With four chickens here and the one wild chicken at home, keeping them all in a single cage would be a bit crowded. It would be better to buy the empty cages as well.
The stall owner glanced at the empty cages and said, “I made these chicken cages myself. Just give me five wen.”
Gu Shiyi took out one hundred and twenty-five copper coins and handed them to the stall owner.
The stall owner happily accepted the money.
“Uncle, could you please help me take these chicken cages to that alley entrance? I’ve made an arrangement with my father—he’ll finish his shopping and meet me there,” Gu Shiyi said, pointing to a nearby alley.
The stall owner agreed without hesitation.
After buying the chickens and cages, Gu Shiyi continued browsing elsewhere, purchasing some daily necessities and other food items.
Before she knew it, her stomach began to growl.
Only then did she realize she was hungry, so she decided to find something to eat first to fill her stomach.
Gu Shiyi arrived at a steamed bun shop. Looking at the steaming buns in the bamboo baskets, the aroma was rich and mouthwatering.
She couldn’t resist buying one to try. After taking a few bites, she found the taste quite good. She then said to the shopkeeper’s wife, “Madam, please pack thirty-one meat buns for me. I’ll eat one now, and pack the rest for me.”
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper’s wife, Wu Sanniang, immediately smiled broadly and replied, “Alright!”
She quickly wrapped the buns in oiled paper, five per bundle, making a total of six bundles.
After packing them, Wu Sanniang kindly helped Gu Shiyi place the buns into her backpack and smiled, saying, “Young man, come again next time!”
“Alright.” Gu Shiyi responded casually, holding one bun in her hand as she ate while walking toward the city gate.
On this trip to the county town, she had already spent more than ten taels of silver.
Gu Shiyi couldn’t help but sigh that money never lasted long no matter where one went.
It truly matched the saying: earning money is as hard as eating dung, while spending money flows like water.
It was getting late, and she needed to hurry back to the mountains. She did not want to travel at night.
When she reached the city gate, she saw a woman walking toward her from the opposite side.
The woman was dressed up extravagantly, heavily powdered and painted, swaying her slender waist like a water snake, with a basket hanging from her arm.
Gu Shiyi took a closer look and recognized her as Cui Shi.
Cui Shi had prepared some food and was delivering it to her son who studied at the academy.
In addition to delivering food, Cui Shi also intended to visit the residence of Master Liu to see whether he needed her services that day so she could earn some money.
Upon seeing Cui Shi, Gu Shiyi did not dare to linger. She quickly slipped into a nearby alley to avoid being seen.
She stood quietly in the alley until Cui Shi walked away, then ran out of the county town like a startled rabbit.
At the fork in the road between Dahe Village and Xiaohe Village, Gu Shiyi suddenly stopped.
She did not know why, but somehow she instinctively turned toward the direction of Dahe Village.
Since Cui Shi was not at home right now, this was a rare opportunity.
Gu Shiyi thought she could take the chance to return home.
She walked along a deserted path leading to her home, moving with ease and familiarity.
Soon, she arrived at the wall of her backyard.
She looked around to confirm that no one was paying attention, then nimbly climbed over the wall and entered the house.
In the backyard, there was a stone mill, which Gu Shiyi thought she could use.
She entered her space and began organizing the items inside, clearing enough room to place the stone mill.
She moved the stone mill along with its stand into the space and arranged it neatly.
Under the eaves, Gu Shiyi immediately spotted a wooden rack.
The rack was filled with jars of various sizes—some containing oil, some salt, and some sugar—displayed in great variety.
Nearby were hoes, sickles, and machetes, all tools used in daily life.
Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Shiyi took the rack and all these items into her space in one go.
Next, she walked straight into her own room.
Inside the cabinets, her clothes and bedding were neatly stored.
There was also an eight-sided table and two chairs in the room.
On the bed, the quilt, pillows, and bed curtains were all arranged in an orderly manner.
It seemed Cui Shi had not entered her room.
There was still plenty of space inside her storage space, so Gu Shiyi unceremoniously took the wardrobe, table, and chairs into it.
She even took the items on the bed.
If the space had not been limited, she would have taken the entire bed as well.
However, just as she was about to leave, she suddenly realized a problem: if she only took her own belongings, Cui Shi might suspect that she had returned.
No, she absolutely could not let Cui Shi suspect her!
So Gu Shiyi decided to take some items from Cui Shi’s room as well.
She entered Cui Shi’s room and, seeing the clothes in the wardrobe and the bedding on the bed, she took them into her space without hesitation.
“These clothes and bedding can be used as nests for the dogs in the mountains,” Gu Shiyi thought to herself. “You wicked woman, trying to sell me—why don’t you sell yourself instead!”
What Gu Shiyi did not know was that Cui Shi had not sold her, but had truly sold herself instead.
At this very moment, Cui Shi was engaged in intimacy with Master Liu.
Gu Shiyi looked around the room and did not even spare the area under the bed. As the saying goes, diligent effort pays off—she discovered a locked cabinet beneath the bed.
She assumed that valuable items must be stored inside.
In that case, Gu Shiyi did not hold back and directly took the entire cabinet into her space.
Fortunately, her space had expanded the day before; otherwise, there would not have been enough room for all these items.
After sweeping Cui Shi’s room clean, Gu Shiyi entered her space again to reorganize. She stacked items that could be stacked and freed up more space.
She then entered the Gu family kitchen and began collecting various kitchen utensils.
Bowls, pots, and pans, two large kitchen knives, two large iron pots, a flat pan, two clay pots for stewing soup, a large gong pot, a copper kettle for boiling water, two large mud stoves, and two water vats—she took everything without leaving a single item behind.
The cabinet in the kitchen that stored oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and grain had been newly made this year and was still in good condition. Gu Shiyi also took it into her space without hesitation.
These items had all been prepared by her father earlier, and she could not leave them for Cui Shi.
Next, Gu Shiyi turned her attention to the beams of the kitchen, where cured chickens, rabbits, and meat were hanging. Not a single piece was left behind as she collected them all into her space.
These were all prey her father had worked hard to hunt—how could she let that wicked woman Cui Shi benefit from them!
After stripping the kitchen completely bare, Gu Shiyi went to the storage room.
The door to the storage room was locked. She approached and inspected the lock, and a sly smile appeared on her lips.
Hehe! This lock was merely hooked on—it wasn’t actually secured.
Gu Shiyi quickly removed the lock, pushed the door, and it opened with a creak.
She stepped inside, her gaze swiftly sweeping across the room.