Behind them, when Wu Rong and Gu Shaoning saw Li Xingyue and Gu Wan’er coming out of the jewelry shop, both of their expressions turned unpleasant.
Wu Rong could not help feeling jealous and resentful. Gu Mingxiao was not even at home, yet Li Xingyue still had money to buy jewelry?
Today, she and Gu Shaoning had come to town to sell embroidery. She had worked so hard just to sell a few handkerchiefs for some copper coins, yet most of it had to be used to support her husband’s expenses at the academy.
Comparing oneself with others really made one furious!
But then she thought again—if her husband passed the scholar examination this time, she would become a scholar’s wife. How could Li Xingyue, a mere village woman, compare to her?
As they passed a bun shop, freshly steamed buns were just coming out of the pot. The hot steam rose, and the fragrance quickly spread through the air.
Gu Wan’er swallowed unconsciously, and Li Xingyue suddenly felt hungry as well.
Meat buns cost three coins each. She bought five, handed one to Wan’er, and took one for herself. Since it was still early, they sat at a small roadside table and ate.
Each bun was about the size of her fist, but there was more vegetable filling than meat, and the taste was not very good.
Well, for three coins, how much meat could there be?
And the cabbage inside was a bit too old.
Li Xingyue stood up, went to the owner, and took out a large cabbage and two carrots from her basket, placing them on the chopping board.
She had originally planned to keep these vegetables for her own family.
The bun shop owners were a couple in their early thirties.
The man looked honest and sturdy, while the woman was warm and hospitable.
Seeing the man confused, Li Xingyue smiled and said,“Brother, these are cabbages and carrots I grew. I’m giving them to you. You and sister-in-law can try making buns with them and see if the taste improves.”
The couple finally understood.
The woman, Yun Niang, quickly smiled and said,“Sister, how can we accept this?”
Li Xingyue lowered her voice and smiled,“If you mix pork with shredded carrots and a bit of chopped black fungus, the filling will be excellent.”
Then she added,“If you want more cabbage and carrots from my home, you can come to Gu Village to find me. My name is Li Xingyue.”
“Just say the bun shop owner’s wife from town is looking for me. Don’t say anything else.”
After saying that, she turned and left.
The couple stood there, confused.
When they saw Li Xingyue leaving with the girl, Yun Niang suddenly reacted. She quickly wrapped three or four buns in oil paper and chased after them, stuffing the buns into Li Xingyue’s hands.
She said,“We can’t take your vegetables for nothing.”
Then she smiled and returned to her work.
Gu Wan’er was puzzled.“Sister-in-law, what was that about? What did you just tell them?”
Li Xingyue smiled and asked,“Wan’er, how do you think their buns taste? Are they good?”
Wan’er nodded, then shook her head.“They’re good… but not that good.”
Li Xingyue smiled.“I just told her a recipe for bun filling.”
Wan’er asked,“Sister-in-law, you can make buns too?”
“Of course. It’s not difficult.”
After a pause, she added,“When we get home, I’ll cook meat for you. Let you see your sister-in-law’s cooking skills.”
Laughing and chatting, they arrived at the town entrance. The ox cart driver was already waiting.
When they returned home, it was almost noon.
Gu Qishan was not someone who liked to stay idle. He was either in the fields or up in the mountains.
Only Zhou Shi and Yan’er were in the courtyard. Zhou Shi was sewing a large shoe sole—it was clearly for Gu Mingxiao.
Yan’er was playing with a small shovel, digging at the corner of the wall.
When she saw them return, she ran toward them happily.
“Mother and Aunt are back!” the little girl shouted.
The little teddy dog wagged its tail and ran toward her.
After entering the yard, Gu Wan’er quickly closed the gate behind them.
Li Xingyue was puzzled. The girl looked as if she were guarding against thieves.
“You must be hungry. I left food in the pot,” Zhou Shi said without standing up.
“I’m not eating,” Li Xingyue replied immediately.
She didn’t even need to think—it would definitely be wild vegetable black flour porridge. She didn’t want it.
Seeing her sister-in-law refuse, Wan’er also said,“I’m not eating either.”
Zhou Shi glanced at them. She knew they must have eaten in town. These two—neither one was easy to deal with. Eating outside was just wasting money.
Her tone turned a bit sharp.“Yue’er, how much money did you get for the herbs?”
Li Xingyue didn’t intend to hide it and answered honestly,“More than eight hundred coins.”
She then took out four strings of copper coins and handed them to Zhou Shi.
“Mother, I bought some things. I’m giving you four hundred coins this time. Is that alright?”
When Zhou Shi heard they had earned over eight hundred coins, she felt delighted. But when she heard she was only getting four hundred, she immediately felt dissatisfied.
She accepted the coins but did not reply.
Li Xingyue didn’t care what she thought.
She then took out thirty coins and handed them to Gu Wan’er with a smile.
“Wan’er, you worked hard too. These thirty coins are your reward.”
Wan’er’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
She was happy, but she did not immediately reach out to take the money.
Instead, she glanced at Zhou Shi.
Seeing that Madame Zhou didn’t say anything, Gu Wan’er felt uncertain in her heart and cautiously said, “Sister-in-law, we’re all one family—there’s no need to talk about hardship or anything like that.”
Li Xingyue just smiled and shoved a handful of copper coins into her hand, saying, “Take it and keep it. You’re still a young girl—if there’s anything you want, just go buy it.”
Madame Zhou thought to herself that her precious daughter was going to be spoiled by this daughter-in-law. She couldn’t help but speak, “Wan’er, you’re still young. Let your mother keep the money for you.”
Gu Wan’er didn’t want to hand over the money she had just received, but she also didn’t dare to defy her mother, so she cast a pleading look toward her sister-in-law.
Li Xingyue had no choice but to say to Madame Zhou, “Mother, it’s really thanks to Wan’er. Giving her that money is what motivated her to continue going up the mountain to collect herbs. Isn’t that how it is?”
Before Madame Zhou could reply, she changed the topic: “Mother, what about the things we bought—shouldn’t you keep them?”
Sure enough, Madame Zhou no longer cared about Wan’er’s little sum of money. She glanced at their baskets, then got up to return to the house to hide the copper coins.
Gu Wan’er also went back inside to hide the thirty copper coins she had painstakingly earned.
Li Xingyue had already put the extra coins into the small wooden house. She opened a pack of osmanthus cakes and took one for Yan’er, then bit into one herself.
The texture was delicate, and there was a faint scent of osmanthus. It wasn’t particularly delicious, but it was pleasant enough.
After eating one, she felt a bit dry in her mouth, so she went back to get her cup, which contained spring water from the space realm. She took a sip and let Yan’er drink some as well. Ever since she had crossed over, she and Yan’er drank this spiritual spring water every day, and it made the body of her current self feel increasingly energetic.
She opened some jerky and fed a piece to the little teddy, taking one for herself. Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she heard Madame Zhou exclaim in shock, “Yue-Niang, you… you really don’t know how to manage daily life at all!”