Guo Ting came out of the Zhaode Inn near Jingzhao Mansion with a serious look on his face.
The owner of this inn was a well-established scholar in his early years and loved talents very much. Unfortunately, many of the scholars who came to Beijing to take exams were from poor families, so he built an inn here specifically for the poor scholars to stay.
There is a stable behind the inn, and the brother and sister lived here earlier, but Guo Ting seemed to have arrived late, and the sister had already left.
There were only a few people on the street, and many shops were closed.
Guo Ting stood on the street, looking around, feeling a little sad in his heart.
In such a depressed world, where can a girl go alone?
Guo Ting felt a little heavy and turned around to leave.
At the entrance of an alley not far away from him, Xia Zhaoyi watched him leave quietly, then looked back at the girl beside him.
The younger sister was holding a small bundle and eating a cake in her hand, her eyes bloodshot after not sleeping all night.
She ate a little slowly. After eating, she wiped the crumbs on her lips and raised her eyes to look at Xia Zhaoyi: "I've finished eating."
"anything else?"
"full."
"Okay," Xia Zhaoyi nodded and said, "Then, are you ready?"
The younger sister didn't speak. After a long moment of silence, she said, "I've made a plan. I'll go with you."
"Okay." Xia Zhaoyi responded.
Business at Qingque Pavilion was equally deserted, with almost no one in the lobby.
Xia Zhaoyi asked her sister to wait outside and ordered her a pot of tea and snacks.
These days, Xia Zhaoyi would come here when he had some time. Except for Mr. Yan Hui, the other gentlemen looked familiar.
She came out after about a cup of tea, followed by a gentleman.
My sister didn't touch the tea and cakes on the table and kept sitting there.
When he saw them coming out, he immediately stood up uneasily.
"Is this the girl?" Yu Youhai said, looking at his sister.
"My name is Lu Ningjin." My sister said.
"Ah Li said you can write, can you write it for me?"
My sister nodded, dipped the tea in the cup, and wrote on the table one by one.
"Your handwriting is pretty good. Have you practiced it for a while?" Yu Youhai said.
My sister pursed her lips and said softly: "I went to a girls' school for a while, and my father would definitely let me go."
"Oh." Yu Youhai nodded.
He went to a girls' school, and his family must have been well off at one time, but now he seems to be in decline, but he is not very interested in other people's stories.
"How old are you?" Yu Youhai asked again.
"Fourteen."
"In addition to writing, what else can you do? Do you know an abacus? Do you know how to embroider?"
"She has some medical skills and can at least know most of the medicinal materials." Xia Zhaoyi, who had not spoken yet, said at this time.
The younger sister was stunned and looked at her: "How did you know?"
"What do you think?" Xia Zhaoyi asked.
My sister was shocked when she thought about the "free clinic".
The plague has become a big issue. If the imperial court had not made it official and no one mentioned it, the whole city would be in an uproar now.
Maybe the kid in front of me knew it at that time?
The younger sister stopped talking and nodded.
"Now that you know this, it will be easier," Yu Youhai said, looking at Xia Zhaoyi, "This way you won't have to worry about running out of food, just leave it to me."
"Thank you, sir," Xia Zhaoyi said, "I have to go, please take care of her more."
"You're welcome, but Ah Li, you have to remember the favor I sold you today and don't forget to return it to me in the future."
Xia Zhaoyi smiled lightly: "Sir, I still know how to do business. Don't worry, I will remember it."
Xia Zhaoyi had nothing to say to her sister, so after a few words with her, Xia Zhaoyi left.
There were more and more people in front of the Huiping Pawn Shop, and it was already late afternoon when Xia Zhaoyi arrived.
The sun shines so hard that even in autumn, everyone is unbearable.
As soon as Xia Zhaoyi got there, a figure suddenly appeared and pulled her: "Erya!"
Xia Zhaoyi turned around, saw the little beggar, and said, "Erya?"
"How come you weren't scared?" the little beggar said with a smile.
"Don't call me Erya from now on." Xia Zhaoyi said solemnly.
The little beggar smiled coquettishly, raised his hand and scratched his head: "Then I don't know what your name is, so I'll call you Erya."
"Call me Ah Li," Xia Zhaoyi said, "the pear of the pear blossom."
"I also have a name," the little beggar said hurriedly, "My last name is amazing, my last name is Xuanyuan."
"Okay." Xia Zhaoyi nodded.
"What's good? I haven't finished talking yet. My name is Tiezhu."
"Well," Xia Zhaoyi nodded again and said, "What do you want from me?"
"Yes! Look over there." The little beggar said, raising his head and looking towards the second floor of a shop in front.
Xia Zhaoyi also looked over and said, "What's going on over there?"
"According to my observation, there is a person over there." The little beggar said mysteriously.
Xia Zhaoyi paused and said: "...There are people everywhere here."
"No, he is secretly spying on the pawn shop over there," the little beggar said. "I was also stared at. There seemed to be a lot of people staring at me in the backyard. Fortunately, I was smart and could sneak away quickly.
, otherwise I’m finished.”
Xia Zhaoyi said nothing and looked up at the second floor over there.
Because they are on the same side, this is a blind spot from the second floor over there.
"By the way, there is another weird thing." The little beggar said again.
"What?"
"Hehe..." the little beggar said, "Then for this news, you need to give me more money. You see that life is getting worse and worse. Can you give me twenty coins?"
Xia Zhaoyi smiled and nodded: "Okay."
"Ah Li is happy!" The little beggar was also happy and said, "That's it. I heard someone knocking on the door last night. They screamed so loudly that the neighbors were woken up. The night ban has been severe recently.
I find it strange that some people dare to make such a fuss. Moreover, the owner of this pawn shop is very kind and friendly, and he doesn't look like someone who would make others unhappy or come to their door to quarrel in the middle of the night."
"Is there a fight?" Xia Zhaoyi asked.
"No, there was a lot of banging on the door. The men just argued for a few words, and then they heard the sound of the carriage leaving," said the little beggar.
Xia Zhaoyi nodded, took out twenty coins and handed them over: "Here."
The little beggar hurriedly took it and held it in his hand happily. But after a pause, he raised his head and said, "Ah Li, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"You seemed very unhappy today. Why did you smile when I asked you for money?"
"Laugh if you want," Xia Zhaoyi laughed again, "There are so many reasons why."
"Then you really don't think I'm greedy..." the little beggar said again.
"You haven't done anything harmful, so what's the big deal? However," Xia Zhaoyi frowned slightly, "I told you last time to stop caring about things here, and you're here again."
The little beggar scratched his head again: "Then, I won't come again."
"That's right," Xia Zhaoyi said, handing over another ten cents, "finding a place to stay, saving your life is the most important thing."
