At the thought of this, Song Jinhua’s eyes dimmed once more.
She let out a self-mocking laugh, lowered her head, and silently crouched on the ground to clean up the shattered porcelain bowl.
Until the middle-aged woman shouted at her.
“You wretched girl! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pull her away!”
Song Jinhua hesitated for a moment before slowly getting to her feet.
Wu Yulan noticed that the shopkeeper and waiter downstairs had rushed over upon hearing the commotion. Unhurried, she finally released the woman.
Only then did she take a proper look at the middle-aged woman’s face and suddenly cried out, “Oh! You’re not that vixen who seduced my husband! I hit the wrong person!”
The middle-aged woman struggled up from the ground, clutching her face. “Oh my! Where did this madwoman come from? Beating people without even asking what’s going on!”
Wu Yulan spread her hands innocently. “Well, if you’re not that shameless woman, you should’ve said so earlier. I wasted all that effort hitting you for nothing.”
The middle-aged woman was so furious she nearly fainted from lack of breath.
This lunatic rushed in and started beating her—did she even have a chance to explain?
The middle-aged man who had arrived roughly understood what had happened. His face darkened. “Where did this village woman come from? In broad daylight, you dare barge into my home and assault my wife and child!”
Wu Yulan smiled apologetically. “My apologies. I mistook her for the temptress who seduced my husband.”
The middle-aged woman clutched her face. “You barged in and beat me senseless without reason. And a simple ‘sorry’ is supposed to settle it?”
“How about this? I’ll buy all the rice in your shop downstairs as compensation. What do you say?”
Wu Yulan smiled sincerely, as if she truly intended to make amends.
The middle-aged woman stiffened her neck. “What? You think buying some rice will settle this? Dream on!”
“Smack—!”
Another ten-tael banknote landed on the table.
“Smack—!”
“Smack—!”
One banknote after another was slapped down. The middle-aged man’s gaze shifted from contempt to courtesy.
He forced a smile. “Heh heh, sister-in-law, if you truly buy all the rice in the shop, then we can consider this matter settled.”
Wu Yulan waved her hand boldly. “Done!”
Hearing this, the middle-aged man ordered the waiter to serve Wu Yulan a pot of tea, then went with him to weigh the rice.
“Husband, I just got beaten up. Are we really just letting this go?”
The middle-aged woman felt sore all over and couldn’t swallow her anger.
The man sneered. “Heh, how could it end just like that? She wants to buy rice? Then we’ll sell her all the old stock that’s been sitting unsold.”
“She’s obviously some country bumpkin. She’s never eaten fine rice—she won’t be able to tell old rice from new. Nothing will happen.”
The middle-aged woman recalled Wu Yulan’s sharp tongue and hesitated. “But… she looks rather shrewd.”
“She’s just a village woman. What’s there to fear? Even if we sell her all the old rice, what can she do? She’ll just have to swallow the loss.”
He waved dismissively. “That’s that. Endure it for now. Once we sell off this old rice, I’ll give you money to buy a hairpin.”
At that, the woman reached up to adjust her bun and cooed, “Husband, you really do know how to dote on me.”
…
Wu Yulan drank tea on the second floor. When no one was around, she went over to Song Jinhua.
“Jinhua.”
Song Jinhua bit her lip, holding back the urge to cry.
“Grand… Grandma…”
Wu Yulan reached out and patted her. Seeing the bruises covering the girl’s body, her heart felt uneasy.
“Oh, good child, you’ve suffered. Grandma is here to redeem you and take you home. In a moment, swallow this and pretend your whole body is itching.”
“When Grandma comes back the second time, I’ll be able to bring you home.”
As she spoke, she slipped a small pill into Song Jinhua’s mouth.
“R… really?”
Song Jinhua hardly dared to hope, yet hearing her grandmother say she would redeem her stirred a fragile longing inside her.
“Yes, really. Bear with it a little longer. Grandma will take you home soon.”
She reached out to wipe the tears from the little girl’s face. But when Song Jinhua saw her hand approaching, she instinctively shrank back.
“Don’t be afraid. Grandma won’t hit you anymore.”
Feeling the rough hand gently rub her face, Song Jinhua froze.
Grandma was helping her wipe away tears.
Was she… feeling sorry for her?
No. That couldn’t be. How could Grandma feel sorry for her? At home, it was already fortunate enough that she hadn’t been beaten or starved to death.
Song Jinhua remained stiff, not daring to move, afraid that any resistance would suddenly earn her a slap.
“Auntie, the rice has been weighed. Come down and have a look.”
Hearing the middle-aged man call out, Wu Yulan didn’t delay. “All right. Bear with it a little longer. Grandma will come back for you.”
As she watched Wu Yulan’s figure disappear, Song Jinhua’s heart pounded wildly.
Could she really… go home?
…
“In total, it’s two thousand jin. Fourteen wen per jin—one wen below market price. That comes to twenty-eight taels of silver.”
The shopkeeper stared fixedly at Wu Yulan, afraid she might not pay.
Wu Yulan didn’t hesitate. She took out thirty taels of silver and paid decisively. “Here are thirty taels. Give me two taels in change.”
The shopkeeper examined the banknotes carefully, front and back. After confirming there was no problem, he handed her two one-tael silver pieces.
“Heh heh, payment and goods are settled.”
“Would you like me to have someone deliver the rice to your home?”
Wu Yulan waved her hand. “No need to trouble yourself. I’ll hire a few ox carts outside.”
At this, the shopkeeper smiled so broadly that the wrinkles on his face deepened.
Not having to deliver it was great—he could save dozens of wen in delivery costs!
“Very well. Then I won’t see you off, Auntie.”
Wu Yulan curled her lips into a faint smile and stepped out of the rice shop.
After leaving, she did not head straight to the cattle market for ox carts. Instead, she went to the vegetable market, where many elderly women sold produce.
Although taxes in Dongchen were not heavy, much of the land the common people farmed was rented from landlords. With layers of exploitation, they often struggled to have enough to eat.
Thus, women who grew vegetables at home usually brought them to the market to earn a little spending money.
After waiting for a while, Wu Yulan approached an elderly woman with a sharp tongue.
“Elder sister, I have a job for you. It’ll take about half an hour. I’ll pay you fifty wen. Are you interested?”