“Grandma He, Uncle He, I caught a wild pheasant in the mountains today. I brought it over for you.”
Old Madam He’s expression changed as quickly as a chameleon, especially when she saw the large pheasant dangling from Zhang Dawei’s hand. Her narrow eyes nearly disappeared from smiling.
“You’re here to see Qinglian, aren’t you?”
“Not exactly… I just wanted to show a little filial respect to my elders.”
Zhang Dawei rubbed his nose and stole a glance at He Qinglian standing nearby.
Their marriage hadn’t been settled yet.
He didn’t want to damage her reputation.
He Qinglian stiffened, looking visibly uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, He Fugui was a shameless, thick-skinned man.
He grabbed Qinglian, who had been about to retreat into the kitchen, and pulled her directly in front of Zhang Dawei.
“You want to marry my daughter. Matchmaker Lu should’ve already told you our family’s conditions.”
“Look at our Qinglian.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“She’s hardworking.”
“Her younger brother is in poor health and needs money for treatment.”
“So fifteen taels of silver really isn’t expensive.”
Expensive? Cheap?
She was a person.
Not a slab of pork.
Humiliated, He Qinglian clenched her teeth before speaking.
“You’re asking far too much.”
“Have you ever thought about my situation?”
“Even if they agree, how could I ever hold my head high after marrying into his family?”
“You wretched girl!”
“When did you earn the right to speak?”
Just as He Fugui’s raised hand was about to strike her—
“Uncle He, please don’t!”
Zhang Dawei hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.
“I actually came today because I wanted to discuss something.”
“My feelings for Qinglian are sincere.”
“In a few days, I’ll be leaving with my uncle as a traveling merchant.”
“Give me three months.”
“I’ll definitely earn the full fifteen taels.”
Then he looked earnestly at He Qinglian.
“Qinglian…”
“Will you wait for me?”
She pressed her lips together and lowered her head without saying a word.
Old Madam He shot her a vicious glare before instantly replacing it with a warm smile.
“Of course she’ll wait.”
“Her father and I have already agreed.”
Old Madam He had everything planned.
Since Zhang Dawei adored He Qinglian so much…
Once she married into his family…
She could keep him wrapped around her little finger.
A few whispered words on the pillow each night…
Surely he’d keep supporting her parents’ household.
…
Inside the kitchen…
Mrs. Wu sat before the stove, holding the emaciated little Goudan in her arms.
Listening to the conversation outside, her emotions were complicated.
This was her daughter’s lifelong happiness.
Yet…
As her mother…
She didn’t even have the right to speak.
How tragic.
Fortunately…
Zhang Dawei was someone worthy of entrusting Qinglian to.
The He family was a wolf’s den.
The sooner her daughter escaped…
The better.
…
As evening gradually fell…
Bright moonlight spread across the courtyard.
Judging by modern time, it was only around seven-thirty in the evening.
Only two rooms in the Xie household had oil lamps.
One belonged to Xie Jinnan, who often copied books.
The other was Xie Changsheng’s room, making it easier to care for Li Xiuhong during the night.
Since the bookstore currently had no copying work available…
Even Jinnan’s room extinguished its lamp early that night.
Jinxiu had thought she’d struggle to adjust to this ancient schedule.
Instead…
Not long after her head touched the pillow…
She was fast asleep.
She went to bed early.
But she also woke early.
Every day she rose before dawn and worked until nightfall.
As long as her sleep quality wasn’t terrible…
Falling asleep was easy.
Around midnight…
Heavy rain suddenly poured down without warning.
The window paper rustled noisily in the strong wind.
Feeling chilly, Jinxiu instinctively burrowed toward the nearby source of warmth.
Surrounded by the girl’s faint natural fragrance…
Xie Jinnan slowly opened his eyes.
His dark gaze deepened.
Carefully turning over, he tucked the quilt securely around both of them.
His large hand gently wrapped around her slender waist.
With reddened ears…
He lowered his head and softly kissed the top of her hair.
…
Roosters crowed one after another.
Some nearby.
Some far away.
Jinxiu’s eyelashes fluttered gently.
She slowly opened her eyes.
The space beside her was already empty.
Xie Jinnan had gotten up.
Sitting upright, she stretched lazily.
The rain from the previous night had cooled the weather considerably.
Wrapped in the quilt, she’d slept wonderfully all night.
Touching the back of her head, she found her wound had almost completely healed.
She sat on the edge of the bed while putting on her shoes.
Outside, the sky remained dim and gray.
Even so…
Everyone else in the family had already started their day.
Old Madam Tian was washing clothes.
Xie Changsheng was caring for Li Xiuhong.
Xie Jinnan and Old Master Xie had already gone to the fields.
Xie Eryong had taken Xiaoyu to gather wild vegetables.
The little girl happily carried the small bamboo basket Grandpa had woven for her.
After washing up, Jinxiu helped Old Madam Tian wash and hang the laundry before tidying the courtyard.
Breakfast consisted of a pot of brown rice porridge.
Each person received one coarse cornbread bun mixed with rice bran.
Old Madam Tian also stir-fried the leftover spring bamboo shoots together with the ones soaking in the wooden basin.
After Jinxiu finished eating…
Old Madam Tian slung a bamboo basket onto her back.
The two of them set off together for Mafang Town.
They walked.
There were no ox carts in Dali Village.
In the neighboring Daquan Village, however, Old Man Zhong owned a donkey and made a living transporting villagers to town.
Anyone wanting a ride could reserve a seat.
Sometimes…
If they were lucky…
His donkey cart would pass through Dali Village on the way to Mafang Town.
Provided the cart wasn’t already full.
Walking from Dali Village to Mafang Town took roughly one shichen—about two hours.
The original owner of this body had always worked on the farm, so her physical condition wasn’t bad.
Over the past two days, Jinxiu had finally eaten enough nourishing food.
She felt she could easily handle the journey.
However…
Not everyone adapted so quickly to richer food.
About halfway there…
Old Madam Tian suddenly clutched her stomach.
“Grandma, are you okay?”
“Hiss…”
She grimaced in pain.
“Ouch… my stomach…”
Looking around and seeing no one nearby, she snapped off a finger-thick bamboo twig growing beside the road.
She broke it into several smaller pieces and tucked them into her clothes.
For… cleaning herself afterward.
“You carry the basket for now.”
“Wait here for Grandma.”
“Don’t wander off.”
“If anything happens, shout loudly.”
After dropping her basket…
She hurried into the small grove beside the road.
Jinxiu picked up the basket and followed behind.
She watched as Old Madam Tian disappeared behind a patch of tall grass.
Not wanting to be overwhelmed by the smell…
Jinxiu walked a little farther away.
Still, she kept Grandma within sight while absentmindedly looking around.
The previous night’s rain had left the ground damp.
Water droplets continued falling from the grass.
Then she noticed something.
Hidden among waist-high weeds lay several damp, rotting logs.
Their roots had been dug up, and they leaned haphazardly against a raised mound of earth.
Suddenly…
A thought flashed through her mind.
She opened the system marketplace with her thoughts and typed:
“White fungus.”
As far as she knew…
White fungus naturally grew on decaying logs.
Most of the white fungus sold in modern times, however, came from factory cultivation in grow bags.
Its quality wasn’t nearly as good.
She revised her search:
“Premium white fungus.”
Soon she found exactly what she wanted—
High-quality fresh white fungus cultivated using traditional methods and naturally grown on green oak logs.
Four fresh white fungus clusters
Cost: 7 points.
Each fresh cluster weighed roughly one liang.
In this era…
White fungus was an extremely valuable delicacy.
Its status was almost comparable to bird’s nest.
She had no doubt a medicinal shop in town would gladly buy it.
…
Old Madam Tian sighed in relief as she pulled up her trousers and tied her waistband.
Looking around, she couldn’t see Jinxiu anywhere.
“Girl?”
“Jinxiu?”
“Grandma, I’m over here!”
Rustling came from the left.
Old Madam Tian walked toward the sound.
She found Jinxiu standing with her back to several fallen logs.
“What are you doing?”
Jinxiu slowly turned around.
The moment Old Madam Tian saw what she was holding in both hands…
She froze on the spot.