Mo Yan tidied up the room, added a few more pieces of charcoal to the stove, sealed it leaving only a small hole, and then planned to go ho with her siblings.
At that mont, Zhenzhen hugged Mo Yan’s arm and said, "Big sister, Zhenzhen wants to go see Yun Zhao."
Mo Yan was taken aback for a mont but then she rembered that Yun Zhao had co to their house when they last had guests over. The two kids were about the sa age and got along well, so it wasn’t surprising they wanted to play together.
"All right! But Yun Zhao might be busy with work, and we need to hurry back too, so you can’t stay too long," she said.
"Mm-hmm, thank you, big sister."
"Then let’s go!" Mo Yan replied.
The Changshan Academy wasn’t too far from Huixian Residence. Lizhong drove the horse-drawn carriage while inquiring about directions along the way, and they arrived in less than half an hour.
Mo Yan bought so snacks at a nearby shop and handed them to Zhenzhen to bring as gifts for the Yun Zhao siblings.
It wasn’t yet ti for the noon al, so there weren’t many people eating at Huixian Residence. The Punishing Shopkeeper was not in, leaving only Xiao Zhu to watch over the tavern; upon learning they were here to find Yun Zhao, he led them to the backyard.
The siblings were sitting under the eaves of the backyard, the elder one engrossed in a book, while the younger one played with a nine-linked rings puzzle.
Upon hearing footsteps, Yun Zhao imdiately looked up and saw the Mo Family siblings, his face lighting up with a big smile, "Hello, big sister! Hello, Mo Yan! Hello, Zhenzhen!"
Yun Sheng hastily stood by her brother’s side, shyly greeting everyone.
Half a month had gone by without seeing them, and the siblings looked healthier in appearance. When Mo Yan noticed that Yun Zhao was holding "Biograph of Renowned Figures in Da Chu," which recorded the eminent figures that erged since the founding of Great Chu, a much more profound and obscure book than "The Hundred Family Surnas" or the "Thousand Character Classic," she was a bit surprised.
Feeling Mo Yan’s gaze, Yun Zhao seed embarrassed and quickly hid the book behind him, inviting them to co inside and sit down.
The siblings’ room was small, and it felt a bit cramped with several people entering. Mo Yan sat for a little while then decided to go for a walk on the street; Xin Er also felt bored staying there and quickly expressed her wish to join.
Mo Yan instructed Zhenzhen to stay put and not to wander off. They would all go ho together when she and the others returned. Seeing Yun Sheng looking at them with a longing gaze, obviously wanting to join the fun as well, Mo Yan ntioned it to Yun Zhao and then took Yun Sheng’s small hand as they set off together.
At this mont, the street wasn’t very crowded; the shop fronts were open for business but most of the street vendors had gone ho.
The three girls held onto sticks of candied haw, eating as they leisurely strolled along. Seeing nothing of interest, Mo Yan bought a few wooden dolls for Yun Sheng and planned to take them back via another parallel street.
They hadn’t walked far when they saw a crowd of people gathered in front of a rice shop ahead, from inside there was a clamor as if so dispute had arisen.
Mo Yan listened carefully and learned that the rice shop’s owner had been caught selling moldy rice. Soone who had purchased it and cooked it at ho ended up with their whole family suffering from stomach pains and diarrhea at night.
The person who bought the rice thought about it and concluded that the newly purchased rice must be the problem. They called for relatives and friends to demand an explanation from the rice shop owner and hold him accountable.
"It’s your rice that made our whole family sick. My youngest son nearly lost his life because of it. If Zhang Ji’s rice shop doesn’t give us an explanation, beware, I’ll take you to court," one man angrily said, as if he wanted nothing more than to beat up the rice shop owner who sold the moldy rice.
"Don’t you falsely accuse ! I’ve run Zhang Ji’s rice shop for many years, and I’ve seen plenty of scamrs like you making up excuses. You say your whole family got sick from eating the rice from my shop, but where’s your proof?" the rice shop owner retorted coldly, not looking in the least afraid—perhaps confident there was nothing wrong with his rice, or maybe he had so backup.
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