Chapter 3 - Brief Peace (1/2)

Autumn Wind Teahouse had never been so busy. The hall was crowded with guests. Ci was beautiful and really great at playing Chinese lute, so the guests liked to listen to her playing a tune while drinking tea. Li Qiufeng earned a lot of money from it, so he treated Ci as the apple of his eye.

‘From this we can see how important it is to have a special skill,’ Ci thought to herself.

San also had a completely new appraisal of Ci. Although he often deliberately made things difficult for her, she never got angry; instead, she always gave him a faint smile and said, “Thank you for your help these days.”

Besides, the old goat, Li Qiufeng, didn’t make a pass at Ci.

At the end of the month, Ci got the first monthly pay. She went shopping and bought a pair of cloth shoes for San. San was an orphan and became Li Qiufeng’s servant when he was a child. No one ever showed concern for him. San took one shoe and said with affected disdain, “Don’t you think it’s cool to have toes exposed in summer? The open shoe is called sandal.”

It seemed incredible that sandal was first invented by San.

Ci thrust the other shoe into San’s hands and said, “Try on the shoes. If they don’t fit you, give them to me and I will go to the shoe shop and exchange them for another pair.”

San held the shoes in his arms and ran back to his bedroom, and then burst into tears.

The other maids also received some small gifts from Ci. ‘My salary is higher than theirs. It’s good for me to establish a good relationship with them by giving them some gifts,’ Ci thought and gave the rest of her copper coins to a beggar on the roadside. The beggar kowtowed to her with gratitude. ‘Alas, we both have miserable fates. I’m naturally willing to help you,’ Ci thought.

At dusk, all the servants were eating in the kitchen. For the first time San put some food into Ci’s bowl with his chopsticks. The new shoes were comfortable to wear and San knew that Ci was kind to him.

When Li Qiufeng came to the kitchen, everyone stood up and greeted him, “Good evening, Master.”

“Ci, do you enjoy the food?”

Ci nodded, “Yes. Thank you very much for your concern, Master.”