Yaelle had wrapped up her work in the fields and decided to take a walk in the streets, planning to check on the accounts at her jewelry shop along the way. That morning, before the sun had fully risen, she had already leapt out of bed, unable to hold back her excitement. It was her first time going out since arriving in the past, and she felt she had to dress up carefully since this journey through a thousand years deserved it.
Attendant Sean and the others had been summoned early. They all sat around her, cheerfully helping her get ready. Attendant Sean skillfully picked up a comb and gently smoothed her long hair, each stroke filled with care.
Then he pinned it up, weaving it into an elegant style, and adorned it with delicate hairpins that shimmered faintly and gave off a mysterious charm. Yaelle put on a light apricot high-waisted ruqun. The fabric was soft and airy, swaying with her movements.
Matching it was a shawl of the same color, draping over her shoulders like a warm cloud and adding elegance and grace. The whole look was simple yet luxurious, showing off her beauty and charm. Once she was all dressed, Yaelle stood before the mirror, staring at her reflection.
She was mesmerized by what she saw, filled with confidence and joy. Today, she was going to shine on the streets and make sure all eyes were on her. Before she left, Michael arranged for two bodyguards to follow her and gave her a careful warning.
"Yaelle, be careful out there. These two are the best. Don't leave their sight."
"You all need to protect her well today. Don't be careless, and don't let anyone bump into her," he added. "Yes, young master," Attendant Sean and the others responded in unison.
In this open-minded era, the streets were incredibly lively. When their carriage reached the busy area, it couldn't go any farther, so Attendant Sean and Attendant Sam helped Yaelle down. The moment she stepped out, her eyes widened like a newcomer in a grand estate.
The ancient street was full of life and filled with strange and fascinating items she had never seen before. Most of the vendors were men, and when a woman walked by, there were always several men gathered around her. Many people on the street noticed Yaelle right away and couldn't help but glance at her.
She definitely stood out. She ignored the stares. When she saw street food, she bought two portions to try.
When she saw something interesting, she took two of those too. Attendant Sean and the others ended up like walking storage racks. By the time they reached her shop, they were loaded down, each holding several items.
The shopkeeper was delighted to see her and rushed over, asking a servant to take their things and bringing tea to refresh her. "Miss, are you here to check the accounts? Why didn't you come on the usual day?" the shopkeeper asked with concern.
"I fell into the water and was sick for a few days, so I didn't come. Thanks for taking care of the shop. Please bring me the account books."
The ledgers were quickly delivered. Yaelle carefully looked over the last few months' records. The bookkeeping was clear, though reading traditional characters tired her eyes.
She preferred Arabic numerals. The shop's earnings were quite stable, about 200 taels a month, which wasn't bad. One coin here could buy a steamed bun, two coins for a meat bun.
One coin was about one modern yuan. Ten coins made one qian, one tael of silver was 1,000 coins, and ten taels made a tael of gold. That meant 200 taels was around 200,000 yuan today.
Not bad at all. Just this small jewelry business brought in over 100,000 monthly. The tavern and grain shop were surely even better.
She hadn't really paid attention to the income before since she could never spend all her money. Her food and essentials were covered publicly. Her clothes were custom-made each season by a tailor arranged by her brother.
All the newest jewelry from her shop was always sent over for her to pick from. She even got a monthly allowance of 20 taels. Life was really good.
"Shopkeeper Ma, could you go fetch the accountant for me? I have something to discuss with him," Yaelle said after finishing the ledger.
"Alright, Miss." The shopkeeper immediately responded.
The accountant was quickly brought before her.
He bowed to Yaelle and said, "Greetings, Miss. Is there something unclear about the accounts? Or is there a problem?"
"No problem," Yaelle said. "I just noticed that the way you keep records looks a bit troublesome."
"I learned a number symbol system from the foreign region that can replace Chinese characters."
"I'll write it down and teach you. From now on, we'll use this code for bookkeeping. That way, only our internal people will understand the accounts, making it more secure."
She wrote down 123456789 on the paper and added the corresponding Arabic numbers underneath.
Then she explained how different combinations of these numbers represented values.
She also taught him basic addition and subtraction, and the 9×9 multiplication table.
She wrote everything down and stuck it on the desk.
The accountant was very smart and picked it up quickly.
In no time, he had learned most of it.
At first, the accountant thought she was just trying something new for fun.
But he soon realized these symbols were quite clever, making calculations easier.
Bookkeeping became much simpler than before, so he decided to try it out.
After Yaelle finished handling the shop matters, it was already lunchtime.
"Let's go eat at Juxian Restaurant," she said to Attendant Sam and the others.
That restaurant used to belong to the Zhu family and was now the largest one in Qingyun City.
It had three floors: the first was the main hall, the second had fifteen small private rooms, and the third had eight large ones.
Since they were dining themselves, they had a private room reserved by her brother.
The group entered Juxian Restaurant.
The waiter recognized her and warmly welcomed them.
"Miss, please come in. It's been a while since your last visit."
"Mm." Yaelle nodded and followed the waiter to the third floor.
Along the way, several guests quietly glanced at her.
After all, a girl that beautiful was rare.
Inside the private room, Yaelle sat near the window.
Outside, the street was bustling and full of life.
Soon, the food was served.
Yaelle enjoyed the meal while listening to Attendant Sean and the others share funny recent stories.
After finishing the meal, just as she was about to step out of the private room, a sharp female voice came from the room across the hall.
"Maxim, don't be so shameless. You should be grateful I even considered you."
"You're already over eighteen and still not married. Let's see if anyone else will want you besides me."
Hearing that familiar name, Yaelle paused mid-step.
She pulled her foot back into the room.
She stood still, listening closely.