Yi Mei thought for a moment and said, "Yes. There is indeed such a scar."
The young man's expression shifted, his eyes suddenly darting around uncertainly. After pondering for a while, his joy overflowed uncontrollably. He said, "Your luck is indeed very good! In the past sixteen years, my master has sent countless assassins. These people either died in the carved beams and small buildings, or returned empty-handed, or only killed Liu Tianyi's double... I never thought, I never thought he would die at your hands!" As he said this, he suddenly let out a long sigh, as if the vicissitudes of a hundred years had all been exhaled with this breath.
Yi Mei said, "I've always been lucky."
The young man said, "With your luck, you'll eventually be ranked as the number one assassin."
Yi Mei said, "You flatter me. However, I feel there is something more practical than the first sword of assassins. If you are willing to increase the reward this time, I will be even more pleased."
The young man smiled slightly and said, "The six hundred reward is all here. In business, one must be trustworthy."
Yi Mei said, "Being trustworthy doesn't mean you can't give more money. Since this matter is so difficult, it's only right to give more money."
The young man looked surprised. After a while, he said, "The door is over there. Please go ahead."
Yi Mei remained calm, picked up the brocade bag, opened it and examined it carefully, then said indifferently, "Farewell." She stuffed the brocade bag haphazardly into her clothes, put on her straw hat and raincoat, and went out into the blizzard.
A moment later, the small figure disappeared into the darkness, and even the footprints were covered by the wind and snow.
Linjiang Inn
The inn is called Linjiang Villa.
But this inn was extremely small and dilapidated.
The inn had no signboard; its lavish name was displayed on a crumpled flag. Looking inside, the floor and tables were covered in a thick layer of black, greasy residue. One could easily imagine that the moment a guest sat down, several large greenbottle flies would swarm and pounce.
Naturally, such inns only sell the worst food and the cheapest wine.
However, Su Xiaoying stopped in front of Linjiang Villa. He had walked a long way, and his blue cotton robe was dirty and grayish, as if a simple pat would remove a lot of dust. His face was also very tired, and of course, he was very hungry. More importantly, the snow outside had been falling heavily all day, and he had been walking in the snow all day. Now, he just wanted to find a place to rest his legs.
Su Xiaoying sat down at the table, took out a few copper coins from her pocket, carefully counted out four, and said calmly, "One bowl of noodles with gravy and one bowl of braised pork."
This inn is frequented by poor people, so the waiter is used to it and weakly calls out, "Alright—one bowl of noodles with gravy and one bowl of braised pork."
Su Xiaoying thought for a moment, then asked in a calm tone, "How much is the room?"
“It’s very cheap, only six copper coins—look at the snow outside, it’s falling so heavily.”
That's very good. It was already dusk, and the snow was falling even more heavily, with many flakes rolling inside the window, making it cold inside.
Su Xiaoying had just come in from outside and naturally knew, so she nodded calmly, but retorted, "Six copper coins is a bit expensive. I stayed overnight in Elm Tree Town ahead, where it only cost four copper coins, which is two coins cheaper than yours."
This method of bargaining is really nothing special. The waiter said, "The bedding in our shop is all double-layered. Asking for six copper coins is already a very reasonable price."
Su Xiaoying said, "Adding a bedding set would cost two copper coins?"
The waiter countered, "How much do you want?"
Before Su Xiaoying could answer, Yimei rushed over with a bowl of noodles with gravy and a bowl of braised pork. She slammed the bowls on the table, pretending they were burning hot, and said, "Six copper coins is the lowest price! Look around, sir, where else can you find something this cheap?"
Su Xiaoying said, "Yesterday I was in Yushu Town..."
Yi Mei interrupted him and asked, "Is this Elm Tree Town?"
Su Xiaoying said, "No."
Yi Mei said, "Six copper coins."
Su Xiaoying paused for a moment, then fell silent. Even the poorest person wouldn't suffer outside just to save six copper coins. Besides, how could anyone travel in this weather? Freezing to death in the middle of the night was a common occurrence.
The noodles with the gravy were meager, but the portion was generous. Su Xiaoying ate them extremely quickly, devouring the entire large bowl of noodles in no time.
After finishing the noodles, her body began to warm up. A contented expression appeared on Su Xiaoying's face. She took out six more copper coins from her shabby pocket and placed them on the table.
Yi Mei didn't stand on ceremony. She swept the money, including the four copper coins for the meal, over her hand and called out, "A Mao! Clean the room!"
Su Xiaoying glanced at Yi Mei, her previously smug expression suddenly turning strange, as if she hadn't just swept away copper coins, but rather her family's most prized heirloom passed down through three generations. He pushed the bowl of fermented liquor away and said to Yi Mei, "Return this bowl of liquor."
Yi Mei glanced at him sideways, said nothing, and with two "tap-tap" sounds, slammed the two copper coins onto the greasy table. She then grabbed the wine bowl and went inside. After a while, there was another "whoosh," indicating that the bowl of old liquor had been poured back into the wine vat.
Su Xiaoying slowly put away the copper coins, then turned to Yi Mei's back and asked, "Madam, why is this inn called Linjiang Villa?"
Yi Mei turned around, wiped her hands on her apron, and asked, "Is there a river ahead?"
Su Xiaoying replied, "Yes."
Yi Mei asked, "Are there mountains behind us?"
Su Xiaoying replied, "Yes."
Yi Mei said, "Then why isn't it Linjiang Villa?"
Su Xiaoying laughed and said, "What a good name, it really is a good name!"
Su Xiaoying suddenly had an inspiration. That night, he took off his dirty cotton-padded coat, crawled into his "double-layered" bedding, and thought that he should build a house near the mountain, plant a peach tree next to the house, and give the house an elegant name: Peach Blossom Villa.
Su Xiaoying thought of the rough and tumble proprietress and realized that she was actually quite interesting.
However, Su Xiaoying's dream of Peach Blossom Manor was soon shattered. The heavy snow fell for three days straight, and on the night of the third day, the snow finally stopped, but the ferry crossing on the Dagou River in front of them was completely frozen over.
With the thawing of the ice still far off, Su Xiaoying sat behind the gate of Linjiang Villa every day, her face full of worry, gazing at the ferry crossing in front of her, like a merchant's resentful wife waiting for her husband who had not returned for years.
Once, Yi Mei asked him, "I see you don't have much luggage. Where are you going?"
Su Xiaoying said with a worried look, "Ruijin Mountain."
Yi Mei asked curiously, "Ruijin Mountain? The area around Ruijin Mountain isn't exactly a prosperous place, so not many people go there."
Su Xiaoying sighed and said, "I've heard that the rime ice and sea of clouds on Ruijin Mountain are rare sights, so I want to go and see them."
Yi Mei exclaimed, "I never would have guessed, I never would have guessed, that you..."
Su Xiaoying smiled and said, "Since we have nowhere to go anyway, we might as well wander around."
Yi Mei said, "In that case, it's no big deal if you wait patiently for a few days."
Su Xiaoying took out a handful of copper coins from her pocket, spread them all on the table, and said with a wry smile, "It's nothing, but would the proprietress be willing to let me buy on credit for a few days?"
Yi Mei's face immediately darkened. She carefully counted the copper coins, then shouted at the top of her lungs, "A Mao! Clean up room number two!" As she spoke, she clenched her hand and swept the money away.
Su Xiaoying said with a wry smile, "Boss lady, you don't have to be so ruthless, do you?"
Yi Mei put her hands on her hips and shouted, "Paying for a meal is perfectly fair! What? You want to eat and stay for free? Let me tell you, this restaurant has been open for four and a half years, and no one has ever dared to renege on their payment here!"
Su Xiaoying argued, "I never said I would default on the debt, I just wanted to buy on credit for a few days..."
"On credit?" Yi Mei sneered, looking him up and down several times, and said, "Don't give me that! How are you going to pay me back? Hmm? How are you going to pay me back?"
Su Xiaoying said, "Well..." He thought for a moment, then asked in a negotiating tone, "I'll work here for a few days to cover my food and lodging expenses. I don't want any wages, how about that?"
Yi Mei looked him up and down again, pondering for a long time.
Su Xiaoying asked again, "How is it?"
"Listen to me!" Yi Mei said aggressively, "Either get out, or work for two years!"
Su Xiaoying exclaimed in surprise, "Boss lady, you're really good at scheming! If this doesn't work, I'll suffer too much loss."
"Then," Yimei asked, "what do you say?"
Su Xiaoying thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll work for free for one month, and you'll have to pay me for the remaining year and eleven months. By this time the year after next, your wages will be enough for my travel expenses."
“Sure,” Yi Mei readily agreed, smiling as she said, “One string of cash for the wages.”
Su Xiaoying couldn't understand why her expression changed so quickly. After thinking it over, she realized that the only way to avoid being kicked out in this cold winter weather was to agree. So she had no choice but to say, "Okay, it's a deal."
Yi Mei smiled and glanced at him a few times, then raised her voice and called out, "Amao! Pack your bags!"
Su Xiaoying suddenly remembered something and asked, "How much is A Mao's salary?"
Yi Mei laughed like a cat that had stolen some cream, and said gleefully, "Two strings of cash, look, that's really too expensive."
Su Xiaoying remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Boss lady, you're taking advantage of someone in distress."
The lazy waiter named Amao was fired on the spot by Yimei, and Su Xiaoying replaced him that very night, moving from the guest room into the stinky storeroom. The storeroom was really dirty and dilapidated, but fortunately, Linjiang Villa didn't have much business, so Su Xiaoying spent half a day cleaning the storeroom from the inside out. This time, Yimei didn't give her a hard time; instead, she watched with approval, as if she was very glad to have found a diligent helper.
Twelve days later is December 20th. There are exactly ten days left until Lunar New Year's Eve.
This day was the day for Linjiang Villa to take stock of its accounts.
Even long afterward, Su Xiaoying was still extremely surprised by Yi Mei opening an inn. He never imagined that someone who couldn't even do basic accounting could be an innkeeper. He thought Yi Mei was a very courageous woman.
Yi Mei didn't use an abacus to keep accounts; she did it by hand. For example, if she received a string of cash, she would draw a line on the paper; if she withdrew a string of cash, she would draw a circle on the paper. Finally, she would count the number of lines and circles. This method didn't sound too bad, but unfortunately, Yi Mei's daily account books were also filled with lines and circles, so much so that countless patterns swirled in her mind, but she couldn't come up with a feasible amount of money.
Yi Mei racked her brains for a long time before finally concluding, "Hmm, that's it, the income and expenditure are balanced." After saying this, a puzzled look appeared on her face, and she murmured, "If the income and expenditure are balanced, there's no reason for us to be short of money..."
Su Xiaoying almost burst out laughing, but she calmly said to Yi Mei, "Boss lady, I can do a little accounting."
Yi Mei tilted her head and stared at him for a long time, then asked suspiciously, "You're not thinking of tampering with the accounts, are you?" Thinking this, her expression immediately turned fierce, and she said, "Don't even think about it!"
Su Xiaoying sighed and stood up.
Yi Mei asked, "Where are you going?"
Su Xiaoying said, "Go to sleep, it seems quite late."
Yi Mei said, "What are you sleeping for? Come and settle the score with me."
Su Xiaoying looked at her and suddenly understood why people say that a woman's heart is unfathomable.
Su Xiaoying took the ledger and painstakingly calculated the unclear accounts one by one. This took him all night. Yi Mei felt a little embarrassed and awkwardly cooked him a bowl of noodles with gravy as a late-night snack.
While doing the accounts, Su Xiaoying suddenly realized her importance to Linjiang Villa. As dawn broke and the winter sun began to shine on the snow, Su Xiaoying looked up from her ledger and asked, "Boss lady, are you sure these accounts are correct?"
Yi Mei said with certainty, "It must be right!" Then she added, "It's just a bit messy."
Su Xiaoying said, "If that's correct, then the income and expenditure won't be balanced..."
Yi Mei asked, "Really? Did you make a profit or a loss?" Seeing Su Xiaoying's increasingly surprised expression, she finally faced reality and stammered, "How much did you lose?"
Su Xiaoying told her, "Boss lady, we've lost quite a bit, probably around a hundred."
Yi Mei said, "More than a hundred coins..."
Su Xiaoying said, "It's over a hundred taels of silver."
Yi Mei jumped up and exclaimed, "More than a hundred...! How can there be so many!"
A hint of sadness suddenly appeared in Su Xiaoying's eyes as she looked at her.
New Year's Eve at Linjiang Villa was utterly desolate. Yi Mei had no money to buy a pig, a chicken, or even firecrackers; she couldn't even afford red paper for writing Spring Festival couplets. Su Xiaoying had no choice but to write two auspicious lines on the two door panels himself: "Spring breeze brings blessings, joy arrives at the door." His literary talent was limited, and besides, in this situation, any auspicious words would be utterly useless.
Yi Mei drank a lot of old-fashioned liquor at the New Year's Eve dinner. As she drank, tears streamed down her face. She tried to wipe them away, but they only blurred the tear stains and couldn't be wiped clean.