Only then did Shi Tou hesitate for a mont before accepting the silver and thanking him profusely.
Qin Fang smiled and exchanged a few more words with him before Shi Tou took his leave.
Then his mistress pulled him aside and started asking about his recent situation. Where was he living? Was he sleeping well? Was it safe?
All the little details of daily life.
Qin Fang answered everything patiently.
Then his mistress started grumbling about his master, saying that his own disciple had been forced to leave for so long, yet he, the master, hadn’t done a thing to help.
Qin Fang could only smile wryly at this. He quickly reassured his mistress that he was doing very well and that it was safe where he was, telling her not to worry.
However, when she asked why he had returned to the city, Qin Fang simply said he missed her and had co back for a visit...
...which imdiately made his mistress’s face blossom into a radiant smile.
Then Qin Fang urged his mistress to go see if she liked the things he had brought.
After so feigned reluctance, his mistress went, and her eyes were imdiately drawn to the bolts of fabric.
It was all high-quality fabric. She stood there murmuring to herself, "This color is a bit somber, not suited for a young man. I’ll make a jacket for your master with it... This one is a nice color, perfect for young n. I’ll make one for you and your Senior Brother..."
And just like that, she was already making plans for it all.
Qin Fang breathed a sigh of relief...
While his mistress was occupied with the fabric, he went into the woodshed. Seeing that there wasn’t much chopped firewood left, he moved a pile to the doorway and began splitting logs.
Hearing the commotion outside, his mistress, who had been examining the material, paused for a mont. Then, a gentle and loving smile touched her eyes.
By the ti he had finished splitting the firewood and sweeping the courtyard, the sky had grown dark.
A knock ca from the main door.
"Fang, go get the door."
His mistress called out, already busy in the kitchen.
Qin Fang called back in acknowledgnt and went to open the door.
Peeking through the crack in the door, Qin Fang broke into a smile...
There was the familiar figure of his master.
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