NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59 – Fortune-telling Device
Chapter 59 - Please romaine calm, this is a contest, not a kale-ing field
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It was! It really was a tornado fries stall! I bought a stick for a few coins and went around the town plaza looking at everything that was on display while I waited for Fengying and the others to arrive.
The local townspeople, traveling merchants, and craftsmen from the surrounding villages had set up stalls selling everything from everyday household items like needles, thread, cutlery, kitchenware, etc. to more exotic stuff like glass beads, lace, silver buttons, finely worked leather saddles, furs, sugar, tobacco, and so forth.
I gorged myself on the food stalls that sold grilled pork skewers, meat buns, and dumplings. When I was full, I polished off the meal with two sticks of tanghulu, a traditional snack of candied hawthorns. Luckily, I had finished everything and had wiped my face to hide the evidence when my housekeeper finally appeared.
“Oh, how was the trip?” I asked Fengying.
Her husband was with her, and he was looking around the town square, his eyes lingering on the knife and food stalls.
“It was fine. The inn seems clean, and I left Yinuo there to watch our rooms,” she said.
“Is that really necessary? I thought the staff had the day off,” I said.
“I’ve already arranged a proper division of labor and hours for them, don’t worry.”
“Okay, let’s have fun! I’ll meet you back at the inn at sunset.”
“Please take care of yourself, my lady. Don’t go with anyone or into any alleys. In fact, why don’t I get one of the maids to accompany you?”
“I’ll be fine! I’m only here to visit the stores around the town square. I promise I won’t go anywhere else,” I said.
I really didn’t want someone accompanying me while I went out to have fun.
“Where are you going?”
“There, there, and there.” I pointed at the bookstore, temple, and clothing shop. “By the way, where’s Shuye?”
“He said he was going to look around.”
“Maybe I’ll run into him.”
We parted ways, and I saw that Deming headed straight to the knife stall.
As for me, I had important business to do.
The bookstore was a small two-story wooden building whose façade was currently hung with numerous red lanterns for the festival. Inside was a wizened old man wearing gray and white robes that had seen better days. I bowed to him politely, and he showed me around. All four walls of the shop were filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves crammed with scrolls and books. I even went up the rather rickety wooden stairs to the second floor, where the older merchandise was stored.
Though I wasn’t much of a reader, I could still tell which items were the most expensive ones. I picked a good selection of classic poetry, natural history, and literature books and arranged for them to be sent to our rooms at the inn. I paid with silver coins that Shuye had provided for my use.
“May I interest you in some newer, and very… interesting publications?” said the proprietor as I was about to leave. He pointed at the table in the middle of the shop that was piled high with copies of a book titled “Secrets of the Ruler’s Court.”
“What is that?”
“It was written by a human who visited the Vermilion Bird Ruler’s court-in-exile.”
“That does sound interesting!” I quickly made my way over to the table and leafed through the book.
Though the shopkeeper’s description had made me think that it was a travelogue of sorts, it was actually more like an ancient celebrity magazine, full of scurrilous gossip and spicy illustrations. I was particularly taken by the painting of a beautiful young man wearing the traditional garb of the Vermilion Bird clan: a kilt and broad gold collar. Shirtless, of course. I admired the way that the artist had lovingly detailed Prince Guanbin’s muscles.
“That particular illustrated edition has proved to be popular among my younger clientele,” said the bookstore’s owner. “There are only three copies left.”
“I’ll take three!”
Sensing an easy mark, the old man pointed out another dozen “interesting” books, all of which I purchased.
Today was really going to eat into the household accounts.
When I was finished buying books, I went to the clothing shop, where I found my Farm Guide arguing with the owner.
“But why can’t I buy two?” asked Shuye.
“Town edict,” said a young woman with bright orange hair wearing bright blue robes. Her hair was done up in a towering beehive, with numerous flower hair pins stuck here and there.
“What kind of edict doesn’t allow people to buy from a store?” asked Shuye.
“We have limited stock, and people come from all over to buy clothes today. I don’t want to run out,” she said.
Since it seemed like the young woman was at the end of her tether, I pulled Shuye aside and asked him what he was doing.
“I just want to buy a few clothes for myself and my wife,” he said.
He seemed so desperate to buy from the store that I wondered if he had quarreled with his spouse. Maybe he really needed to bring back a gift?
“Just buy one of each item for yourself, and if there are a few that you don’t like, send it to a seamstress to have it cut down for your wife,” I said.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Shuye scratched his head. “But they wouldn’t need to be cut down, they would need material added.”
What? Was his wife a giantess? Then I realized that it must be because she was currently pregnant.
“Let’s just buy a few oversized items,” I said.
Since the young woman seemed exasperated by Shuye’s presence, I quickly made a few purchases and left Shuye to his shopping.
My last stop for the day was the temple, a triple-gabled round stone building with white walls and blue roof tiles. The priestess, who was a teenage girl, showed me around the place when I mentioned that I wanted to make a donation. Inside, there were twelve vermilion pillars carved and painted with mythological scenes, representing each month of the year. In the middle of the temple was a circular altar where the priests made sacrifices every New Year.
I made all the appropriate admiring noises, then handed her a mother-of-pearl box containing a gold bar. Once the girls saw the size of my donation, she quickly called over a more senior priestess, who brought me to a side room.
“Would you like to try your luck with our fortune-telling device?” she asked me.
Did I ever! This was exactly the reason why I came.
“Yes, I’d love to!”
The fortune-telling device was a circular cage-like metal device containing a lot of wooden balls inside. It totally looked like a bingo cage. I turned it a few times and a ball dropped out. The priestess took the ball and cracked it open, revealing a tiny wooden charm.
“How lucky! You got the earth charm, which is perfect for a farmer,” she said as she handed it to me.
I hid my disappointment and thanked her politely. The charm could be attached to a weapon to give it an extra effect.
[Earth Charm:
A small wooden charm with the Earth symbol carved on it.
+1% Elemental Earth Damage]
Ever since I tested the [Lightning Fang], I had wanted a [Lightning Charm], but it seemed that I would have to try again next year. Of course, the [Earth Charm] wasn't a bad thing, and I was still glad that I had donated to the temple.
With that, all of my business was done, and I returned to the inn for my afternoon nap, making a mental note to remember to tell the kids not to show any discontentment on their faces when we lost the contest. Nobody likes a sore loser.
- There's a limit of one item per person in the clothing store in the game.
- There is no internet, but they have old-timey "exciting" material in the bookstore.
- A percentage-based bonus is very nice!
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