The old man deftly weighed out five catties of chili peppers for Shen Qingyuan, who promptly paid the silver.
Bystanders watching the commotion all thought Shen Qingyuan had lost her mind, buying such inedible things to take home.
Ignoring the strange looks from others, Shen Qingyuan asked the old man,
“Grandpa, where do you live? If I need more in the future, I’d like to know where to find you!”
The old man, who grew many chili peppers at home, naturally hoped to sell them. He pointed toward the city gate.
“My surname is Hu. I live on a farmstead not far outside the city. If you need chili peppers, miss, feel free to come find me.”
“Understood!”
After buying the chili peppers, Shen Qingyuan went to purchase two catties of brown sugar and various seasonings.
With pig offal in her backpack basket and the newly bought items in hand, she cheerfully headed toward the dock to find Shen Dali.
She mentally planned: once she found Shen Dali, she’d send the purchases home, then take the two catties of pork from the System Space Check-in Reward and the freshly bought brown sugar to her sister-in-law’s parents’ house to bring her sister-in-law back.
Everything was perfectly arranged, and she felt quite pleased.
But then an unexpected incident occurred…
It was almost noon, and several boats had just docked at the pier, making the area more crowded.
A young gentleman dressed in blue robes, with a tall, straight figure, a face as fair as jade, and eyes as bright as stars, stepped off one of the boats.
His attendant, Shitou, looked around at the bustling dock, unable to resist gazing everywhere.
“Young Master, I never expected such a small county town to be so lively. Living here in the future will surely be wonderful. You really know how to pick a place. Look, there are so many food stalls over there.”
The young gentleman followed Shitou’s pointing finger and nodded calmly.
“Young Master, our new residence is just around the corner up ahead. Everything has already been settled.”
No sooner had he spoken than his stomach growled loudly.
He spotted a nearby stall selling steamed buns—large, round buns that made his mouth water.
“Young Master, you must be hungry after such a long boat ride. I’ll go buy some buns for you.”
Without waiting for his master’s reply, he trotted off toward the bun stall.
The young gentleman was long accustomed to Shitou’s gluttonous nature. He walked ahead a short distance and waited for Shitou in a secluded corner around the bend.
As luck would have it, he had barely stood still when someone bumped into him.
That someone was none other than Shen Qingyuan.
Shen Qingyuan was walking normally when, just as she turned the corner, she collided head-on with someone rushing toward her.
The person seemed to be in a great hurry; after bumping into her, they didn’t even apologize before running off.
Caught off guard by the collision, Shen Qingyuan lost her footing and stumbled backward uncontrollably. The backpack basket on her back slammed squarely into the young gentleman.
The liquid from the pig offal naturally smeared onto the young gentleman’s clothes.
Realizing she had bumped into someone, Shen Qingyuan steadied herself and quickly turned to apologize.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! Are you alright?”
The young gentleman hadn’t expected anything to spill from Shen Qingyuan’s basket either. His blue robe was now stained with a large, dark reddish blotch.
He glanced down at the stain on his clothes, then calmly took a few steps back.
This scene happened to be witnessed by Shitou, who had just finished buying the buns.
He never imagined that in the brief moment he left the young master’s side, the young master would be bumped into by someone.
Fuming with anger, he ran over with large strides, holding a steamed bun in one hand and pointing at Shen Qingyuan with the other.
“What’s wrong with you? Don’t you have eyes when you walk? With such a wide road, you deliberately bump into my young master. What are you up to?”
Shen Qingyuan didn’t expect such a calm and handsome young master to have such a hot-tempered attendant by his side.
She quickly sized up the master and servant pair. Judging by their clothing and demeanor, they likely had an unusual status and were not to be offended.
As a farm girl who had just transmigrated into a book, it was better to avoid trouble.
Besides, it was her who had bumped into the other person.
She bowed and apologized again.
“I’m truly sorry, I didn’t mean it. Someone bumped into me just now, and I lost my balance, which caused me to collide with you, young master. I’m really sorry for dirtying your clothes!”
The other party’s clothes were clearly made of high-quality fabric, something she couldn’t afford to compensate for. All she could do was keep smiling and continue apologizing.
Shitou caught a whiff of the foul smell and immediately questioned her.
“My young master values cleanliness the most. What is this filthy, stinky thing you’ve got?”
Shen Qingyuan gave an awkward smile and lowered her voice to reply.
“It’s nothing, just… just pig offal!”
“What!”
Shitou instantly felt as though “his young master had been tainted” and exploded on the spot.
“How dare you touch our young master with that filthy stuff!”
Shen Qingyuan continued to smile apologetically.
“I really didn’t mean it. As a country woman, even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn’t dare offend someone of your status!”
The young master saw that Shen Qingyuan was dressed in coarse, short clothing, clearly a lowly farm woman, and that it was indeed an unintentional act. He had no intention of pursuing the matter and waved his hand dismissively.
Shitou still wanted to say something, but upon seeing his master’s gesture, he instantly understood and could only suppress his anger.
“You’re lucky to have met such a magnanimous young master as ours, who won’t hold it against you. Otherwise, you’d be in big trouble!”
He then fawned over his master, saying,
“Young master, let’s hurry back and change into fresh clothes, shall we?”
The young master nodded, and the two strode off toward the new residence.
Although such a minor incident meant little to the young master, the smell of pig offal lingered in his memory for a long time.
Even in the future, whenever he recalled it, he would feel a slight discomfort in his body.
Watching the master and servant leave, Shen Qingyuan finally let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, she had encountered someone magnanimous and hadn’t brought trouble upon herself. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
She considered herself lucky.
Yet, she couldn’t help feeling a pang of pity for the young master in blue robes.
She clicked her tongue in regret.
“What a shame! Such a handsome young man turned out to be mute. What a waste of a fine specimen!”
After the minor incident, Shen Qingyuan made her way to the dock and found Shen Dali.
The two returned home, put down the things they had bought, and, carrying generous gifts, headed to Wu Huiniang’s maternal home.
Wu Family Village.
In a shabby small courtyard, Wu Huiniang and her mother, Madame Du, were sitting by the door mending clothes.
Madame Du spoke up, “You have quite the temper. You know Dali dotes on that sister-in-law of yours, yet you still pick fights with him. You’ve endured it all these years—can’t you just bear with it a little longer?”
Wu Huiniang instantly bristled.
“Do I have a death wish? How much longer am I supposed to endure? Besides, why should I always be the one to put up with it?”
Madame Du also grew angry.
“Look, the day is almost over, and no one from the Shen family has come to fetch you. What are you going to do now?”
At that moment, a thin man walked in from outside, carrying a hoe, and said with a furrowed brow.
“Sister, I don’t mean to criticize you, but the Shen family has always favored your sister-in-law. Yet you ran back to your parents’ house in a fit of anger. If you ask me, whether you go back early or late, you’ll still have to return. It’d be better to go back now and save some face.”