Wen Si Niang shook her head and said, "That won't work. I have some esteemed guests too, and I only managed to get twenty copies in total."
The child became anxious, "Why didn't you ask for more?"
"There's none left. I got mine during the second distribution, and they wouldn't allow me to take too many, saying that they wanted to reserve some for those who received theirs during the first distribution."
The child grew more anxious and looked around. The other children who had gotten their newspapers had already run off, and seeing Wen Si Niang about to leave as well, he quickly grabbed her arm and asked, "Are your esteemed guests in a hurry for them?"
"Not particularly, they're all old customers, students from the Imperial College."
"Then why not let me have the newspapers? Let's do the math together," the child suggested, pulling out his string of coins and said, "Look, eighteen newspapers for a string of coins, I'll split it with you half and half."
