Every girl loves street-wandering, but Wufu was an exception. After strolling through the streets twice, she felt tired and unenthusiastic.
"Are you hungry? Shall we go have lunch?" Wufu looked at Liu Jin.
"As the lady wishes," Liu Jin repeated his usual phrase. Even though he had eaten a skewer of candied hawthorns, they had walked to Huayang County since the morning, which was quite exhausting. In fact, he was a little hungry, but unless Wufu mentioned it, he wouldn’t say a word.
"Come on, I’ll take you to a restaurant," Wufu said with a smile.
Liu Jin hesitated a bit and said, "My lady, we still have to walk back. Eating at a restaurant will take time, and we haven’t bought anything yet. Why not just get a couple of buns to fill our stomachs?"
Wufu laughed and said, "Don’t worry, we are not going back today. We’ll return tomorrow."
She rarely had the chance to come out, so she certainly couldn’t rush back. She would definitely stay for the night, enjoy some good food and drinks, buy things, and observe the local customs and culture.
Liu Jin looked surprised and, after a moment’s thought, cautiously asked, "Did you already decide to stay in the county tonight?" Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said that to the mistress. It seemed the lady had it all figured out in her mind.
Wufu raised an eyebrow, "You are quite sharp, aren’t you?" She didn’t mind taking people under her wing, but she dreaded having to deal with fools.
Liu Jin touched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
While they talked, they reached the Xianyun Tower, a well-known inn they had heard of. It was said to be one of the best in Huayang County. Another highly prestigious inn was the Hongfu Tower, but that one was even more expensive.
It was the peak of lunchtime, and Xianyun Tower was full of diners. It was practically packed to the brim. Wufu and her companion had to wait for a while before they finally got a seat.
The waiter, with a white cloth draped over his shoulder, wiped the table and brought tea before asking what they’d like to eat.
"Young waiter, what specialties do you have here?" Wufu poured some tea and asked.
The waiter glanced at her and smiled, saying, "Our braised lion’s head meatball is extremely good, so is the Golden Chicken Celebrates, and we also have a vegetarian dish, the fresh mixed tofu, which is excellent."
"Then let’s get a braised lion’s head, a plate of tofu, and some oil-crisp stir-fried pak choi," Wufu ordered three dishes in one go.
"Right away, please wait a moment," the waiter noted the order and called out to the kitchen, "Table eight, braised lion’s head..."
Liu Jin looked a little uneasy and glanced around before asking in a low voice, "My lady, isn’t that too much? It might be rather expensive, right?"
Wufu poured him a cup of tea and said, "Three dishes isn’t a lot." She paused, then added, "Liu Jin, when you can afford it, you should know how to enjoy life. Don’t just live scrimping and saving your silvers, that stuff, you can’t take it with you when you’re born or when you die."
Liu Jin, not expecting a sermon, hurriedly responded respectfully, "What the lady says is right."
"Of course, we strive hard exactly so we can enjoy the good things in life. And after all the tough scrambling, why do it if not for happiness?"
Liu Jin smiled and said, "Before this, all I thought about was how to fill my belly."
"You are still young, and you have a long road ahead. Take your time and learn," Wufu said with a smile.
Liu Jin muttered to himself, feeling that although Wufu was only fourteen, she sounded like an old sage.
However, it was quite curious. Even though she was young, she had a way of seeming as if she had seen through many things, as if she understood everything. Was it her intelligence?
But regardless, following the lady’s advice was surely the right choice.
Wufu, oblivious to the young boy’s thoughts, was now eavesdropping on the conversation at the next table. Hmmm, the Flower-Picking Thief?