After returning to her room, Qin Xiaoruo opened the cloth bundle that Fu Hanwen had stuffed into her hands and found to her surprise that it contained two sets of coarse cloth dresses.
One set was brown with pink trim, and the other was deep blue with gray trim.
Although the quality was not outstanding, they were brand new and significantly better than the patched dress she had been wearing, and even nicer than the one Fu Jingwen had lent her.
After trying on both sets of new dresses, which were slightly big, the corners of Qin Xiaoruo’s lips couldn’t help but curl upwards.
Fu Hanwen may be a man of few words and reserved but he has integrity, principles, and is also attentive.
If it weren’t for her having too many secrets she fears others might discover and kill her for being a demon, he would be quite an acceptable choice.
The next morning, as Qin Xiaoruo was sleeping soundly, she was awakened by Changer knocking on the door.
Last night, she had found that the herbs she planted in her space in the afternoon had all miraculously come to life and grown one to two inches taller.
She was so excited that she stayed up watching over them in her space for most of the night, only going back down to sleep near dawn.
Now with Changer calling, she could hardly rise from bed.
Yawning, Qin Xiaoruo opened the door and saw from the corner of her eye, in the courtyard, Fu Jingwen wearing a dress identical to her own.
She quickly stifled her yawn.
At the same time, Fu Jingwen also looked up and caught sight of the brown dress with pink trim that Qin Xiaoruo was wearing.
Fu Jingwen’s face stiffened for a moment, then she huffed and left the courtyard.
“Aunt Xiao Ruo, tomorrow Uncle is taking Zhiwen back to town.
Mother wants to gather more herbs to have Uncle sell them in town.” Changer tugged at Qin Xiaoruo’s sleeve, trying to recapture her attention, “Are you going to the mountain today, Aunt Xiao Ruo?”
Despite Changer’s young age, her speech was quite clear.
Looking down and seeing Changer also dressed in new clothes, Qin Xiaoruo inwardly marveled at Fu Hanwen’s willingness to spend money and smiled at Changer, “Changer’s new outfit looks really nice.”
Changer shyly showed a toothy grin and crisply said, “Aunt Xiao Ruo and Little Aunt’s dresses are very pretty too.”
Moved by Changer’s adorable manner, Qin Xiaoruo knelt down and hugged Changer, saying, “I’ll join you on the mountain in a bit.”
If Fu Hanwen was going to the city to sell herbs, having more people to gather them would mean bringing back more herbs.
In the evening, after Fu Hanwen had bathed and came out, he saw Qin Xiaoruo lingering outside the bathhouse, which gave him pause, “Is something the matter?”
Ever since seeing him in the afternoon, she had been hesitating, clearly wanting to speak.
“Brother Fu, I heard you are taking Zhiwen back to his private school tomorrow?” Qin Xiaoruo asked, mustering her courage.
The unhesitant “Brother Fu” from Qin Xiaoruo caused Fu Hanwen to freeze for a few seconds; regaining composure he then gave a light “Hmm.”
“May I come with you to town?” Qin Xiaoruo asked, looking at him with hopeful eyes.
To earn money, one must first understand the local market, and she could only seek Fu Hanwen’s help.
Considering the long journey to the county town, Fu Hanwen was internally opposed to the idea.
But faced with the girl’s eager eyes, he found it impossible to utter a refusal.
He hesitated for a moment, then said, “As long as you can get up early in the morning.”
A glimmer of excitement passed through Qin Xiaoruo’s eyes as she nodded vigorously, “I can get up!
I definitely can!”
Fu Hanwen’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly, the girl’s easy satisfaction was a bit too much.
Fearing she might oversleep, Qin Xiaoruo went into her space for a brief rest, then returned to her room full of energy, her ears strained for any sound from the courtyard.
At the Yin Hour Two Past Three, as soon as Fu Hanwen’s door opened, Qin Xiaoruo leaped out of bed.