Chapter 13: There is No Such Thing

“Tianshu, where is Lao Liu?” Hong Xiaoduo asked, clearly not having noticed that one of the children was missing.

The job of counting heads daily was always his; what was going on today?

“Huh? Kaiyang? Where is he? He was just by my side a moment ago!” After Tianshu realized what was happening, he also panicked.

The other children grew anxious as well, looking around in every direction.

“Mother, look, Kaiyang is over there.” Tianxuan was the first to spot him, pointing ahead.

Hong Xiaoduo looked in the direction he was pointing and truly saw Kaiyang. He was currently following a man in a brocade robe, bowing repeatedly. They were a bit too far away to hear what he was saying.

However, not only could the other children guess, but even Hong Xiaoduo, who was unfamiliar with begging, understood in an instant.

Kaiyang had seen a wealthy person and was habitually following him to beg!

“Mother, it looks like that person might give him something,” Tianshu whispered.

The other children nodded in agreement.

The children’s eyes were bright; they looked at Hong Xiaoduo and then back toward Kaiyang.

Hong Xiaoduo felt a complex mix of emotions—she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The children were analyzing the situation for her based on their past experience with begging.

“Mother, Brother Kaiyang is so lucky; he should be able to beg for a coin,” Yaoguang, on Hong Xiaoduo’s back, said with barely concealed excitement.

These words made Hong Xiaoduo’s heart ache. The “good luck” they spoke of was the possibility of begging for a single copper coin.

Although she didn't know the techniques of begging, she could see that Kaiyang had been bowing and following that man for quite a distance. If the man were going to give something, he wouldn't be dragging it out like this!

Perhaps the man was intentionally stalling, enjoying the feeling of being begged by a beggar? Or perhaps he didn't want to give anything at all and would only do so eventually because he was annoyed?

Regardless of the situation, Hong Xiaoduo couldn't watch it anymore.

Never mind that she currently had one hundred taels of silver on her—that was one hundred strings of cash, with each string containing a thousand coins.

Even if she were penniless, she wouldn't want the children to continue begging in such a subservient manner.

Seeing the slightly excited expressions of Tianshu and the others, Hong Xiaoduo abandoned the idea of sending them to call Kaiyang and strode toward him instead.

Tianshu and the others realized that their mother didn't seem happy, so they quickly followed.

“Kind sir, please have mercy, give a little something. May you be kind and make a great fortune,” Kaiyang pleaded while bowing.

At the critical moment, he suddenly couldn't move. Kaiyang felt himself lifted off the ground. He turned his head in a panic and saw the person holding his collar—Mother!

Mother’s expression was wrong; she was very stern. Kaiyang didn't dare to make a sound and looked at Tianshu and the others who had followed, his eyes asking what was going on.

Tianshu secretly shook his head, signaling him not to speak.

Looking at the anxious Kaiyang, Hong Xiaoduo couldn't bring herself to scold him. She gently placed him on the ground, told him to keep up and not run around, and then turned to leave.

Tianshu and the others hurried to follow. Kaiyang looked back with regret at the person he had been following for half the day, but they were already out of sight. *Sigh, just a little bit more and that person would have given something!*

Hong Xiaoduo stopped in front of a clothing store. The shop assistant at the door saw them and immediately grabbed a broom to shoo Tianshu and the others away: “Where did these beggars come from? Get away, get away!”

“Akuan, don't be rude.” The shopkeeper inside heard the noise and came out, scolding the assistant.

Hong Xiaoduo had originally wanted to go to another shop because the assistant’s attitude toward the children made her feel that if the staff was unkind, the owner probably wasn't a good person either.

But when she saw the middle-aged shopkeeper’s face, she changed her mind and stood still.

“He’s a new assistant who started yesterday, he doesn't know any better. Please don't take offense, young lady,” the shopkeeper said apologetically to Hong Xiaoduo.

Seeing that Hong Xiaoduo didn't respond, the shopkeeper added, “Young lady, please come inside and take a look. See if there is anything you want. Our shop has a complete range of ready-made clothes, as well as shoes and socks.”

“They are with me. Can they come in?” Hong Xiaoduo asked deliberately.

The implication was clear: if they could enter, she would enter; if not, she would leave.

Regardless, if the shopkeeper said she could enter but the children should stay outside, she wouldn't buy anything, no matter how good the clothes were or how cheap the prices.

“Since they are with you, young lady, they can naturally come in. Please.” The shopkeeper responded without hesitation.

That was more like it. Hong Xiaoduo stepped into the shop.

There were no other customers in the shop at the moment. A woman was organizing items on a rack; she looked back, and although she was a bit surprised, she didn't show any disgust on her face.

The customer was a woman, so the woman stepped forward to serve her: “I don't know what you would like to buy, young lady? We have all kinds of fabrics.”

Tianshu and the others had entered, but they consciously huddled together, trying their best to stay away from the hanging clothes.

“I want to buy full outfits for everyone. One for each of them. Please, ma'am, help them choose. Medium-grade fabric is fine,” Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile, satisfied with the woman’s attitude.

An outfit for everyone? Oh my, a big sale! The woman quickly called out, “Master, come quickly and help choose!”

The assistant from earlier, having been scolded, was still at the door, feeling resentful.

He had been trying to look out for the shop’s business, only to be scolded by the shopkeeper.

Now, hearing that this young lady actually wanted to buy clothes for seven little beggars, he was very surprised, but he subconsciously entered the shop, wanting to help.

“You don't need to come in; there’s nothing for you to do here,” the shopkeeper said, shooing him out.

He was truly afraid that the assistant might lose his patience or show an inappropriate expression, offending the young lady.

“Mother? Are you buying us new clothes too?” Tianquan looked at the shopkeeper measuring him and turned to ask in a low voice.

“Yes, of course. If you don't want to wear new clothes, you don't have to,” Hong Xiaoduo said, deliberately keeping a straight face.

“Mother, Yaoguang wants to wear new clothes.” The little one, who had just been put down and was standing on the floor, was afraid that one of the older siblings would be too sensible and say no, so she spoke up first.

After saying that, she saw her siblings glaring at her and realized she might have done something wrong, so she immediately lowered her head: “Mother, you could also ask the shopkeeper if they have any old clothes for sale? Those should be cheaper, right?”

“Pfft, little girl, we only sell new clothes here. If you don't wear clean clothes, I'm afraid it will be a bit difficult for your... your mother to take you into any shops,” the shopkeeper said. He was very surprised to hear the little beggar call Hong Xiaoduo “Mother,” but having been in business for many years and seen much, he suppressed his curiosity and focused on closing the deal.

“Or, you can choose the colors and styles yourselves,” Hong Xiaoduo said, starting to look at clothes for her own age.

The younger ones, hearing they could choose for themselves, all looked at Tianshu.

“Please help us choose. Just don't make the colors too light,” Tianshu said, acting like a responsible older brother. They had always scavenged for clothes from the donations of kind people, never having worn new clothes, let alone choosing them in a shop. How were they supposed to choose? They didn't know how!

The shopkeeper and his wife knew the sizes of the children without needing a tape measure. They quickly selected outfits for them, along with undergarments, cloth socks, and shoes.

They even wrapped them in cotton cloth separately so the children could carry them.

The children were dirty, so they certainly couldn't change into them right now.

“Young lady, is there nothing in my shop that you like?” The woman, having finished with the children, noticed Hong Xiaoduo hadn't chosen anything yet and stepped forward to ask.

“Ma'am, you can see that I travel often. Wearing a skirt is definitely inconvenient, but I haven't seen anything similar to what I'm wearing,” Hong Xiaoduo said directly.

The woman smiled upon hearing this: “We do, we do. Young lady, come and see. Is it this style?” She led Hong Xiaoduo to a corner.

Hong Xiaoduo reached out and picked it up. It was exactly what she wanted.

It was a dark-patterned cotton-silk fabric, a snow-blue top with a cross-collar, and loose, clove-colored lantern pants. She held them up to herself, and the size and length were just right.

“Ma'am, I'll take this set.” Hong Xiaoduo was very satisfied. Choosing shoes, socks, and undergarments was much simpler.

She looked back at the little ones, each holding a bulging cloth bag, their mouths pursed as if they wanted to smile but didn't dare.

Hong Xiaoduo asked the shopkeeper to settle the bill. She didn't intend to haggle; through their brief interaction, she was certain this couple wasn't the type of unscrupulous merchants.

The shopkeeper used his abacus, clattering away, then looked up and told her: “Young lady, the total is three taels and eight qian. Since you bought so much, how about I charge you three taels and six qian?”

“Good, thank you, shopkeeper,” Hong Xiaoduo replied.

She did a quick calculation in her head. One adult and seven children, from top to bottom, inside and out—three taels and six qian was very cheap. And these weren't even the cheapest fabrics.

One tael of silver could be exchanged for ten qian, and one qian was one hundred copper coins.

The shopkeeper had given a discount of two qian, which was two hundred copper coins. She had asked Tianshu earlier, and meat buns cost two coins each. In other words, the shopkeeper had given her a discount equivalent to one hundred meat buns for the children.

*Sigh*, just think, on the street earlier, Kaiyang had bowed and pleaded for so long, all for a single copper coin!

“May I ask, ma'am, which inn in town is better? I mean in terms of their attitude, because, well, us...” After paying and putting away the change, Hong Xiaoduo remembered to ask.

“The shopkeepers of the three inns in town are all quite decent, but... I'm afraid they might not be able to stay there,” the shopkeeper told her.

Hong Xiaoduo was stunned: “Why?”

“Young lady, you must have a travel permit since you are traveling, but they probably don't, right? Inns have to register in a guest ledger, and the government checks them often,” the shopkeeper added.

He thought to himself, *She’s young, she probably didn't consider that.*

A travel permit? Hong Xiaoduo was dumbfounded. She vaguely remembered that a travel permit was like a passport in ancient times; in some places, you had to go to the local government office to get one if you traveled more than ten miles from home.

She didn't seem to have one on her, and the seven children certainly wouldn't have one. What was she going to do...