Chapter 29: Chen Yan's 'Street Patrol', The First Bloom of Prosperity

"Stay calm."

Chen Yan gave the overly excited Sun an exasperated glance. He was actually thrilled himself—after all, this was the highest single-day... no, half-day foot traffic the Ancient City had seen in the three years since he took over. However, thrilled as he was, he knew that while a surge in visitors was a good thing, it was precisely at times like this that he needed to remain calm. The Ancient City simply hadn't hosted this many guests at once in a very long time.

After some thought, he told Sun and Xu Ping to go eat while he stayed behind to keep an eye on the ticket office. As he watched Sun—dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, his posture relaxed—walking side-by-side toward the cafeteria with Xu Ping, who was clad in plain, traditional short clothes and walking with measured steps, Chen Yan tilted his head. He couldn't help but feel that the picture they painted was a bit discordant.

Half an hour later.

Once the two returned from lunch, Chen Yan, who had sold two more tickets in the meantime, did not stay at the ticket office. He instructed Sun to watch the booth and call him if anything came up, then hurried toward Qinghe Street.

All morning, he had appeared as steady as a rock, but was actually a nervous wreck inside. To outsiders, Qinghe Street was just a Song-style replica street. But only he knew that every plant, tree, person, and object on that street had been transplanted intact from genuine antiquity. Because of this, he was desperate to know how the neighbors on Qinghe Street were handling the influx of over twenty tourists that morning, and whether any uncontrollable situations had arisen.

Walking at a brisk pace, Chen Yan reached the entrance of Qinghe Street in just a few minutes. Beneath the wooden archway, the gravel and dirt road was baking under the midday sun. The ticket office had sold twenty-four tickets that morning, and he had already noticed that hardly any of the tourists who entered had come back out. Considering the scenic area only had this one entrance and exit, this proved only one thing: most of the tourists were still inside.

From a distance, Chen Yan could hear a commotion coming from Li's Tea House. Stepping up to the door and peering inside, he saw three tables of guests. Si was standing in front of the tea-whisking counter, his hands spinning the tea whisk at a dizzying speed, occasionally drawing a few cheers. The two guests closest to him, a man and a woman, were holding up their phones to record. One of them had shoved the lens incredibly close, almost touching the rim of the teacup.

"Please step back a little, dear guest. The boiling water is scalding, be careful not to hurt yourself," Si said.

Faced with such close-up recording, Si remained unfazed, simply reminding the guest to mind their safety. The recording guest had the good sense to comply, immediately taking a half-step back. Meanwhile, Shopkeeper Li sat behind the counter flipping through an account book. He would occasionally look up to scan the shop before lowering his head again, as if none of it concerned him.

Having finished whisking a cup of tea, Si suddenly noticed Chen Yan at the door and was about to greet him. However, seeing Chen Yan give a slight shake of his head, Si stayed silent as Chen Yan walked away.

Li's Tea House was safe.

Diagonally across from the tea house was Tongyuan Money Shop. Originally, Chen Yan thought no one would visit this place. But as he looked inside the Money Shop, he found a young man holding a DSLR camera, seemingly trying to capture the interior details, only to be stopped by Shopkeeper Yan.

"Please forgive me, guest. The account books and the contents of the silver vault are the foundation of our business. We cannot show them to outsiders, so please go no further." Shopkeeper Yan cupped his hands toward the young man. His words were polite, but his body, blocking the way, didn't budge an inch.

Stopped by Shopkeeper Yan, the young man couldn't very well force his way in, so he left resentfully.

"What the hell? Acting as if there's actually real money stored in those cabinets, pfft!"

Walking past Chen Yan, the young man who had failed to capture the details of the Money Shop looked displeased, grumbling all the way as he left Qinghe Street.

"Boss."

Whether Shopkeeper Yan had heard the young man's complaints or not was unknown, but after watching him leave, he immediately noticed Chen Yan standing nearby and bowed to him from a distance. Cupping his hands in response, Chen Yan didn't linger and continued walking deeper down the street.

Tongyuan Money Shop was a bit precarious, but the risks were manageable for now.

A moment later.

When he arrived near Miss Yu the Third's Guduo stall, he saw that there were actually more customers gathered here than at Li's Tea House! At least six or seven people were crowding around the stall—some adults, but mostly children. Miss Yu the Third was dropping Guduo into the wok of oil. Loosening her bamboo tongs, the doughy Guduo fell into the hot oil with a loud SIZZLE, sending an appetizing aroma drifting far and wide.

"It's my turn, it's my turn!"

Soon, as a batch of Guduo finished frying and was scooped out, a chubby little boy bounced up and down anxiously, tugging on his mother's sleeve and shouting.

Patting the boy's head to quiet him down, the mother somewhat clumsily counted out four copper coins from her coin pouch and handed them to Miss Yu the Third. After taking two freshly fried skewers of Guduo, she led the little boy to a locust tree beside the stall. She handed him one skewer and kept the other for herself. Leaning against the riverside railing, the mother and son began eating with relish. And just like this duo, several other tourists were also staying under the shade of the trees, enjoying their skewers while cooling off.

"I'll take five skewers of Guduo."

Expertly stacking up ten copper plates, Chen Yan decisively joined the army of Guduo buyers.

"Please wait a moment, dear guest. There are still a few—"

Calling out hastily, Miss Yu the Third, who was sweating from her busy work, felt the voice sounded somewhat familiar. She looked up and suddenly broke into a smile.

"There are still a few ahead of you, dear guest. You can stroll around elsewhere first, and I will keep them for you once they're done." She didn't call him Boss, speaking to him as politely as she would to any other tourist.

"Alright. The money is paid, I'll come pick up the Guduo later."

Chen Yan nodded. Under the slightly inquisitive gazes of the surrounding mothers, he didn't linger. Following Yongtong Bridge, he arrived at the North Shore of Qinghe Street.

Yu's Guduo was bustling, but safe.

Beneath the bridge, the flowing water murmured gently; the soft, babbling sound was enough to make anyone drowsy. But Chen Yan didn't feel the slightest bit sleepy, for he had caught the distinct fragrance drifting on the breeze from Su's Fragrance and Medicine Shop again.

Following the scent to the door of the Fragrance Medicine Shop, he didn't go in, merely casting a few glances inside. There weren't many customers in the shop. Including Su Ruolan, the shopkeeper, there were only three people, all of them young women. One of the women, sporting large, black-framed plastic glasses on her face, was pressing close to the wooden grid cabinets, reading the labels on them. The other woman was leaning on the counter, chatting with Su Ruolan, who pulled out a small saucer of candied fruits from beneath the counter to show her.

"This is a fragrant and medicinal candied fruit. It's preserved with cinnamon and is used to freshen the breath."

"It smells so good! Did you make this yourself, Miss?"

"Yes..."

The two chatted casually about candied fruits. Su Ruolan was very patient, her tone so soft and gentle that it made one feel as if they were bathing in a spring breeze.

Suddenly, the young woman's gaze shifted from the candied fruit in the saucer to Su Ruolan's face. After scrutinizing her carefully for a few seconds, she said, "Miss, you have such a wonderful aura. You look like someone who walked right out of an ancient painting!"

Surprised by the sudden praise, Su Ruolan was visibly taken aback for a few seconds. Once she recovered, she lowered her head slightly.

"You must be joking, Miss. If you like it, feel free to try another piece. It's perfectly fine even if you don't buy anything."

Seeing this, Chen Yan retracted his gaze and smiled as he headed toward the Blacksmith Shop.

Su's Fragrance and Medicine Shop was very safe.