Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Chapter 326 Xia Yu Learns Russian

After checking into the inn, the main officials of the delegation gathered together to draft the first document arranging the meeting between the two sides. Zhang Haoran was responsible for writing it down, because no one else could speak Russian. The residents here sometimes exchanged some things they needed with each other, but that was limited to simple daily conversation and hand gestures; no one could read the written language.

Xia Yu was unaware of these matters, as her status disqualified her from participating in them. She was currently tidying up her accommodation with Da Niu and Shi Jiu, preparing to shower and rest.

A few days earlier, they had changed into newly made fur coats from the capital, but even so, Xia Yu still couldn't put her hand away from the hand warmer all day long. Now that they had moved into the inn, they discovered that the rooms here all had heated brick beds and heated walls, and that wearing a padded jacket was enough to keep them warm on ordinary days.

They had been traveling for about fifty days, and along the way, the group had only given each other a quick wash. In the last few days, because of the cold weather, they hadn't even bothered to wash their hair. So, at this moment, Xia Yu felt that her hair was oily and heavy, and she definitely needed to wash it properly.

When the young woman asked the servants at the inn where they could get hot water for a bath, the servants led them directly into a room filled with smoke, so enchanting that they couldn't see anything inside.

"Miss, this is the source of a hot spring. You can bathe here. Moreover, the water in this natural hot spring is beneficial to your health. You can soak in it as much as you like."

"Hot spring?" Da Niu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes," the servant replied respectfully.

"Okay, we understand. Thank you, ma'am. You can go ahead with your work. We can handle things here." As he spoke, Nineteen stuffed a purse full of silver into the hand of the maid who was leading the way.

"Thank you for the reward, Miss." The maid hadn't expected to receive a reward simply for bringing them to the hot spring.

Because of its location, few officials stayed here. The soldiers stationed here, those of lower rank, lived in the barracks, while those of higher rank owned houses here. Therefore, the women working at the post station had no opportunity to receive rewards.

There are so many hot springs here; you can basically spot a hot spring wherever you see steam rising from the ground. So hot springs aren't anything special to them.

The servant girl, having received the reward, thanked Xia Yu profusely before leaving.

After everyone left, Xia Yu's face showed a look of surprise.

"Great! I didn't expect there would be hot springs. Nineteen, let's go soak in the hot springs, girl."

"Miss, let us help you wash first, and then we'll wash after you're done," Da Niu said with a beaming smile.

"Let's go in and see what it's like inside." Xia Yu knew it would be difficult to get these two to soak with her at the same time.

Because the smoke inside was so thick, the group proceeded very carefully, afraid of slipping and falling.

When they reached the edge of the pool, they slowly began to see what was inside. A spring was bubbling and spouting water, which flowed into the circular pool below. When the pool was full, the water collected in the drain and flowed out of the house.

The spring that was gushing water also had a large wooden plug wrapped in cloth. When not in use, the spout could be plugged to prevent waste.

Da Niu stayed to keep Xia Yu company while she took a bath, and Shi Jiu went back to the room to get Xia Yu's clothes.

After a relaxing bath, Xia Yu put on the red fox fur cloak that Madam Shen had given her, and a snow hat on her head. Covered up completely, she returned to her room.

Xia Yu only managed to coax Shen Luo back home after he tried to take her to see the ice lanterns at the courtyard gate. Xia Yu refused and promised to take him out to play the next day.

Xia Yu slept very soundly, and didn't even know when Shijiu and Daniu returned. She didn't open her eyes again until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

Stretching her body, Xia Yu found a set of clothes suitable for practicing martial arts and prepared to go to the courtyard to practice for a while. Having traveled by boat and carriage the entire way, she felt like her body was rusting, and everything felt uncomfortable.

After getting dressed, Xia Yu opened the door. The cold air outside made her sneeze.

The two people practicing kicks in the yard saw Xia Yu's outfit and quickly said...

"Miss, you should wear thicker clothes at first, and then take them off after you start to sweat."

"Okay," he said, turning around and taking out another padded jacket from the cabinet before going out into the yard to do warm-up exercises with the two people.

Once she started sweating, Xia Yu practiced the sword techniques that Nineteen had taught her again, feeling that her undergarments were already soaked with sweat. Xia Yu and Nineteen finished their practice for the day and went back to their room to wash up and change.

Now that they've rested, they naturally want to go for a stroll in the streets. Xia Yu is even hoping to find some things here that they don't have back home, so she can bring them back to her parents.

Dressed up, Xia Yu didn't wear the red fox fur cloak that Madam Shen had given her today—the color was too eye-catching. Instead, she changed into a gray squirrel fur jacket, over which she wore a dark blue woolen cloak with fur trim, and a snow hat with fox fur trim on her head. The fluffy fox fur made Xia Yu's bright face look even more adorable.

The two maids also put on the new rabbit-skin coats and skirts that had been made for them before they left. They called Changyun and Shenluo and went out towards the bustling area.

Shen Luo had already inquired about the most lively areas, the best restaurants, and the places to buy good stuff yesterday. So the group followed Shen Luo based on his findings.

Sure enough, everything here was different from where they were. Xia Yu saw that each vendor's stall was in a small shed, and you had to go inside to see what they were selling. There were even charcoal stoves burning in the small tents. The group of them looked around like country bumpkins visiting a grand garden, going from shed to shed. Everything here was frozen. For example, frozen tofu, frozen fish, frozen meat, frozen dumplings... They found it all very fascinating.

Suddenly, Xia Yu noticed a long loaf of bread displayed in a shed. Excited, she didn't look up at the vendor, but instead pointed to the bread on the wooden board and asked...

"what is this?"

"Leba." A strange tone.

Xia Yu suddenly looked up at the vendor across from her, only to see that he was wrapped up tightly. He wore a fur hat and a fur coat that looked like it was made of sheepskin, with a high collar that covered half of the vendor's face. Even so, Xia Yu could still tell that this person was different from them.

His skin was white, and his beard was light brown. His eyes were large and deep-set. Looking at the large loaf of bread laid out on the wooden board, Xia Yu was quite certain that the man in front of her was Russian.

Xia Yu rattled off a few words to the person.

After a moment of silence, the person replied to Xia Yu in their own language.

Xia Yu'an suppressed her excitement. She hadn't known before where the "Russian Country" everyone was talking about was, but now she understood that it was modern-day Russia. Although their country wasn't called Russia yet, their language was the same as the Russian Xia Yu'an had learned in her previous life.

&&**￥%%

"%%￥%%@" The two chatted for a while, and in the end, Xia Yu bought two loaves of bread, a jar of honey, and two frozen fish that were one meter long from this stall.

After paying, the Russian said something to Xia Yu in his native tongue. Xia Yu waved his hand and replied with a smile, then pointed to the big girl next to him.

Everyone stared in astonishment as Xia Yu spoke to that person. Their astonishment was so great that they were speechless, simply watching Xia Yu speak to them in a language they couldn't understand.

Even after everyone emerged from the Russian's tent, everyone remained silent.

Da Niu carried two large fish, while Gou Dan silently followed behind his master, carrying other things Xia Yu had bought.

Finally, Changyun couldn't hold back any longer and asked Xia Yu.

"Xiaxia, you can speak Russian?"

"Yes, that's right!" Xia Yu admitted without any attempt to hide it.

"Then how come you know Russian?" Changyun asked again.

"Brother, have you forgotten the time I fell and broke my head when I was little? Didn't I tell you guys that there was a white-bearded old man in my dream who taught me a lot of things? That's when I learned them."

Hearing her say that, Changyun remembered his sister's unusual experience and stopped asking. Shen Luo, however, was quite interested in what she had heard. Seeing that Changyun had stopped, she quickly asked another question.

"Sister Xiaxia, what's the deal with the old man with the white beard you mentioned?"

"There are many things I can't remember clearly, and I don't know if it was a dream or reality. Anyway, that's when I learned this language. If I hadn't come here and happened to meet this person, I probably would never have known that I was learning Russian in my dream."