Chapter 19: Another Harvest

Chapter 19: Another Fleece

"Hey, Zitao, I must say, you really have no sense of chivalry. Just because someone carries a sword at their waist, they’re a martial arts heroine? By that logic, since you aren't carrying a sword or a saber right now, does that make you nothing more than a gentle, weak-willed scholar?" The man who had been stopped retorted to his companion, though he didn't continue walking. Instead, he sat back down and looked outside.

If one were to say that the young lady was taking the little monk from the temple out for a stroll, there were also two bald little girls in the mix.

Had she kidnapped a little monk first, and then gone on to kidnap little nuns? And did she specifically pick the good-looking ones to kidnap? Otherwise, whose children would have their heads shaved bald?

This was truly the first time seeing such a scene; it was a rarity!

Zitao, who had been mocked as a weak scholar, did indeed look refined and harmless. Hearing this, he ignored his friend and kept his eyes fixed outside the window.

From his perspective, he couldn't see any martial prowess in the young lady. She just looked quite beautiful, with an air of sharpness and spirit about her.

Even when blocked by a playboy, there wasn't a hint of fear on her face—only anger. And those seven little bald heads were all quite angry too. Interesting.

Hong Xiaoduo and the seven children: Who wouldn't be angry? A steamed bun shop! Meat buns! We’re so hungry! You try it and see!

"A word of advice: I am very hungry right now, and when I'm hungry, my temper isn't very good," Hong Xiaoduo warned, suppressing her rising fury.

"Oh my, oh my, big brother is so scared. Come on, show me that temper, let me hear if it sounds sweet?" The young dandy hadn't sensed the danger at all.

Hong Xiaoduo looked at the punchable brat and calculated: If she beat him up now and quickly ate her buns, he probably wouldn't be able to bring reinforcements before she finished eating, right?

Why was her luck so bad? She had finally resolved the trouble with that kid A-Kuan and managed to check into an inn smoothly. She had planned to have a full meal, go back to sleep well, and think about the future after waking up.

And yet, the buns were right there, visible but unreachable?

If she really dealt with this guy, what about the subsequent trouble? Would she still end up in the magistrate's office?

Wait, that's it—the yamen bailiffs!

Hong Xiaoduo had a flash of inspiration. "If you want to take us out to play, you need to ask someone first to see if they agree. If he says yes, I have no objections."

The dandy didn't expect her to say this and asked subconsciously, "Who?"

"Bailiff Jin Hu at the yamen. Go ask him. I won't go far; I'll be right here eating buns," Hong Xiaoduo told him.

It would be a waste not to lean on a ready-made pillar of support.

This dandy didn't look like someone with much power. Could Bailiff Jin Hu keep him in check? He should be able to, right?

"Bailiff Jin? May I ask what the young lady is to him?" The dandy was indeed a bit panicked, and Hong Xiaoduo breathed a sigh of relief.

Hong Xiaoduo gave the man a flamboyant glance and smirked. "As for what I am to him, why don't you go ask him yourself?"

She was telling him bluntly: *Yes, I am scamming you, go ask him quickly!*

The more she acted this way, the less confident the dandy felt. His family had some money, but they weren't the type to offend the yamen's bailiffs.

As the saying goes, the King of Hell is easy to meet, but the little devils are hard to deal with. Everyone knew you shouldn't easily offend anyone from the yamen, even the gatekeeper.

"Well, um, I meant no offense. I was just joking with the young lady. Farewell, farewell." After saying this, the dandy wanted to leave quickly.

But seeing the young lady smile slightly, he felt a sense of foreboding.

"Wait, you should still go to the yamen and find Bailiff Jin. I just remembered I didn't bring any silver, and I'm about to eat buns with them. You can just do me a favor and tell Bailiff Jin to give you some money for these buns. Much obliged." Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the dandy breathed a sigh of relief. He fumbled through his purse, pulled out two silver pieces, placed them on the bun shop table, shouted to the shopkeeper, "That's for the young lady's buns," and hurried away.

"Little ones, someone is treating us to buns. Come, come, sit down and eat slowly." Having avoided being harassed and even managing to fleece someone, Hong Xiaoduo happily beckoned them over.

She led them to the tables outside the bun shop, splitting them between two tables.

The bun shop waiter hurried over. Hong Xiaoduo ordered a steamer of meat buns first and asked him to bring eight bowls of wontons.

"Be careful, it's hot. Eat slowly, no rush, and don't eat too much," she reminded the children, who were smacking their lips but afraid to reach out.

Seeing this, the waiter hurried over to help, first placing buns onto the children's plates.

"Thank you, young man," Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile.

The freshly steamed meat buns were fluffy, plump, and steaming hot. The children didn't know how to start.

They had seen bad people eat meat buns—freshly steamed ones, bought with money they had begged for so hard—but they could only watch longingly as the men took huge bites, meat juices dripping from their mouths.

Now, they truly hadn't dreamed that they would have meat buns of their own to eat.

The seven children stared at Hong Xiaoduo. Seeing her take the first bite, they followed suit, blowing on their buns and taking cautious nibbles.

The hot bun entered their mouths, and they smelled the fragrance of the meat filling. It was so fragrant, so delicious. So this was what a meat bun tasted like.

Hong Xiaoduo had expected the children to wolf them down since they rarely got to eat meat, and she was worried they would burn or choke themselves. But to her surprise, she was the one with the least refined manners, finishing a bun in three bites.

She smiled at the children, and they smiled back at her. The buns were delicious, and the people were even happier.

The two men in the tea house across the street couldn't help but laugh as they watched.

"Tell me, Secretary Dong, how is it that I didn't know the bailiffs in your town's little yamen were so formidable? That they could be used as a tiger's skin to scare people? Is that young lady some relative of his?" Zitao asked meaningfully.

The young Secretary Dong was also puzzled. "That can't be right. Bailiff Jin is a flexible man, but he never does anything out of line. Besides, he doesn't seem to have any family or relatives here. Even if he did, I'm at the yamen all day; I should know about it."

"Zitao, you're the sharp one. You knew at a glance that the young lady wouldn't be the one to suffer. Instead, that useless, flamboyant brat—how could he be so easily scared? He failed to harass the lady and ended up being extorted for silver to buy them meat buns, and she won't even be grateful to him," Secretary Dong said, feeling it was truly incredible.

Zitao thought for a moment, sipped his tea, and added, "If I'm not mistaken, the young lady and Bailiff Jin are likely just acquaintances, not necessarily relatives."

"No way. Then how did she dare? I don't really believe that. What if that brat really goes to ask? Wouldn't the ruse be exposed?" Secretary Dong was skeptical.

Zitao shook his head and chuckled. "With a brain like yours, how did you ever become a secretary? If Magistrate Qi has a secretary like you, I'm afraid he'll never have a chance at a promotion in this lifetime. If things go poorly, he might not even be able to keep his ninth-rank sesame official's hat."

"Tch, others might not know, but you know perfectly well why I ended up as this secretary. It was because I caused trouble in the capital two years ago, and my grandfather sent me here," Secretary Dong said, feeling aggrieved.

Seeing that his casual remark had upset his companion, Zitao raised an eyebrow. "Don't be sad. That matter will blow over in a year or so, and then you can go back and be the 'Little Tyrant of the Capital' once again. Now, do you want to go back and ask Bailiff Jin what his relationship with this young lady really is?"