Chapter 16

Ye Fu thought for a moment. "All right, then I'll give you one. Would you like that?"

"Yes!" the girl said expectantly.

Ye Fu pondered for a moment, then muttered, "This is ancient times, so it should at least feel ancient. And a name ought to have meaning, too. Hmm..." He looked up at the sky. "It's the third month now, so I'll call you Qin Sanyue."

"Qin... Sanyue," she murmured. She was lost in thought for quite a while before she said with a touch of joy, "From now on, my name is Qin Sanyue."

"That's right, Qin Sanyue."

From that day on, the girl had Qin as her surname and Sanyue as her given name.

Ye Fu briefly interrupted Qin Sanyue's delight. "There's one thing I need to explain. Don't call me 'my lord' anymore. My surname is Ye, the Ye in 'falling leaves return to their roots,' and my given name is Fu, the Fu in 'stroking someone's head.' You're an employee I hired and a resident of this house. From now on, call me Boss Ye or Mr. Ye."

Qin Sanyue parted her lips slightly. After a moment, she asked, "Can you put a surname before 'sir'?"

Ye Fu suddenly remembered that here, only learned elders were generally addressed as "sir." He thought it over. He had some learning and counted as an elder, so being called "sir" would work. But then he thought of the "sir" that the young attendant had been so preoccupied with earlier, and felt it would be awkward if he were called that too.

"Then call me Teacher Ye."

"Teacher Ye... teacher... do you teach and pursue scholarship?"

"I wouldn't call it scholarship. But I'm planning to open a small school and teach a few students, right in the empty hall on the left side of the courtyard."

Qin Sanyue's eyes lit up, and she looked at Ye Fu with a hint of admiration.

Ye Fu wondered, Could it be that this girl admires teaching as a profession? That's uncommon in a world where immortal cultivation is the main theme. Most people here aspire to become immortals.

Without thinking further, Ye Fu continued, "Third, now that you're my household nanny, you ought to be clean. Go wash yourself, and when you come back, I'll teach you how to take care of the house." Ye Fu handed her a money pouch he had found inside the house earlier. He had put some copper coins and a silver leaf in it as start-up funds.

He handed the money pouch to Qin Sanyue.

Qin Sanyue took it, and her hand immediately sank under its weight. Her eyes went wide. "Is this all money?" she asked in amazement.

Ye Fu smiled and teased, "Don't worry, there aren't any rocks in it."

Qin Sanyue's heart pounded. She had never seen such a big pouch of money, much less held one in her own hands. In an instant, all sorts of feelings surged into her heart, then all turned to happiness. She suddenly felt so happy.

Ye Fu, however, frowned slightly as he watched her, thinking, She looks like she's going to turn into a little money grubber.

"Don't just stand there. First, go wash your neck and the backs of your hands. You're a girl; don't let people look at you and think you're filthy. Then take the money, buy some fabric, and have a tailor make a few sets of clothes."

"A few sets?" Qin Sanyue asked in all seriousness.

Ye Fu thought for a moment. He had originally planned to have a casual tracksuit made, but the manufacturing standards here really were quite ordinary, so he dropped the idea.

"Three sets. Two for you and one for me."

"I... I get some too?" Qin Sanyue was a little overwhelmed by the favor.

Ye Fu said helplessly, "Look at what you're wearing. I don't want people saying I exploit my employees."

Qin Sanyue didn't quite understand what "employee" meant, but she thought he must be talking about her.

"I've never made clothes before, and I've never asked anyone to make them for me. I don't know what to do." Her face reddened a little as she spoke, because she felt she couldn't do anything and was causing Ye Fu trouble.

"If you don't know how, then learn. Just talking about it won't help." Ye Fu sat on a stone stool, propping up his head. "Go on, go on. This is your job now."

Qin Sanyue looked at the money pouch in her hands and gritted her teeth. "But there's so much money. I'm worried I won't be able to keep it safe and someone will rob me."

Ye Fu thought she had a point. Dressed as she was, with such a frail build, Qin Sanyue would easily draw the wrong kind of attention.

"Give me the money pouch first."

Qin Sanyue handed it over.

Ye Fu took a single copper coin from it and held it in his hand. Qin Sanyue naturally couldn't see the faint light the coin was giving off in his palm. In the space of a breath, he opened his hand to reveal it.

He handed the coin to Qin Sanyue. "Hold this copper coin in your hand, and no one will rob you."

This counted as a small spell. For a certain period of time, anyone who saw the person holding the copper coin would be drawn to them involuntarily and would be unable to harbor any ill intentions.

"Huh?" Qin Sanyue was a little confused.

Ye Fu lay back in the pear tree and smiled. "No need for that. Just do as I say. Trust me, there won't be a problem. First, go wash the places people can see. Pass through the building on the right side of the courtyard and you'll find a rear courtyard with a place to wash. Also, once you enter the building on the right, the third room along the corridor will be where you sleep from now on."

Qin Sanyue pressed her lips together and nodded, then went off as Ye Fu had instructed. She felt Teacher Ye wouldn't fool her; after all, he had been willing to let her stay.

Ye Fu, meanwhile, leaned comfortably against the pear tree, basking in the sun. This, he thought, was the life he wanted.

After he had dozed for a little while, Qin Sanyue came over from the right.

Ye Fu cracked one eye open and took a quick look. Qin Sanyue had done as he said and washed herself thoroughly. There were no visible stains on her body, and she looked much fresher, though the tattered clothes still hanging on her were an eyesore.

"Teacher Ye, I'm heading out."

"Go on, go on." He remembered the shopping list he had made earlier. "Wait." After calling Qin Sanyue to a halt, he took the list out of his little world and handed it to her. "Follow this list and buy what's on it. Buy as much as you can carry for now."

Qin Sanyue stared at the list for a long time before saying, "Teacher Ye, I've never seen any of the characters you wrote." She scratched her head, looking a little embarrassed.