Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 14: The Willful, Scheming Little Loli
As the sun set in the west, the creak of carriage wheels sounded along the distant muddy road. Grand Uncle’s family and Great-aunt’s family gradually disappeared from sight beneath the reluctant gazes of the Zhu household, while Grandfather remained standing at the gate, staring after the departing carriage.
Of course, Zhu Ping’an did not share their sorrow at parting. He felt his bulging pockets and grinned broadly. Having money in his pocket made him feel wonderfully secure.
Chen was also eyeing Zhu Ping’an’s bulging pockets, her eyes narrowing into crescents.
Age and experience won out in the end. Chen confiscated Zhu Ping’an’s New Year money, leaving him only five wen. Even then, she warned him not to spend it recklessly.
Zhu Ping’an looked resentfully at Chen, who was cheerfully counting the money beneath the oil lamp. You only left me five wen. How am I supposed to spend recklessly?
“One, two, three, four, five, six…” Chen busily counted the silver beans beneath the oil lamp.
“Wife, is there anything you want me to buy for you at the market tomorrow?” Zhu Shouyi asked as he came in from outside. Grandmother had just called him over because the next day was market day in town. She wanted him to buy household necessities such as oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. She had also told him to take the two rabbit pelts from their latest trip, three older pelts he had saved, and the dried wood ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots to sell for household money.
Zhu Shouyi meant well, but Chen answered him with a huge eye roll.
“Oh, I was counting! Why did you have to interrupt me?” Chen complained. Zhu Shouyi’s loud question had broken her concentration and forced her to start over, so it was no wonder she was annoyed with him.
So she began counting again.
Before long, Chen finished counting the New Year money she had confiscated from Zhu Ping’an. Excluding the five wen she had left him, there were eight silver beans and twenty copper coins on the table.
That came to nearly one tael of silver. Delighted, Chen gathered up the money and, when no one was looking, tucked it away beneath her pillow.
“Alright, stop pouting. Tomorrow your father will take you to town for the day,” Chen said, consoling Zhu Ping’an.
Zhu Ping’an knew resistance was useless. He could only accept that a small arm could not twist a big thigh.
Xiahe Village was about five li from the town, which was called Kaoshan Town because it stood close to the mountains.
Kaoshan Town was surrounded by mountains, with streams winding around both sides. Its layout was orderly, with the residential and commercial areas loosely separated. Shops lined both sides of the market district, and the cries of vendors rang out without pause.
It might not have looked like much to Zhu Ping’an, but compared with the village, the town was bustling and lively.
Zhu Shouyi drove the ox cart to Kaoshan Town with his two sons. Besides the rabbit skins and wood ear mushrooms Grandmother had told him to bring, he had also loaded bamboo baskets, hampers, and small household items he had woven earlier. Zhu Ping’an brought along a basket of dried honeysuckle as well, hoping to see what price the town’s medicine shops might offer.
Once they entered the commercial district, Zhu Shouyi spent two wen to rent a stall of roughly ten square meters and began laying out the mountain produce, rabbit pelts, and bamboo crafts from the cart.
Beside their stall was a small food stand sheltered by an oilcloth awning, with six tables beneath it for customers.
In order to secure a good spot early on, Zhu Ping’an and the others hadn’t even eaten breakfast yet. After setting up the stall, Zhu Shouyi led his two sons next door to the small eatery for some breakfast.
Zhu Shouyi ordered four steamed buns and two meat buns for himself and his sons, along with three bowls of dough soup. The price was one wen for two steamed buns, one wen for one meat bun, and a total of one wen for the three bowls of soup. Altogether, it cost five wen, and the shopkeeper generously offered a plate of pickled vegetables.
Zhu Shouyi ate two steamed buns himself, while Zhu Ping’an and Zhu Pingchuan each had one meat bun and one steamed bun.
“Dad, you should have the meat bun. I’ll just eat a steamed bun,” Zhu Ping’an said, reluctantly pushing his meat bun toward Zhu Shouyi.
“Me too,” Zhu Pingchuan added. Like his father, he was honest and taciturn.
Zhu Shouyi affectionately patted both sons on the head and shook his head, saying, “You two eat. I had too much to drink yesterday, so I don’t want anything greasy today.”
Seizing the moment, Zhu Ping’an felt quite tempted by the meat bun. This was the first meat bun he had seen since coming to this ancient time, and surely it would not disappoint him.
“Poor and shabby!”
At that moment, a childish and arrogant voice rang out.
Zhu Ping’an turned to look and saw a little girl, around four or five years old and similar in age to him, casting a disdainful glance in his direction.
The little girl was dressed in a Ming dynasty-style child’s robe, with silk ribbons tied around her waist and adorned with tassels in her hair. She looked lively and elegant, a true beauty. If it weren’t for the rude comment she had just made, Zhu Ping’an would have surely praised the beauty of the Hanfu style and exclaimed, “With a daughter like this, it’s enough!”
However, it was unfortunate that she was a capricious and sharp-tongued little gold-worshipper, wasting her pretty looks.
Beside the little girl sat a chubby local landlord. A watermelon cap perched on his round head, a large gold ring gleamed on his finger, and his clothes were finer even than Grand Uncle’s. Their table held braised meat, a steamer of meat buns, delicate side dishes, and two bowls of wontons.
So she was a wealthy landlord’s daughter. No wonder.
The landlord showed no intention of reprimanding his daughter. Instead, he indulgently urged her to keep eating.
“Shu’er, be good, don’t mind them, just eat your food.”
The landlord had three sons, and this little girl was his only daughter. He doted on her so much that he seemed afraid she would break if held too tightly and melt if kept in his mouth—he spoiled her beyond measure.
You may spoil her, but I won’t.
Zhu Ping’an thought this as he shot the little girl a sidelong glance, rolled his eyes, and muttered, “Ugly girl.”
The remark was like a spark dropped into a powder keg. The little girl immediately puffed up, her large watery eyes filling with angry tears. How dare this little bumpkin call her ugly? Everyone else always said she was pretty!
“Who are you calling ugly, you little poor thing?!” The little girl glared at Zhu Ping’an, practically ready to bite him.
A smirk tugged at Zhu Ping’an’s face. He was just about to continue teaching the spoiled little girl a lesson when—
“Ahem.” Zhu Shouyi coughed lightly. “Zhi’er, eat your food.”
Zhu Shouyi was an honest man who did not want to cause trouble. He also recognized the chubby man as Landlord Li from neighboring Shanghe Village, so he stopped Zhu Ping’an.
“Brother, don’t cause trouble,” Zhu Pingchuan advised from the side. His personality was nearly a mirror of their father’s—just as honest, to the point of being somewhat dull.
With his father intervening and his brother trying to calm things down, Zhu Ping’an had to abandon his plans to teach the spoiled little girl a lesson.
Seeing that Zhu Ping’an had quieted down, the little girl became smug and continued to taunt him, referring to him as a “little bumpkin” and a “poor thing.”
“Alright, Shu’er, hurry and eat before it gets cold. When you’re done, Daddy will take you to buy a little red horse,” Landlord Li said as he spooned wontons into the little girl’s mouth.
Landlord Li doted on his daughter, feeding her first before eating anything himself.
With wide eyes, the little girl accepted bite after bite from her father.
Once the little girl was finally full and Landlord Li was about to eat, she started clamoring for candied hawthorn. Unable to refuse her, Landlord Li hurried off to buy some.
In the meantime, the little girl took some chili sauce and started adding spoonfuls into her father’s bowl of wontons, muttering, “You want to feed me? Well, let’s see how you like this. Can’t eat anymore? Ha, too bad… too spicy for you…”
Zhu Ping’an mentally added another label to the little girl: scheming.