Gu Moran looked up and asked, "Who wrote those words?"
Boss Zhao said, "The old scholar from the coffin shop at the street corner."
Uncle Fu's hand, which was about to add tea, froze in mid-air.
Gu Moran looked at Boss Zhao.
Boss Zhao felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze and quickly added a comment.
"Your Highness, that man is firm in his speech, doesn't charge much, and keeps his mouth shut. He usually writes funeral couplets for people, and his hand is steady."
Gu Moran said, "Find someone from the coffin shop and have them write a plaque for the martial arts school."
Boss Zhao chuckled dryly, "This... is cheap."
Uncle Fu placed the teapot on the tray, and the porcelain bottom made a soft sound as it tapped.
Gu Moran nodded and said, "Alright, Ye Qingyun has a connection with this plaque."
Boss Zhao lowered his head, his shoulders trembled, and he didn't dare to laugh out loud.
Uncle Fu placed the teacup beside the desk and said, "Your Highness, tea."
Gu Moran didn't touch the tea; her fingertips pressed against the corner of the booklet.
"Let's get down to business first. Where are the three instructors?"
Boss Zhao immediately said, " Liu Laosan has arrived. He has an old leg injury, but that won't prevent him from teaching stance training."
Gu Moran, "Is your leg injury serious?"
Boss Zhao said, "No problem. He said it's enough to teach a group of beginners."
Gu Moran said, "Next."
Boss Zhao said, " Ma Liu, he's been with the border army's supply corps, knows how to play the game, knows his limits, but has a sharp tongue."
Gu Moran raised her eyes slightly.
Boss Zhao changed his tune. "You have a really sharp tongue."
Gu Moran said, "He's a perfect match for Ye Qingyun."
Boss Zhao said, "That's what I think too. The third one is Sun Kui, the blacksmith who teaches spear and club fighting."
Last night, I complained that the ground was uneven, so I carried a hoe and leveled it myself for half the night.
Uncle Fu nodded. "You're observant."
Boss Zhao said, "He was quite happy, saying it was easier than blacksmithing, and he could finally help his benefactor with some work."
Gu Moran opened the booklet that Boss Zhao handed her. The corners of the booklet were damp with sweat, and there were a few ink spots on the paper.
How many apprentices have arrived?
Boss Zhao said, "Twenty-seven."
Gu Moran asked, "Are there any scholars here?"
Boss Zhao said, "No. They're all roughnecks, porters, water carriers, manure carriers, dockworkers, and a few junior apprentices from the security escort agency."
Gu Moran closed the booklet and said, "Very good."
Boss Zhao couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, would Ye Qingyun possibly be interested in this group of people?"
Gu Moran picked up the teacup, the steam rising along the bandage on his arm, the bitter medicine smell mingling with the aroma of tea.
He took a sip, then put it down.
" Zhao Si, Ye Qingyun just lost face at the poetry gathering."
Boss Zhao replied, "I understand."
Gu Moran said, "The literary world won't be praising him these next few days."
Uncle Fu put the teapot back on the tray and added, "His Highness means that the more ordinary the people at the Dragon Abyss Martial Arts School are, the more he wants to show off his skills."
Gu Moran, "He'll look down on it first."
Boss Zhao replied, "They don't like it, but they can't bear to leave."
Uncle Fu said, "Because as soon as he makes a move, people will fawn over him; nobody doesn't crave the feeling of being the center of attention."
Gu Moran chuckled.
" Uncle Fu, Zhao Si, if you two keep chatting, I can go back to my room and go to sleep."
Boss Zhao quickly bowed his head and said, "I'll go keep an eye on it right away."
Gu Moran up.
This morning I first went to Lin Qingdai's place to get beaten up, and then went to Murong Xue's place to hide from her knives.
With this little bit of space left, we can watch how Ye Qingyun takes the bait.
"Let's go, I'll go see what's going on."
Uncle Fu immediately saw through his thoughts and frowned, saying, "Your Highness is leaving the manor?"
"If Madam Lin knew, she would worry and want to do even more practice."
Gu Moran took the old bamboo hat. "So don't let her know."
Uncle Fu handed over a set of old clothes.
"Your Highness, please remember to speak as little as possible."
Boss Zhao added from the side, "Also, Your Highness, the tea stalls in the south of the city don't accept silver ingots, they only accept copper coins."
After saying that, he took out a string of copper coins from his sleeve.
"I'm really afraid you'll spend ten taels of silver to buy three coins' worth of tea again, attracting everyone's attention."
Gu Moran took the copper coin and remained silent for a moment.
" Boss Zhao, your monthly pay will be doubled."
Boss Zhao cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
The south side of the city is crowded in the afternoon.
The smells of cooking oil, sweat, and muddy straw sandals mingled on the street, making it unbearably noisy.
There was a queue in front of the Dragon Abyss Martial Arts School.
A new plaque with black background and white characters hung on the door. The characters were indeed written in a strong, rigid style, with a stiffness that comes from working in a funeral parlor.
A wooden sign stands by the door.
We don't care about background, we only care about qualifications.
Liu Laosan stood at the door, leaning on a wooden cane. His legs were bad, but he still commanded respect.
A boy carrying water was halfway through practicing his horse stance when he sat down on the ground.
Several porters nearby laughed.
Liu Laosan tapped the ground with a wooden stick.
"What are you laughing at?"
The porters immediately shut up.
Liu Laosan bent down and lifted the boy up.
"It's not shameful to be able to stand for half a cup of tea the first time."
The boy's face flushed red. "Instructor, I can still stand."
Liu Laosan handed him a bowl of meat porridge.
"Look at you, so weak. Drink first."
The boy held the bowl, staring at the minced meat inside, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"You really want me to drink it?"
Liu Laosan said, "If we don't drink it, are we saving it to offer to our ancestors?"
Laughter broke out again at the doorway.
The boy smiled, lowered his head and blew on the porridge. The steam hit his face, making his eyes a little red.
Gu Moran sat at a tea stall across the street, his straw hat pulled low. Upon hearing this, he mentally added two taels to Liu Laosan's monthly allowance.
Boss Zhao sat at another table, pretending to be a leisurely man drinking tea.
The tea stall owner brought over some coarse tea.
"Sir, three coins."
When Gu Moran touched the money, her fingertips touched the loose silver first.
The image of buying three coins' worth of tea for ten taels of silver had barely formed in my mind when Zhao Si's hesitant face, as if he wanted to say something, squeezed into my head.
He exchanged it for copper coins and placed them on the table.
The tea stall owner took the money and left without giving him a second glance.
Inside the martial arts school, Ma Liu was teaching three teenagers how to punch.
He had an old leather belt around his waist and a straw in his mouth.
"Don't throw your punch."
Are you hitting someone, or herding ducks?
A boy blushed and said, "Instructor, I've never herded ducks before."
Ma Liu spat the grass stalks aside.
"Then you're at an even greater disadvantage; even a duck wouldn't want to take your punch."
The people around burst into laughter.
Sun Kui walked over carrying a wooden stick and poked the boy's knee with the end of the stick.
"Sink down."
The boy quickly did as instructed.
Sun Kui said, "If you can't stand still, even if you throw a punch, you'll be pushed back into your mother's womb."
Ma Liu glanced at him sideways.
How come you're even more sarcastic than me?
Sun Kui said, "I'm a blacksmith, I only tell the truth."
Gu Moran took a sip of coarse tea and silently increased their monthly allowance in his mind.
These three retired veterans taught the survival skills that people at the bottom of society lacked most.
Hurried footsteps came from the street corner.
Shuhe stopped at the alley entrance, holding an oil paper bag in his hand, his eyes first falling on the meat porridge bucket.
He looked into the martial arts school.
Ma Liu forced a dock boy to retreat with a single punch.
The boy took three steps back, his heel tripped on the threshold, and he almost sat down.
Ma Liu tossed him the wooden boxing gloves.
"Again."
The boy gritted his teeth and caught it.
"Let's do it again!"
Liu Laosan said, "Don't let your feet wander. It's okay to embarrass yourself, but don't do it twice, or you'll never get a wife."
There was laughter at the doorway, and the aroma of meat porridge wafted from the bucket beside it.
Shuhe swallowed hard and looked down at his oil paper bag.
He couldn't understand it either.
Ever since his defeat at the poetry competition, he's suddenly become arrogant.
He refused money offered by others twice, insisting that he needed to prove himself first.
With the little money left, we can't even afford meat buns.
Young master, you are indeed aloof and extraordinary.
But if she followed him, she would only go hungry.
Today's meal consists of only these two sesame seed cakes.
Boss Zhao lowered his voice on the other side of the tea stall.
"Your Highness, Shuhe has arrived."
Gu Moran said, "I saw it."
Shuhe stood there for a long time.
A porter squatted on the doorstep, eating porridge while holding a bowl of it, his forehead covered in sweat.
Another water carrier boasted, " Instructor Liu said my legs are steady, so I can learn the second move tomorrow."
The porter retorted, "What are you talking about? Who was sitting on the ground just now?"
The water carrier said, "Sitting on the ground is better than being herded like a duck by your fists."
The porter said, "Instructor Ma said I can still be saved tomorrow, and if I stand firm, he'll give me an extra bowl of porridge tomorrow."
The water carrier said, "That person is really kind."
After they finished speaking, they burst into laughter again.
Shuhe looked at them, the oil paper bag in her hand slowly drooped, and then she turned and ran.
Boss Zhao asked, "Shall we go with it?"