Seeing Feng Xue speak like this, the old man clearly hesitated for a moment, but looking at Feng Xue’s attire, and after sniffing the cigarette in front of his nose, he instinctively tucked it behind his ear before speaking: “That Young Master is the Young Master of Master Qin, a wealthy family in the county, who has studied abroad. The person behind him is Zhao Sanye of Fuhu Fist. Although he is only a second-rate figure in the Jianghu, in our county, he is already a top-notch master! This one…”
At this point, the old man hesitated for a moment before finding a relatively suitable address: “This Young Master probably wants to discuss business with the Qin family, right? Then I advise you to go directly to the foreign firm and find the manager. Although this Young Master Qin has studied abroad, he must have studied until he became foolish! He speaks nothing but gibberish, you won’t be able to discuss anything with him!”
As he said this, the old man shook his head with a “prodigal son” expression, seemingly disdainful of foreigners.
“Oh.” Feng Xue understood, and immediately smiled: “I’m not really interested in that Young Master Qin, I’m just curious about masters. By the way, are there any highly skilled individuals in our county? Not martial artists, but the kind who… well, who are skilled in Please Divine and divination.”
Hearing Feng Xue ask this, the old man’s eyes showed a look of understanding, and he carefully chose his words: “As for Xuanmen masters, we really do have a few in our county. For example, Nine Aunt is a famous shamaness in the surrounding villages. People usually go to her for needs like planchette writing and contacting spirits. She also handles some funeral services like embalming, but those things are somewhat unlucky, so it’s best not to disturb her if there’s no need.
“There’s also Taoist Priest Qian from the North City Charity House. He has two disciples, and I heard that when he was young, he was a capable person who caught ghosts and subdued demons. Now that he’s old, he plans to live a peaceful retirement and usually only helps people with things like Feng Shui. However, if there’s a real problem, he won’t back down. For example, a few years ago, there was a zombie outbreak in the north, and the entire village almost had no living people left. In the end, it was he who led people to deal with it.
“And then there’s Young Miss Lan. Her family ancestors came from the north, and for generations, they were immortals, but by her generation, they stopped. A few years ago, she went abroad to study medicine for a few years and opened a pharmacy after returning. However, I think her so-called foreign medicine is still a Daoist method. You can see it if you walk two streets forward…”
At this point, the old man seemed to remember something again, and said with some disdain: “Oh right! There’s also a foreign monk. I heard he’s a disciple of some foreign deity or something, but he doesn’t have much ability. He just gives out juice and bread every now and then, tricking those who like small advantages into listening to his sermons… However, the county magistrate believes him a lot and has allocated him a good piece of land.”
Listening to the old man’s words, which clearly showed his likes and dislikes, Feng Xue couldn’t help but want to laugh. Although the old man wasn’t fond of the “foreign temple,” he didn’t intentionally omit it, which showed his simple Heart-Nature. If he wasn’t lucky enough to encounter a good person, then it meant the county town’s folk customs should still be quite good.
Thinking this, Feng Xue couldn’t help but speculate about the world’s situation based on the known information—
This world seemed similar to his original world, with a technological level probably around the early to mid-20th century. Bicycles could occasionally be seen on the streets, but there were no cars.
In addition, looking at the old man’s mental state and the living conditions of the people in this county town, it was somewhat better than his own side during the same period. Either the place was remote enough, or the existence of extraordinary power had caused some deviation in this history.
However, Feng Xue also understood that such an old man certainly couldn’t access any high-level information. What he knew was probably just urban rumors and the like. He could listen, but whether it could be believed ultimately depended on him seeing for himself.
Thinking of this, Feng Xue asked the old man for the location of the pawnshop, but after learning that there was a money house in the county town, he immediately gave up on the pawnshop and directly exchanged some gold beans for some loose and exact cash and coins.
Although he could easily sell the watch in his pocket for a high price at a pawnshop, in a situation with low risk resistance, he still chose the safer money house, even if it was only a little safer.
“Boss, how much are the flatbreads?” With money in his pocket, Feng Xue immediately came to a breakfast stall. The boss was initially a bit impatient and wanted to glance at the sign to let him see for himself, but when he saw Feng Xue’s attire was different from ordinary people, his expression immediately changed, and he said with a smile: “Replying to Young Master, plain flatbreads are two for one copper coin. Sweet and savory crispy oil ones are one copper coin each. I also have some braised offal here, chopped up and put inside, it’s so fragrant! Only three copper coins each!”
“Then give me two crispy oil ones, one sweet and one savory.” Feng Xue, who had walked more than ten kilometers after getting up early, immediately took out three coins and handed them over, but he also thought to himself.
Although it was just a small action, the boss’s glance back itself meant that the literacy rate in this world was probably not low.
“I exchanged about ten grams of gold beans for fifteen guan, which is fifteen thousand copper coins. From the price of the flatbread, the gold price is a bit higher than in modern times, but grain prices are grain prices. If it’s a luxury item, the premium might be even more severe, but overall, it should be considered relatively stable.”
“Young Master, the crispy oil ones are one copper coin each! You gave too much.” Just as Feng Xue was thinking, the flatbread boss had already wrapped the flatbreads and, seeing the money Feng Xue gave, immediately reminded him. Feng Xue, however, smiled and said: “I want to ask you something. I heard you have a pharmacy opened by an immortal family here. Do you know how to get there?”
There was no special reason why he went to this so-called immortal family pharmacy first. It was simply because they opened a pharmacy, and pharmacies and medical clinics were not separated. It was more appropriate for him to ask about his shortened lifespan there than to go to the old lady who handled funerals or the old Daoist priest who ran a morgue, right?
“How can I take your money for such a small matter!” The flatbread boss listened to Feng Xue’s question, handed over the flatbread and one copper coin together, then pointed with his hand: “You go straight down this road, there’s a small Western-style building that sells foreign rouge, it’s very conspicuous. When you see that rouge shop, turn right, and the second storefront is it! However, Young Miss Lan doesn’t like people mentioning her family’s affairs. If you’re just getting medicine, that’s fine, but if… cough, in short, you understand what I mean!”
“Then, boss, give me another crispy oil flatbread.” Seeing the boss’s “I understand your thoughts perfectly” look, Feng Xue didn’t care what he misunderstood. He held the two flatbreads in his hand and still didn’t take the coin. The boss also smiled and wrapped another flatbread in oil paper and handed it over. Feng Xue took the flatbread and ate it as he walked.
Perhaps it was because he had eaten compressed biscuits for two meals, but the seemingly simple crispy oil flatbread was surprisingly crispy in his mouth. The little bit of maltose inside was far inferior to various modern sugars, but it was indescribably smooth.
“The previous old man, and this flatbread stall owner too, it seems the folk customs in this county are indeed simple! Well, of course, it’s also possible that it’s because I don’t look like an ordinary commoner.”
Feng Xue glanced at the assault jacket he was wearing. Although it wasn’t associated with nobility in his own understanding, to the people of this era, it might actually be more valuable than the suit and tie worn by that Young Master Qin earlier?
As he walked and ate, Feng Xue’s expression suddenly became a little strange.
He saw the small Western-style building, but the foreign rouge…
“Good heavens, perfume and foundation are foreign rouge?” Looking at the wooden sign with the six large characters “Meilan Sha Foreign Rouge,” Feng Xue momentarily wanted to complain, but first—
“Meilan Sha? Is it the Meilan Sha that I know, which makes aromatherapy essential oils? Their family sells foundation? Translation issue? Or a subtle homonym in a parallel world?”