Chapter Fourteen: Thief! My Purse Is Missing!

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Sheng Wanqiu’s sharp eyes caught sight of an herbal medicine shop, and she decided to go and take a look.

“Then you go ahead. I’ll check out the grain and oil store up ahead. Don’t run off—come find me when you’re done,” said Grandma Sheng confidently. Although this girl could be unpredictable at times, she was very independent and decisive in her actions, so she let her be.

The grandmother and granddaughter agreed on a meeting spot and then parted ways.

As soon as Sheng Wanqiu entered the pharmacy, she was greeted by a fresh, herbal fragrance. It gave her a sensation as if she were about to attain immortality—the scent of the herbs was quite pleasant.

“Hello, young man. I’d like to ask how you acquire ginseng and lingzhi here. Do you judge by age or size?” Sheng Wanqiu politely approached a young attendant who was grinding herbs.

“We don’t accept herbs here. We have our own sources and don’t take outside goods!” The young attendant looked her up and down with a cold tone.

This was a clear case of valuing the robe before the man. Sheng Wanqiu glanced down at her worn dress—it was indeed a bit old, with some parts fraying.

Shop assistants were always sharp-eyed; they knew she was just casually asking and certainly had no goods on her, so they refused outright.

When they said they didn’t accept outside herbs, it was just that they didn’t think much of her and didn’t want to bother.

If they don’t want me here, I’ll find somewhere else, Sheng Wanqiu thought, and decisively left the shop to try the next one.

The two shops were close to each other, but the second one looked shabby both in decoration and signage, suggesting business was not good.

Inside, Sheng Wanqiu found a white-bearded old man dozing behind the counter. She tapped on the counter gently, and the old man opened his eyes.

“Young lady, are you here to get medicine or a consultation?” His smile was kind, and with his white hair and beard, he carried an air of a sage.

“Good sir, I’d like to buy some herbal seeds. Do you have any?” Sheng Wanqiu smiled warmly at him.

“What seeds do you need? I don’t have many, but tell me what you want, and I’ll see if I can find some,” the old man replied without refusal.

“I want ginseng and lingzhi. Take whichever is more expensive,” she said confidently.

She urgently needed to make money and improve her life, so she would plant whatever was more valuable.

“You little girl, are you planning to grow ginseng at home?” the old man chuckled.

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“Isn’t that nonsense? Those things grow wild—I’ve never seen anyone cultivate them,” the old man said sternly.

“Sir, are you going to sell or not? If not, I’ll be going!” Sheng Wanqiu pressed.

“I just want to try. How can I know without experimenting? Don’t you agree?” she reasoned persistently.

In the end, Sheng Wanqiu managed to buy ten ginseng seeds. The old man had no other seeds, but she also picked up a pack of carrot seeds and a pack of watermelon seeds.

He only had ten ginseng seeds, or she would have bought more.

Those ten seeds cost her two silver coins—a painful expense.

She planned to plant them one by one, and if asked, she’d say she dug them up from the mountains. Otherwise, presenting ten ginseng roots outright would be hard to explain.

Happily hopping toward the agreed meeting spot, she presumed Grandma Sheng was already waiting there.

“Thief! My money pouch is gone!” shouted a young scholar suddenly.

“Oh no! My money pouch is missing too!” a middle-aged woman cried out, patting her empty pockets in shock.

Soon, the bustling street erupted with similar cries—dozens of people had their pouches stolen without noticing. Could the legendary thief have returned?

That seemed unlikely; there was no record of such a figure here.

The thief’s skill was impressive—stealing from so many without a single person noticing. This was a true expert.

“Wanqiu! Grandma’s money pouch is missing!”

Sheng Wanqiu just met up with Grandma Sheng, who was distraught, blaming herself for being too distracted to guard her purse.

“What? Grandma, your money’s gone too? I heard many people saying their pouches were stolen—more than ten!” Sheng Wanqiu said.

“Think carefully, Grandma. When your pouch was still there, who did you meet? When did you notice it was missing?”

“Don’t be upset yet. Take your time; maybe we can find it,” Sheng Wanqiu comforted her. The old woman was nearly in tears, and Sheng Wanqiu feared she wouldn’t hold up without reassurance.

“When I came out after buying salt, the pouch was still there with three taels of silver. It’s all my hard-earned savings!” Grandma Sheng lamented.

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“That wretched thief won’t get away with this!”

“My silver! What a sin!” Grandma Sheng fumed, wishing she could eat the thief alive.

“Grandma, think carefully—did anything strange happen? Did someone bump into or jostle you?”

Sheng Wanqiu suspected the thief wasn’t completely invisible but took advantage of distractions to strike.

“Yes, yes! When I left the shop, someone bumped into me from behind and even apologized,” Grandma Sheng suddenly recalled, grabbing Sheng Wanqiu’s sleeve anxiously.

“Can you remember what clothes that person wore? Any distinct facial features? Or anything unusual about them?”

“He was about twenty-something, had a mole above his eyebrow, but I forgot the color of his clothes.”

“His boots had a leaf-shaped embroidery on the heel.”

Grandma Sheng remembered the boots because the man, after bowing to apologize, hurried away but nearly stumbled. When he steadied himself, he kicked a stone, revealing the leaf design on his shoe.

She grasped Sheng Wanqiu’s hand and traced the shape of the leaf on her palm.

“Grandma, it’s still early. You wait by the ox cart near the city gate. I’ll be back soon.”

“Give me half an hour. I should be able to find the person who stole your pouch.”

“In half an hour, whether I find the thief or not, I’ll come to the ox cart by the city gate to find you.”

Grandma Sheng wanted to say more but was silenced by Sheng Wanqiu’s determined gaze.

This granddaughter had always been headstrong and capable—except for a little confusion about the Bai family boy, she did well in everything else. Bold and resourceful, she was better than her two brothers.