When Ning Zhengqing heard what Jiang Yutong said, his expression changed slightly.
“Forget it. As the saying goes, women and petty people are difficult to deal with. Mother, give her half a sack of rice, half a sack of sweet potatoes, and ten taels of silver.”
Ning Yaoshi let out a shriek.
“Qing’er, if we give all that to her, what will we eat? No!”
Sun Taohua, who had remained silent until then, also cried out, “That’s right! There are so many mouths in our family waiting to be fed!”
Jiang Yutong didn’t care what Ning Yaoshi or Sun Taohua said. She knew that if Ning Zhengqing wanted his teacher’s daughter to marry smoothly into the Ning family, he would have to compromise.
Ning Zhengqing pulled Ning Yaoshi aside and whispered something to her.
Reluctantly, Ning Yaoshi went into the house. Soon, she called for Ning Zhengsong to carry out half a sack of rice and sweet potatoes.
Sun Taohua wanted to say something else, but seeing that her mother-in-law remained silent, she shut her mouth as well.
Ning Yaoshi took ten taels of silver from her embroidered handkerchief. Her heart was practically bleeding with pain. She spat at Jiang Yutong.
“You wretched woman.”
A murderous glint flashed in Jiang Yutong’s eyes.
“Watch your mouth. If you’re not careful, I’ll rip your tongue out.”
The fierce aura radiating from Jiang Yutong startled Ning Yaoshi. She instinctively took a step back and could only mumble under her breath, no longer daring to say anything.
Jiang Yutong put away the silver and happily signed and affixed her fingerprint to the divorce-by-mutual-consent agreement.
“From now on, the Ning family and I have nothing to do with each other.”
She bundled up the clothes and bow lying on the ground, placed them into the rice sack, picked up the half sack of rice and sweet potatoes, and walked out of the Ning family’s courtyard.
The village head waved his hand.
“Everyone, disperse.”
The villagers gradually left while discussing among themselves.
“The Ning family really is heartless. How is that Jiang girl supposed to survive all by herself? I used to envy her for marrying such a good husband and becoming a Scholar’s wife. What a pity.”
“If it were me, I’d never leave the Ning family even if they beat me to death. Why should I give my husband’s position to another woman just because he became a Scholar?”
Someone quietly said, “Can’t you see what happened today? If Jiang Yutong hadn’t divorced him, she might not even have kept her life. What happiness are you talking about?”
Those words silenced everyone.
The villagers shook their heads helplessly.
“In these chaotic times, we’d better just take care of ourselves.”
They each headed home.
Doctor Li caught up with Jiang Yutong.
“Yutong!”
Jiang Yutong bowed to him.
“Thank you, Uncle Li. I’ve caused you trouble today.”
Doctor Li sighed.
“Keep that silver safe and spend it sparingly. That house has been unoccupied for years, so there’s no way you’ll be able to clean it up in just a short while. Stay at my house tonight.”
A little rice and sweet potatoes wouldn’t last very long, and ten taels of silver wouldn’t go very far either. Doctor Li genuinely cared for Jiang Yutong as if she were a younger member of his own family.
Jiang Yutong knew that Doctor Li had a son and a wife, so she didn’t stand on ceremony.
“Uncle Li, thank you. I’ll go take a look at the house first and see what needs to be done. I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble your family tonight.”
“Silly girl, why are you being so polite with me? Go take a look first. Later, I’ll have Nanxing help you clean it up. I’ll carry your things home for you first.”
Doctor Li sighed as he picked up the belongings and walked away.
Following the memories of the original owner, Jiang Yutong headed toward the end of the village.
After walking for more than ten minutes, she finally saw a large house backed against the mountains.
It was obvious that the original owners had once lived comfortably. It was a substantial house built of gray bricks with a tiled roof. However, because no one had lived there for many years, the windows were broken, the roof leaked, and the courtyard was overgrown with weeds and covered in dust.
Jiang Yutong cautiously used her bow and arrows to clear a path ahead of her.
Looking at the mess inside the house, she let out a deep sigh.
Cleaning up this place was going to be a huge undertaking.
But Jiang Yutong wasn’t discouraged by the sight before her.
It was still better than spending every day chopping up zombies in the apocalypse.
She believed that with her abilities, she could definitely build a good life for herself. Once she had everything settled, she could lie back, enjoy life, and taste all the delicious foods in the world.
Jiang Yutong looked around, figuring out where to begin.
She covered her nose with an embroidered handkerchief and pushed open the door.
Creak—
A swarm of bats suddenly flew out of the room.
Jiang Yutong instinctively stepped backward. After most of the bats had flown away, she cautiously poked her head forward and took a look.
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a typical single-courtyard house.
There were side rooms on both sides and a large courtyard in the middle. Directly opposite the main entrance was the main hall, with two small adjoining rooms beside it.
The floors throughout the house were paved with gray bricks, but because the place had been unoccupied for so long, they were covered in thick layers of dust and tangled spiderwebs.
Jiang Yutong walked around the entire place and got a rough idea of its condition.
She closed the door and walked outside.
The house was backed against the mountain.
She looked at the bow and arrows in her hand and thought that it wouldn’t be right to visit Doctor Li’s family empty-handed later.
She might as well try her luck in the mountains and see if she could find a wild chicken or rabbit.
There were only two arrows in her quiver, but she figured that would be enough.
She picked up her bow and arrows and headed into the mountains.
This body was extremely weak.
Although she was fifteen years old, she still looked like a child who hadn’t fully grown. According to her memories, she hadn’t even gotten her first period yet.
In her previous life, Jiang Yutong had fought countless zombies and had long since trained herself into a formidable fighter. Her archery skills were also quite good.
She didn’t dare venture too deep into the mountains.
There were quite a few footprints around the outer areas, and in this era, when people struggled even to put food on the table, there were plenty of hunters.
Jiang Yutong also searched around the outskirts.
She encountered several wild rabbits and fired two arrows in succession, hitting only one.
She retrieved the arrow, tied the rabbit up with a vine, and carried it along with her.
After walking around a little longer, she managed to catch another rabbit and a wild chicken.
Seeing that it was getting late, she headed back down the mountain.
Meanwhile, Doctor Li had returned home carrying Jiang Yutong’s belongings.
As Aunt Wang looked at the things in his hands, she asked, “Dear, where did all this come from?”
Doctor Li quietly put the belongings down.
“Don’t touch them. They belong to that girl from the Jiang family.”
Aunt Wang continued sorting the medicinal herbs in her hands.
“Did that Jiang girl really divorce the Ning family? That Ning family is absolutely horrible. They’re practically the modern-day Chen Shimei.”
Doctor Li didn’t respond to that comment.
Instead, he told her that Jiang Yutong would be staying with them that night.
“Make a few more dishes for dinner. That Jiang girl will be staying with us for a while. Who knows when that old house at the end of the village will be cleaned up.”
Aunt Wang was a straightforward and kindhearted woman.
“I understand. Poor girl.”
Doctor Li also began sorting the medicinal herbs that had been laid out to dry.
“Has Nanxing come back yet?”
Li Nanxing was Doctor Li’s only son. He was seventeen this year and accompanied his father on medical visits. He could already diagnose common illnesses and prescribe basic treatments on his own.
Today, he had gone out on a house call.
“He should be back soon.”
As the two of them continued talking, Jiang Yutong’s voice came from outside.
“Aunt Wang, are you there?”