Chapter 57: Strolling the Market and Overhearing Gossip

After finishing the meal, all the men chose to stay behind and sleep. Since they were on night watch duty, they were indeed exhausted.

“Today just happens to be the market day that comes once every six days. With so many people, it’s really lively. You’ve come at just the right time,” the young wife said proudly when she learned that some of them planned to visit the town.

“But I suggest you don’t buy the porcelain on display at the stalls. Those are factory rejects, defective goods the kiln didn’t want. If you really want to buy some, just tell me—I’ll have my husband bring back the good stuff for you.”

Song Yeqing simply replied that it wasn’t necessary, but still thanked her before heading out to meet up with the others.

The market was bustling and chaotic. Worried that she wouldn’t be able to manage the two children on such a busy street, He Yanxin had firmly made the two boys stay behind and nap.

The boys were clearly unhappy about this but obediently stayed.

Their father had told them that the street was home to the wicked old witch from the storybooks—if she caught them, they’d never see their parents again.

Upon hearing this, little He Chengze didn’t dare to go outside. He quickly climbed into bed and hid under the blanket so he wouldn’t get caught.

As for Song Chengsi, he was even easier to fool. Besides, he’d never been one to cling to adults.

He had a kind of wandering hero attitude: If you come along, great. If you don’t—whatever.

“Qing-niang, don’t buy too many groceries—we’re having dinner together tonight,” Madam Ge reminded her as they approached the market.

“It should be you coming to our place instead! Dear in-law, don’t argue with me. Qing-niangzi, bring the children and come eat at our place tonight,” Madam Qi added, smiling warmly and kindly.

Along the journey, her daughter had received plenty of care from the He family—they even helped pack their belongings and gave them room on the ox cart. A little hospitality in return was only proper.

Even though their families weren’t very close—just neighbors through marriage who had only met twice—directly offering them travel money would’ve made things feel too formal and awkward, as if they were eager to draw a line between them.

So, she planned to host them for a good meal instead.

Song Yeqing had been observing the roadside houses, but upon hearing their invitation, she quickly declined.

“No need. You all enjoy dinner—we won’t join.”

Even after several polite refusals, it took some effort to finally dampen their warm insistence.

Once they reached the market, the houses were all wooden structures with a quaint, old-fashioned charm.

People bustled in all directions, and both sides of the street were lined with a wide variety of goods. The cries of vendors rang out endlessly.

Chickens and ducks were kept in bamboo cages, while vegetables and fruits were laid out on coarse burlap mats on the ground.

Vendors selling cosmetics, sachets, jewelry, and other delicate items had proper stalls set up.

Bundles of firewood were tied up for sale, and some people were even selling water.

Those selling food were doing their best to attract customers, but with prices rising lately, very few people could afford to eat out.

And of course, the town’s local specialty—various kinds of ceramic ware—was on display.

At a glance, the selection of goods was quite comprehensive.

It was exactly as the young wife had said—very lively.

The town’s prosperity came not just from its ceramics, but also from its favorable location.

Kangyou Town was close to the county seat of Yuping. It only took a little over an hour to walk there—much closer than Anshan Village was to Yongqing County.

The scene before her eyes was like watching an ancient painting come to life—utterly captivating.

This was the first time since her transmigration that Song Yeqing had truly felt she was living in an ancient world.

It was also the first time she’d been to a relatively bustling populated area, and it was eye-opening.

She really wished she could pull out her camera and take a photo.

She’d taken a lot of pictures before—mostly of He Chengze and Song Chengsi, of course.

Capturing the kids’ growth was incredibly meaningful to her.

“What’s wrong?”

The voice of Madam Chen beside her snapped Song Yeqing out of her thoughts.

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

It was all very novel, but the thick, noisy human presence was beginning to wear on her.

Following behind Madam Ge and the others, getting jostled again and again in the crowded market, she soon found herself growing irritated.

This wasn’t her kind of environment. She’d rather wait somewhere less crowded.

“Madam, you all go ahead and browse. I’ll check things out over there. Let’s meet back at the entrance we came in through.”

The noise made it hard to hear, so she had to raise her voice and repeat herself twice.

“Ah? Oh, okay!” Madam Ge was busy bargaining with a vegetable seller and couldn’t spare much attention for her.

Once Song Yeqing confirmed she’d been heard, she left and walked farther down the street.

The street was quite long, and after much effort squeezing through the crowds, she finally reached the more open section at the far end.

There were no vegetable or produce vendors in this part—mostly items that only people with extra money would buy, the kind you could look at but not eat.

In other words, this area sold things like cosmetics, perfumes, clothing, and jewelry.

People gathered in small groups to chat and gossip, reconnecting with friends and relatives they’d run into on the street.

By now, Song Yeqing’s hearing had improved greatly compared to when she first arrived. Even from a distance, she could hear what people were talking about.

“I’ll tell you something, but you mustn’t spread it,” one country woman said, covering her mouth with her hand as she whispered to her companions.

Song Yeqing couldn’t help but smirk inwardly.

With an opening line like that, you could bet at least half the people would end up talking.

Sure enough, after the woman finished sharing her piece of gossip, everyone around her exclaimed in shock:

“Really? No way! I never would’ve guessed!”

Not wanting to hear about some widow from East Village sneaking off with a man from West Village, Song Yeqing moved a few steps away.

Over here, a group of young men were sitting or squatting on the ground. Two of them were smoking long pipes. They chatted intermittently.

They didn’t look very old—probably in their teens or early twenties.

In modern terms, they would’ve been the small-town hooligan type.

“Men surely won’t gossip as much, right?” Song Yeqing thought.

Well… wrong again.

“Didn’t he marry that girl from XX Village?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s the one. That family has five brothers!”

“Whoa, tough break.”

“But she’s got the looks—tiny waist and all. That guy’s lucky.”

Just as Song Yeqing was debating whether to move again, one of the young men—who looked especially troubled—finally spoke up.

“Something weird happened in our village the night before last,” he said, hesitating as he glanced around cautiously.

When he spotted Song Yeqing nearby, he probably figured she was too far to hear, so he didn’t pay her any mind.

“What happened? Spit it out! What are you afraid of?” The others egged him on when he hesitated.

The man lowered his voice even more. “A mountain god appeared in our village! The mountain god said…” He pointed upward. “The most powerful man in Qizhou is about to rebel!”

“Whoa!! Are you serious?”

Everyone was stunned by the news and immediately began pressing him for more details.

But most of them clearly thought he was just making up stories for attention.

“What else did the mountain god say? Did he say when you’ll finally get a wife, Li Datou? Hahahahaha…”

After all, who didn’t enjoy spinning tall tales? They often did it themselves.

Inventing an outrageous story and basking in everyone’s surprised reactions—how satisfying.

But Li Datou’s story today was really pushing it. At most, they usually gossiped about the mayor’s mistress.

This guy had dragged in the mountain god and even dared to use the Prince of Qi’s name as bait—bold move.

Most of them treated it like a joke and laughed it off.