[Bonus chapter] Stinky Old Man

The building was closed…

That being said, most of the bins were empty, so Di Tou decided to just empty his bags into the bins for now. But as he was opening the bag, a small rip formed due to Di Tou not properly undoing the ties and the ties being made of fishing string which was relatively thin and sharp compared to twine.

Sighing, Di Tou simply threw out the bags with the leaves.

As he was throwing out his trash, Di Tou found out why the building was closed based off of a small flyer that was pinned against the door. Apparently the building would be closed in the mornings once a week for 'incineration day' and he had just happened to come on the correct day.

A little bit speechless at his bad luck, but more speechless at the fact that there was a bloody incineration chamber for trash in this otherwise ancient society Di Tou felt a mix of complicated emotions.

Should he lament for the environment now? Or should he simply be amazed at the fact that cultivation allowed for an fire array that disposed of waste in a way that resembled the modern times…

A little disappointed he couldn't see inside the building now that he was curious about the array, Di Tou decided to put it at the back of his mind, after all he'd have to come again later to dispose of the other two bags he still had lying in his yard.

Heading out of Fu Street, Di Tou breathed in a breath of fresh air with relish.

"Ah, it's so nice to have fresh air. At times like this I can't help but feel like everything is going to be alright…" Smelling something weird, Di Tou paused.

*Sniff sniff*

"Wait what's that sour smell." Turning his head to follow the scent, Di Tou saw a middle aged man urinating on the side of the street.

"F*ck."

With a dark expression on his face, Di Tou hurried his pace and left the area, heading towards the carpentry store he had visited the day before.

About a five minute walk later, Di Tou arrived before the hardware store. Stepping inside, Di Tou noticed that the same man was manning the counter today, perhaps he was the owner?

Seeing Di Tou step in, the man looked up for a moment before returning his attention to the carving in his hands.

Looking around, Di Tou wandered a bit before finding a section that had a collection of wooden cups, then, skipping over the matching teakettle, Di Tou looked around trying to find a wooden pitcher that best matched the cups.

After all, he just needed something to store clean water.

Heading over to the shopkeep, Di Tou asked, "Do you have any twine? And could you get me five more bags, the same size as yesterday?"

Looking at Di Tou, the man furrowed his eyebrows, and gave a curt nod. Putting down his tools, he stepped into the back of the store, returning moments later with a spool of twine, a stack of bags, and a coarse piece of soap.

Di Tou: ???

Looking Di Tou in the eyes, the man said, "You stink."

DI Tou: ????????????????????????????????

Ignoring Di Tou's flabbergasted look, the shopkeep continued, "12 silver nuggets."

"Ah, okay…" Reaching into his pouch, Di Tou mechanically counted out twelve pieces of silver and passed them to the shopkeep.

Confirming that Di Tou had handed over the correct amount, the shopkeep pushed the items towards Di Tou on the counter.

Collecting his items, Di Tou let out a dazed, "Thank you..?"

With a "Hmm" the shopkeep acknowledge Di Tou before sitting back down and picking up his carving to continue working.

Still a little bit confused, Di Tou started heading out of the store, as he was leaving the shopkeep seemed to have thought of something and spoke out, "There's a bathhouse at the end of the street. Two silvers."

Stopping in his tracks for a moment, Di Tou really wanted to blow up. Did he smell that bad, ah? Did you really have to go out of your way to push a piece of soap into his hands? F*ck, I didn't even say anything about that, and now you feel the need to tell me about a bathhouse?

But in the end, Di Tou could only let out a defeated sigh, "Thank you." Before exiting the store and heading towards the bathhouse.

F*ck, this laozhi wasn't so mad that he could ignore basic hygiene, okay? After all, coming from the 21st century, even if he didn't shower every single day it would be just about that much, ah? He felt more uncomfortable about the fact he had to take a spongebath than anyone else…

As he approached the end of the street, Di Tou started seeing quite a few bathhouses, but for some reason they seemed to be closed. A little confused, Di Tou decided to keep walking until he reached the end of the street where he saw a somewhat dilapidated looking wooden building with a signboard that read, "Paradise Springs Bathhouse" that seemed to be open.

Heading in, there was only one attendant who gave Di Tou a lukewarm welcome as he entered.

"Are you bathing or just here to get cloths cleaned? Bathing is only 2 silvers an hour, and we sell fresh bars of soap for 6 silvers. If you're here to get clothing cleaned we offer a yearly subscription that gives you two free cleanings per month at the low low price of only 6 low quality spirit stones. If you're looking for a single session we can get it back to you within a day for two low quality spirit stones or back within a week for one spirit stone."

Di Tou: … Brother how much is your commission?

"Just here to bath, err, do you have a locker?"

Looking at the items that Di Tou was holding onto, the attendant hesitated for a moment, "We provide a locker service for an additional silver per hour, but I don't think everything you have will fit."

Quickly looking around and confirming that his boss wasn't there, the attendant continued, "Tell you what, if you give me two silvers I'll keep watch over your stuff while you bath."

"Ah? Sure, that works, I'll pay for an hour of bathing, an hour rental of the locker, and then an extra two for watching over my stuff?"