43: Chapter 43 Everyone Has Secrets 43: Chapter 43 Everyone Has Secrets Without Madam Zhou accompanying her, Wufu could travel to the town much faster.
Along the way, she almost ran the entire distance.
By the time she whisked through the village like a gust of wind and people snapped back to their senses, her figure was no longer in sight.
They could only grumble and complain in low tones, yet some remarked that of course she had to walk fast, lest she wanted to be the target of gossip, nor did she seem to worry about bringing bad luck.
It had never occurred to Wufu to contemplate whether she should stay or go; she ran because it was a way to train her physical strength.
After all, what was so difficult about running a bit?
As a result, Wufu arrived at the town in just under half an hour, her face flushed red from the sprint and her forehead glistening with sweat.
Following the memory of the route she had taken with Madam Zhou a couple of days earlier, Wufu found Wenshan Bookstore.
Shopkeeper Li was taken aback to see her, as it was only early May and the peak of the sweltering summer heat had not yet arrived, had it?
“Shopkeeper Li, I am here to deliver a message on someone’s behalf,” Wufu said straightforwardly to Shopkeeper Li.
The letter Ah Jiu had left was simple, with just a short three words: Jiu, Ping An.
“You’re saying the person who asked you to leave a message is called Ah Jiu?” Shopkeeper Li’s eyes flickered, his heart thumping wildly.
Shopkeeper Li smiled, then asked Wufu how her mother was doing, and handed her a string of copper coins: “This is for your errand-running fee.”
Wufu looked at the string of coins in her hand with some surprise.
There was actually a fee for running an errand?
But without asking further, she smiled and thanked him, tucking the money into her purse.
After all, why not accept what is freely offered, especially when she deserved it.
Shopkeeper Li was astonished again, sizing up Wufu.
Such a clever girl, yet she showed no sign of curiosity.
Typically, the person who entrusts the errand would pay, but here it was the recipient who paid.
Wouldn’t that pique anyone’s curiosity?
Yet she didn’t show the slightest sign of questioning.
“By the way,” Wufu spoke up after thinking for a moment, looking at Shopkeeper Li, “I heard that one could buy information here?”
Shopkeeper Li hesitated, checking to ensure no one was around, then asked, “You want to?”
Wufu intended to ask about the man who was nominally her father, but as the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back.
She already had a substitute mother.
If this mother was a good one, then that was enough.
But that scumbag dad was nothing but trash; gaining any news about him would hardly do any good, so it was better not to trouble herself.
Her arrival in this world had been an accident anyway, and who knew if one day she might return to some other world?
The less entanglement there was, the better, especially with that kind of scumbag dad.
It was more comfortable not to acknowledge him.
With these thoughts, Wufu smiled and said, “Nothing much, I was just asking.
I’ll find you if I need anything.”
Knowing there was such a channel was enough; if Madam Zhou decided to do something in the future, she would have a place to gather information.
For now, that would suffice.
Shopkeeper Li replied, “Miss, since you’ve recognized the place, we can make things convenient for you in the future.”
Without a word, Wufu smiled, flipped through a couple of books, and then bid farewell to Shopkeeper Li.
Shopkeeper Li escorted her to the door, watched her walk away, and then called over a sharp-witted assistant, instructing, “Pass the word along; there’s news about ‘his lordship’.” The assistant nodded and quickly disappeared.
Shopkeeper Li stood at the doorway for a long time, unable to calm his mind.
As soon as Wufu turned the street corner, she came to a halt, arms folded.
From her vantage point, she could see the entrance to Wenshan Bookstore.
She waited quietly, and sure enough, a young assistant hurried out and quickly vanished from sight.
Wufu’s eyebrow twitched, her mouth curving slightly.
It seemed that everyone had secrets, even a bookstore, and her employer was no exception!