Li Banfeng had the Carriage Driver take the cart to a patch of wilderness in Outer Valley and unload the goods.
Chunsheng had paid the carriage fare in full earlier, so the Carriage Driver asked no questions. He set the cartload of belongings by the edge of the woods, then drove away.
After checking that no one was around, Li Banfeng strained every sinew and hauled the four-poster wooden bed onto his shoulders.
A Travel Cultivator's carrying capacity really was nothing to scoff at. Even with such a large wooden bed on his back, Li Banfeng still had a hand free to take out the key.
This solid wood bed was truly heavy.
That clerk named Chunsheng had been able to load the large bed onto the carriage alone. He clearly was no ordinary man either.
Li Banfeng carried the bed into the Portable Abode. The Portable Abode itself was not large, only six or seven square meters. With a meter-and-a-half-wide bed inside, the space became a little cramped.
Li Banfeng carried in the phonograph as well, considering where to put it.
Across from the bed, so he could listen to music while lying down?
Enjoying the beauty of the music while watching steam billow out did sound rather pleasant.
But once a song ended, he would have to get out of bed to change the record. Once the two cups of water boiled dry, he would have to get out of bed to refill them.
Getting out of bed again and again while listening to music would take some of the charm out of it.
Li Banfeng placed the phonograph beside the bed. While lying down, he could reach out and change the record, add water, put out the fire, or wind it up without leaving the bed.
That was a good idea. It was settled, then.
After moving the phonograph and making the bed, he dusted things with the Feather Duster. He folded the clothes the boss had given him neatly and set them beside his backpack for the time being.
There were still many things to buy: a wardrobe, a cabinet for sundries, a set of tables and chairs...
Li Banfeng's eyelids grew heavy. He was feeling sleepy.
After coming down the mountain, he and Qin Xiaopang had rested at an inn for a day before returning to Inner Gully. It was only just past dusk, with night having just fallen. By rights, Li Banfeng should not have been this exhausted.
Could the lingering poison in his body still be uncleared?
That should not be possible! Wasn't a House Cultivator supposed to recover the fastest?
No matter how tired he was, he still had to go see Xiaopang. After being in this place for so long, if there was one person who counted as Li Banfeng's friend, it truly had to be Qin Xiaopang.
When he reached the Steamed Bun Shop at the street corner, Qin Xiaopang was still wolfing down food. Several stacks of bamboo steamers had already piled up beside the table.
"Why did you take so long?" Qin Xiaopang asked, his mouth stuffed with buns and his words somewhat muffled.
"I discussed the price with Steward Feng." Li Banfeng pulled over a chair and sat down, telling the shopkeeper to bring out two more steamers of buns.
The Steamed Bun Shop was small, but its buns were exquisitely made. The beef-filled ones burst with fresh broth at a gentle suck after one bite. Paired with two cloves of garlic mashed to a pulp, it was authentic food at its simplest and purest.
Li Banfeng ordered a pot of wine. He had no idea which wine in this shop tasted best, and he had never heard of any of the wines here. He simply told the waiter to bring out their finest.
Qin Xiaopang felt a little pained. His pills had not yet been sold, and even wine from a Steamed Bun Shop was rather extravagant for him.
"Brother Qin, no need to worry. This meal is on me." Li Banfeng poured himself a cup and took a small sip. The wine was strong; he let it brew in his mouth for quite a while before swallowing.
Seeing Li Banfeng being so generous, Qin Xiaopang lowered his voice. "What price did you sell them for?"
Li Banfeng held up a hand. "Six thousand."
There was no need to hide it from Qin Xiaopang. If he wanted to sell goods through Steward Feng in the future, that would probably be the price as well.
Qin Xiaopang shook his head at once. "Brother Li, it's not that I want to criticize you, but you sold them too cheaply. These are no ordinary things. You truly don't know the ropes here."
"What ropes?"
It was already late, and there was no one else in the Steamed Bun Shop. Qin Xiaopang lowered his voice to the barest whisper. "I ran into an acquaintance here just now and asked around about market prices. I really did find something out.
The wealthy families of Pro State buy pills by the hundreds and thousands every year. At the end of the year, they specifically reward them to descendants who have rendered merit to the family.
A whole family struggles desperately throughout the year, all wanting to earn a few more pills in exchange for cultivation. But what if someone has no merit to their name? Then they have to spend a high price to buy them on the market.
Market prices are different from pharmacy prices. If a pharmacy sells one for ten thousand, the market price is at least twelve thousand. Fifteen thousand, eighteen thousand, even twenty thousand—those all exist. You sold yours for only six thousand. You truly took a loss."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "If these pills can be sold, they are money. If they can't be sold, what use are they staying with me? I'm not short on those few days of cultivation, and I don't know any wealthy young masters."
Qin Xiaopang took a sip of wine. "How about this? Once we rest and recover for two days, I'll take you around Medicine King Gully. We can't get close to people who are too wealthy, but I know quite a few young masters from modestly rich families."
Li Banfeng ate a bun and smiled. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm going back to Yuezhou tomorrow."
"Yuezhou?" Qin Xiaopang had never heard that place name.
"Yuezhou is a place in the Outer State. It's where I came from."
"You're going back already? So soon?" Xiaopang was somewhat disappointed. After eating two more buns, though, he seemed to come to terms with it.
"That makes sense. You came from the Outer State and have seen the world. Naturally, you wouldn't think much of a place like Pro State.
One day, I'll go see the Outer State too. Such a good place—if I never go there, this life would have been lived in vain."
Such a good place?
Was Yuezhou a good place?
Li Banfeng felt Yuezhou truly was a good place, but if he had to say exactly what made it good, he could not put it into words.
They ate until the Steamed Bun Shop closed, then bade each other farewell.
Qin Xiaopang said, "You know where my home is. When you come to Pro State again, you must come find me."
The effects of the wine gradually rose, and with exhaustion filling his body, Li Banfeng lay on the bed, about to fall asleep.
Yet simply going to sleep like this felt as though he had forgotten to do something.
Had he not walked twenty li today?
He had.
Then what else was there to do?
Li Banfeng propped himself half upright, took out the crank handle, inserted it into the phonograph, and wound the spring tight.
So this was what was missing. What he lacked was music before sleep.
He specially chose a record. It was wrapped in stiff paper, which bore a painted cover.
The cover showed a field of red and yellow flowers, with a long-skirted woman dancing gracefully in their midst.
Li Banfeng pulled out the record, placed it on the phonograph platter, and flipped the switch. Amid crackling background noise, the phonograph began to sing beautifully:
"The southern breeze blows cool!
"The nightingale sings softly!
"The flowers beneath the moon have all entered dreams; only the tuberose breathes out its fragrance!"
"Tuberose"!
He had heard this song before, yet had never liked it as much as he did tonight.
Before the song had even finished playing, Li Banfeng had already drifted into dreamland.
He had used the spring. The reason he had not used the steam engine was that he feared he might fall asleep at any moment.
With the spring, he did not need to worry about putting out the fire. Li Banfeng went to sleep without a care in the world.
"I sing for you, I pine for you, tuberose~~"
The song ended.
The needle reached the end.
The spring fully unwound, and the phonograph stopped.
Within the pitch-black Portable Abode, only Li Banfeng's even, deep breathing remained.
Splash, splash, splash~
The phonograph made the sound of water, as though someone were pouring water into its horn.
Sssht~
A match struck to life, lighting the wick in the fuel tank.
Sssht~ Sssht~ Sssht~
Puffs of mist sprayed from the small horn on the right, and the phonograph platter began to turn slowly.
The needle was nudged back to the starting position. Amid the crackling background noise, the phonograph began singing once more:
"At the ends of the earth, at the corners of the sea,
"Searching, searching for a kindred soul,
"Little sister sings while brother plays the lute,
"Brother, you and I are of one heart!"
The beautiful singing lingered endlessly within the Portable Abode.
Hiss, hiss, hiss~
The petals of the Copper Lotus slowly opened, and a whirlwind rose within the Lotus Heart.
The whirlwind swept over the phonograph, making its singing go slightly off-key.
After more than ten seconds, the singing slowly steadied again.
The Copper Lotus petals trembled several times, then closed once more.
The phonograph continued singing its sweet tune:
"In life, who does not cherish youth?
"Little sister is like thread, brother is like a needle,
"Brother, stitched together, we shall never part!"
Amid the song, Li Banfeng slept soundly, a blissful smile always on his face.
PS: Everyone has kept asking whether this book has a female lead. Salad is telling you: yes, she's here! She has arrived, billowing steam.
(End of chapter)
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