The joking around soon removed the ice between Weya and Anri, and they quickly warmed up to each other. Weya was constantly listening to the people around them. Most of them were curious about who she was.
This city is amazing- too amazing. Weya got a bit curious about Liu Feng, who she had never met. Could there really be a noble that don’t hate beastkins and would allow us to live in their territory and even go as far as to protect us? I can’t believe it.
Little by little, Weya’s mindset was slowly being changed. Of course, she was still suspicious- mere words were not enough to change her opinion of nobles.
“We’re here. This is the street that the bun store… is… in…? Why are there so many people here!?” Anri and Weya dumbfoundedly stared at the long line that formed in front of the bun store.
Commercial Street was the road that spanned from the city gate to the City Lord’s Mansion, and the sides of the road were filled with stores.
Most of the shops on Commercial Street was currently still in construction. The stores already had wooden frames to outline the outside of their outer structure, and there would be the sound of things being struck coming from the inside of the stores. At the current pace, the stores wouldn’t be finished construction until winter.
A few stores, however, had already finished construction and were available for use- the bun store was one of them. The bun store had 2 floors- the first for selling buns, and the second for dining.
The newly opened bun store had a long line in front of it, and there were still people joining the line.
“The buns are so delicious and soft! It’s much better than the bread made at home, and it’s not expensive at all!”
“I heard that the soldiers get to eat these buns every morning. I should have applied to be a soldier when I had the chance!”
“Don’t joke around. It’s not that easy to pass Lord Liu Feng’s assessment.”
Hearing the people around her continuously talk about buns, Weya was surprised. Are these buns really as delicious as they say?”
Growl… Weya’s stomach growled from hunger and she blushed in embarrassment. She hadn’t eaten anything after the rice porridge that Nicole had fed her the previous day. Someone would walk by with a white bun every minute or so, and the smell of the bun filled with pork made her swallow from time to time.
“Let’s hurry up and get in line or they’ll be out of buns before we can order any,” Anri said, pulling Weya to the back of the line.
Standing in line was a new experience for Weya. She remembered that in other cities, people would just swarm the door of the stores and shouted to get their purchases done first.
“Miss Anri! Come, you can stand in front of me in line.”
“Yes! Miss Anri, you’ve worked hard. Also, please take care of Lord Liu Feng. Don’t let him work too hard and overwork himself. He can call us if he ever needs work to be done, we have the strength to do so.”
“Hey! The people in front, let Miss Anri go first!”
Someone recognized Anri as Liu Feng’s assistant, and everyone started to give way to her.
“This…” Weya’s pupils shrank in surprise. What is this experience? Can beastkins get this much respect just by being involved with the city lord? Can this happen to me one day too? Can I get the respect of so many humans too? No beastkin can resist such temptation!
Without waiting for Anri to say anything, everyone in line made a path for Anri and Weya to go through, and Anri hurriedly pulled Weya towards the front of the bun store.
“Eh? It’s you, Miss Anri? Today we have meat buns, shiitake mushroom-filled vegetable buns, and plain white steamed buns.” The shopkeeper immediately recognized Anri and hurriedly introduced the store’s buns. He knew that the recipes for buns were from the City Lord’s Mansion, and the one that this store used was the simplified version. It was said that the buns in the City Lord’s Mansion had a lot of meat as fillings, had very thin skin, and just one bite of the buns would make someone remember the taste of the buns forever.
“I want 8 meat buns, 4 vegetable buns, and 2 steamed buns. Put half of each type of bun into 2 bags,”¹ Anri said. She had experience in ordering things, but it was the first time she had ordered buns, as she had mostly been patronizing the lollipop counter.
“Got it. It will be ready soon. Please wait for a while.” The shopkeeper picked up a paper bag next to her, lifted the steamer, and put the buns into the bag with a wooden tong.
Two large paper bags were soon filled with buns. Paper bags were created by the Department of Scientific Research and were extremely popular in Xi Yang City. People would get them to carry their items whenever they shopped.
“Okay, Miss Anri, that’s a total of five copper coins and six steel coins!” the shopkeeper said, handing the two paper bags to Anri. The bun store was run by Liu Feng and he was just a part-time worker here, so he couldn’t cut the price for anyone. That had been explained during his training.
“Okay,” Anri said. She took out 6 copper coins from her pocket and gave them to the shopkeeper, who then gave her 4 steel coins.
“Let’s go!” Anri said, giving a bag to Weya. She then turned to thank the crowd. “Thank you all for letting me go first!”
“Miss Anri, you’re too kind! This is something that we should do.”
Anri smiled and then pulled the dumbfounded Weya away. Buying something in a human store was an entirely new experience for her, and she was still in disbelief.
“It feels incredible, right?” Anri said, looking up at the crowd, her brown eyes filled with joy. “Half a month ago, I also found it hard to believe.” No one would have thought that half a month ago, she was just someone that was hiding in a cave waiting for Mina to return to her and had even been bold enough to rush into Liu Feng’s room.
That boldness, however, was what allowed her to have the life that she currently had.
Weya was silent as she looked at the bun in her hand. Her feelings were a bit complicated. Then who should I blame for my parents’ death? Aren’t nobles the ones that killed my parents?
“You don’t have to think too much about it. Just follow your heart!” Anri said, smiling as she grabbed a bun and ate. “Young Master isn’t the same as the other nobles. He is special. You’ll understand when you meet him. Also, don’t compare those scumbag nobles to Young Master. That’s just tarnishing Young Master’s excellence.”
Weya stared in awe at Anri’s serious face. Of course, if her face hadn’t been turned into a sphere by the bun she had stuffed in her mouth, then she would probably seem a bit more serious.
However, the words made Weya’s heart tremble a bit. Looking at the bun in her hand, she thought, A different kind of noble, huh.
It is the small details within life that can change one’s heart.
Translator’s Notes:
¹ The author didn’t write how they were separated. I assumed that there was an equal amount of each type of bun in each bag.
Superglace Translations 