Chapter 17

Ruan Qing took Nian Qi to a shopping mall, specifically choosing one with an open atrium in the center. The five-story high open space left him in awe once again. Ruan Qing didn’t rush him, standing by with a patient smile. When he turned his head, he caught the hint of amusement at the corners of her mouth. He vaguely sensed that Ruan Qing seemed to derive a certain satisfaction from his reactions, though he wasn’t entirely sure what kind of strange enjoyment this could be. In his time, there was no concept of “satisfaction from immersion,” so he had no idea that Ruan Qing found joy in watching his awe.

When her curiosity was satisfied, she called to him, “Let’s go buy some shoes.” Ruan Qing didn’t purchase anything extravagant like Zhao Hao’s shoes, as there was no transactional relationship between them like she had with Zhao Hao, where the older sister paid for things and her younger “boyfriend” provided his youthful energy in return. Instead, she bought him two pairs of simple shoes,  one pair of sneakers and one pair of casual shoes, along with socks. She told him, “Keep the black cloth shoes as a keepsake.” The clerk packed the old shoes in the box with the new ones, and Nian Qi wore the new shoes out of the store.

Those black cloth shoes were ordinary in every way. When he took on jobs in his world, none of his clothing or shoes had any distinctive markings, everything was bought at the most unremarkable general stores to avoid leaving any identifiable traces for revenge seekers. Arriving in this world with no belongings, the simple shoes became one of his few links to his former life. Yet, aside from the funds he hadn’t managed to spend, he felt no particular attachment to his past. He’d cut ties with his old world far more decisively than Ruan Qing might have expected.

The previous night at the hospital, he’d seen Ruan Qing use that rectangular device—now he knew it was called a phone—to pay the bill. He still didn’t understand how it worked but had caught the amount she spent. The two pairs of shoes had cost over a thousand yuan, about six or seven hundred per pair.

“All set,” she said cheerfully after paying. Nian Qi instinctively picked up the shopping bags and followed her. He noticed that in most male-female pairs around them, the woman walked in front while the man carried the bags.

Following Ruan Qing, he asked curiously, “There’s no need to use cash?”

“It’s already paid,” Ruan Qing said, waving her phone. “It’s electronic payment.” She checked the time—it was still early, and she wasn’t very hungry. “Let’s browse a bit, I’ll explain how money works here.”

As they strolled past stores filled with clothes, shoes, and other items, Ruan Qing gave him a brief history of currency, from bartering to shell currency, silk, and copper coins.

“We had something similar called jiaozhi, but it was only recognized by the government, not commonly accepted by the people,” he noted. (jiaozhi (交子) is an early form of paper currency from China)

“Well, that was a precursor to paper money,” she continued. Ruan Qing rummaged through her bag. Although electronic payment was the norm, she kept a small amount of paper money in case her phone died and she hadn’t had time to charge it.

Nian Qi took the paper bills she handed him, examining them carefully. To Ruan Qing’s surprise, he even held them up to the light, prompting her to look at him in a new light.

“There’s a watermark,” he observed.

He narrowed his eyes and inspected the banknote closely, saying, “With such intricate patterns, even without this watermark, it would be hard to counterfeit.” He even rubbed the bill between his fingers to feel the paper’s texture. As one of the ten top assassins from Yanwang Hall, forgery wasn’t exactly Nian Qi’s specialty, but he knew enough to understand. Yanwang Hall had experts in every trade, including counterfeiting, they could hire these specialists for whatever needed crafting. In the organization, each person had a role, some assassins, some forgers. The great and infamous Yanwang Hall was known as the number-one assassins’ guild, striking fear into hearts everywhere. They took any job, whether from high-ranking officials or wealthy merchants.

A complicated feeling arose in Ruan Qing as she listened. “This is our current currency,” she said. “Until a few years ago, everyone still used cash. It’s still accepted, but hardly anyone uses it because electronic payments have become widespread.” Explaining electronic payments was challenging since it was abstract for someone like Nian Qi.

After some thought, she tried to illustrate, “Imagine you have a hundred taels of silver stored at a bank. You don’t carry it around with you, right? You leave it in the bank and go shopping. When you make a purchase, you give the store your bank account information and sign a note as proof of payment. That way, you don’t pay cash on the spot. Otherwise, a hundred taels would be quite heavy to carry. Then the store goes to the bank and settles the account based on your note.”

“I get it,” said Nian Qi. “Like credit.”

“No, no, not quite, there’s no debt involved now.” Ruan Qing realized she’d waved her phone around several times today while explaining things. She shook it again and said, “Now, everything that used to be paperwork, matching accounts, running errands, and settling balances is entirely electronic. As long as you have a phone, it all takes seconds. No more people physically running around, networks and computer technology handle it all, instantly.”

She continued, “Just like when I paid at the counter by scanning my phone or when I ordered delivery from home and paid instantly.” This was a bit more abstract, and she worried Nian Qi might not follow. But he replied, “Like how people can travel to the moon and cars run without horses. I don’t need to know how it’s done, skilled craftsmen have ways to make it work, right?”

“Exactly!” Ruan Qing applauded his open-mindedness. “Keep that approach, and you’ll adapt to anything here.”

“So, first, you need money,” Nian Qi deduced, “and second, a ‘bank account’?”

Ruan Qing was impressed. “You’re missing one essential element.”

Without her prompting, Nian Qi guessed, “An identity.”

“That’s why I said an identity is essential here,” Ruan Qing said. “Of course, you could get by without it, but you’d face endless hassles and be completely cut off from society.” Nian Qi nodded, realizing for the first time how crucial “identity” was in this world.

Then, Ruan Qing took him to the underwear section, handing him over to a store clerk. “Please help him with sizing and getting a few pairs of underwear.”

The clerk, a woman, took out a soft tape measure and directly measured Nian Qi’s waist and hips, selecting the appropriate size for him. Nian Qi felt extremely awkward. Although the clerk was just doing her job, she was clearly a respectable young lady. The women here seemed so bold. Fortunately, Ruan Qing simply waited nearby, thoughtfully turning her head away, which spared him additional embarrassment.

Ruan Qing wanted to buy a couple of new outfits for him, but Nian Qi stopped her. “Zhao Hao’s clothes fit me well. There’s no need to spend extra.” They wandered through the mall, looking mainly at clothes and shoes. Though Nian Qi hadn’t yet formed a clear concept of modern prices, he remembered Ruan Qing mentioning that a bus ride cost a few yuan, and comparing that to clothes and shoes that cost hundreds or thousands, he felt they were quite expensive. Though he had no idea how much Ruan Qing earned, judging by her car and her ability to indulge a lover, it seemed substantial. Still, she was a woman working hard to support herself, so since he already had clothes to wear, he didn’t want her to spend more unnecessarily.

This reminded him of the savings he’d left at Yanwang Hall. In three more years, he could retire with the gold he’d earned through years of risk and bloodshed. If only he could have brought those savings here, sure, silver might be worthless, but gold would still fetch a good price. Then, he wouldn’t need to use Ruan Qing’s money. He could even spend lavishly to repay her kindness. What a pity!

“Come on, let’s get something to eat.” Ruan Qing led him up to the dining level. As they rode the escalator, Nian Qi commented admiringly, “Miss Ruan is truly knowledgeable. I must apologize for underestimating you.”

Ruan Qing: “?”

“What you were explaining earlier is related to the study of ‘commodities and finance,’ correct?” Nian Qi said approvingly. “That’s the sort of expertise that only truly learned people would pursue.”

Ruan Qing chuckled. “Oh, it’s nothing.” Although she’d studied a bit in history and political economy classes, most of the finer points she knew actually came from reading historical fiction novels. She decided to keep that part to herself, though.

Noting his apparent tolerance for spicy food, she decided to treat him to hot pot for dinner. “Did you have anything like this back in your time?” she asked when the pot arrived, assuming hot pot was likely a more recent invention.

After inspecting it carefully, Nian Qi confirmed, “This is just like bo xia gong,” and described the dish, which sounded much like a hot pot with items dipped into boiling broth.

“Well, alright then,” Ruan Qing chuckled, realizing that her historical novels, which often depicted hot pot as a groundbreaking novelty for time travelers to introduce to ancient societies, might have been misleading.

While Nian Qi wasn’t fazed by the hot pot itself, the menu items surprised him: “Beef is readily available?” “Can you really slaughter cattle freely?” “You don’t get jailed for killing cattle?”

“We’ve put a man on the moon, no one uses cows for farming anymore,” Ruan Qing enjoyed explaining these modern concepts. “Now, cattle are mainly raised for milk or meat. You might see cows in very rural areas, but even there, it’s not so common. Only in very remote places, like where my grandfather grew up.”

As the broth heated, Ruan Qing took Nian Qi’s phone and said, “I have a small WeChat account you can use for now.” She’d cleared it out, added her main account, and showed him: “This is me.” She taught him to send voice messages and use voice-to-text: “Once you’re familiar with pinyin, you can use this input method too.” Then, she taught him how to scan codes and pull up his own QR code.

“This account isn’t linked to any bank card, but it has a ‘wallet’ function here.” She transferred 1,000 yuan to his account. “Here’s 1,000 yuan to get you started.”

Discovering that a phone could be used for communication beyond calls, Nian Qi was stunned. “So…you can communicate in complete silence?” It was far more efficient than carrier pigeons or couriered messages. Immediately, his mind raced with how he could’ve used this tool for his “business,” but then he remembered, his old world was far behind him now. Here, he had no “business” to attend to. A strange feeling crept over him, an odd mixture of relief and loss.

Across the table, Ruan Qing pointed at the bubbling pot with her chopsticks, a warm smile in her eyes. “I made sure there’s a mild side. If you can’t handle the spice, stick to that half.” Steam rose from the pot, and with the glow of the restaurant lights, her smiling face seemed almost dreamlike.