I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

While Zhao Ningning was tossing and turning in the space, unable to sleep, someone opened a crack in the window of the room outside the space.

The open window swept across the teacups on the dresser, causing them to fall to the ground with a thud. Zhao Ningning immediately sat up from the covers.

The inn was pitch black, with only some light around the brazier. Zhao Ningning carefully observed the area, and the person outside the window was startled. After muttering a curse, he dared not open the window again.

Outside, for some reason, the commotion hadn't woken up Ning's father. After confirming that no one had entered the room, Zhao Ningning put on her clothes and slipped out of the space.

Leaning over the bedside, she gently shook Ning's father's shoulder. Seeing that he did not react and was still fast asleep, Zhao Ningning knew that something was wrong.

The room must have been drugged.

Thankfully, Ning's father insisted on not letting her sleep outside, otherwise they would both be in trouble tonight.

Zhao Ningning looked around and decisively opened the back window used for ventilation. She picked a piece of firewood from the brazier in the room and threw it out the back window.

If I remember correctly, the room behind was where the inn stored firewood. When Zhao Ningning threw the firewood, she tried to throw it out as far as possible, afraid that one piece of firewood wouldn't be enough. She threw out a few more pieces, and then threw out all the firewood.

The latch on the room door made a sound, and Zhao Ningning's heart skipped a beat. She glanced at the table, which was holding the latch firmly in place, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

People outside couldn't get in, and in a fit of anger, they went to find the next place. Zhao Ningning quietly walked to the door, put her ear to it, and heard a conversation coming from the corridor.

"silver……"

"...Too little"

"Poor wretch..."

"...Damn it...what a waste of effort..."

Based on their conversation, Zhao Ningning deduced that they were likely a group of thieves who stole money.

The first person couldn't open the door. Soon after, another person came over, and when they found they couldn't open it, they angrily shook the door.

Zhao Ningning dared not breathe. She stood at the head of the bed while the thief shook the door from outside. She shook her father in the room.

Perhaps due to the destructive force, the bolt, which had been firmly held in place, began to loosen. Zhao Ningning was startled and quickly went over to hold it in place.

The thief outside the door was persistent and continued to ram the door. Just as Zhao Ningning was getting extremely anxious, a puff of white smoke came from the back window.

It's on fire.

The firewood she had just thrown down set the house outside on fire!

The inn caught fire, and everyone staying in the dormitory on the first floor woke up. The entire inn was immediately filled with fire and candles, and became lively.

The innkeeper's waiter, carrying a lantern, went upstairs to call for help, but was so frightened by the several wide-open doors that he almost jumped out of his skin. He went inside and saw that the people inside were still alive, and only then did he barely regain his composure. He then ran downstairs in a panic to call for the innkeeper.

Another wave of panic ensued. The shopkeeper shouted for help to put out the fire while checking on the guests on the second floor.

Fortunately, the guest was out of danger, only unconscious. The innkeeper told the waiter to stay on the second floor while he went downstairs, frantically trying to put out the fire.

Half an hour later, Ning's father slowly woke up and saw Zhao Ningning squatting in front of the brazier in the room, warming herself by the fire. He was startled.

"Ningning?"

"You're awake?" Zhao Ningning poked at the brazier with a stick, picked out a sweet potato, and calmly said, "A thief came by and drugged you. In a moment of quick thinking, I threw firewood out the back window, which set fire to the woodshed behind the inn."

"The commotion made the thieves leave."

After hearing this, Ning's father felt a wave of fear wash over him. Clenching his fists, he said angrily, "The journey was peaceful, but I never expected to encounter something like this just by staying at an inn!"

Once the sweet potato was cool enough to handle, Zhao Ningning picked it up, broke it in half, and handed it to her father, saying, "Dad, have something sweet."

After the two finished eating, their mood gradually calmed down. Ning's father told Zhao Ningning to go back to his space to sleep. He tossed and turned in his room, getting up to look at the window and the door every now and then, and couldn't fall asleep all night.

When I went downstairs the next day, many people in the inn were cursing and swearing.

Especially that family of three.

They came downstairs wearing only their undergarments; they didn't even have any thicker clothes. The shopkeeper saw that the child was shivering from the cold and felt extremely sorry for him, so he gave him an old cotton quilt and told the adults to wrap him in it.

While eating breakfast, Ning's father overheard something. The three of them slept in one room. Nothing happened for the first half of the night, but in the second half, a thief broke into the room. Presumably, the thief couldn't find any money, so in anger, he stole all their clothes.

After all, it was made of silk, and you could get a couple of taels of silver for it at a pawnshop.

The two men, grandfather and grandson, however, seemed quite calm.

While drinking her porridge, Zhao Ningning secretly glanced at the grandfather and grandson who had joined the caravan last. The more she looked, the more familiar the old man seemed. After a moment of scrutiny, she remembered.

This old man is from Shiqiao Town, Fengning County; he sells baskets!

The baskets he wove were sturdy and durable. After he stopped setting up a stall, Ning's mother even bought a few to store things at home. The grandfather and grandson were doing well in Shiqiao Town, so why did they go to Fucheng?

"Dad," Zhao Ningning put down her bowl and whispered to her father, "that old man over there is from Shiqiao Town."

When they arrived to catch the carriage, they were carrying large and small bags, so many things that they could hardly fit into the space provided by the caravan.

It doesn't look like a normal family visit; it looks more like... moving house.

They were all from the same town. Ning's father put down his bowl, waited for the two to finish their breakfast, then asked the shopkeeper to bring him a pot of tea. He then took the teacup and teapot and sat down.

"Grandpa, you look somewhat familiar. Are you from Shiqiao Town?" Ning's father asked knowingly. The other party carefully looked Ning's father over and saw a well-behaved child following beside him. The old man recognized her as the daughter of a regular customer.

"You two... yes, it's really fate." The old man cupped his hands in greeting to Ning's father.

Ning's father hurriedly picked up the teapot and poured him some coarse tea, and they started chatting.

The two chatted for a while about what happened last night, and then Ning's father inquired about their whereabouts.

The old man didn't hide it from them, saying they were going to the prefectural city to stay with relatives.

Only the grandfather and grandson remained in their family in Shiqiao Town. When they were young, the old man's younger sister married into the county town. Later, her husband's family business grew bigger and bigger, and eventually the whole family moved to Lingbei Prefecture.

When he was young, the old man could still walk around, but in recent years the economy had been bad. His son and daughter-in-law went out to work and disappeared without a trace. His wife cried until she went blind and eventually died of depression.

Originally, he only wanted to stay in Shiqiao Town to guard his meager family property and his grandson. However, his younger sister, whom he hadn't contacted for two years, heard rumors from the south and sent someone to deliver a letter saying that there was a serious rat infestation in the south. She was worried and spent money to send them to the prefectural city to seek refuge.

The old man was extremely reluctant to leave behind his ancestral property and didn't want to go. He had heard that the rat infestation was so severe that many adults and children had been eaten by rats at night if they weren't careful. He thought about it again and again. This was his only son left in the family. If the rat infestation spread to Fengning County, could he, an old man, protect his grandson?

For his grandson's sake, he gritted his teeth and sold his possessions, taking everything he could with him before finally making his way there.

As Ning's father listened, he also sighed along with the old man about the unpredictability of life.

Zhao Ningning sat on the bench, holding a bowl, her heart pounding with alarm. A rat infestation? It could very well turn into a plague!

Ning's father pretended to be worried, asked about the time and place of the disaster, thanked him, chatted with the old man for a while, drank all the water in the pot, and then took Ningning to sit in a corner.

Zhao Ningning lowered her voice and said seriously to her father, "This time when we go to the prefectural city, we need to buy more things to take home."

With both heavy snow and a rat infestation, is this Great Zhou Dynasty even letting its people live?!

Zhao Ningning pondered what else she could take out of the space to sell. She thought: Since cola and dumplings could be restored to their original quantity, could this set of porcelain also be restored?

Once we reach the prefectural city, we'll find out by selling the porcelain.

The inn was noisy all morning. After lunchtime, the innkeeper still hadn't seen any guests come out of the rooms. He sent the waiter to knock on the doors several times, but there was no response. He forced himself to order someone to kick the door open. As soon as he entered, the innkeeper's legs went weak, and he knelt down on the ground.

The inside of the door was covered in blood, clearly indicating that someone had died.

Three people died at the inn.

Because of this incident, the caravan members were kept at the inn until the coroner from the yamen arrived to examine the cause and time of death. After deducing that the caravan had not yet arrived at the inn at that time, the caravan was released.

It was already afternoon when they set off. The caravan leader kept saying it was bad luck, so before leaving the city, he bought a brazier and had everyone step over it to get rid of the bad luck before continuing towards the prefectural city.

We were originally supposed to leave this morning and stay in another town tonight, but we left so late today that we'll have to stay out tonight.

It was freezing cold, and the caravan members grumbled and cursed all afternoon.

Fortunately, nothing else went wrong, and on the afternoon of the fifth day, the group finally arrived in Lingbei Prefecture.

After bidding farewell to the caravan, Ning's father led Zhao Ningning to inquire about inns and find a place to rest. Zhao Ningning didn't need to worry about her safety overnight and slept soundly until dawn the next day.

To avoid being recognized, Zhao Ningning tied her hair into a bun. Because of her young age and her men's clothing, it was really hard to tell whether she was a boy or a girl at first glance.

After thinking for a moment, she combed all the stray bangs down her forehead, slightly covering part of her eyebrows and eyes.

After having breakfast at a market stall in the prefectural city, Ning's father started chatting idly. He got information about a middleman from the stall owner and took Zhao Ningning there. They rented a quiet courtyard in the middle of an alley in the prefectural city.

The house on the left is occupied by an elderly couple, and the house on the right is an empty warehouse.

Upon exiting the courtyard, they were directly facing the wall of a large family's house. This alley had several exits, making it a perfect place for Zhao Ningning and her group to quietly move their stockpiled goods.

After paying the deposit, Ning's father remembered the location and took Ning back to the inn to check out.

After taking the luggage that had been out in the open back to the rented house, Ning's father allowed Ning to take out the porcelain set.

Zhao Ningning wanted to go to the pawnshop with him, but her father refused. Instead, she took the porcelain and wandered around the teahouse in the prefectural city.

Sending it directly to the pawnshop was the worst option. Instead, Ning's father took the porcelain to the best teahouse in the prefecture. He didn't want a private room, but just sat in the main hall, ordered a pot of good tea, and sighed deeply as he drank it.

He sat to the side, toying with an exquisite porcelain cup in his hand. Passersby didn't notice him at first, until a waiter walked back and forth a few times, then suddenly noticed the excellent quality of the porcelain cup in his hand, and couldn't help but stop and praise, "Sir, the color of your porcelain cup is truly wonderful!"

"So what... Sigh... It's a pity that this cup is wasted in my hands." Ning's father put down the cup, picked up the porcelain teapot, and casually aimed it at the light by the window.

As the light shone through the porcelain pot, which was already as thin as rice paper, the waiter noticed that there were several spots where light was shining through.

—Wait, am I seeing things?

The waiter rubbed his eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "Sir, the porcelain teapot in your hand..."

"Oh." Ning's father placed the porcelain teapot on the table. "You mean this? This is a family heirloom porcelain set, the only one of its kind. They say my ancestors collected it from the south."

As for which south, don't worry about it; Ning's father has his own explanation.

Recalling that fleeting glint of light, the waiter mustered his courage and asked, "Just now, when I saw you holding the porcelain pot, there seemed to be a flash of light."

"This one? I'm not exaggerating, but in all these years, I've never seen a second teapot like this. This teapot is intricately carved yet doesn't leak water!" Ning's father held up the porcelain cup, letting the waiter examine it clearly against the light in his hand.

People around had been quietly watching the commotion while Xiao Er and Ning's father were talking. Hearing that they had never seen a second set before, several people couldn't contain their curiosity and got up to gather around. Just then, they saw the light shining through the porcelain cup.

Fearing they wouldn't believe him, Ning's father poured out a cup of the best tea from the pot, held up the full cup, and showed it to the crowd of onlookers.

The teahouse immediately became lively.

Fearing that the porcelain might break in the crowd, Ning's father only brought two cups and a small teapot with him today. Now that there were so many people, he quickly and carefully put them away, stopped drinking the tea on the table, and grumbled as he prepared to leave.

Several tea connoisseurs quickly stopped him, coaxing Ning's father to sit down and calling for a waiter to take him to a private room on the second floor, where they brewed him a pot of the finest green plum tea.

Upon arriving at the private room, the group invited Ning's father to take the seat of honor. Ning's father did not stand on ceremony and, after sitting down, placed the quilt and teapot in the center of the table, allowing only the group to look at them but not to touch them.

The five or six seasoned tea drinkers weren't angry at all; they just stood around the table marveling at the sight.

When the green plum tea was served, they asked Ning's father to pour them a cup so they could admire it closely.

The delicate porcelain cup is adorned with exquisitely carved peony patterns. Through the openwork of the cup, one can directly see the tea leaves swirling inside.

Such a tea set is a real status symbol, just to have it displayed at home.

The seasoned tea drinkers marveled at the exquisite porcelain, knowing its value, and dared not touch a single piece.

Finally, the youngest middle-aged man among the group of veteran tea drinkers spoke up.

"I wonder if my elder brother would be willing to part with it?"

Ning's father had been waiting for this big fish to take the bait. After a long sigh, he said, "I also want to... but this is the best-preserved and rarest set of items passed down from my family."

"Before my father passed away, he told me to pass it down as a family heirloom. Alas, my sons are even more wasteful than I am. In the end, all that was left of the huge business was some worthless trinkets."

The middle-aged man had initially thought the person carrying the tea set was just showing off, but upon hearing this, his hope was rekindled, and he hurriedly said, "To be honest, my grandmother is turning eighty next month, and I'm having trouble figuring out what to give her. She doesn't like those ordinary gold and silver things, and she already has several large boxes of jewelry."

Their family was large; by his generation alone, there were over twenty peers, and the next generation would have over a hundred. The family was large and harmonious; those with property donated silver and land, while those with less property showed filial piety, ensuring his grandmother lacked nothing.

This year is his grandmother's 80th birthday, and the family is going to hold a big celebration for her. So this middle-aged tea drinker has been racking his brains for months, unable to decide on a birthday gift for this year.

A teapot with two teacups as a birthday gift is a bit meager, but it is unique. The man thought that if he could buy it and add some other things to send with it, the birthday gift would be acceptable.

"We have never had such porcelain in Lingbei Prefecture before, so I must ask if you would be willing to part with it."

Ning's father nodded, "Indeed, this set of porcelain is not something I'm bragging about; it's one of a kind even in the capital."

"But this porcelain set isn't just limited to this teapot and cups; it also includes bowls and plates. If you want it, it won't be a small amount," Ning's father sighed. "This awful weather is too cold. If I could find a suitable price, I'd exchange it for some silver to buy a big house for the family. Leaving this little bit of property behind would be enough to honor my children and grandchildren."

Even the cheapest houses in the city center cost over 800 taels of silver, and Ning's father was referring to "large houses," so the price must be quite high.

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and asked Ning's father to speak to him privately.