Chapter 8
I'm Buying It To Wear Myself
"Thank you. Goodbye."
Bai Fanxian said goodbye to the elderly shop owner. In Hui'er's hands was a bag stuffed full with ten million yuan in cash. Earlier, it had almost become complicated. Bai Fanxian was from ten thousand years ago—no bank account, no ID card.
Fortunately, with her extremely cold expression and the shop owner's assumptions, he thought she might want cash. After she wouldn't give a bank account number, he paid in cash from his shop reserves instead.
"It's fine, miss. Come again."
The elderly man wanted to build a connection. This young woman was full of mystery. Being able to bring such valuable herbs to sell might mean she had an extraordinary background.
Making friends was a smarter choice.
"...Mm."
Bai Fanxian nodded lightly. As she walked out of the shop, the small bell sound at the shop entrance announced she'd left.
The elderly shop owner sighed softly.
He looked at the hundred-year ginseng on the table, then pulled out his phone.
"Old Zheng, I've got good news and bad news."
"The bad news is the military wants that 50-year ginseng too."
Hearing that, the voice on the other end seemed to sigh. Before they could hang up, the shop owner quickly added:
"The good news is I just got hundred-year ginseng. And from a source they don't know about yet."
The voice on the other end became excited. The shop owner heard commotion, then heard they'd come immediately.
"Got it. Your granddaughter is like my granddaughter. Either way, this hundred-year ginseng has to help save Meiying."
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.
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Bai Fanxian and Hui'er were walking in the commercial district again. The two had unavoidably become the center of attention. The main reason was probably the clothes they wore.
"Guess we need to look at new clothes first..."
Bai Fanxian assessed with her own eyes. She didn't really care, but being constantly stared at while walking was starting to annoy her.
"Hui'er...let's find clothes for you first."
Bai Fanxian spoke to Hui'er, who was diligently holding the cash bag.
"Yes, my lady." The little girl answered readily.
An hour later, Hui'er wore a black skirt with a white shirt, neat and professional. A tiny necktie at her neck. Small leather shoes that went perfectly with short white socks.
The little girl had firmly refused at first. This outfit cost 3,000 yuan. For a child who'd grown up never handling much money, she saw it as wasteful.
She'd only wanted cheap clothes for a few dozen yuan.
Her lady had pulled rank, saying that as Bai Fanxian's follower, she had to dress well. She absolutely couldn't let anyone look down on her. So she'd accepted this outfit, wearing it comfortably and full of gratitude.
Hui'er now looked like a little secretary holding a bag for her boss. Especially after bathing, dressing, and eating Bai Fanxian's strange pill yesterday, she radiated a little girl's charm that looked extremely cute.
As for Lady Bai Fanxian, she was still in that same outfit that looked like ancient Chinese clothing. She didn't like these modern outfits. Just the materials used—no outfit in the world could compare to the one she was wearing now.
When she walked past a fashion clothing store, something caught her eye.
It wasn't even a trendy fashion outfit.
Not a branded outfit at an incredible price.
Not even a complete outfit—just a shirt.
Just an ordinary "t-shirt" with a cartoon design of a round brown little bear face screen-printed on the chest.
"That's Little Bear." Hui'er spoke in surprise seeing her benefactor lady just staring at that t-shirt.
"...You know it, Hui'er?" Bai Fanxian asked while her eyes still stared at that shirt.
"Yes...it's a really famous cartoon."
Hui'er felt a bit sad thinking of the past. Even though she and her mother weren't rich, once in a while she could watch "Little Bear" when the TV shop in town had it on.
"I see..."
Bai Fanxian walked into the clothing store. The shop owner, a middle-aged woman, flinched. This customer's beauty and strange aura were beyond anything she'd seen.
"How much is that shirt?"
Bai Fanxian pointed at the white t-shirt with the Little Bear design.
"Uh...150 yuan each. Won't that one be too big for that child?"
The shop owner answered nervously. When she saw Hui'er run in after, she kindly advised that the shirt was adult size.
"...I'm buying it to wear myself."
"..."
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.
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The lady and little servant came out walking on the main street again after some commotion. Bai Fanxian had seen that besides the t-shirt, the clothing rack held dozens more Little Bear t-shirts in many colors and poses.
She bought the entire rack.
Hui'er watched it all happen right before her eyes.
Besides this, there were also multi-colored shorts for wearing at home.
Of course they also had Little Bear printed small on the thighs.
Hui'er smiled widely when she learned children's sizes were available. Bai Fanxian didn't hesitate to buy them too. Now the two had dozens of outfits for staying home—enough to change without repeating colors every day.
Even though they repeated designs, since there was only one design...
Dozens of clothes were troublesome to carry. After leaving the clothing store, Bai Fanxian sent them all into her dimension when no one was looking. She only left the cash bag in Hui'er's hand since she saw it was convenient for spending.
"Hui'er, what kind of house do you like?"
Bai Fanxian asked Hui'er as they walked together. This made Hui'er look at her lady, confused, and ask back:
"My lady, are you buying a new house?"
Bai Fanxian nodded. "That room you went to yesterday isn't suitable for living. I already took everything out."
She didn't mention that she'd stored the whole room too.
"I don't really know much about houses..." Hui'er answered shyly. Before, when she'd lived with her mother, it was just a tiny place in the slums. She'd never had a chance to live in a big house at all.
"Really..." Bai Fanxian didn't scold the little girl. She just stroked her head lightly.
"Then in this city, are there inns? Tonight let's stay at an inn first."
"My lady, do you mean a hotel?"
Hui'er asked, not understanding.
"What's a hotel like?"
"A hotel is..."
The two spent time understanding each other for a bit. When Bai Fanxian was sure the hotel Hui'er spoke of was something like the inn she knew, they both headed straight to find the nearest hotel.
Since Hui'er used to wander all over this city, she knew some routes very well. She guided Bai Fanxian to the best hotel in the city, finally leaving the commercial district area.
A street full of cars lay before them. The sidewalk was full of buildings and beautiful shops, but the cars drew Bai Fanxian's attention.
"I've been wanting to ask you. Those are this era's vehicles, right?"
She could sense people inside those boxes. There was also something running under this ground carrying many people and moving very fast too.
"Yes, my lady. They're called cars. They're very comfortable to ride and fast too." Hui'er herself had ridden in cars once in a while when her mother was still around.
"I see." Bai Fanxian stopped being interested in them. She only thought if her inventor companion got to see technology in this era, it would be quite nice.
They arrived at a crosswalk. Many people were waiting to cross the street. Hui'er pointed to the other side—a tall building dozens of floors high, beautifully decorated—and said that was the "hotel" she'd mentioned.
Bai Fanxian nodded. She was also waiting at the crosswalk like others, since Hui'er said it was what everyone did—wait for the light to turn red to cross this street.
Bai Fanxian's outfit looked conspicuous, but no one paid much attention. Strange outfits were everywhere these days. They didn't really stare at people's faces like in the shopping district earlier since this was a main road.
The green light changed to red. Cars on the street gradually stopped until completely still. People waiting at the crosswalk started crossing this main street normally.
Bai Fanxian walked with the crowd, Hui'er following close behind.
"Kyaaa!"
Suddenly, several women screamed at once. Two black cars were chasing each other at full speed. When they reached the red light, they swerved right into another lane. The car behind kept chasing without slowing down.
The driver didn't notice the group of people crossing the street ahead!
Startled cries rang out all around. It happened so fast—before anyone knew what was happening, the lead car was already dangerously close to the pedestrians.
The driver slammed the brakes. Too late. The car skidded toward the crowd!
Worst of all, the person closest to the car was a little girl holding a bag, staring at it with wide eyes.
Hui'er!