On the second floor of Ink Fragrance Pavilion, the four customers who had come together finally selected their desired paper. As the shop assistant led them downstairs to pay, the owner Yang Ruoqing finally noticed two young customers still on the second floor.
"Oh my! How rude of me! I was so busy I didn't notice you two. Please forgive me." Yang Ruoqing strode over quickly and bowed apologetically to Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning.
"It's no trouble at all, Mr. Yang. No need to be so formal," Liu Ming'an politely replied.
Yang Ruoqing wanted to exchange a few more pleasantries, but he noticed the scroll in Liu Ming'an's arms looked familiar. Glancing up at the shelf, he saw that the scroll that should have been there was missing.
"Oh my! Has the customer taken a liking to this xuan paper? What excellent taste!" Yang Ruoqing exclaimed excitedly, his eyes almost sparkling as he looked at Liu Ming'an.
"Young sir, let me tell you, this xuan paper is produced in Xuanzhou..."
Seeing that Yang Ruoqing was about to launch into a lengthy explanation about how wonderful and precious this paper was, Liu Ming'an quickly interjected, "There's no need to explain further, Mr. Yang. I overheard your introduction to the other customers earlier."
"Oh? Haha... I see," Yang Ruoqing stopped awkwardly, then asked hopefully, "Well then, young sir, would you like to purchase this xuan paper?"
Liu Ming'an answered honestly, "I would. Please name your price, Mr. Yang." He planned to use this paper to paint a birthday portrait for Zhou Yi.
Yang Ruoqing was overjoyed and blurted out without thinking, "Three taels of silver!"
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow. This scrap of paper was on par with her own value?
Liu Ming'an was also startled by the price and hesitantly said, "Mr. Yang, isn't that a bit too expensive?"
"Not at all, young sir, not at all," Yang Ruoqing waved his hand dismissively and continued persuasively, "Look at this paper. Xuanzhou xuan paper - anyone who knows anything understands what that means... It's worth every bit of that price!"
"But..." Liu Ming'an opened his mouth to argue.
"But what?" Yang Ruoqing interrupted Liu Ming'an and continued chattering, "In all of Lingshan Town, only my shop sells such fine xuan paper. Young sir, with your handsome features and dignified bearing, you're clearly a well-read and talented scholar. Only paper of this quality is worthy of you."
"Hah! Mr. Yang, you must have sweet-talked quite a few scholars with that silver tongue of yours," Jiang Ning, who had been silent until now, suddenly let out a cold laugh, her eyes revealing a hint of mockery.
Yang Ruoqing was stunned by her words and looked at Jiang Ning, asking, "Madam, what do you mean?"
"Her hair isn't even pinned up—"
Liu Ming'an, seeing their relationship misunderstood again, hurriedly tried to clarify, but Jiang Ning turned to him and said, "Don't speak for now." Liu Ming'an obediently closed his mouth.
Jiang Ning stepped forward, took the scroll from Liu Ming'an's hands, and held it up to Yang Ruoqing's face. "Mr. Yang, this fine Xuanzhou xuan paper has probably been sitting in your shop for a year or two, hasn't it?"
Yang Ruoqing's expression changed, his smile freezing on his face.
Knowing she was correct, Jiang Ning continued, "I believe when you purchased this scroll, it wasn't cheap. But you didn't expect it would be so hard to sell, did you?"
Yang Ruoqing's eyes showed obvious surprise. He looked Jiang Ning up and down before bowing and asking, "May I ask how the madam knows this?"
"Two things," Jiang Ning began confidently. "First, the dust on the scroll's roller."
"Here," Jiang Ning pointed at a small area on the roller, indicating for Yang Ruoqing to look.
Yang Ruoqing leaned in skeptically. He cleaned the scrolls diligently, so there shouldn't be any dust.
But Jiang Ning merely scraped the wooden roller with her fingernail, and her fair finger was coated with a layer of black grime.
"The agarwood is naturally dark brown, so dust isn't noticeable on it. That's why you overlooked the dust in the gap between the roller and the paper. To form such caked-on grime, it takes more than a month or two – at least a year," Jiang Ning explained, then asked Yang Ruoqing, "Am I right, Mr. Yang?"
Yang Ruoqing nodded and sighed, "You're right. I bought this scroll two years ago and haven't been able to sell it."
Liu Ming'an once again marveled at Jiang Ning's meticulous thinking and astounding observational skills. Utterly amazed, he eagerly asked, "That's just one point. What's the other?"
"The other point is the scroll's position," Jiang Ning pointed to the nearby wooden shelf and said to Yang Ruoqing, "You placed it on the highest shelf because customers usually ignore it, so there's no need to keep it in a prominent position. And in your shop's layout, there's only one shelf for scrolls, indicating that not many people buy scrolls in the first place. That's why you're so eager to sell this long-stocked xuan paper to customers interested in scrolls – you just want to get rid of it as soon as possible."
"Hahaha..." Yang Ruoqing burst into laughter, his eyes full of admiration and respect as he looked at Jiang Ning. "Madam, you truly have an eye for detail and keen insight. I'm impressed! Truly impressed!"
Jiang Ning coolly responded with a "You're too kind," then continued, "We've already selected twenty-two books downstairs and plan to buy some brushes and ink from your shop as well. Mr. Yang, do you still want to charge three taels of silver for this xuan paper scroll?"
Yang Ruoqing waved his hand, "No, no. I bought the scroll for one tael of silver. I'll sell it to you for one tael – I won't make a profit, just break even."
"That's much better," Jiang Ning rolled up the scroll and tucked it into Liu Ming'an's arms.
"Since you two want to buy brushes and ink, please follow me. I guarantee fair prices, no deception for young or old," Yang Ruoqing said with a smile, then turned and walked towards the shelves displaying brushes and ink.
Liu Ming'an watched in amazement as Jiang Ning negotiated two taels off the price with just a few words. Holding the scroll, he was left in a state of quiet astonishment.
As if knowing what Liu Ming'an was thinking, Jiang Ning leaned close and whispered so only the two of them could hear, "Liu Ming'an, you understand xuan paper, but you don't understand business."
Liu Ming'an caught a glimpse of the fleeting mischievous look in Jiang Ning's eyes. He chuckled silently and bent slightly towards her, softly saying, "Thank you for the lesson, Miss Jiang Ning!"
Liu Ming'an had leaned in too close, his warm breath tickling her ear. Jiang Ning frowned and reflexively pushed him back a step.
Liu Ming'an froze, suddenly unsure if he had offended Jiang Ning.
Yang Ruoqing, who was walking ahead, happened to turn back and catch this scene. Assuming it was just a young couple's flirtation, he laughed and said, "Young sir, madam, come quickly and take a look! The brushes at Ink Fragrance Pavilion are the finest in Lingshan Town, unlike those inferior products elsewhere. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Jiang Ning nodded at Yang Ruoqing, then turned to Liu Ming'an and said, "You go choose the brushes and ink. I don't know much about these things, so I'll look around a bit."
Liu Ming'an carefully studied Jiang Ning's eyes and found them as calm and unruffled as usual, with no sign of annoyance. Only then did he feel reassured.
After Liu Ming'an finished selecting brushes and ink, Yang Ruoqing personally escorted the two of them downstairs.
"Boss, why did you come down?" Shopkeeper Yuan asked, somewhat surprised to see Yang Ruoqing.
Yang Ruoqing didn't explain much, just asked Shopkeeper Yuan to come out from behind the counter while he took the abacus and started rapidly calculating the bill.
"Young sir, the total comes to 4,100 wen," Yang Ruoqing announced a moment later.
Liu Ming'an paid promptly, then asked, "There are too many items to carry conveniently. How much would it cost to have them delivered to Lotus Flower Village?"
"Just add another 30 wen, and I'll have someone deliver the items to your home tomorrow. Please give me detailed directions to your house," Yang Ruoqing replied.
"Alright."
As they left Ink Fragrance Pavilion, Liu Ming'an looked at the sky and saw it was already past mid-afternoon.
"Shall we go to the Chen Family Rice Shop now?" Jiang Ning asked.
"Yes."
Following their original plan, they went to buy rice and flour, arranging for the shop to deliver them home the next day. Next door to the rice shop was a butcher's shop. Liu Ming'an asked the owner to reserve a piece of pork belly and a large cut of pork from the next day's freshly slaughtered pig, to be delivered to the rice shop. After some thought, Jiang Ning also requested two live chickens to be delivered along with the rest.
As they were about to leave town, they passed by a clothing store. Jiang Ning looked at her old clothes, then dragged Liu Ming'an inside. They each bought several sets of ready-made clothes, along with shoes and socks.
By the time they left the streets of Lingshan Town, apart from the eleven taels of gold in the box, Liu Ming'an had only twenty copper coins left in his pocket. This was the first time in his life he had experienced spending money like water.
"Stop fretting about it. Money is earned, not saved. Understand?" Jiang Ning saw right through Liu Ming'an's thoughts and spoke up.
Liu Ming'an didn't argue, but smiled and said, "I'm just not used to it yet."
"You'll get used to it after a few more times," Jiang Ning pondered for a moment, then continued, "Given these prices, the money in your bag should be enough to keep us well-fed for about two years, right?"
"Ten years," Liu Ming'an answered decisively.
Jiang Ning cast a pensive glance at Liu Ming'an but said nothing more. Liu Ming'an didn't yet understand the concept that "it's easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but difficult to return to frugality from luxury." Moreover, she had a feeling that they wouldn't be staying in Lotus Flower Village for too long. Liu Ming'an needed to take the imperial examinations, and she had to investigate her own identity. Their peaceful days in Lotus Flower Village were like sand slipping through their fingers, gradually trickling away.