A Trip to the Silver Shop

The number of students admitted each year is not large, and many do not live in the academy, so the dormitories are quite spacious, with all rooms being double rooms.

Xu Xi entered the room and found that it was sunny because it faced south. The room was quite large, about 30 or 40 square meters. There were two beds on either side of the wall, separated by a wardrobe, creating two separate spaces. In addition to the wardrobe, each person also had a desk and a bookshelf.

In addition, there were several chairs and an eight-immortal table in the common area, with a teapot and several cups on the table, presumably for entertaining guests.

The whole room was clean and tidy; the furniture was all natural wood color, and the sheets and duvet covers were all light blue—yes, you didn't have to get your bedding yourself; it was already laid out on the dormitory bed.

Seeing this modern dormitory, Xu Xi almost burst into tears.

Damn it, she missed her beautifully furnished two-bedroom apartment so much. Although it was a tiny place, the comfort of life there was incomparable to any ancient house.

"Go left through the corridor to the end, and you'll find the outhouse; next to it is the bathhouse. The dining hall is just outside this courtyard, a few steps east." After explaining, Shimo smiled and said to Xu Xi, "Then pack your things and let us know when you leave the academy." He nodded to Xu Xue and prepared to leave.

Xu Xi quickly handed over the bundle she was carrying. "This contains a box of pastries, sister. Please have a taste. If you consider me your sister, please don't stand on ceremony. I'll need your help in the future."

"It's inconvenient; it wouldn't be good if someone saw us," Shimo declined.

"Didn't you just say there's a place for you to rest in the academy? You can take it to your room and eat it when you have time. Don't worry, it was just made this morning, it's very fresh, it won't spoil even after half a day."

Shimo hesitated for a moment, then accepted it, his smile growing even more genuine, "Then I won't be polite."

After seeing Shimo off, Xu Xi looked around the dormitory, took out a red embroidered handkerchief from her bosom, placed it on the bed, covered it with a pillow, and let a bright corner of it show.

She stood up. "Let's go outside. Your parents are probably waiting at the door."

Xu Xue was taken aback. "Wait for us? When did they say that?"

"I just slipped a note to your mother, telling her to come pick us up in about the time it takes to eat a meal."

The two went outside and saw Madam Xie already standing at the door, smiling and talking to the old woman guarding the gate. Xu Xi greeted Madam Chen and the Madam Chen, then quickly pulled Xu Xue over.

"Mother." Xu Xue ran over and took Madam Xie's arm.

Fearing that Xu Xi might overthink things, Madam Xie quickly reached out and grabbed her hand, smiling, "Let's go, I'll take you to buy some necessities." As she spoke, she thanked the old woman guarding the gate, and pulled the two of them outside to meet up with Xu Yongyi, who was waiting not far away.

"Uncle, could you call me a mule cart? If you have something to do, go ahead and do your work," Xu Xi said to Xu Yongyi, then turned to Madam Xie, "Aunt, could you come with me to the jewelry store?"

Xu Xue's eyes lit up, and she asked Xu Xi, "Are you going to sell the jewelry design you drew the other day?"

"Yes." Xu Xi smiled at Xu Yongyi and Madam Xie, who were puzzled. "Uncle, Aunt, I'll explain this to you when we get home."

Xu Yongyi waved to the mule cart waiting for customers at the street corner and said, "I'm worried about you three going alone, so I'll go with you." He then asked Xu Xi, "Are we going to the Prosperous and Bright Pavilion we visited the other day?"

"No, let's go to the biggest one in the county Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion," Xu Xi said.

The four of them boarded the mule cart, and Xu Yongyi and Madam Xie asked Xu Xi what he wanted to sell. When they learned that Xu Xi had drawn a design for jewelry and wanted to sell it for money, the couple exchanged a glance and fell silent.

After a while, Xu Yongyi said, "Xi... Miss Xi."

Xu Xi interrupted him, "Just call me Xiaoxi."

In modern times, her classmates and friends all called her that. But after coming to ancient times, she heard Xu Yongyi and his wife call her Miss Xi, which she wasn't used to, but she didn't say anything. Now that she was going to change how they addressed her, she might as well change it to this.

Seeing Xu Yongyi hesitate, she said, "No matter what, I am an adopted daughter of the Xu Family. You are my elders, so isn't it only right that you call me Xiaoxi?"

Xu Yongyi was Gao Xing even though she had changed her identity, she was still close to her family, so he readily agreed, "Alright, from now on we'll call you Miss Xi in public, and Xiaoxi in private."

Seeing that Xu Xi had no objections, he then said, "You're going into the jewelry store later, dressed like this, without a servant or two with you. It doesn't look right at all. How about your aunt dresses up as an old woman, Xiaoxue as a maid, and I'll act as a coachman and wait for you at the door? What do you think?"

Xu Xi's studies at the Women's Academy represent the face of the Marquis's mansion. Before she left today, the old lady had specifically checked her attire. Although she wasn't dressed extravagantly today, she still wore her most valuable hairpins, earrings, and bracelets; her clothes were also the best set made by the Marquis's embroiderers, and the embroidery on the dress could be sold separately for more than ten taels of silver.

Anyway, Xu Xi's outfit clearly showed that she was a young lady from a wealthy and powerful family.

Xu Xi knew that no matter the era, people always respected clothes before they respected people, so she didn't insist on dressing shabbily. She not only wanted to use this outfit to stay in a better dormitory, but she also hoped to use it to make a good impression and earn her first pot of gold.

Xu Xue also wore a new outfit today, but the Xu Family's circumstances were only so-so. Madam Xie gritted her teeth and made her two sets of silk clothes, but the fabric was naturally far inferior to Xu Xi's. Anyone with a discerning eye could immediately see the difference in the materials of the two garments. In addition, the most valuable things she wore were a silver hairpin and a pair of jade bracelets of poor quality that Madam Xie had given her as part of her dowry. They were not even in the same league as the jewelry Xu Xi wore.

Xu Yongyi and Madam Xie came specifically to send their daughter and Xu Xi to school. Although they were wearing their best clothes, the fabric was fine and they were neither new nor old. Madam Xie didn't even have a decent piece of jewelry.

Therefore, when the four of them stood there, they didn't look like a family; they clearly had a master-servant relationship.

Xu Xue glanced at her and Xu Xi's clothes and quickly nodded.

Madam Xie said, "I don't quite understand what you mean by selling that picture. But if you say I'm your aunt and Xiaoxue is your sister, the shopkeeper might think you stole the clothes from somewhere and are just trying to scam people."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xue burst out laughing and nodded vigorously, completely oblivious to the situation. "Yes, yes, my mother is absolutely right. Just thinking about that makes me want to laugh."

Xu Xi did have this intention, but she couldn't say it herself, otherwise she would upset the Xu Family. She originally planned to have Xu Xue accompany her inside the jewelry store, while the Xu Family couple waited at the entrance.