“No way, how can that bastard be so sure it was her?”
Lin Shuang firmly believed that nobody knew about what happened today except for God Himself.
Yet Lin Lanlan didn’t seem to be acting.
Lin Shuang suppressed her doubts and continued listening.
“Fine, fine. I won’t have any contact with Ah Yuan and the others ever again.”
In truth, after what happened today, she had no intention of crossing paths with them again anyway. If she hadn’t been terrified that they might spill something they shouldn’t, she wouldn’t have begged Brother Linfeng to help get them released.
Disturbing public order could be a major or minor offense, depending entirely on who you were.
The three siblings kept whispering for quite a while, to the point where Lin Shuang grew sleepy from crouching in wait.
“I want her dead, too. She’s a thorn stuck right in Mom’s heart.”
Lin Shuang suddenly wasn’t sleepy anymore.
A magpie occupying a dove’s nest, yet actually complaining that the nest’s true owner didn’t voluntarily vanish from the face of the Earth?
“But our family is about to relocate soon. We can’t afford to create extra trouble right now.”
Lin Hao, unable to keep his composure, grew anxious. “This won’t work, that won’t work! Why don’t I just go upstairs and beat her up?”
The sharp, harsh scrape of a chair dragging across the floor echoed, only to abruptly cut off.
*Fight! Come on, fight!* Lin Shuang was left disappointed, though.
“What’s your hurry? I haven’t even finished talking!” Lin Chang held down his twin brother.
“Little Sister is about to be harmed to death by that bitch! What are you lingering around for?”
Lin Chang didn’t respond to his brother this time. “Did you guys forget what day tomorrow night is?”
Lin Lanlan caught his meaning instantly.
“Third Brother, are you saying… send Lin Shuang to my engagement party and ruin her reputation once and for all?”
An engagement party?
That wasn’t right!
Tomorrow night should be the wedding banquet for Master Ting’s brother-in-law.
No one knew how Shen Linfeng had gotten acquainted with this Master Ting, but he was on the guest list as well.
In the original novel, the original owner of this body met with disaster at tomorrow night’s wedding banquet. However, the author hadn’t written out the exact details.
Based on Lin Shuang’s experience reading web novels in her modern life, it was nothing more than a few standard schemes like spiking her drink. What she wanted to know, though, was who exactly was involved.
“Precisely.”
“Are you insane? Tomorrow night is Sister’s big day. Sending a thing like her there—aren’t you just trying to ruin Sister’s mood?”
Lin Lanlan’s eyes, however, lit up with anticipation.
She pictured that bitch acting indecently with another man, caught right in the act by Brother Linfeng’s own eyes. In this lifetime, that bitch could forget about ever redeeming herself in Brother Linfeng’s heart. Even if the incident in the snow years ago came to light, it wouldn’t save her.
Lin Shuang listened a while longer and finally heard what she wanted.
Master Ting had been replaced by someone she had never heard of, and the location had been changed to the Shen residence.
As expected, certain events had altered. Coming here to eavesdrop had been the right call.
“First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll go inform Shi Dongyun.”
Shi Dongyun?
Was it the Shi Dongyun she knew?
In the town where the original owner lived with her eldest aunt, there was indeed someone named Shi Dongyun. But in her memory, not only the original owner, but her elder male cousins had virtually no interactions with Shi Dongyun either.
Except for one instance: when Shi Dongyun was being beaten by her mother, Lin Shuang’s eldest cousin had stopped the mother.
Even with a mind full of web novel plots from her previous life, Lin Shuang couldn’t figure out why Shi Dongyun would want to harm her.
If she couldn’t figure it out, she wouldn’t dwell on it; it would be better to ask face-to-face and get a clear answer.
The trio finally parted ways to return to their respective rooms. Taking advantage of the moment Lin Lanlan went to the restroom, Lin Shuang quickly exited her spatial dimension and slipped away toward the black market.
Fortunately, when Lin Shuang left the house, she had ridden off on her scumbag father’s bicycle.
Even though she pedaled with all her might the entire way, it still took two hours.
Checking against the map Old Man Zhuang had given her…
The foot of Quanshan Mountain—this was the place.
Lin Shuang found a deserted spot to stop, stored the bicycle into her spatial dimension, and pulled out a cloth-covered basket to carry on her arm.
Oh, right—she needed to disguise herself, too.
Under the moonlight, people drifted in and out of a sheltered corner from time to time. Seeing the bulging clothes on those who emerged, Lin Shuang knew she had found the right spot.
The young man keeping watch at the entrance wore a conical bamboo hat. At first glance, he seemed unremarkable, but his eyes acted like searchlights, screening every suspicious person.
Noticing that the old woman carrying the basket was an unfamiliar face, the young man narrowed his eyes and stepped out to block Lin Shuang’s path.
“What are you here for?”
Lin Shuang lifted a corner of the cloth covering her basket and replied in local dialect, “Selling eggs.”
Seeing a stack of small-denomination bills in the young man’s hand, she assumed he wanted a toll fee.
“How much is it? I’ll pay.”
She couldn’t afford to be kept outside after pedaling for several hours in the middle of the night!
The young man proved quite honest. “No charge for selling goods. One jiao for buying goods.”
It made sense; those buying goods had money, while those selling might not.
Seeing that the young man was easy to talk to, Lin Shuang immediately seized the opportunity to push further.
“Comrade, is there anyone here selling ration coupons?”
Fearing she might arouse suspicion, Lin Shuang adopted a helpless tone. “Several of my grandsons have found partners, and I want some cloth coupons to tailor clothes for their significant others!”
The young man was likely a filial son, because hearing Lin Shuang put it that way, he actually offered her directions. Thanks to that, Lin Shuang saved a good deal of time.
The black market had a bit of everything, but Lin Shuang found it difficult to purchase grain in bulk. Most items were sold by the pound or two, with a clutter of miscellaneous goods, and prices were several times higher than outside.
Just as Lin Shuang thought she would be returning empty-handed tonight, she caught a whiff of a fishy odor.
Intrigued, Lin Shuang stepped forward and saw an old man crouching alongside an eleven- or twelve-year-old girl.
Whether it was because she had grown accustomed to the hazy moonlight or her vision had improved, she could tell at a single glance that there was something different about this girl.
The old man assumed someone had come to ask about the fish, only to find the newcomer was an old woman about his own age. What left him somewhat bewildered was that the old woman kept staring intently at his granddaughter.
“Elder Sister, buying fish?”
Hoping to sell off the fish quickly, the old man tried asking Lin Shuang.
“How much are they?” Lin Shuang pushed aside the weird sensation in her mind.
*Good heavens! Having an old grandfather call me ‘sister’!*
Lin Shuang asked for the price, all while reaching into her pocket to pull out two White Rabbit candies and hold them out.
“Pardon me, I have a granddaughter about your age at home, too.”
*Little Cousin, for your sister’s sake, sacrifice your gender for a moment.*
Saliva trickled down the little girl’s mouth as she stared at the candy before her, though she didn’t dare reach out her hand.
The old man wanted to refuse, but looking at his little granddaughter, the words stuck in his throat.
Lin Shuang simply stuffed the candy into the girl’s hands.
“It’s fine. Grandma’s treating you to candy.”
“Old Brother, you haven’t told me how much your fish are yet.”
Moving closer, Lin Shuang realized the old man had brought a substantial amount of fish. The two wicker baskets in front held dead fish, while behind them stood four buckets filled with lively, splashing fish.
However, they were mostly small fish, with only a few the size of a palm, along with some small shrimp and loaches.
“Elder Sister, one cent or two cents—either is fine. Just give whatever you see fit. As you can see, these fish aren’t easy to sell. Everyone looks down on them for being small fish and shrimp. People who have ditches in front of their doors can just send their own kids down to net them; there’s no need to spend money buying them.”
Lin Shuang knew the old man was telling the truth. In this era, human labor was the cheapest thing of all.
Considering that she could raise fish inside her spatial dimension, Lin Shuang felt buying them all wouldn’t be a problem. By visual estimate, there had to be over two hundred pounds—she had no idea how the old man had managed to carry them all here.
“Old Brother, I’ll take all of them. Is ten yuan acceptable?”
Upon hearing this, the old man was instantly overjoyed, yet he honestly replied, “Elder Sister, these small fish and shrimp aren’t worth that much. Just giving one yuan will do.”
Lin Shuang: “…”
*Physical labor really is the least valuable thing.*
In the end, the old man accepted the ten yuan Lin Shuang handed over.
Lin Shuang had them move the fish to a deserted spot outside before transferring them into her spatial dimension.
Afraid that the live fish might die, Lin Shuang immediately emptied them into the stream.