Chapter 31: Stay Away From Him

Did this young lady actually ignore him, not even sparing him a single glance as she walked right past?

Logically speaking, wasn't this exactly the result he wanted? But why did his heart feel so uneasy?

With this thought, Mu Zitao stopped in his tracks, turned around, and let out a few forced coughs.

The young lady showed no reaction at all. Driven by some inexplicable impulse, he coughed even louder. Surely she would hear him this time?

However, the young lady showed no intention of stopping. Instead, the seven handsome little bald heads all turned back to stare at him without exception.

"Mother, look, that gentleman is coughing. Is he okay?" Tianshu whispered a reminder.

This was far too obvious. He stopped, and he was staring at Mother—he clearly wanted to strike up a conversation with her, didn't he?

The children recognized him; he was the diner from the bun shop yesterday afternoon, the one who was with Uncle Yuefan.

Distracted, Hong Xiaoduo neither stopped nor turned around. "He's coughing because he's likely unwell. Stay away from him. If it's a respiratory infection, a viral infection, or something like the avian flu, getting infected would be a real hassle."

Tianshu and the others were stunned. They didn't understand most of what Mother said, but they caught one thing: the coughing person might be sick, and if they stayed close, they might catch it, which would be very troublesome!

*Mhm, we shouldn't disobey Mother.* The children cast terrified glances at Mu Zitao, their short little legs picking up speed as they scurried ahead.

Mu Zitao had excellent hearing and had naturally heard every word they said. A mixture of shame and irritation swirled within him. Before he could even process this complex feeling, the next scene nearly made him spit blood on the street.

"A donkey?" he heard the young lady exclaim in a loud, astonished voice. From the way she hurried toward the donkey pulling a cart on the opposite side of the street, it was clear she was extremely excited.

She ignored him completely, yet she was this excited over a donkey pulling a cart!

She was definitely doing this on purpose—deliberately humiliating him. But what was wrong with him? Had his head been caught in a door? He had walked right toward her; if she wanted to pretend not to see him, she could have just walked past, but why act like this? Who was he to care if a young lady looked at him or not?

Why had he had such a momentary lapse in judgment, stopping to cough intentionally? What was his goal? Was he trying to get her attention?

If she had cared, she wouldn't have acted as if she hadn't seen him!

As a result, a general who had achieved fame in his youth was now, in the eyes of this young lady, even less significant than a donkey. Wasn't he just looking for trouble and bringing humiliation upon himself?

Seeing that their mother was so interested in the donkey by the roadside, Tianshu and the others followed her to watch from the side.

"Mother, do you like donkeys very much?" Kaiyang asked curiously.

Hong Xiaoduo shook her head. "Guess."

Tianshu noticed that her gaze wasn't just on the donkey, but was also sizing up the cart. He had a vague suspicion in his heart, but since he wasn't certain, he kept quiet.

The person driving the donkey was a middle-aged man. He was just about to kindly remind the young lady watching his donkey to keep an eye on the little bald heads so they wouldn't get kicked, when he saw his seven-month-pregnant wife coming out of a shop. He hurried forward to assist her onto the donkey cart.

The woman looked at the several delicate and handsome little bald heads with curiosity, but the man urged her to hurry, saying they had to get back before sunset and couldn't delay any longer.

The donkey cart traveled a long way off, but Hong Xiaoduo remained standing in place, watching.

That was right; she wanted to buy a donkey cart.

Since the seven children had no stable place to stay, she would have to continue carrying them. She wasn't afraid of walking, but she couldn't bear to see these little ones suffer the exhaustion.

During their idle chats, Tianshu had mentioned that while following that villain, they had to beg everywhere and were always on foot. When the younger ones like Kaiyang grew tired, the older ones would take turns carrying them on their backs.

As for resting, they only stopped when the villain himself grew tired and wanted to rest.

At the thought of that scene, Hong Xiaoduo wanted to return to the place where she first met them and slay that villain.

Liking ancient settings didn't mean she was an expert on ancient prices, which varied across different dynasties.

However, she knew that ancient modes of transportation were essentially limited to horse carriages, ox carts, and donkey carts. As for sedan chairs, they were out of her consideration.

She also knew that horses were vital in ancient times. Given the relatively low level of productivity in ancient society, riding a horse was the fastest mode of transport, and most messages could only be delivered via horse.

Because of this, having enough fast horses was crucial for courier stations, as the timeliness of a message could often have a massive impact.

For nobles and high-ranking officials, the quantity and quality of their horses were also symbols of their prestigious status.

For commoners, horses were not a major concern; they used oxen for plowing and donkeys for carrying goods; even if they could afford a horse, they couldn't maintain one. Furthermore, even if a wealthy and powerful family kept horses, they had to be branded and registered with the local government.

Horse carriages were too expensive and conspicuous, and while ox carts were steady, they were very slow. Therefore, if Hong Xiaoduo wanted to acquire a means of transport, a donkey cart was currently her only option.

After some thought, she took the seven little ones directly to a clothing shop.

Upon seeing them, the shopkeeper auntie hurried to put on the cloth hats she had sewn overnight onto the children's heads.

They were all made of water-blue cotton silk. Once the little bald heads wore them, their already handsome features looked even more refined, like students from an academy.

The auntie, not minding the trouble, called an embroiderer from the back to help adjust the size of the hats.

Since the children were all bald, if the hats didn't fit properly, they could easily blow off in a slight breeze when they went out.

Although the auntie had proactively offered to make them and had emphasized that they were made from scraps and were free, Hong Xiaoduo still asked how much she should pay for the needlework.

The auntie was very firm in refusing, saying that if she insisted on paying, she would take the hats back.

Seeing her resolve, Hong Xiaoduo could only lead the seven children to thank the auntie. Turning around, she noticed padded winter clothes hanging on the racks. "Auntie, has your shop started selling winter clothes?" Hong Xiaoduo stepped forward and asked, touching one.

The shopkeeper auntie came over to respond, "Yes, I started making them over a month ago, and I only just started hanging them in the shop this morning."

"Do you have sizes for all ages?" Hong Xiaoduo asked again.

"We do, we do. Young lady, you aren't planning to buy winter clothes for them right now, are you?" The auntie was somewhat surprised.

It was still over a month before winter arrived, and clothing shops were everywhere as long as one had silver in their purse.

"It's not too early to buy them now. Besides, whether I buy them early or late, I'll have to buy them eventually. It's better to buy them now so I don't have to worry about it; they can wear them immediately when it gets cold and won't fall ill from the chill.

I'll have to trouble you, Auntie, to help us select a set of winter clothes for each of us, as well as shoes and socks.

Just something of medium quality, similar to what we are wearing now; warmth is all that matters," Hong Xiaoduo said.

The auntie was clever and immediately understood the situation. The girl was returning the favor by supporting her business.

She responded repeatedly, calling the manager from behind the counter to come out and help select the padded clothes.

"Mother, are you buying us new clothes again?" little Yaoguang asked joyfully. The other six were also staring at Hong Xiaoduo with excitement.

Hong Xiaoduo smiled. "Yes, but once they are bought, you have to carry them yourselves. Don't complain if they are heavy."

Kaiyang and the others immediately expressed happily that they wouldn't mind the weight and would carry them themselves.

Suddenly, Hong Xiaoduo felt a tug on her sleeve. She turned to see Tianshu, looking as if he wanted to say something but was hesitating.

"What is it? Do you want to pick the style yourself? Or the color? Or do you want something else?" Hong Xiaoduo whispered to him.

Tianshu hesitated for a moment, then tugged on her sleeve and led her toward a corner...