After breakfast and after Li Wazi’s family arrived, they moved their bamboo shoots onto their ox-cart to be taken to the restaurant in town.
On the way there, Li Wazi dared to ask, “Sister Liu Duo, Miss Fang mentioned that their boss is inviting you to the capital. Will you go?”
He was curious. They had only heard about how prosperous that place was.
Sitting on the cushion Ye Ling had prepared, she smiled and replied, “If it were you, would you go?”
Liu Duo didn’t give a straight answer. Li Wazi, without much thought, said, “No, I wouldn’t!”
She chuckled at his quick response. She knew that for a low-class farmer, going there was unimaginable.
She grabbed Ye Liu by the arm and leaned against him, “We could go there though. When we have enough money, we can go to the capital together as a family. And even to the Imperial City and other places. Anywhere we want.”
“Yes, our Little Duo is absolutely correct. We can go anywhere we want in the future, as a family,” Ye Liu agreed with her every word.
Li Wazi heard them say so and frankly nodded.
When they arrived in town, Ye Liu delivered the bamboo shoots to the restaurant. They received payment and went to shop. They planned to purchase more bamboo shoots in the afternoon.
This was the first time Li Wazi had witnessed Liu Duo shopping. His mouth dropped in disbelief.
My gosh, she’s spending so much! No wonder Mo calls her wasteful.
She entered a shop selling accessories.
The shop assistant went to greet his customer. He saw Liu Duo wearing the best clothes and also took note of her beauty, so he supposed she must be from a rich family. Passionately he said, “Welcome to our shop, what does the lady need? We have everything.”
Li Wazi entered the shop and looked for a stool to rest on. He felt that shopping was even more tiring than working.
Ye Liu accompanied and helped her choose accessories. She only owned a jade hairpin, and even so, it was of poor quality. She didn’t have any earrings and such.
What woman didn’t like to dress herself nicely?
As he sat on the stool, he heard a lot along the lines of, “Liuzi, what do you think of this? Does it look nice?”
“How about this one?”
And Liuzi was very patient when giving her his opinions.
So, Li Wazi thought, If Mo were here, instead of Liu, what would happen?
He thought about Mo, with the nasty temper and lack of patience. If Liu Duo were to ask him those questions and ask him to choose something for her, would he pull a long face and get fired up?
While he was daydreaming, Liu Duo approached him with a pair of pearl earrings, “Li Wazi, what do you think of this pair? Are they pretty?”
Stunned, Li Wazi looked at the item, then at Liu Duo and Ye Liu. Why would they ask him? He knew nothing about these things.
“I think they’re alright,” he nodded.
Liu Duo smiled when he nodded, and went back to choosing items with Ye Liu.
When they left, the shop assistant was beyond elated, “We look forward to your next patronage.”
Next, Liu Duo went to the tailor’s shop and rejected Qin Fang’s invitation to the capital. She also told her that she had already completed the required paintings and would deliver them to the shop soon. Then, she left.
On the way back to the village, Liu Duo got hungry and ate the pastry she had bought earlier. Li Wazi ate one piece and couldn’t help but marvel, “It tastes so good.”
“Of course. Otherwise I wouldn’t have bought them. I’ve bought a few boxes, so you can take some home,” she said as she fed one to Ye Liu, who was busy directing the ox.
