Chapter 6: Sugar Figurines and Street Swagger
“Name?”
Gu Yunfei wanted to blurt out his own name, but then he thought, as a mere infant, no matter how clever, he wouldn’t name himself.
Taking advantage of Liang Dekuai rubbing her face against his, he swung his tiny hand and slapped her face hard.
“Name, name—”
Gu Yunfei smacked Liang Dekuai’s face repeatedly while chanting “name.”
Absolutely no intention of deliberately hitting her. None at all.
Le Yushang watched her little rascal flail happily, her heart filled with joy.
But as those tiny hands kept smacking her face, something felt off.
“This little guy’s so clever. Is he hitting me on purpose?”
Le Yushang looked at Gu Yunfei, who was swinging even harder.
“Grandpa—”
Hearing that “Grandpa,” Le Yushang’s heart melted instantly.
“Hit, hit! Hit hard! Grandpa’s happy!”
Le Yushang lifted Gu Yunfei, spinning him in circles.
“Whee!”
She had a Pure Yin Body and Pure Yin Spirit Root, requiring her to remain chaste her entire life.
This meant watching others marry and have children, which she envied deeply.
She could never marry, let alone have kids.
That’s why she doted on Gu Yunfei so much.
“Little rascal, come, Grandpa will take you to find someone who can give you a name.”
“Name?”
Gu Yunfei tilted his head.
This sight melted Le Yushang’s heart again.
“Oh, my little rascal is so cute—”
Le Yushang hugged her grandson and left the mansion, heading to the streets to find a fortune-teller to give him a good name.
This was Gu Yunfei’s first clear look at the town.
It resembled a typical rural village from his hometown.
Carriages rolled by, used by the wealthy and powerful.
Ordinary folks relied on their own two legs.
The town had three markets: one at the northern entrance, one at the southern entrance, and the busiest one in the center.
Since they were looking for a fortune-teller to name him, they couldn’t go to just any random place.
The two arrived at the bustling central market.
As soon as Gu Yunfei entered, he spotted the tallest building.
“Grandpa—there, there—”
Le Yushang followed his pointing finger, her old face flushing instantly.
“Little rascal, we can’t go there. That’s a brothel, a place for fooling around with women.”
“Not to mention, as cultivators, even normal men should control themselves and avoid such places.”
Le Yushang spoke earnestly to Gu Yunfei.
“Hm! No marry!”
“That’s right.”
Le Yushang, knowing Gu Yunfei’s cleverness, relaxed upon hearing this.
As they passed the brothel, women upstairs waved handkerchiefs, trying to entice the grandfather and grandson.
Gu Yunfei put his hands on his hips, pointed up, and said, “No go, dirty!”
The women paused, gave a wry smile, then turned to call out to others.
Passing shop after shop, Gu Yunfei’s eyes never stopped scanning the items on display.
“Grandpa, I want that—”
Gu Yunfei tugged Liang Dekuai’s hair, pointing at a shop selling sugar figurines.
“Sugar figurines? Alright, Grandpa will buy you one.”
Just as they were about to enter, a woman in black, wearing a black hat, bumped into Liang Dekuai.
Her face came close to Gu Yunfei’s, almost touching.
Before their faces met, Le Yushang felt her grandson slipping and jostled him upward.
Unfortunately, this caused Gu Yunfei’s open-crotch pants to land right by the woman’s mouth.
“Sorry, sorry.”
The woman, having accidentally tasted something, didn’t focus on it.
She apologized quickly and hurried into the shop.
Gu Yunfei looked closely.
The woman held a bamboo pole with a cloth tied to it, but he couldn’t read what was written on it.
Just now, when their faces nearly touched, he caught a glimpse of her appearance.
How to describe it?
Gu Yunfei was smitten!
But he didn’t forget his purpose.
His eyes scanned and landed on an interesting sugar figurine.
It depicted two people hugging, though their genders were unclear.
“Grandpa, I want that sugar figurine.”
“I want that sugar figurine!”
Just as Gu Yunfei spoke, someone else beat him to it.
He looked—it was the woman from earlier.
“Shopkeeper, how much for this sugar figurine? I’ll pay double. My grandson loves it!”
“No way!”
The woman grew anxious.
“I was here first. Shopkeeper, sell it to me!”
“Merchants care about profit. Shopkeeper, I’ll pay triple!”
The woman wanted to raise her bid but realized she only had enough coins for the figurine’s base price.
Her mind raced.
“Shopkeeper, merchants care about profit, but credibility matters more. A shop without credibility gets no customers!”
The sugar figurine vendor was stunned.
How did these two turn three sentences into a debate about his shop’s credibility?
Before he could respond, Le Yushang jumped in.
“Credibility? You dare mention credibility? You nearly knocked my grandson over earlier, and I didn’t even bring it up. Now you talk about credibility?”
Gu Yunfei, seeing his chance, rolled his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and collapsed motionless in Le Yushang’s arms.
“You! You two!”
The woman pointed at them, dumbfounded.
“All this for a sugar figurine?”
“Tell you what, give me the figurine, and I’ll read your fortune for free. How’s that?”
“Hm?”
Gu Yunfei’s eyes lit up.
He didn’t care which figurine he got, but if this woman was offering a free fortune-telling, that worked.
He gave Liang Dekuai a look, and she understood instantly.
“Two times! Two free readings, and it’s yours!”
“You!”
The woman fumed at the haggling but saw the old man pull out a silver coin, fearing he’d buy the figurine outright.
“Fine, two times!”
She pulled out her prepared coins and handed them to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper wasn’t thrilled but didn’t show it.
Either way, he made a profit, just a matter of how much.
Besides, the customers had agreed, and reneging would hurt his credibility.
After the woman took the sugar figurine, Liang Dekuai slapped a large silver coin on the counter.
“Pack up all the remaining sugar figurines! My grandson can’t lose out!”
Soon, Gu Yunfei held ten figurines in his hands, eight between his toes, one in his mouth, and Le Yushang carried a stick loaded with more.
Most sugar figurine buyers were kids.
Gu Yunfei strutted with swagger, earning the admiration of countless children on the street.