The few rickshaw pullers were drinking merrily, and Ji Zhaoxi chatted with them as she drank.
“Don’t you take a break even in weather this hot?”
The burly man sitting on the outside replied in his gruff voice, “Miss Ji, you don’t know how it is. The hotter the weather, the more people like to order us around.”
They simply enjoyed making people suffer.
Ji Zhaoxi sighed. “Then you can only get a good rest at night.”
The rickshaw puller who had started the conversation snorted. “Miss Ji, you don’t know the half of it. Sometimes they make us work at night too. A few nights ago, we had to move a whole lot of things.”
He glanced at Yongchang Trading House and curled his lip. “The people from that place nearly worked us to death, and then they even docked our pay.”
A business that big was unwilling to pay even a few laborers properly.
Ji Zhaoxi frowned. “A few nights ago?”
The rickshaw puller thought for a moment. “The night of the seventh, wasn’t it?”
The men discussed it for a while, then nodded. “Yes, it was around then.”
Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu both fell silent, listening closely.
Watching Ji Zhaoxi carefully draw information out of them, Fu Xianyan felt that familiar itch in his heart again. He lowered his head, sensing the gu inside his body.
It was a little itchy and a little painful, but not especially uncomfortable.
Ji Zhaoxi asked tentatively, “Do you know what kind of cargo it was?”
Xu Ancheng suddenly choked. Miss Ji really was being that direct.
The rickshaw puller frowned and shook his head. “We don’t know that, but it was extremely heavy. They unloaded it from the back.”
Ji Zhaoxi nodded solemnly and looked at Qin Qiwu and Xu Ancheng across from her.
As long as the two of them understood, that was enough.
After finishing their mung bean soup, the rickshaw pullers had to get back to work. As one of them was leaving, he suddenly handed Ji Zhaoxi several dates.
“Miss Ji, these are dates from our home. My mother asked me to give them to you and ask whether you’d like some more.”
The rickshaw puller scratched his head shyly.
“When I’m done with my work, I’ll go to your house and carry some dates back. Tell your mother not to worry!” Ji Zhaoxi patted her chest.
So that was how he knew her. He was the son of the old woman who sold dates.
She had thought she was famous or something…
Once he saw that no one was nearby, Xu Ancheng suddenly spoke. “The convoy escorting the official silver did pass through here on the seventh.”
That was what had been recorded in the escort logs.
The records stated that it had rained that night, so the convoy had stopped at the post station for several hours.
Qin Qiwu’s expression grew solemn. Combined with Yongchang Trading House, this was no longer a coincidence.
They would have to visit the post station again over the next couple of days and ask some questions.
After returning to the inn, Qin Qiwu and Xu Ancheng got busy once more.
Rain fell outside. Ji Zhaoxi and Fu Xianyan sat at the table playing chess. Fu Xianyan had gone from calm at the beginning to completely numb by the end.
“Can I put this piece here?” Ji Zhaoxi asked hesitantly.
Fu Xianyan said nothing.
“Fu Xianyan.” Ji Zhaoxi looked at him in confusion.
Why wasn’t Fu Xianyan answering her?
Fu Xianyan rubbed his brow. “No.”
Ji Zhaoxi sighed. “All right.”
She picked up the piece and chose another spot. “What about here?”
She looked at Fu Xianyan uncertainly.
Only after Fu Xianyan nodded did Ji Zhaoxi place the piece down with relief.
Fu Xianyan stared silently at the chessboard.
How was this any different from playing chess by himself?
It was Ji Zhaoxi’s turn again.
Ji Zhaoxi pointed to a spot and looked at Fu Xianyan. “Fu Xianyan, can I win if I put it here?”
Fu Xianyan was completely numb by now. “No.”
Ji Zhaoxi humbly asked for advice. “Then where should I put it?”
She was serious about playing chess.
Fu Xianyan suddenly felt like teasing her. He pointed randomly to a spot, and Ji Zhaoxi immediately placed her piece there.
After a few moves, Ji Zhaoxi’s position became increasingly dangerous. Seeing that she remained completely oblivious, Fu Xianyan reminded her, “Miss Ji, you’re about to lose.”
“Oh, oh!” Ji Zhaoxi finally became serious.
She lowered her head and studied the board for a long while before humbly asking, “Fu Xianyan, where should I place my next piece if I want to win?”
Fu Xianyan: “…”
“Miss Ji, your way of playing chess is rather… distinctive.”
Ji Zhaoxi stared at him in surprise. “My father praised me the same way. I’ve played chess like this with him since I was little.”
But after playing for a while, her father would start losing his temper. Her father really had a terrible temper.
Fu Xianyan suddenly understood. No wonder. Ji Zhaoxi’s chess skills had been cultivated from childhood.
In the end, with Fu Xianyan’s help, Ji Zhaoxi finally won.
She leaned back in her chair and took a sip of tea. “Chess is so much fun, though it does take a lot of brainpower. Right, Fu Xianyan?”
Her chess skills were actually pretty good. When she played against other people, she rarely lost.
Fu Xianyan was just about to say something, but when he saw how happy she looked, the words suddenly failed him.
Seeing Fu Xianyan looking at her, Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes curved into a smile. She pulled a sesame flatbread from her bag.
“I promised I’d buy you a flatbread.”
Fu Xianyan was silent for a moment. “You remembered, Miss Ji?”
Ji Zhaoxi nodded. “Of course.”
If Fu Xianyan won, she wouldn’t give him the flatbread. If Fu Xianyan lost, she would give it to him.
Ji Zhaoxi was about to return the money to Fu Xianyan again, but he refused to take it. He only asked her to treat him to a flatbread next time.
The flatbread had a golden-brown crust sprinkled with fine sesame seeds. When she broke it open, layer upon layer of flaky pastry was revealed. The inside was soft and warm, with a faint sweetness.
The flatbread was a local specialty of the county. At first, apart from Ji Zhaoxi, no one else had been particularly interested in it.
Ji Zhaoxi had tried every possible way to convince them, telling them every day how delicious the flatbread was. Only then did the others finally agree to try it.
After that first taste, all four of them began eating flatbread every day.
“Fu Xianyan, once I buy the old lady’s dates, I’ll share some with you too. Her dates are so crisp and sweet.” Ji Zhaoxi munched on her flatbread.
Fu Xianyan glanced at her. “Aren’t all dates supposed to taste the same?”
The last dates she had given him had been shriveled.
Ji Zhaoxi also remembered the dates she had given Fu Xianyan before and coughed awkwardly. “No, they aren’t. The old lady’s dates taste better. They’re crispier and sweeter.”
But she didn’t know how to describe exactly what made them so delicious. She said earnestly, “You’ll know when the time comes.”
They were definitely different from the dates he had eaten before.
Fu Xianyan let out a soft laugh. “I understand, Miss Ji.”
If he kept asking questions, she would probably get angry again.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at Fu Xianyan’s profile, thinking about the days they had spent together.
Fu Xianyan ate flatbread with her, helped her solve cases, and even played chess with her… There were so many things they could do together.
But once the case was over, they might have to part ways.
Ji Zhaoxi nibbled glumly at her flatbread. There were so many delicious foods in the capital that she wanted to recommend to him. He would definitely like them.
But what if he had to return home? Would they still be able to eat flatbread together after that?
Maybe she should just tie him up and take him home with her…
