At night, Sasha couldn't take the itching on her body anymore and asked Yuno if she could take a bath.
There were no proper bath supplies in the washroom. For the past two days, she had only been using clean water to rinse off.
Yuno was slightly stunned. There wasn't much firewood left in the yard. It was getting late. Should he borrow some from Aunt Xu next door?
"Sasha, I'll bring you some water later." With that, he ran off in a hurry to Gordan's room.
"Gordan, Sasha wants to bathe, but we don't have a bathtub. What should we do?"
Gordan immediately felt annoyed. He had bought so many things, but how could he forget something so important?
A man could afford to be careless, but not a girl.
"Yuno, take some silver coins and ask Aunt Xu if she has a bathtub we can borrow. I'll buy a new one when we go to town tomorrow. Oh, and you can't carry it alone. Give Uncle Xu some extra money so he can help you. If they don't have one, ask Roman or Colson."
After Yuno left, Gordan went to the kitchen, picked up a sickle, and chopped some firewood to prepare hot water.
A short while later, Uncle Xu brought over a bathtub and some firewood. He was so happy his eyes crinkled into thin lines.
"Yuno, you and Gordan are always so polite. It's just a bathtub, and you gave me so much money. Don't bother returning it. You can keep it for yourselves." The fifty copper coins Yuno gave were enough to buy two new bathtubs. Uncle Xu felt a little bad and added, "I'll ask Wanda to bring over more firewood tomorrow."
Yuno beamed with joy.
This was great. Firewood wasn't cheap lately. If you didn't chop it yourself, it cost a lot every month. He thanked Uncle Xu again and again before seeing him out.
When Sasha found out that the bathtub had been used by their neighbor, her eyes widened in shock.
"Yuno, can I get two basins of cold and hot water instead?" she asked with a red face. It was already so late, and she felt bad troubling them, but if she didn't bathe tonight, she wouldn't be able to sleep.
Cold water? Yuno suddenly remembered the two jars of water in the yard used for watering flowers and quickly shook his head.
No way. That water wasn't good enough for Sasha.
"I'll be right back." He rushed off to borrow two clean basins of well water from Aunt Xu and brought them to Sasha's room.
Then he went to the river, filled up half a barrel with cool water, and poured it into the kitchen water tank.
"Yuno, what are you doing?" Gordan finally stepped out of his room after hearing footsteps outside for a while.
"Gordan, the village well is too far from us. I think we should dig a well in our yard. That way the water will be clean and easy to use."
Gordan lightly tapped Yuno's head. "You think digging a well is like buying vegetables? Without five hundred taels, don't even think about it."
"So expensive?" Yuno was shocked. He immediately gave up the idea. He would just fetch or buy water like before.
Gordan smiled without saying anything. Unconsciously, his eyes drifted toward the west wing.
By now, Sasha must have finished bathing, right?
Thinking that, his handsome face flushed slightly. He looked away and went to the front yard to focus on chopping wood. Aunt Xu had given them plenty of firewood this time, enough for three days.
In the west wing,
Sasha looked at the two basins of cool water and two basins of hot water in the washroom. She leaned against the wall and sighed, then began undressing. She washed her body first, then put on clean clothes, went to the kitchen, and fetched two more basins of cold water to wash her hair.
By the time she finished bathing, it was already past midnight.
So exhausting.
Thinking about having to go to town early tomorrow to look for a shop, she didn't even bother drying her hair and collapsed onto the bed, falling straight into sleep.
At dawn, the first light appeared at the edge of the sky. The summer morning breeze was cool. Sasha stretched her arms and yawned lazily.
She pushed open the wooden lattice door. The air smelled of damp soil, fresh and pleasant.
Dewdrops sparkled on the morning glory petals, giving off a soft fragrance.
The three of them hadn't eaten breakfast yet. They rode Uncle Li's ox cart from the village into town.
Mistwater Town was nothing like what Sasha had imagined. The streets were full of restaurants and shops lined side by side, lively and full of people.
"Gordan, this place is really bustling," Sasha said, looking around in awe at the street scenes on both sides.
Gordan smiled slightly and replied, "Mistwater Town is only a bit larger than the county, but since it's near the sea, it's not any less lively than towns near the capital."
"That means seafood here must be cheaper too, right?" Sasha's eyes lit up. She imagined all kinds of seafood and secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
"It really is much cheaper than in other places," Gordan confirmed.
"There's a place ahead called Peach Blossom Spring. I heard their noodles are pretty good. Sasha, do you like noodles?" he asked for her opinion. If she didn't like it, there was lamb flatbread soup next door or lotus porridge across the street—both were good options.
Sasha looked at the Peach Blossom Spring he mentioned. It was three stories tall.
Eating breakfast in such a fancy place felt like too much.
"Gordan, we passed a wonton stall earlier, and it seemed pretty popular. How about we eat there instead?" she suggested.
Yuno pressed his lips together and touched the few coins in his pocket, holding back the words already forming in his mouth.
It was a nice thought, but reality would hit hard. A bowl of wontons on the street cost three coins, but in Peach Blossom Spring, even a simple bowl would cost at least twenty. For three people, that's sixty coins. Add a few more dishes and it would easily go over two hundred.
Gordan didn't hesitate at all to reject Sasha's "thoughtful" idea. How could he bring a girl to eat at a street stall? He could easily afford a proper breakfast.
"Sasha, the breakfast at Peach Blossom Spring is quite famous. If you still want wontons afterward, we can go get some."
Sasha said no more and simply nodded.
With the way Gordan spent money, she started to worry whether they'd even find a shop that met their needs later. She quietly pulled Yuno aside and asked, "Yuno, do you know how much money we actually have to rent a place?"
"Five hundred taels for six months," Yuno answered bluntly.
He guessed Gordan had around a thousand taels left. After preparing the shop, buying ingredients, and hiring staff, he could afford a place that cost no more than five hundred taels in rent.
So the offer made earlier by the rice shop owner was impossible from the start. It was all just wishful thinking on Gordan's part, completely out of touch with reality.
What?
Sasha stared at Yuno in shock, struggling to process what she'd just heard.
Five hundred taels for six months meant eighty-three taels per month for a good shop location. Could they even find such a place? They might as well set up a street stall.
Breakfast was very generous.
Gordan didn't just order a full table of food. He also asked for a private room on the second floor. When it came time to pay, the bill totaled three hundred and forty coins.
Those five characters—"three hundred and forty coins"—felt like heavy stones crashing into Sasha's ears. Even the minced meat in her mouth didn't taste good anymore.
After leaving Peach Blossom Spring, Gordan spent another three taels to order two bath barrels and some fancy bath and grooming products to be delivered to Little River Village later. The items were all high-quality, beautifully made, and something no girl could resist.
Take the rose-scented bath essence for example: it had a pure texture and a rich fragrance. The tiny porcelain bottle was no longer than a thumb and cost one whole tael. The shopkeeper said it was currently the most popular scent among noble ladies. Just one drop in the bath could keep the scent lingering for half a month.
Sasha had already been deeply moved by how much Gordan had taken care of her. Just yesterday, he had given her a box of rouge and two packs of snacks. It almost made her feel like she should offer herself in return.