Are you kidding me?! The boss of the Hell Dungeon is a loli!

Two days later, when Jiang Luo went out, Stella escorted her all the way to her car.

The needle case was already packed, but it was wrapped in an extra layer of soft cloth. The head maid handed it to Jiang Luo, her fingers lingering on the lid for a moment before withdrawing.

Jiang Luo looked at her and couldn't help but reach out and poke the back of her hand with his finger.

"Don't worry, Lolo is just taking it to get a case fitted. She's not going to trade it for candy with anyone. She'll bring it back to you after the test."

Stella smiled, smoothed down the upturned collar of her cloak, and stopped staring at the box.

"My lord, when you're choosing things, please remember to look at your feet. I don't want to find someone else's teeth on your skirt when you come back."

(￣_￣)

Last time, those things pounced on you on their own. Why do you make it sound like Lolo deliberately steps on other people's mouths to get ahead?

She wanted to argue a bit more, but Little White in the car had already poked its head out and earnestly promised that it would eat the thing that was trying to bite her skirt first.

Jiang Luo quickly pressed him back and told the driver to set off.

Lin Xiao sat by the car window, spreading the old books she had brought back on her lap. She didn't continue arguing with the two about who should own the teeth until the car wheels rolled onto the cobblestone road, at which point she looked up out the window.

We've arrived at Huai'an Town.

Two old locust trees at the street corner were covered with red silk. When the wind blew, the copper bells tied to them did not ring, but several paper figures in the shade of the trees turned their faces at the same time.

Steamers were stacked along the street, steam rising from the gaps in the lids. People carrying loads and selling cloth were crowded together, and almost every shop had a longevity character pasted on its door.

Xiao Bai's nose twitched, and its eyes lit up immediately when it saw a pot of freshly fried meatballs.

Jiang Luo, however, was drawn to a pottery stall by the roadside. She hailed a car to stop in an empty spot, lifted the hem of her skirt, and jumped down.

(✧ω✧)

It has a lid, a handle, and strawberries are drawn on the jar.

She circled the jar for a while, then pinched the handle of the wooden spoon and tried to put the spoon head into the jar's opening. There were no teeth inside, nor did it reach out to grab her.

The old woman selling jars stared in disbelief before quickly handing over the lid next to her.

"Little girl, this is just an ordinary earthenware pot. It can be used to put sugar or salt in, but it doesn't have the special features of those shops that have their own special pots."

"If Lolo can't even guard the house, it did twice for me. The candy wasn't lost, but the hand was gone first. What's the point of buying it then?"

She paid and hugged the jar to her chest, turning around contentedly, only to bump into Xiaobai standing by the pot of fried meatballs, drool practically dripping onto his collar.

Jiang Luo bought him a small pack, put another one in Lin Xiao's hand, and took a bite herself. She was so hot that she immediately opened her mouth to inhale.

Lin Xiao took the earthenware jar from her and handed it back after she swallowed the mouthful, wiping away the oil stains on the rim of the jar.

Before the three had taken more than a few steps, a woman wearing a red sash came to greet them. On a bamboo tray were plump, white longevity peaches, with a touch of vermilion at the tip.

"You gentlemen are here as guests, right? Today is the old master's birthday, and everyone who comes to town receives this. You can share in the joy before you leave."

Jiang Luo's outstretched hand stopped in mid-air.

Xiao Bai leaned over and sniffed it, but her originally excited little face slowly wrinkled up, and she refused to move the remaining dumpling in her mouth towards it.

"Big sister, I want to eat the peach from that shop. There's something inside it, and it smells like old meat that's been soaking for a long time."

The woman tightened her grip on the plate, then smiled and said that the filling was a secret recipe. It was normal for the young guests from out of town not to like the smell, but they would smell good after baking it at their lodgings.

Jiang Luo pulled her hand back and rubbed her fingertips together.

(￢_￢)

"Then you can keep it for now. Luo Luo's stomach is small; she just ate some meatballs and can't fit any more. It's not right for her to take advantage of their good fortune."

After she finished speaking, she grabbed Xiaobai and left. Lin Xiao did not take the peach that was offered to her, but simply nodded to the woman and followed her through the crowd.

The old woman selling jars collected the money, sat back down on her low stool, and smoothed out a cracked ceramic lid on her lap. As the Shou family's bamboo tray passed by, she shook the coarse cloth she was using to smooth the lid and continued with her work, even turning the empty bowl beside her upside down.

Not everyone on the street was there for the banquet. There was also a porter with horns on his head pulling two carts of redwood through the crowd. His employer urged him to put down the carts and collect the longevity peaches, but he pointed to the unpaid freight and pulled the carts to an open space and locked them before letting anyone unload the goods.

Shops on East Street are not hard to find.

A piece of old copper scissors hung under the lintel, and a wooden sign next to it read "Repairing Items". There were no boys greeting customers in the shop, only an old man with gray hair bent over a table, slowly grinding a copper ring with a fine file.

Upon hearing footsteps, he first gathered up the scraps he had filed down and covered the small bowl of glue beside him before looking up to greet the person.

Jiang Luo placed Tao Shun's letter and samples on the table, and also took out the needle case, but kept the newly bought pottery jar in her arms.

After reading the letter, Master Shao moved the black needle onto the mat. Instead of praising the product, he asked her how many times she had used it and whether anyone had forcibly pulled it away.

There were only two stools in the shop, and Master Shao gave his to Jiang Luo before turning around to bring over a low wooden stool for him to stand on. Instead of checking the customers' money bags first, he told Xiao Bai to move away from the counter. There were thin black feet crawling under the covered plastic bowl, and if it was knocked over, he would have to catch them one by one.

After hearing this, Xiao Bai put his hands behind his back, but his eyes kept following the plastic bowl. Jiang Luo had no choice but to stuff the last half bag of meatballs into his hands and move the wooden stool next to Lin Xiao, telling him to sit properly and not to do any repair work that would cost extra.

Jiang Luo told the truth, and Lin Xiao filled in the details that Stella had noted down, without saying that the practice that day was perfect.

After listening, the old man used pliers to clamp the end of the needle and measured it circle by circle along the old grain. He then picked up the demonstration wooden needle, compared it to the sample, shook his head, and pushed the sample away.

"This buckle is too light, the thread is unstable, I have to make a new clamp. But don't expect it to pull a living person back. If you are caught, it's better to loosen the thread first than to pull your own wrist."

Jiang Luo remembered Stella's hand, which had been wrapped in cloth, and immediately crossed out the cheapest thread from the paper, telling him to choose the kind that wouldn't easily twist his fingers.

(｡ŏ_ŏ)

This needle is just like the hoisting frame; it seems to know where to spend money as soon as it's bought.

Master Shao gave her two prices, let her touch the wire in front of him, and tested its strength with an old wooden frame. He explained where the difference was, without forcing the most expensive one on her.

Jiang Luo made her selection and put down the deposit, but Master Shao only kept the portion needed to buy materials and pushed the extra portion back.

"Just come and pick it up before sunset. You can take the needles with you. I'll make the clamps first, and then let the user try them out when you're fitting the needles. There's no need to leave them with me all day."

Jiang Luo held the returned money in her palm, her brows immediately relaxing.

(￣ ▽ ￣)

The owner of this shop looks much better than the last one.

Just as Lin Xiao was about to ask which nearby shop she could sit down and rest, a cough suddenly came from the inner room, followed by the sound of a porcelain bowl hitting a wooden board, each cough more urgent than the last.

Master Shao first covered the curtain and then called out to someone inside before returning, his movements a little slower than before.

The woman with the red belt outside the door also arrived. When she saw that Jiang Luo was still there, her smile faltered for a moment before she placed two covered bowls on the cabinet.

One of them was wrapped with red paper, while the other bowl had a clean rim.

"Master Shao, the old master remembers what you've done for the town, so he's saved a share for you this year as usual. Don't forget to visit the ancestral hall later."

Master Shao didn't touch the bowl wrapped with red paper. He picked up the other bowl and went into the inner room. The moment the curtain was lifted, Jiang Luo saw a narrow bed covered with a thick mattress.

A woman with completely white hair sat by the bed, her face pale, but her eyes were fixed on the bowl, her fingers clenching so tightly they made the edge of the bed rattle.

She grabbed the old man's sleeve as soon as he sat down.

"Don't send my portion back. I've waited so long, it's time for me to eat it today."

Master Shao agreed in a low voice, and the curtain fell to block out the noise behind him.

Lin Xiao looked at the remaining red paper bowl on the cabinet, her fingertips pausing lightly on the spine of the book, but she didn't lift the lid. Meanwhile, Xiao Bai silently stood next to Jiang Luo.

The woman was still urging them to have lunch at the Shoutang restaurant, where they wouldn't need to bring gifts, and Master Shao's guests wouldn't have to wait for the outdoor banquet; they could sit in the side hall.

When Jiang Luo looked up, a sweet smile returned to her face.

"Okay, you can save a seat for Luo Luo first, but my brother eats a lot, so don't complain that he finished all his food after he sits down."

The woman smiled and said that the Shou family was not short of food. She took out three tied red flowers and placed them on the table, telling them to show them to the gatekeeper when they entered. Then she took the bamboo tray and went to the next shop.

When Master Shao came out, Jiang Luo had already put away the needle case and was gathering the three red flowers together, but had not yet tied them to the cloak.

"It's fine if you don't want to go. There are places to eat noodles outside that are closer to my shop."

His gaze lingered on the flowers for a moment before quickly shifting away. Jiang Luo didn't finish his sentence for him, but instead asked if the letter that had invited him earlier was written by him personally.

Master Shao nodded.

Jiang Luo folded the letter again and put it back in her pocket. Carrying the pottery jar, she walked out. As she passed the bowl wrapped in red paper, Xiao Bai suddenly tugged at her sleeve.

"Big sister, the thing inside isn't dead yet; it kept banging against the lid."

The coughing behind the curtain stopped.

Immediately afterwards, a woman's voice, much younger than the one before, came out and gently asked if the bowl on the counter was also unwanted.