Lin Shengxia hid inside Li Xiangqin’s shop and counted the money she had earned. The wild vegetables she sold today had brought in a total of 160 yuan!
Adding that to the more than 400 yuan she had left from yesterday, she now had nearly 600 yuan in savings.
Lin Shengxia knew that 600 yuan might not seem like much to people living in 2026, but to her, every single yuan was precious. Every bit of money she earned here could help her family live a better life!
Just as she finished packing up and was about to visit the supermarket she had gone to yesterday, Li Xiangqin handed her another 40 yuan in cash.
Seeing Lin Shengxia’s confused expression, Li Xiangqin quickly explained, “That basket of river shrimp weighs more than half a kilo. I’ll buy them from you for forty yuan and take them home for a taste!”
Hearing this, Lin Shengxia immediately waved her hands and was about to refuse, but Li Xiangqin continued, “Things are difficult for your family, aren’t they?”
Otherwise, what parents would willingly let a young woman like Lin Shengxia carry baskets around every day selling wild vegetables?
Li Xiangqin ran a steamed bun shop. She might not be wealthy, but she had more than enough to keep herself fed and clothed.
Between the two of them, it was obvious who needed those forty yuan more.
Looking into Li Xiangqin’s encouraging eyes, Lin Shengxia felt her nose sting with emotion. Still, she held back her tears and finally accepted the forty yuan.
This time, when she arrived at the supermarket, Lin Shengxia headed straight for the household goods section.
Ever since their family had arrived at the Maisui Production Brigade half a month ago, they had been sleeping on piles of straw. Whenever they turned over in their sleep, the sharp ends of the straw would prick their skin, leaving them red, swollen, and itchy.
It was unbearably uncomfortable.
Lin Shengxia picked out three of the cheapest quilts she could find before moving on to other necessities.
She could tolerate many things, but now that she had the means, she absolutely refused to continue eating without brushing her teeth afterward!
They needed toothbrushes and toothpaste, as well as towels for washing their faces.
After using these things, she could simply store them in her mysterious space, so there was no need to worry about anyone discovering them.
By the time she finished buying all the daily necessities, she only had about 300 yuan left.
Even so, she felt much more at ease.
After hurriedly saying goodbye to Li Xiangqin, Lin Shengxia returned through the back door of the ruined temple.
However, the moment she arrived, she became worried.
There wasn’t a single person inside the temple.
Lin Shengxia was about to go out and search for Lin Qizheng and the others when she saw her father returning, covered in injuries.
His already shabby clothes had been torn to pieces. Someone had punched him hard in the cheekbone, leaving the area red and badly swollen. It looked severe enough that the swelling might not completely disappear for half a month.
“Dad?! Who beat you up like this?!”
Lin Qizheng hadn’t expected Lin Shengxia to return so quickly.
But after thinking about it, he realized that his daughter would have seen his injuries sooner or later anyway. He gave a bitter smile and was about to explain when Dong Wanqiu returned with Lin Handong.
Dong Wanqiu’s face was smeared messily with dirt and ash, and even her hair had been deliberately disheveled.
Lin Shengxia’s heart tightened.
Tears immediately spilled from her eyes.
Knowing exactly what her daughter was worried about, Dong Wanqiu hurriedly explained, “Your brother and I weren’t beaten. I messed up my own hair and smeared dirt on my face when I heard what was happening.”
The people who had attacked them were also afraid of causing too much trouble. If things got out of hand, the Lin family might report them to the village chief or the production brigade leader.
So they had focused their bullying on Lin Qizheng alone.
It wasn’t that no one had set their sights on Dong Wanqiu. But when one of them saw her filthy, disheveled appearance, he quickly lost interest.
Lin Shengxia’s expression instantly turned cold.
At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to buy a kitchen knife and hack every single person who had bullied her father to pieces!
Lin Qizheng immediately realized what his daughter was thinking and hurriedly changed the subject.
“I went up the mountain earlier and dug up some clay. No matter what, even if we can only raise the courtyard wall a little at a time, it’s still better than nothing…”
He wasn’t afraid of being beaten or injured himself.
What truly frightened him was the possibility that those people would become bolder after getting away with it and eventually target his wife and daughter.
Earlier today, when those men realized Lin Shengxia wasn’t around, they had gathered together and whispered among themselves.
It was obvious that they had come this time because they were after his daughter, Shengxia!
After hearing her father’s words, Lin Shengxia looked at the courtyard wall, which was only about waist-high.
Without saying a word, she joined her parents in mixing and applying the clay.
Lin Qizheng knew there was no stopping his daughter, so he sighed and continued working.
Fortunately, with the whole family working together, they managed to reinforce the courtyard wall and raise it by about ten centimeters.
It was still nowhere near high enough, but once the clay dried, they could continue building upward.
At least now they could see a little hope.
Lin Shengxia carefully inspected the ruined temple from front to back.
The temple’s wooden doors were made of solid wood and were fairly sturdy. The problem was the door bars.
They were nothing more than tree branches the family had picked up and used as makeshift bolts.
If those people tried to force their way inside, the family would never be able to stop them.
The thought made Lin Shengxia increasingly uneasy.
Without hesitation, she pushed open the back door and returned to 2026.
By then, Li Xiangqin had just finished dealing with the morning rush.
Seeing Lin Shengxia return so soon, she looked surprised.
“Shengxia, why are you back at this hour?”
“Auntie, I want to buy two sturdy door locks. Do you know where I can get some?”
Realizing what she needed, Li Xiangqin pointed toward a general store nearby.
“The owner of that shop is Zhang Guangming. He’s an honest businessman and sells good-quality goods. Go ask him.”
Lin Shengxia trusted Li Xiangqin’s recommendations completely.
She quickly thanked her and hurried toward the general store.
When she arrived, she saw Zhang Guangming reclining in a chair with his eyes closed, leisurely listening to traditional opera.
Lin Shengxia immediately stopped in front of him and called out, “Uncle Zhang, do you sell door locks here?”
Hearing someone call him, Zhang Guangming raised his head.
When he saw that Lin Shengxia was an unfamiliar face, he asked curiously, “How did you know my surname is Zhang?”
“Auntie Li from the steamed bun shop sent me here. She said you’re an honest businessman who doesn’t cheat your customers, so if I need anything, I should come to your shop.”
Zhang Guangming was clearly pleased by what he heard.
He sat up from his reclining chair and casually pulled two locks from a nearby drawer before handing them to Lin Shengxia.
“Feel the weight of these. Genuine copper lock cylinders! They’re nothing like those cheap things other people sell to fool customers.”
Lin Shengxia took the locks and weighed them in her hands.
They really were heavy!
She immediately placed both locks on the counter.
Then she picked out a sturdy bamboo dustpan that could be used for storing things, four white porcelain bowls, and a set of bamboo chopsticks.
After thinking for a moment, she also bought a kitchen knife and a boning knife.
Once she had everything she needed, she asked Zhang Guangming to calculate the total.
Zhang Guangming didn’t even bother using a calculator.
He simply glanced over everything and immediately gave her the price.
To Lin Shengxia’s surprise, it was considerably cheaper than she had expected!
She quickly paid him, then made a special trip to the pharmacy to buy medicine for bruises and other minor injuries before hurrying home.
The first thing she did after returning to the ruined temple was replace the makeshift door bars on both the front and back doors with the sturdy new locks.
Now, even if those people wanted to break in again, they would have no choice but to stay outside!
Then, right in front of Lin Qizheng, Lin Shengxia took out the kitchen knife and boning knife.
With a serious expression, she said, “I’m not putting these away in my space. If something really happens…”
She didn’t finish the sentence.
But how could Lin Qizheng possibly fail to understand what his daughter meant?
When he thought about how nearly everything inside and outside their home was now being handled by his daughter, who was only in her early twenties, his nose stung with emotion.
Tears suddenly fell from his eyes.
This was the first time Lin Shengxia had ever seen her father cry.
For a moment, she had no idea what to do.