Chapter 10: The Tale of Wang Jin- Back to Economic Solvency and Letters in the Dark
Shi Family Village
"Such manners," Squire Shi muttered, then spoke louder, "I will judge this match accordingly. Whoever is disarmed first is the winner."
Shi Jin swirled his staff in front of him, both ends bound with a little rope. He placed his left leg in front of his right, placing most of his weight on his front foot. The young man's hands were positioned on the lower part of the staff, suitable for slashes, uppercuts, and other maneuvers.
But Wang Jin knew what to do, as she mirrored her opponent, with the exception of her right hand closer to the bottom base of the staff. She bent her legs, right foot pointed 90 degrees to the right, allowing her to bend until she was heavily squatting. There was no sharp pain, and she was a little relieved that the elven medicine removed all the annoying troubles that would usually happen if she did such a stance right before her monthly water exited.
Shi Jin recognized the stance, lowering his staff accordingly.
"You seem to have experience with this weapon," Shi Jin noted, his face looking a bit more serious, "not that it will help against me, woman!"
"Hmph," responded Wang Jin with a blank expression, her eyes focused on her opponent.
"It seems you both are in your stances," Squire Shi said, then announced, "then let the match... begin!"
Wang Jin immediately exited her stance and began moving backward, her left hand releasing the grip on her staff as she used her right hand to drag the staff in front of her to the ground while moving at the same time.
"Where are you going?" Shi Jin taunted as he gave chase, but with his staff aimed lower to the ground as if he was anticipating an attack from below.
She allowed her opponent to catch up to her until he was within striking range. Then suddenly, Wang Jin raised both eyebrows, her left hand gripped the staff above her right as she swiftly raised the weapon vertically as if she was going to smash the top of Shi Jin's head.
Shi Jin hurriedly tried to raise his staff to parry the smash. But lo! It was a feint. Wang Jin, in another swift motion, retracted her staff clockwise and stabbed Shi Jin's chest with it.
"Guh-!" he cried, as he fell flat on his back, dropping his staff as it clattered away.
A few seconds passed while he lay on the ground.
Loud clapping was heard.
"...Incredible! Good strike!" shouted Squire Shi, as he used his cane to quickly walk over to Wang Jin, "to see someone finally best my son, and so quick too!"
He then slightly narrowed his eyes, though he still carried a smile, as he added, "you are more than you seem. Not a mere heavily armed homeless traveler, but someone of more renown, I gather. May this old man inquire your name?"
She considered the various names and aliases that she and her mother had come up with. One option would be some mysterious name that actually did not mean anything, like Dong Tuna, or maybe a dwarven name that had a euphemistic meaning, or perhaps a nickname like the 'flying spear.'
Then she remembered that they were economically insolvent and that the name 'Wang Jin' itself was worth far more than her weight in gold.
But first, there was the matter of Shi Jin, still laying on his back. The rise and fall of his chest showed he was still alive, though he had not yet spoken, "I hope your son over there is not that injured," she noted pointing at the half-naked young man with the nine dragon tattoos.
"My son is pondering their life choices," Squire Shi quickly responded with a dismissive wave towards him, "but I desire to know your name, at least of the person who bested my son so quickly."
"Very well then. Though don't say I didn't warn you! For I am Wang Jin," she said, doing the customary bow with hands clasped in front of Squire Shi.
"That... is a very common name," Squire Shi responded to her annoyance, and then he stiffened as if struck by a thought, "perchance are you Wang Jin, Head Arms Instructor of Dongjing's 80,000?"
Wang Jin straightened her body, looking Squire Shi in the eye with a hint of a smile, "former Head Arms Instructor."
At this point, his son popped back up and began eagerly listening. Squire Shi's voice grew more urgent "the teacher of our Shi Wengong?"
"Yes, in everything but manners," Wang Jin nodded with a small smirk that did not reach her eyes.
"The one who singlehandedly slew 50 Wainriders in their raid on the capital 8 years ago?"
Wang Jin blinked a few times, then she responded, "ha! I would say 100; I gave the others half my kills."
"The hero who slew a troll years ago?"
She slightly tilted her head as if to ponder that question, "which one?" she rhetorically asked.
"Aiya!" shouted Squire Shi as he dropped his cane and tried to ketou towards Wang Jin.
"Oh come now!" she admonished, rolling her eyes, "I'm not royalty!"
She would have then grabbed him, but Shi Jin had run towards his father, supporting him with both hands. Yet the young man was not looking at him but had his wide eyes staring at Wang Jin as if beholding a living legend.
She rolled the cane towards herself with a foot, then with the slightest of motions, kicked the stick to lift it into the air, and grabbed it with her left hand.
"This is yours, I believe," Wang Jin said, offering the cane to the squire.
"You... I thank you. Aah, but if I had only known!" he said, moving around animatedly, "we could have slain a few sheep and feasted! I... Son! Bow towards Instructor Wang immediately."
Shi Jin immediately ketoued towards Wang Jin, "Shi Jin apologizes for the rudeness, respected Instructor. Please forgive me!"
Whatever amusement Wang Jin had was rapidly declining. She always felt awkward when people treated her like some sort of demigod, as if she could do no wrong and was some paragon or symbol for everyone to emulate. But this was something she needed to endure, for economic solvency, for...
Her thoughts were then interrupted as Shi Jin suddenly rose eagerly, bowing and stating, "Shi Jin requests for you to be his new instructor! My past eight teachers have taught me little, but your, maybe, future student is confident that you are the perfect one for me!"
"Shi... Jin!" barked Squire Shi, his eyes narrowing in disgust, yet there was an odd gleam in his eye, "you brazen boy! You request that from Instructor Wang? You dare make me spend money yet again? What gall! Need I remind you how much it cost our family the past eight tries? Though this time for one of the best instructors in the land? I ought to kick you out of the village for your lack of self-cultivation!"
"Actually," Wang Jin said, "I can't stay here as an instructor, as I am traveling towards Cangzhou."
"Then I shall travel with!" Shi Jin responded, cutting off his father before he could respond, "I will guard you with my life, if need be, carry everything you ask, do whatever you say. I want to become just like you!"
"Son, what are you-?" sputtered Squire Shi, still with the odd gleam in his eye.
"Well," Wang Jin interrupted with a smirk, "attach some glands to your chest and shorten yourself a few... wait!" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did you pledge those same things towards your past eight instructors?"
Shi Jin paused, his eyes darting around until he bowed and clasped his hands towards her, "you are different."
The response made it easier for Wang Jin to immediately pivot around and walk towards the exit of the courtyard.
She did not walk briskly though.
"Wait! Respected instructor, please," Squire Shi requested, his right hand forward as if trying to stop Wang Jin from leaving, "I know my son is an utter fool who has little talent other than martial arts..."
"Dad! Don't embarrass me in front of Instructor Wang!"
"... but as the saying goes," Squire Shi continued, ignoring his son, "'he who travels a lot becomes wise; he who is wise stays home.' As he is an utter idiot who cannot even cook rice, please let him travel with you so he can finally become somebody."
"Cooking rice is hard!"
"No, it is not! Not at all!"
I don't think that's what that saying means... They are desperate! thought Wang Jin.
She did not bother turning her head around as she responded, "A raw gem cut by eight different people becomes a worthless pebble. What more do I, a ninth instructor, have to offer? Further, I have already trained one 'Shi' and my hair is short now. If I take another one, I might become as bald as a Moriist." She took another step forward.
"Wait instructor, I beg you to wait!" Squire Shi urgently begged, "for there is another phrase that could be more to your liking."
His face now became business-like, casting aside all pretenses of what he actually wanted.
"'Money talks,'" he added, "I shall offer 1,000 strings of iron coins for your services."
Wang Jin turned her head, a cold expression on her face, "I deal in gold and silver, not in pre-pubescent steel. You think that I do not keep up with the inflation rates? This is not 10 years ago, old man!"
"Aah," Squire Shi said, his voice a little bit gentler, "it is but the standard lowball initial offer in traditional haggling, as you well know.
"10 taels of silver, then."
"Hmph," grunted Wang Jin as she turned around, "every single one of my four apprentices each told me that one word from me was worth more than 1,000 gold taels."
"... 1,000 gold, we are not dwarves! We do not have such wealth!" exclaimed Squire Shi with wide eyes, then his eyes quickly narrowed as he immediately said, "20 taels of silver!"
Wang Jin made a point to sigh loudly, shaking her head.
"Dad, perhaps I can-"
"50 taels of silver!"
She then suddenly focused her eyes on Shi Jin, asking, "how many weapons do you wish to master?"
Before Squire Shi could prevent his son from responding, Shi Jin said, "as many as you have mastered!"
"18 huh?" Wang Jin said, successfully preventing the smirk from appearing on her face, "then I will teach you for 8100 taels of silver."
"8100?!" yelled both Shi Jin and Squire Shi at the same time.
"How did you get such a number?!" Shi Jin asked, his mouth agape. Meanwhile, Squire Shi held a very contemplative look, giving a side glare to his son.
"I don't need an abacus to calculate such simple numbers in my head," Wang Jin responded with a hint of a smirk, "I merely used your offer of 50, multiplied by 18 weapon masteries, multiplied then by your son's nine dragon tattoos. Simply the equivalent of nine times nine times ten.
Of course, if your son did not have any tattoos, I would merely ask for 450 taels of silver. But I do not desire my reputation to be sullied. I don't want people to think that I'd accept just anyone."
Squire Shi slapped the back of Shi Jin's head with his free hand, causing his son to flinch from the unexpected punishment.
"OW! Why dad, why?"
"You have said enough, Jin'er!" Squire Shi said to Shi Jin (and not Wang Jin, whose eyes twitched), "let the adults deal with the negotiation of your leave."
"But I am an adult!"
"You are still a child in my eyes, now go stare at the wall to contemplate your stupidity until I say otherwise!" Squire Shi yelled, pointing his cane at his son, face redder now.
Shi Jin muttered rebelliously as he walked over to the nearest wall to stare at it.
"Aah, kids these days," the squire said under his breath. He walked closer to Wang Jin, using his free hand to stroke his beard, "we can do a combination of gold and silver taels."
"500 gold taels and 100 silver taels, then, per last year's inflation rate," she responded.
Squire Shi chuckled darkly, "Oh, Instructor Wang, you may be a master at the art of fighting. But know that, as village elder, I am privy towards this year's and next year's estimated inflation rate per the updated bimetallic conversation sheet that is given to us by the dwarves."
"Bah!" Wang Jin scoffed, "I do not intend to live among the dwarves! For one, we still use a quadametallic system if you don't include our paper currency. Let us use the human estimates..."
"Why did you leave the capital anyways?" suddenly asked Squire Shi.
She frowned, knowing that she had to spin her tale well to not get another lowball offer.
The rest of the monetary negotiations need not be said.
By dinnertime, Wang Jin was 100 gold and 100 silver taels richer. It all fit in a chest that she had Shi Jin, no longer staring at a wall, lugging around. As a condition for becoming her student, Shi Jin was required to wear clothing to cover up his tattoos.
"No person reveals their dragons to the public. They do it when the time is right," Wang Jin had said, forcing down the upward grin her face was making while she said that. Her new student's disappointment was palpable, and it only became worse when he also was required to wear the customary topknot hairstyle.
"If you don't wear a topknot or clothing, they'll think of you as my sex slave," Wang Jin reminded Shi Jin.
"But Master, can we not just give them a good pounding?" he retorted.
"At worst that'll confirm in their eyes that you are a sex slave; at best they would think we're lovers! Ha!" Wang Jin said, laughing loudly.
Shi Jin muttered curse words under his breath, putting on an undershirt and a coat, as well as tying his long hair into a topknot.
She went alone to wake up her mother, helping her dress into guest-appropriate dinner clothing.
When Wang Sheng went outside and saw Shi Jin bow to her with his hands clasped, she commented,
"Daughter, you bought us an indentured servant already? With what money?"
"I... am no servant. I am Shi Jin, and it is an honor to meet you," he then straightened his back to look Wang Sheng in the eyes, "for I am Instructor Wang's new student."
Wang Sheng placed her hand on her chest, aghast, glaring at her daughter, "Jin'er, um, I mean, daughter! I am too old to be taking on students, you know that!"
"...He means me, Ma," Wang Jin clarified, giving a somewhat worried look to her mother, "why would you think I would ask you to be his instructor?"
"Oh! I see now. Pardon an old lady, for I just woke up from quite a relaxing rest," Wang Sheng replied, yawning, as she slowly bowed apologetically towards Shi Jin.
"No need! No need!" Shi Jin cried, helping the mother up.
"What manners! Finally, another student who is not a brat; you picked well, daughter!"
What little you know, Ma thought Wang Jin.
Then Wang Sheng peered inquisitively at her daughter, "I do hope you are not doing this for free, as... big as your heart is."
"The tuition is within the chest. 200 taels, half gold, and half silver."
"Hmph!" scoffed Wang Sheng, "if I had negotiated, it would be 1000 taels, all gold."
Shi Jin amusingly smiled, which angered her.
"Do I need to march up to your village elder and demand 800 more taels?" Wang Sheng thundered, suddenly sounding ten years younger.
"No, Ma," Wang Jin said, placating her mother, as she gave a glare to her new student, who slightly bowed his head apologetically, "no need for that."
"Well, I hope you treat your merciful instructor well, boy. For I would have taxed every single villager in this village if I was in my daughter's shoes!"
"Of course Ma, of course," her daughter responded.
Not again thought Wang Jin, as he noted the look of utter confusion on her new student's face.
It seemed the sight of food mellowed her mother, as she eagerly went to grab a seat, which Wang Jin helped her into. They ate dinner. Squire Shi had apologized again for not preparing a proper feast but had indeed slain a sheep for them. Among the notable dishes was a large plate of hand-cut noodles with mutton amidst a smattering of sliced green onions and garlic. The noodles were soft, complementing the pieces of roasted mutton.
Perhaps the most notable food item, however, was the lamb meat stew. Shredded flatbread floated atop a mutton stew with rice noodles. The fat of the lamb created a warm broth, and Wang Jin eagerly drank in the hearty stew.
"If I may comment, it seems you have not forgotten your roots, honored Instructor," commented Squire Shi, apparently noting the audible slurping. Shi Jin also apparently was trying to mimic his teacher's eating style, as if that would make him more like her.
"Aah, how can I not? This food is much better than our village's," commented Wang Jin.
Squire Shi laughed, "you flatter this old man! If we had more time, you would have been treated to a royal feast."
"Oh daughter, if only you grew up now instead of then," Wang Sheng commented as she used her chopsticks to lift the rice noodles, blowing at them to cool them down, "perhaps you could have been stronger."
"Milk curds were fine, Ma," Wang Jin responded as she picked at her own teeth, "I got plenty strong off of that." Lamb was a luxury during those days. Outside of the mandatory six-month corvée time, meat would only be served on special days; most of the time dinner was some sort of complex vegetable stew and rice porridge.
Shi Jin had a curious look as he asked, "your student is wondering... you could not have been the most physically strong, did you rely more on technique or speed when you were my age? "
"This 'physical strength' you speak of," Wang Jin responded, "do you not know that it requires practice and proper technique to even show it? There are people who only look strong but cannot outwork a corvée laborer. Then there are those burly types who never fought once in their life and can barely punch because they angle their wrists the wrong way, or aim with their smaller knuckles instead of the big ones. A lot of the time, they are the ones getting hurt; their knuckles probably have not been split before."
"I know," Shi Jin responded while nodding, "my first instructor, Li Zhong, taught me that. Fist and feet training was painful but worth it."
Wang Jin smirked, "did that person have huge arms and shoulders?"
"You knew my first instructor?"
"Not really, that person came to the capital to try and become an arms instructor. Failed because they could not instruct well enough."
"I thought that was the case!" Squire Shi interrupted as he sighed, "something seemed off whenever I saw them teach my son."
Shi Jin frowned but did not say anything more as he continued to eat.
A minute of silence passed. Squire Shi grabbed a large pot of wine that he began pouring into bowls for each of the guests. Wang Jin had to nudge her mother awake, who had begun dozing off.
Wang Jin, breaking the silence, said, "I forgot to answer your other question, student."
Shi Jin at first slowly nodded, initially unsure, but then his eyes widened in recognition and he nodded more quickly, "yes, master. How did you win your fights when you were my age?"
"If I wanted to end a fight quickly, then I would use my power and speed. If I knew the fight to be long, I would rely more on my technique as I gauged for any weaknesses and patterns. Those were the more annoying fights. The concentration to recognize what your foe is doing while they're trying to rip your head off takes skill and experience.
"At some point, Shi Jin, either you or your opponent will tire out. You just have to recognize more quickly what fatigued body parts to strike. Then once their guard is finally broken, relentlessly attack until the end."
Shi Jin nodded, as he continued to chew the food in his bowl.
"Daughter," interrupted Wang Sheng, now awake after drinking a bowl of wine, "did that not almost happen to you when you fought against that person named Gu?"
If Wang Jin heard that a second before, she would've choked on the alcohol she had just drunk, "I'd rather not talk about that, Ma."
"Oh really? Still upset that a 15-year-old almost knocked you out? How you inherited such a strong jaw is beyond me. To take so many hits and not lose a tooth…"
"Gu chucked a bowl at the back of my head! I was not ready! Though… that fight as I remember...
"They were bragging about being called a 'female tiger (母大蟲)' while I scoffed and called them a 'giant bug (大蟲).' Gu called me an entitled bully. I called them an obese cicada who only knew how to moan. We then agreed to settle our differences outside. Then once I turned my back, she threw a bowl at my head.
"The rest of the conversation was made through our fists and feet."
"You were at fault for that whole fight, daughter," chided her mother, "could you not have let that girl feel some pride in themselves?"
"... Ma, I already told you years ag-..." then Wang Jin shut her eyes and bit her tongue for a second. She then continued, "the villagers were not calling Gu a 'female tiger,' they were calling them a 'giant bug.'"
Squire Shi stroked his beard, "aah yes. It is a euphemism, after all. The meaning could go either way depending on the context. But... Could you not have simply told them that more calmly?"
Wang Sheng smiled at the squire, then leered at her daughter. This caused Wang Jin to rethink what she was going to say because she did NOT want an argument with her mother in front of her new student and the squire.
She was going to point out that it would not have helped out much and could have caused Gu to hunt down whoever was talking behind her back. Back then, Wang was not confident at all in the 15-year-old's negotiation or martial ability, which would to an unpredictable result. With the outcome being uncertain, Wang Jin decided on a plan to have Gu prove that she was more of a tiger than a bug. This led to the brawl, in which Wang Jin was going to stage a close, drawn-out fight in front of a bunch of witnesses.
What Wang Jin did not anticipate was that Gu actually knew how to fight. She was personally taught by Luan Tingyu, her oldest and dearest friend. Wang's own arms and legs were bruised for days, which was unusual; truly like fighting a tiger.
Just because she did not lose any teeth didn't mean those punches and kicks from Gu did nothing. It took a few days for Wang Jin to even eat without pain. Her head ached for quite a bit and she did not even need to look at a shiny plate or her reflection in the river to see the state of her face.
She did not want to recall the... argument she had with Luan Tingyu afterwards, which eventually led to a falling out and a fight in which they almost killed each other.
From that point forward she did her best to ignore Gu, lest Wang Jin end that cicada's life permanently.
So Wang Jin sighed, drinking another bowl of wine, "I was 18 years old and an immature brat. I should have done that, yes."
Wang Sheng looked astonished while Squire Shi chuckled, "I did not expect such humility! Shi Jin, learn some of that wisdom from your master."
"...yes, dad," Shi Jin responded, though it appeared he did not completely understand the significance of what Wang Jin just said.
Wang Sheng just smiled to herself as she continued eating the cooling stew in front of her.
"Student, listen to me," Wang Jin said, pointing her chopsticks at Shi Jin, saying, "if you encounter a short-tempered, bug-eyed, plump-faced person named Gu, do not rouse their temper. Nor mention me around that woman. They might take vengeance; just smile and nod at whatever they say."
"But," Shi Jin began with a bewildered look, "how did you end up defeating that person?"
"I got tired of Gu battering my head, so I purposefully let her have one final glancing blow to my face, then I suddenly twisted my entire body on their arm, like a monkey holding on to a tree. This brought her down. Then I began kicking at every single sensitive spot I could while yanking and twisting the arm until she begged for mercy."
"You must show me how to do this sometime, Master!" Shi Jin urged, mouth in an eager smile.
"I'll try not to dislocate your elbow like I did Gu's."
Dinner was done. Her mother had eaten less than Wang Jin wanted, retiring to her sleeping quarters for the rest of the night. Shi Jin had gone to say his goodbyes to whatever friends he had left in the village. Wang Jin was outside clad in her night garment, taking in the nightly wind as the sky was partly obscured by clouds. A tiny sliver of moonlight pierced through, one day away from its New Moon phase. A smattering of stars could also be seen through the gaps in the clouds. The grasshoppers sang their tunes from the many trees within and surrounding the village, and the crackle of flame from scattered lit torches in the village interrupted the silence.
Squire Shi had given Wang Jin two letters. Both were from Shi Wengong. One was a piece of paper written to "the Short-Tempered Short-Haired Stinky Homeless Wanderer."
This was what the first letter said in the Eastern Empire's written language:
"去你的"
...
Wang Jin would burn that one until it was naught but ash.
The other letter was a wooden slip scroll, each piece of wood lacquered on the outside to prevent damage from rain. The strings that bound each vertical slip were made of red silk, and the message was addressed directly to "Wang Jin."
This was what the second letter said, in a more formal written tone:
"Master,
Afore we met, from afar reached my ears of a legendary troll-slaying woman, a paragon leading by example, the model warrior of our Empire. A hero you were, a peasant who became the Head Arms Instructor of Dongjing's 80,000. A woman who earned the esteemed title of Head Arms Instructor! Think I know not of the politics plaguing us when we pursue such a position? How our rivals conveniently bribe people to place those examinations on specific dates in a month? Great was my admiration for you, a hero worthy of songs sung in the tongues of humans, elves, and dwarves.
Greater was my disappointment, beyond measure in fact, for after we first met, I thought of you as nothing more than a rustic foul-mouthed peasant from distant lands who knew the difference between a fork and a trident: a three-legged stool amidst sedan chairs.
My days were filled with strained arms and legs, carrying my peers in full armor up countless flights of stairs, then climbing each stair with only my hands and upper body.
My nights were filled with bloody scabs and blisters on my fists and feet. Wraps forever stained with red are still with me, a reminder of what you saw as training, and what I saw as torture at the time.
My back recalls the rip of peeled skin, discolorations of all sorts, and splotches of blood so hard to clean off from the back of my garments, just because you told us we needed to know how to fall in order to jump back up. Then you forced us to hit each other with staves, reopening those wounds because you said that in order to lift the Empire, one needed a strong back.
Pure torture!
But I recall you said I needed to defy death to exceed my limits. To look at Darkness in the eyes and spit at it! That the leisurely life in the capital was an illusion, covering an outside world filled with terrors beyond human imagination.
And thus I write, on my way towards a frontier fraught with peril, but instead of overwhelming fear I await with an eager heart. For even I know that, after I defied death, I could face any challenge with my head held high. That feeling is indeed something I would never have had if not for your instruction. For I shall become what you were, and I deem, what you still are at your core:
A hero to those who cannot fight for themselves, and an obstacle for those who can.
Part of me yearns for you to join me so that we can shower the frontier with fruits unending. So that I can show the people a living example of puissance; the person who showed me how to exceed my limits.
But I know what your response would be, for as I become the hero the Empire needs, I fear you shall become my obstacle. I dread that day, but I will do what must be done if necessary. Let the elves lament that day forevermore should it happen!
So I thank you, Master, for everything you taught me. Let this be our proper farewell, and I hope the rest of your days and after-days are filled with light beyond measure. May we continue to be comrades in the next life."
Having read this, Wang Jin slowly closed the wooden letter, re-binding the slips in a scroll shape with the red strings in their original knot. She held it in her hands, and as time passed, lit torches went out until the clouds obscured both the moon and stars.
It was some time before she returned to her sleeping quarters. Yet despite the short respite, she woke up the next morning more refreshed than she had been in quite some time.
It worked...
The amount of monthly water that had been expelled during her sleep... and yet she felt fine. No post cramps, thankfully, and she felt oddly... happy. The medicine worked! She felt great! The best she felt in years! Normally she felt like garbage after this time of the month, but now she felt rejuvenated, like rainwater flowing from river to river until finally reaching one of the four seas. Oh, if only the Elven scribe were nearby so she could give her some proper thanks!
Her mother definitely noticed Wang Jin's mood.
"Look at you... you're not a morning person... are you skipping?"
"Ma! I'm going to seduce an elf so I can marry them!"
"That old fantasy again... I thought you never wanted children."
"They're masters of their body, the best of both worlds!"
"... I thought we were going to Cangzhou and not the Southwest..."
After the initial euphoria, Wang Jin calmed down. She had placed the woodblock letter within the chest filled with taels, and after getting some more food and drink supplies from the village elder, the three were ready to depart.
"Do not bring embarrassment towards our family, Son!" shouted Squire Shi.
"Yeah, goodbye to you too, Dad," responded Shi Jin rolling his eyes. He was driving the wheelbarrow, now carrying a money chest alongside clothing, dried food, dried fruit, and other necessary supplies.
Wang Sheng looked nostalgic, as she was also on the wheelbarrow, "just like when you left the village, Jin'er."
"My Ma is talking to me, not you Shi Jin," clarified Wang Jin to Shi Jin, who looked a lot less confused, "... and I recall my last words when I left the village were, 'I will send you my first monthly salary, Ma.'"
"I had to move to Dongjing to get that money, Jin'er!"
"and I gave it to you, Ma. Just like I promised."
Both Wang Sheng and Wang Jin wore straw hats, while Shi Jin insisted to be hatless.
"Are we walking on the main road, Master?" he asked.
"No, we're going via horse-drawn wagon. I arranged a ride from here to Cangzhou. Managed to negotiate it down to one silver tael. Turn left here."
Soon enough, they were in the distance of three very different wagons. The first was a bright red carriage with an arched roof to protect against rain. The carriage driver had on a sophisticated-looking hat and a scholarly black beard. At his side was a sheathed scholar sword. The two white horses were bound securely, shaking their manes and whipping their tails.
The second wagon was a shabby-looking carriage with a straw-thatched roof. In contrast to the scholarly-looking fellow, this carriage driver had a dark complexion that did not match his crimson red hair. This fellow wore a straw hat as well, but even so, one could see that he had a head full of hair, and a broad face full of it as well. Speaking of his face, it also bore a very noticeable red birthmark. Attached to his back was a sheathed podao, a sabre-on-a-stick. The horses were black stallions that stood still.
Finally, the third wagon was similar in appearance to the first one, except this one had stepping stones near both the entrances and the driver's seat. Waiting nearby was a helmeted dwarf with a neatly trimmed thick beard bound by a golden beard ring. The ponies were cute.
"Uh, which carriage, Master?"
Which carriage did Wang Jin choose? What route shall they take to Cangzhou? Are we finally out of Shi Village for good? The answers to 2 out of 3 of these questions will be answered in the next chapter.