Lin Suhe glared at Jiang Wangchuan in mock anger, refusing to respond to his smooth-talking.
After lunch, Jiang Wangchuan cleaned up the dishes while Lin Suhe carefully placed each bar of soap into a bamboo basket, laying a piece of cloth between every layer.
She kept a few bars at home and packed the rest. Jiang Wangchuan carried the basket on his back, and the two of them headed to town together.
This time they were lucky. They met a farmer from the village who was also taking an ox cart to town.
The farmer seemed to know Jiang Wangchuan well. Since they were going the same way, he invited them to ride in his cart.
The cart was loaded with several baskets of fresh vegetables that he was delivering to restaurants in town.
Jiang Wangchuan called the man “Uncle,” showing they were related through marriage. Lin Suhe followed his lead and greeted him the same way.
Jiang Wangchuan introduced him.
“This is my mother’s older sister’s husband. His name is Ding Zhifu.”
Lin Suhe nodded to show she understood.
Although she had inherited the original owner’s memories, all the faces and names in her mind were mixed together, and she could not match them.
Fortunately, Jiang Wangchuan thought it was normal. Since she had rarely left home while growing up, he always introduced everyone they met.
Driving the ox cart, Ding Zhifu smiled at Jiang Wangchuan.
“Chuanzi, your aunt was planning to visit you on the mountain these next few days. But the family has been busy with spring plowing, so she hasn’t had time.”
“It’s fine, Uncle. Please tell Aunt not to trouble herself. I’ll bring Suhe to visit her another day.”
From Jiang Wangchuan’s tone, Lin Suhe could tell he respected these two elders very much. They must have had a good relationship.
It was nothing like the lonely expression he wore whenever he mentioned his own father.
Ding Zhifu continued,
“Your aunt was so happy to hear you’ve got a wife and started your own family. She’s saved a few eggs for you and Suhe.”
“Thank you, Uncle and Aunt,” Jiang Wangchuan replied cheerfully.
As he spoke, he lightly touched Lin Suhe’s arm. She immediately understood and added,
“Thank you, Uncle and Aunt.”
Ding Zhifu laughed happily.
“You two kids are too polite.”
After chatting for a while, they arrived in town. Traveling by ox cart was much faster than walking.
Ding Zhifu asked when they planned to leave and said he would wait for them at the town entrance so they could return to Wenhe Village together.
After thanking him, Jiang Wangchuan and Lin Suhe carried the bamboo basket to find a place to sell their soap.
Just like when they had sold animal pelts before, they found an empty spot by the roadside and displayed the soap bars.
But no one had ever seen anything like them.
Even after waiting for half an hour, not a single person bought one.
Only one or two curious people stopped to ask. As soon as they heard it was for washing clothes and cost more than wood ash, they waved their hands and walked away.
Sitting beside the stall, Lin Suhe sighed.
“Brother Jiang, this won’t work. We can’t sell any.”
Jiang Wangchuan frowned and silently stared at the pile of soap.
They had imagined the soap would sell out quickly.
Instead, their stall looked completely deserted.
Lin Suhe stood up and looked up and down the street, searching for something.
She shaded her eyes with one hand and stared into the distance.
“Brother Jiang, is that a general store up ahead?”
She turned and pointed forward.
Jiang Wangchuan looked where she was pointing. A flag hung above the entrance of a shop with the words ‘General Goods’ written on it.
He looked at her in surprise.
“Suhe… you can read?”
Lin Suhe nodded.
The writing in this world was almost exactly the same as the one from her previous life. It even used simplified characters instead of traditional ones, so of course she could read it.
But Jiang Wangchuan found it unbelievable.
Very few girls in the village could read. Even among the boys, more than half were illiterate.
When his mother was still alive, she had sent him to school for three years, which was why he could read most words.
But Lin Suhe, a sheltered young lady who had rarely left home, could also read. That puzzled him.
Seeing his disbelief, she explained,
“My father taught me.”
Jiang Wangchuan muttered,
“So your father could read too? I never expected that.”
“You’d be surprised by a lot of things.”
Not wanting to continue the topic, Lin Suhe suggested,
“Brother Jiang, let’s ask the owner of the general store if he’ll buy our soap.”
Jiang Wangchuan nodded.
“It’s worth a try. We don’t really have any other choice.”
They packed the soap back into the bamboo basket and walked to the general store.
The shopkeeper was dusting the shelves with a feather duster.
The store truly sold all kinds of goods. There were pots, bowls, ladles, knives, shovels, hoes, and many other everyday items, along with some unique little trinkets.
When the shopkeeper saw them enter, he greeted them warmly.
“What would you two like to buy?”
Jiang Wangchuan explained why they had come.
The shopkeeper looked them over.
Jiang Wangchuan’s clothes were covered in patches and looked quite worn, but the young girl beside him was wearing brand-new clothes. Both of them looked clean and tidy.
Without showing any dislike, the shopkeeper smiled and asked,
“What interesting item have you brought? Let me have a look.”
Jiang Wangchuan set down the basket and showed him the soap bars.
“This is called soap. It can be used to wash clothes, hair, and the body.”
The shopkeeper took one of the bars and examined it carefully.
“How do you use it?”
Before Jiang Wangchuan could answer, Lin Suhe spoke first.
“Shopkeeper, do you have some water?”
She was small and pretty, and her voice was as bright and pleasant as a flowing spring.
The shopkeeper naturally spoke to her even more kindly.
“I do. What do you need it for?”
“I’d like to show you how it works.”
The shopkeeper scooped up a ladle of water from the water jar behind the shop.
Lin Suhe rubbed one hand against the dusty ground outside the store, covering her palm with dirt.
Jiang Wangchuan took the ladle and poured a little water over her hand.
Lin Suhe wet the soap and gently rubbed it between her palms.
A layer of fine white foam appeared immediately, and the dirt quickly washed away.
Jiang Wangchuan poured more water over her hands to rinse away the soap and muddy water.
“Shopkeeper, look. Isn’t it very clean now?”
Lin Suhe held up her hand in front of him.
Her fair little hand was spotless.
“Smell it too. It smells nice.”
Without thinking much of it, Lin Suhe held her hand up near the shopkeeper’s nose.
He leaned in and took a sniff.
Sure enough, it carried a pleasant fragrance.
Jiang Wangchuan quickly stepped forward, grabbed Lin Suhe’s hand, and pulled it back.
With a complicated expression, he lowered his voice and said,
“How can you casually let another man smell your hand?”