Chapter Eight: Off to the Market at Dawn

Because she had washed her hair late the night before, Banxia chose to squirm and groan in bed when Gan Sui first called her to wake up, trying to escape the bothersome sound. Her nightgown was slightly oversized, revealing a soft, pale strip of waist. For a man slightly restless in the morning, even his breathing felt heated. Gan Sui shook his head—had crossing into a new world turned him into a beast? She was only fifteen, after all. He reached out to pull her clothes down, leaned in close to her ear, and whispered, “We’re catching a thief!”

“Where, where…” Banxia leapt up at once, only then realizing it was Gan Sui. She glanced outside at the sky. “Oh my, it’s so early, I’m not even awake yet.”

“I asked yesterday: it takes nearly half an hour to walk from here to town. If we don’t get up now, we’ll miss the morning market, and then things won’t go as planned.”

Banxia rubbed her face on the blanket and, half-dazed, stood up. “Poverty is the engine of progress.”

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Gan Sui and Banxia, holding leftover grain buns from last night, walked along the country path. Suddenly, they saw a familiar figure ahead. Hearing their footsteps, the person turned around. “Scholar, Lady Su, heading to market?”

It was Gan Erniang.

“Auntie, are you going to the market too?”

“Yes, I’ve saved up some duck eggs and plan to take them to my son.”

“Does your son live in the county town?”

“Yes, my son is quite promising. He used to help out at the master’s house, and now, recognized by the master, he’s become a junior manager at the shop.”

“That’s wonderful. Auntie, your good fortune is yet to come.”

“Lady Su, you’ll soon enjoy blessings yourself. I heard autumn brings the county exam. If you pass, you’ll become a scholar, and then you’ll be Scholar’s Lady.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Auntie. I’m not familiar with the town. Yesterday, I went to the mountains and gathered some mushrooms and wood ear fungus. I wanted to ask where they might sell well.”

“There’s a small market on the west side of town, but the prices there are low. If you go early, you can try walking by the gates of the grand estates in the east. The wealthy families there like to try something new, and they pay higher prices. But if you circle around and don’t sell anything, you’ll have to return to the west market, which is a bit troublesome.”

“I’m not afraid of trouble. I just want to save as much silver as possible, since expenses will be high.”

“Who isn’t? I’ve heard the county exam costs quite a bit of silver.”

“It’s fine—when the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten out. At worst, we’ll wait three more years for the next exam,” Gan Sui finally spoke up.

“That’s not right, Scholar. This year, you must grit your teeth and save up the money. I’ve never read books, but I’ve only heard of poor scholars, never poor officials. I know you young couples are considerate of each other’s hardships, but the sooner you pass the exam, the sooner you’ll enjoy blessings, isn’t that so?”

Banxia hurriedly took up the conversation, “Auntie, you’re thinking ahead. I’m not too worried. Exams aren’t only about grades—sometimes luck matters too. Passing is good, but failing isn’t the end of the world. Every trade has its experts; look at all those people who never became officials, they still live well enough. All I hope for is that the two of us have a peaceful and smooth life.”

“Yes, yes… Peace is the most important thing. Let me tell you about someone at the west end of the village…” Gan Erniang then launched into gossip, and in the nearly half-hour journey ahead, Banxia heard most of the village’s little secrets.

Auntie, honestly, your talent is wasted not being a storyteller.

“Oh dear, I’m heading to the city center, I’ll go ahead. See you!”

Once in town, they parted ways.

“She’s finally gone. My ears can get a bit of rest now,” Banxia muttered quietly. Gan Erniang was warm-hearted, but truly talked too much.