Chapter 26
Chapter 26: A Storeroom of Antiques
“I saw his car coming. Whatever price he offered you, I can match it,” Uncle Liang said, already volunteering to cut his own.
Xiao Ying Chun gave him a steady look and decided to set his mind at ease. “I’ll keep buying from you. I’m not considering Wei Xiang for now.” She made it plain. “I’m not hurting for a few cents, but we’ve worked together a long time. I trust how you do things. I don’t want to start over with someone else.”
Uncle Liang lit up. “Don’t worry, Ying Chun. I’ll supply you properly. I’ll be honest about everything, and I’ll never fake a thing.”
“That’s all I need,” she said. “But what I told you today—don’t let Wei Xiang find out.”
“Of course. I won’t,” Uncle Liang promised.
By the time he left, it was nearly dinner. Xiao Ying Chun thought for a moment and ordered takeout.
Steamed mandarin fish, blanched greens, rice. She could afford to eat well now.
She had barely lifted her chopsticks when the back door chimed.
Xiao Ying Chun looked up.
Fu Chen An stood there.
He was dressed in a plain gray short outfit, hair tied back with a dull gray cloth band. The whole look was so ordinary it was almost suspicious.
She stared. “What are you wearing?”
Fu Chen An caught her reaction and explained at once. “I slipped out of camp. An imperial envoy from the Imperial Court arrived today. I can’t let him know I exist, so I had to dress like this.”
So the Emperor’s envoy had reached Yong Zhou today to deliver an edict.
Just as Fu Chen An and Fu Zhong Hai had predicted, the Imperial Court ordered Fu Chen An to return to the capital city at first light tomorrow. Fu Zhong Hai would remain behind, leading the Fu Family Army to garrison Yong Zhou.
His guess had been right, but Fu Chen An didn’t look relieved. If anything, something in him seemed to sink.
He was leaving tomorrow. Even if he could still enter Spacetime Supermarket later, the distance would be too great—he wouldn’t be able to keep bringing supplies back to the Fu Family Army.
That was why he’d come tonight. He needed to know what else Xiao Ying Chun could buy for them.
He hesitated, then finally pushed the words out. “I’m worried the Fu Family Army may face danger later, and I won’t be there. Young lady… is there anything we can buy that would help them?”
Put on the spot, Xiao Ying Chun’s mind went blank.
Then her eyes snagged on the A-frame ladder in the corner.
Wasn’t there a kind of aluminum-alloy fire ladder? Those could extend high—high enough to serve as a siege ladder.
She set her chopsticks down. “Wait here. I’m going out. Come back tonight. If I can get it, I’ll bring it over. Give me two hours.”
She pulled up a map, searched nearby outdoor shops and fire-safety suppliers, then started calling numbers. It didn’t take long to find a store that sold fire ladders.
She drove over immediately.
She bought a fire ladder, climbing hooks, foot spikes, even a little umbrella hat fishermen wore—anything that looked like it could help someone scale a wall or survive harsh weather. She had the items delivered to the warehouse, then went herself to pick everything up and haul it back.
Two hours later, she handed the lot to Fu Chen An and explained quickly what each piece did, making sure he understood.
Fu Chen An understood perfectly.
What he couldn’t understand was how a ladder that long could be so light.
The hook’s design was clever, and the metal felt brutally hard. And the umbrella hat—small, light, practical. Under a blazing sun or in a rain-soaked night, soldiers could avoid exposure, get sick less, and keep moving.
With these samples, his father—the marshal—could find a local blacksmith and have them copied. Once they figured out the structure, scaling up wouldn’t be impossible.
Fu Chen An cupped his fists and bowed deep, the gesture solemn enough to make the air feel heavier.
“Young lady,” he said, voice low, “the Fu Family Army owes you an enormous debt. If you ever need anything, I will do everything I can.”
Xiao Ying Chun waved it off. “No need. This is mutual benefit.”
Time was tight. Fu Chen An took the tools and left at once.
Before he went, Xiao Ying Chun let him clear the shelves again—snacks, dried foods, and several big bags of lollipops and QQ candy.
Fu Chen An looked both grateful and restrained, as if he had too much to say and no time to say it. At the door he paused. “The envoy returns with me. I can’t disappear without raising suspicion. Once his party sets out tomorrow, it’ll take me about ten days before I can come back to Spacetime Supermarket.”
“I understand,” Xiao Ying Chun said.
Then she told him what she needed—porcelain, jade, anything of that sort.
Fu Chen An nodded hard. “I’ll find a batch for you. Open early tomorrow.”
Xiao Ying Chun agreed.
Before dawn the next morning, she opened the back door while the sky was still dim.
Fu Chen An arrived quickly, as promised. He set two ceramic jars on the counter, careful as if they were live embers. “I chose these from the spoils. Best shapes. No chips, no cracks. There’s more—wait.”
He slipped back out. When he returned, the counter and floor filled with jars and bottles of all sizes.
And then Xiao Ying Chun’s breath caught—there were bolts of fabric, and several sets of clothing.
“These clothes are new,” Fu Chen An said. “The fabric would count as good even in the capital city. This bolt is kesi—see if you can use it.”
He opened another box. Inside lay jade ornaments: pendants, cong, plaques, thumb rings, a small mountain of pale green gleam.
Xiao Ying Chun stared at the cicada-wing-thin fabric and the exquisite embroidery. She forced herself to nod, swallowing the shock. “Thank you.”
Fu Chen An’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if the words pained him. “Why are you thanking me? If I didn’t give these to you, the imperial envoy would carry them all to the capital city tomorrow.”
Some of the jars weren’t even to the envoy’s taste. They’d probably end up tossed in a corner of camp, used to pickle vegetables.
If Xiao Ying Chun could use them, then she got first pick. Simple as that.
He set everything down, turned as if he couldn’t afford to linger, and left again.
Xiao Ying Chun carried the haul into Spacetime Supermarket’s storeroom and locked it away from every possible set of eyes and hands. Only when it was hidden did she finally breathe.
If Fu Chen An wouldn’t be back for ten days, she didn’t need to rush. While Dai Heng Xin handled paperwork, she opened the shop as usual each day.
On the third day, a notice arrived from the court: Wei Xiang had sued her as well. The hearing date was three days away.
Xiao Ying Chun sent him a brief message—she’d received the notice and would appear on time.
That same day, Dai Heng Xin messaged her too, cheerful as ever: the company was registered, and the address was set right next to the pawnshop.
Rent was cheap, so he’d rented the two large storefronts beside it.
Xiao Ying Chun told him to come by and see something.
Dai Heng Xin walked into the supermarket, stepped into the storeroom, and froze. His eyes went wide as he stared at the floor covered in goods.
“These…” His voice cracked. “All of this is…?”