CHAPTER 58 - OUR VEGGIES ARE A-PEELING TO THE EYE AND THE PALATE!

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Three days later, I started making preparations for the Emberstone Farm stall display.

“No, no, no! Don’t add more rice. It has to be as varied as we can make it, and the display has to be beautiful and colorful,” I said. “We probably won’t be able to get the grand prize, but I want a medal at least.”

“How could we not get the grand prize?” asked Kharli. “You’re the only spirit farmer in the entire Westerlands!”

“Tsk, tsk, my little apprentice, do you not remember that our chef said that all our produce is only low-grade? That’s why we need to get more points on presentation,” I said, even though that wasn’t the real reason why we wouldn’t win. “Make it more beautiful! The flowers are already good, but do we have any prettier vines and leaves?”

“We need to put the rice at the center of the stall. That’s what people will be interested in,” said Lari.

“Good suggestion.” I removed the eggplants from their position and replaced it with the rice. “Yes, I think that works.”

“Teacher, I think you’re worried for nothing. We’ll definitely win,” said Mo.

“We’ll see. Remember, one of us must be at the stall at all times,” I said. “But you should also enjoy the festival while you’re there.”

“Will we get any pocket money to spend?” asked Lari.

“We’ll see,” I repeated. I was just teasing him though. Of course, I already got a pouch of coins from Shuye to distribute among my household. “Where should we place the chilis?”

The wooden stall had been created by Deming’s assistants using the logs from the trees we had cut. We had put square baskets full of vegetables in the middle part, and the top was decorated with flowers in porcelain vases while vines had been wound around the legs of the stall.

It took quite a while before I was satisfied with the arrangement of the crops and decorative items. Shuye arrived just as we were finishing up.

“Ah, you’re here! You’re just in time,” I said as I handed him a crocus flower as a gift. “What do you think?”

“What is this supposed to be? Are you getting ready to sell your crops yourself?” asked Shuye.

“No, it’s for the Mid-Autumn Festival Contest in Hongzhen,” I said.

“Hongzhen? Where is that?” he asked.

“You know, the closest town north of here,” I said.

“You told me that you were going to the closest town, which is Ganzi,” said Shuye.

“Anyway, it’s the town that I’m going to,” I said. Hongzhen was the venue for the festival in Adventure Incarnate and had the best prizes, too. “Perhaps it’s called something different locally.”

Or maybe the information I got from playing the game was slightly wrong. There could be towns closer than Hongzhen since I suspected that the System’s [World Map] only showed the parts that were significant in Adventure Incarnate.

“You’ll just have to give me directions,” said Shuye. “What time should I bring the carriage?”

“How about two hours before sunset? The festival starts at nine in the evening, but I don’t want to fly at night.” I turned to my apprentices and said, “We're done, go and rest up for tomorrow.”

They went back to the house obediently while I stayed with my Farm Guide.

“You’re bringing them along?” asked Shuye.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I forget to tell you? I thought I said I was bringing everyone,” I said.

“I’ll have to make two trips then,” he said.

“Thank you very much! Are you sure you want to drive us there yourself? Don’t you have any apprentices?”

“No, it’s fine. I want to attend the festival myself,” he said.

“I’m hoping that they’ll have a lot of food stalls!”

We chatted a little, and I kidded him about losing weight ever since his wife became pregnant while I stored the carefully designed festival stall in my inventory.

***

“Nooooo, do I really have to?” I whined.

“Yes, you really have to,” said Fengying.

“What’s wrong with my [Scholar’s Robe]?”

“You’re a baroness now and you need to dress the part.”

I’d forgotten that I was no longer a peasant. Sighing, I changed into the [Auspicious Clouds] set that consisted of a white robe embroidered with golden clouds and a red-orange pleated skirt tied with a white sash. Due to the chilly autumn weather, I opted to retain the long, loose outer robe that I normally discarded. However, I removed all of the jewelry except for the dangling gold earrings with tiny white jade beads. Good quality white jade was considered more valuable than the other colors.

I twirled in place, enjoying the way the skirt billowed around me. It was comfortable enough, and thank goodness that it wasn’t the fashion in this world to wear floor-length garments, so the hem of the skirt was above my ankles.

When I walked out into the outer courtyard, I was glad that I had dressed up. Everyone else was in their best clothes, which they had bought on their shopping trip to the city after the summer harvest. Fengying and Deming were in matching pale green silk robes with an elegant maple leaf design, while the assistants and maids were in colorful cotton robes. They were all carrying either padded jackets, wool cloaks, or fur-lined coats since we expected it would be cooler at night.

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My three apprentices, on the other hand, looked even fancier.

“You’ve really gone all out!” I said to the three of them. “Stand still and let me get a look at all of you.”

“Lady Violet, I hope you like what we’ve done,” said Fengying, gesturing at the two girls.

Mo and Kharli were dressed in near-identical pink robes and skirts, with white belts decorated with gold and carnelian waist ornaments. Their hair had been gathered at the top of their head in a complicated twisted bun, and both were wearing pretty gold flower hairpins as well as pink silk roses in their hair.

“I love the hair and clothes, but… Cosmetics, really? Aren’t the girls too young for that?” I said.

“They're a little young, but this is a special occasion,” said Fengying.

She had a point.

“Okay, I’ll let it pass this time.” I took two small silk pouches from my sleeve and handed one to each of them. “Here’s some pocket money. Don’t spend it all in one place.”

“Ahem.” Lari coughed loudly to attract my attention and held up his hand, palm up. “Teacher, what about mine?”

Fengying and I exchanged a glance full of meaning.

Should I let him get away with it? I asked her silently using a lift of the eyebrows.

I’ve washed my hands of it, she communicated with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

Beside him, the two girls were covering their mouths with their hands and giggling.

“I’m afraid to give you more gold, seeing as you’re covered in it,” I said, gesturing at his golden cap, hairpin, necklace, belt, waist ornaments, and rings. “Where did you even get all that?”

Lari was dressed in bright orange silk robes and pants painted with golden characters for prosperity and long life. My eyes hurt just looking at it.

“The Lane of Exquisite Craftsmanship,” said Lari.

“It's a street full of artisans who specialize in creating the most convincing fakes you'll ever see,” said Fengying. “From fake gold coins to silver plates, they can imitate anything perfectly.”

“I didn't know there was such a place in the city. The authorities allow it?” I asked her.

“They don’t try to pass their wares off as the real thing. If you're in need of a convincing duplicate or just appreciate the mastery of forgery, it's the place to go to,” said Fengying.

“Ahem.” Lari coughed again.

He was still holding his hand up, and I didn’t feel like giving him a lecture, so I just placed the silk pouch in his hand.

“All right, I’ll give you your pocket money, but you have to promise me that you won’t buy fakes this time.”

“Yes, Teacher,” said Lari.

This morning at dawn, we had finished watering and tending to the plants before using the hot spring facilities. Now it was midmorning, and Shuye was waiting for us at the carriage. Since there were a lot of us, we would have to make two trips. I and my three apprentices would go first to show Shuye the way to Hongzhen. Then Shuye would go back for the others.

“Good morning. We’ve got nice weather for flying today,” said Shuye. His hair was still shaggy, but he had made some effort to dress up a little because his robe and pants were of good quality brown cotton today.

“Good morning,” I said.

Shuye and the others also exchanged bows and greetings before we got on our way. My apprentices marveled at the luxurious interior of the carriage and fought each other over who was going to sit beside me on the side near the driver.

“Stop fighting. Kharli, come sit beside me since you’re the eldest,” I said.

On the other side of the wall between us, Shuye slid open a small window and spoke through it. “I’ll head due north. Let me know how I should alter the flight path.”

I had drawn a map and showed him our destination, but it seemed that the drawing was too simplified for him, and he couldn’t quite understand which one of the many towns I wanted to go to since there were a lot of them.

“Thank you, I will.”

We kept the window open and I gave him a few directions while we flew. The carriage was really something. The flight was extremely smooth, and I didn’t feel scared at all. Less than an hour later, we landed in front of the Hongzhen town’s gate. We got off and said our goodbyes to Shuye who immediately flew off to fetch the others.

“No, don’t run.” I grabbed Lari by the back of his robe. Sometimes I forgot how young my apprentices were. “We’re going to stay together until we finish getting rooms at the inn and registering for the contest.”

The town was rectangular in shape, with sturdy, hard-packed earth and stone walls. Today, because of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the wooden gates had all been flung wide open and the guards simply let everyone enter while keeping an eye on the crowd.

Well, it wasn’t so much a crowd as it was just a few dozen groups of people entering together. They were probably groups of families who had come from the surrounding villages.

Unlike the city, this town was much smaller and less intimidating. The walls were only seven feet tall by my estimation, and when we entered we saw that the houses were small and mostly made of wood with sloping roofs covered in brown tiles. This must be a very peaceful town because I noticed that all of the houses had opened their front doors, and I could see people going in and out frequently, no doubt because the Mid-Autumn Festival was a time for families to visit each other.

There were just two main streets, paved with stone and lined with scholar trees, leading to the town square, so we passed by many colorfully-dressed groups of people. I asked one of them where the town inn was and, after following their directions, my apprentices and I found a charming little place near the town square.

It was a traditional wooden structure with a sloping roof covered in red tiles. The wooden door was prettily carved with an intricate tree and flower design, and the front of the inn was gaily decorated with colorful red and white lanterns.

We stepped inside to see that the outer courtyard and rooms were used as a restaurant which was currently full of noisy revelers. The innkeeper, a respectable-looking middle-aged woman, led us to the inner courtyard after I informed her that I was looking to rent three rooms, one for myself, one for my apprentices, and one for the staff.

The others had told me that we didn’t need rooms at the Inn since we weren’t staying overnight, but I wanted a place where we could store our belongings, especially all the things that we would be buying in town. Also, the rooms could serve as a nice resting place. These days I was very much a creature of habit who went to bed by nine o’clock. Therefore, I planned to take an afternoon nap in order to stay awake for the night festivities.

The rooms we were shown were sparsely furnished with only a bed, a small table, and a chair, but they were spotlessly clean and inviting.

“Thank you very much. These rooms will do.” I said after inspecting them. “The rest of my household should arrive within the hour. My housekeeper’s name is Fengying.”

“Yes, Lady Violet. Please let me know if you need anything,” said the innkeeper before she left.

“Teacher, you forgot to haggle over the price!” said Lari.

“Uh, you’re right.” What a rookie mistake! “Here are your keys. Don’t lose them. Now let’s go to the town square and register for the contest.”

We locked the doors and headed to the center of town where we greeted the Mayor, an apple-cheeked man with a bushy beard, and announced our intention to join the Harvest Showcase competition. He gave us a small wooden tablet with the number eight carved on it after we paid the entry fee.

The town square was already full of stalls, but the northwestern corner had been reserved for the agricultural displays. We quickly made our way to our designated spot, and there was a small commotion from gossipy townspeople when I took out our stall.

“A newcomer! Where is she from? Do you guys know her?”

“Nice flowers.”

“The vegetables are a little small. Did you see the giant turnip at Farmer Di’s stall?”

“It’s colorful.”

“Which farm is she from?”

I expected them to come forward and ask me about the stall, but they kept their distance, so I ignored them while I repeated the instructions that I had already given my apprentices earlier today.

“All right. Fengying and the others should be here soon. When they arrive, make sure that there are always two people at the stall at all times. You can do whatever you want when you’re not on stall duty.”

“Yes, Teacher,” they chorused.

“Buy your own lunch. We’ll meet for dinner at sunset at the inn. See you later!” I left them to watch the stall because now it was time for me to enjoy the best part of the Mid-Autumn Festival: shopping and eating street food.

Oh my gosh! Was that a tornado fries stall?