CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22: LOOKING DOWN ON OTHERS

Beisitian turned pale with fear, her body freezing in place and unable to move. Inside, she felt both anger and fear—angry at the original owner’s body for being so useless, and afraid she might die shortly after coming back to life.

The person holding the reins saw Beisitian frozen in terror, watching as the donkey charged forward. With a firm yank of his hands, the entire donkey veered aside, crashing to the ground with a thud, sliding three to four meters, and even tipping over the cart behind it. The man then jumped off the cart with a graceful leap.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Although Beisitian did react, the helplessness of her body left her truly alarmed and drenched in cold sweat.

"Miss, are you alright?"

The driver hurried over, still shaken himself. It would have been a real problem if the donkey had hit someone!

Beisitian shook her head but did not speak; her pale face said it all.

"I’m truly sorry. This donkey is difficult to tame. If there’s anything wrong, just tell me and I’ll take you to the hospital right away." The man’s voice was quite pleasant, and his calm demeanor inexplicably reassuring.

Beisitian calmed her mind a bit and looked up. The man was tall, not particularly remarkable-looking, with two small moustaches under his nose, about thirty years old, and spoke with a furrowed brow.

"I’m fine," Beisitian said, taking a deep breath to suppress the lingering fear in her heart.

"Are you heading to Qingzhou Town? I’m on my way there too. I could give you a ride." The man asked, finding Beisitian refreshingly direct, having expected her to seize the opportunity to extort him.

"No need, I’m fine. You go ahead," Beisitian replied. In those few words, she had regained her composure. Her current frail body didn’t have the strength from her previous life, so she dared not casually ride a stranger’s cart.

Seeing Beisitian’s reservations, the man refrained from persuading further, leaving her an address and instructing her to find him if she felt unwell.

Beisitian found it amusing—this man was so honest, wasn’t he afraid of being blackmailed?

The donkey was dazed from the fall but stood unsteadily under two lashes from the man, becoming much more obedient, and ambled along pulling the cart.

Beisitian also passed the donkey cart, recognizing it as a stubborn donkey—one that doesn’t move when led but retreats when beaten, and might even go berserk with a hard beating. No wonder it went running madly.

After walking for over two hours, Beisitian finally reached Qingzhou Town.

The town was full of tractors and three-wheeled vehicles; donkey carts and horse-drawn carriages were considered quite outdated here. Beisitian even saw cars, which she had seen in the original owner’s memory and had always wanted to see.

These modern vehicles were indeed far more advanced than those in her original place, fast and stable, without the weariness from jolting!

The town had specialized shops of all kinds, allowing for buying and selling at any time, without needing to rush during a specific period, which was very convenient.

Though the roads here were asphalt, the sides were dirt paths, kicking up a lot of dust when a vehicle passed. Beisitian kept away from the road to avoid turning into a dust-covered figure.

Following the address given by Mrs. Qin, she found Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop. It was on a commercial street with various shops, in a relatively good location amidst other embroidery workshops.

Beisitian saw quite a few people entering and proceeded inside.

The embroidery workshop was quite large; the main room was adorned with various embroidered goods—large items like bed sheets and covers, small ones like shoes, socks, pillowcases, and handkerchiefs, and even screens meant to showcase embroidery skills.

A square screen titled ’Flowers Bloom in March, the Swallows Arrive’ stood by the south wall, beautifully embroidered with peach blossoms on branches and a pair of swallows.

Another piece was a round embroidered peony, featuring six large peony flowers, layered and varied in color, exceedingly splendid!

Beisitian noticed people here particularly liked large peonies; indeed, it was a beautiful flower. Her home had vivid peonies on the east and west walls.

She later learned peonies were the national flower, reflecting the era’s preference.

"Looking to buy something?" A woman behind the counter in her thirties raised her head, eyeing Beisitian up and down before speaking.

The woman’s eyes bore undisguised disdain; she could tell this girl was from a village, wearing ragged clothes too worn to keep, surely without money to buy anything. No idea what she came in for.

"I heard you collect embroidered goods, I’m here to..."

"Go, go, go, we stopped collecting long ago. Go wherever you came from!" The woman impatiently waved Beisitian away like she was shooing a fly, cutting her off before she could finish.

What kind of embroidery could such a pauper sell, just drawn by the high profits of Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop like a stray dog sniffing meat, rushing over without considering her own worth?

Being interrupted made Beisitian a bit unhappy, but seeing the woman’s attitude, she was not angry. Such snobby people were everywhere; if she always got angry, she’d never be done being angry.

She had learned to maintain a composed demeanor from watching her mentor remain serene in various situations, inheriting this calm attitude almost entirely.

"A shop clerk, yet with quite the authority," Beisitian remarked coolly.

If the shop owner of Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop shared this attitude, she’d sell her wares elsewhere. Her skills had no shortage of demand, and if genuinely angered, she’d support the neighboring embroidery workshops. With her skill, crushing Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop wouldn’t be impossible!

Of course, that’s a last resort; she currently didn’t have the energy for such futile matters.

"Where did this wild village girl come from? I said we don’t collect, now scram!" The woman was almost unable to endure provoking, shouting furiously.

"Xiuling!"

A voice came from behind the curtain, making Xiuling promptly fall silent, standing there glaring at Beisitian.

The curtain lifted, revealing a woman in her thirties stepping out. She had her hair tied at the nape, almond-shaped eyes, a small mouth, quite attractive, with light makeup. On top, she wore a collared yellow jacket, flared jeans below, and a pair of high-heeled leather shoes.

Compared to the woman behind the counter, she looked quite fashionable, although Beisitian had limited aesthetic appreciation.

"Guests are guests, talk nicely." The woman, appearing to be the boss, spoke in a slow, composed manner, calming those around her.

After speaking, she looked at Beisitian with a faint smile, "This young lady, our Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop does indeed collect embroidery goods, though we have high standards."