"Here you are, sir. Keep it safe!"
Yi Shuyuan dispensed with further niceties, paid without hesitation, then turned to leave.
The fan vendor accepted the money with a smile and kept calling warmly after Yi Shuyuan as he walked away.
"Come again! If there's any particular fan you want, be sure to tell me. I'll get it for you, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Yi Shuyuan waved without looking back. A fan guaranteed to satisfy him? Few people in this world could likely procure such a thing.
Rather than hurry back to the County Office, Yi Shuyuan strolled leisurely along the street, taking in the sights as he slowly opened the fan in his hand.
The fan had sixteen slender ribs and two thick outer guards, making it one of the most common kinds at the stall.
Each slender rib extended between two layers of paper. As he walked, Yi Shuyuan raised the half-open fan against the daylight, allowing him to see every detail of its construction.
Each rib had been polished just right. Folded together, they formed a smooth handle that did not scrape his hand at all, with a small iron pin at the base serving as the pivot.
Sturdy yet finely made. It was worth forty-five copper coins.
Rumble...
Just then, a muffled peal of thunder sounded faintly overhead.
Following some instinct, Yi Shuyuan lowered the fan from his eyes and looked up. The sky had already darkened, and a streak of rainbow light seemed to flash briefly across the clouds.
A heavenly god bringing rain?
Yi Shuyuan now knew something of the heavenly gods. He understood that the deities above did not defy heaven's will and followed the course of the four seasons.
As the seasons and weather changed, they acted in accordance with heaven's