After the unrest that had just broken out, the inspection at the city gate had become even stricter.
Many ordinary people were also eager to leave, afraid that they might somehow get caught up in the trouble.
A large crowd had gathered at the city gate, with everyone lining up and waiting for the soldiers to inspect them.
Jiang Yutong subconsciously glanced at the man beside her. He looked completely calm, without the slightest trace of panic. He was dressed in patched clothes, and his face had been darkened with something, making him look like a tanned farmer. Only his eyes revealed that he was no ordinary man.
Soon, it was their turn.
Jiang Yutong took out her travel pass. The man beside her calmly took out his own as well.
The soldier examined their passes carefully before asking Jiang Yutong, “What is this man to you?”
The dagger at her waist pressed a little closer. Jiang Yutong didn’t dare move.
“He’s my—”
Before she could finish, the man beside her answered for her.
“Her husband.”
Jiang Yutong choked on her words. She had originally intended to say that he was her older brother, but she could only follow the man’s lead.
“Yes, he’s my husband. We came into town together to buy some things.”
The soldier carefully inspected them again and searched through the items in the man’s basket. Finding nothing suspicious, he finally waved them through.
Jiang Yutong inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
She had absolutely no desire to have anything to do with this man. She only hoped that once they were outside the city gate, he would let her go.
They walked safely out of the city gate. Once they were far enough away, the man put down the basket and gave Jiang Yutong a deep look.
Then, without a sound, he turned and disappeared.
Jiang Yutong watched his back vanish down the roadside before quickening her pace toward the agreed meeting place.
She wondered if Aunt Wang had managed to get out of the city yet.
Fang Hu was already waiting on the ox cart. When he saw Jiang Yutong, he waved.
“Thank goodness you made it out. Things were chaotic in the city just now. I was worried something might have happened to you.”
“Aunt Wang hasn’t come out yet? We got separated earlier.”
Fang Hu quickly replied, “She’s already out. She went over there to relieve herself.”
Only then did Jiang Yutong truly relax.
“That’s good.”
Aunt Wang emerged from behind a large tree nearby.
“Yutong, you scared me half to death! Thank goodness you made it out.”
After being separated from Jiang Yutong by the crowd, Aunt Wang had searched around but couldn’t find her. She didn’t dare stay in the city any longer, so she had left first.
Jiang Yutong quickly reassured her.
“Thankfully, everyone is fine. I was frightened too.”
Fang Hu loaded everyone’s belongings onto the ox cart.
“Everyone sit tight. The country isn’t peaceful these days, so we’d better hurry home.”
On the way back, Aunt Wang talked about what had happened in the city.
“I wonder who the soldiers were looking for. Hopefully there won’t be another major disturbance. Things have only just become peaceful again over the past couple of years.”
Jiang Yutong remained silent.
The man she had encountered today was clearly no ordinary person. The murderous aura surrounding him was unmistakable. He had definitely killed people before. He wasn’t some petty thief.
That was why she had been willing to cooperate with him rather than provoke him.
Fortunately, everything had passed without incident.
The ox cart rolled along slowly, and it was almost dark by the time they returned to Shangyuan Village.
Doctor Li and Li Nanxing had been waiting at the entrance for them.
“Did everything go smoothly?”
Aunt Wang rubbed her waist. The bumpy ride on the ox cart had left her rather uncomfortable.
“More or less. There was just a little trouble in the city.”
She then recounted everything that had happened.
Doctor Li said, “You’d better avoid going into the city for a while.”
Everyone unloaded their belongings from the ox cart, and Fang Hu finally drove the cart home.
Li Nanxing had already prepared dinner.
There was white rice with steamed sweet potatoes on top, a plate of pickled vegetables, and the leftovers from the previous night’s meal, which he had reheated. Finally, he had stir-fried some cabbage.
Jiang Yutong was hungry as well and began eating heartily. Even while eating, she didn’t forget to praise Li Nanxing.
“I didn’t expect you to be such a good cook, Nanxing. This is delicious.”
Li Nanxing smiled shyly.
“I just made something simple. Eat more.”
After dinner, Jiang Yutong helped wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Then she returned to her room and took out the money she had earned that day to count it.
The wild boar had sold for fourteen taels of silver.
The two rabbits had brought in one tael and 600 wen.
The recipe for the pancakes had earned her two taels of silver.
And the fox pelt had fetched ten taels of silver from the shopkeeper—almost as much as the wild boar. It had been an incredibly profitable deal.
Altogether, she had earned twenty-seven taels and 600 wen.
She had spent three taels on the fabric, rice, flour, and seasonings she had bought, leaving her with twenty-four taels and 600 wen.
Adding the ten taels the Ning family had given her during the divorce, she now had thirty-four taels and 600 wen.
The house was already being repaired, but she hadn’t paid the workers yet. The agreed labor cost was eight taels of silver.
Even so, she still didn’t have enough money.
Jiang Yutong sighed and put the silver away.
She still had to hurry up and make more money.
She slept soundly that night.
The next morning, Jiang Yutong went to check on the progress of the house repairs.
The workers were already hard at work. The carpenter was Brother Zhang from the neighboring village. He greeted Jiang Yutong with a smile.
“The house is almost finished. Take a look and let me know if there’s anywhere else that needs fixing. I’ll take care of it all at once.”
Jiang Yutong walked around the house and was very satisfied.
“Brother Zhang, you’re very skilled. I’m completely satisfied. Thank you for all your hard work these past few days.”
Seeing that Jiang Yutong had no other requests, Brother Zhang went back to work.
That evening, Jiang Yutong settled the workers’ wages.
The house was officially finished.
Brother Zhang was a good man as well. Before leaving, he even took away all the large pieces of construction debris from the house.
Tomorrow, Jiang Yutong would only need to give it a thorough cleaning before she could move in.
Jiang Yutong looked over the house from top to bottom.
For the first time, she felt a sense of security that came with having a home of her own.
Aunt Wang was kind, but ultimately, it wasn’t her own home.
The next day, Jiang Yutong did nothing else and devoted herself entirely to cleaning the house.
Before long, the entire place was spotless.
She arranged all the things she had bought earlier, and finally, the house began to feel like a real home.
Jiang Yutong ate her last dinner at Aunt Wang’s house and said goodbye to everyone before moving into her new home.
Aunt Wang was reluctant to see her go.
“You’re living alone now, so be careful. If anything happens, come to us immediately.”
Jiang Yutong smiled at her.
“Aunt Wang, don’t worry. It’s only a short walk away. I’ll be there in no time. And I’ll probably still have to trouble you with plenty of things in the future.”
Aunt Wang personally walked Jiang Yutong back to her new home.
“Once this house was fixed up, it turned out quite nice. At least now you have a home of your own.”
The two chatted for a while before Aunt Wang finally headed home.
Jiang Yutong was very grateful to everyone who had helped her during this period, so she decided to host a meal at her new home to thank everyone.
The next day, Jiang Yutong carried her bow and arrows into the mountains.
This time, she wasn’t primarily hunting to make money. She mainly wanted to bring back some meat for the feast.
As luck would have it, she actually came across a wild goat.
Jiang Yutong carried the goat all the way home.
After telling everyone when the feast would be held, she began making preparations.