The shopkeeper’s smile toward He Wanqing became a little warmer.
“Madam, our shop has a very complete selection of fabrics. What kind are you looking for?”
He Wanqing glanced around and immediately realized the fabrics displayed in front were all brightly colored, high-grade materials.
“Do you have cotton cloth?”
Silks and satins were still beyond her reach for now, but cotton cloth was at least something she could think about.
However, she hadn’t expected even cotton cloth to have different grades.
“Of course. Madam, over here are all cotton fabrics. Various colors and patterns for you to choose from.”
Even among the cotton fabrics, He Wanqing could tell at a glance that these were still too expensive for her current circumstances and didn’t match her family’s economic level.
So without even asking the price, she said,
“Shopkeeper, I want the kind of cotton cloth suitable for work clothes.”
The moment she said that, the smile at the shopkeeper’s lips faded slightly.
“Madam, then you should go look over there. That pile is all the sort you want.”
Following the direction he pointed, He Wanqing saw stacks of coarse cotton cloth piled off to one side, accompanied by even rougher hemp fabric.
Lan Xirou quietly watched He Wanqing choose fabrics without saying a word.
She hadn’t expected He Wanqing’s family circumstances to be poor, yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of inferiority or timidity in her demeanor.
Instead, Lan Xirou saw a spirit of female independence and self-reliance.
It was something that the vast majority of married women in this era sorely lacked.
And it made her admire He Wanqing even more.
This was the kind of life state she longed for.
At that moment, a strong thought surged up in Lan Xirou’s heart—
She absolutely had to become friends with this woman!
Meanwhile, He Wanqing had no idea what Lan Xirou was thinking.
After mentally converting the dimensions of the fabric bolts, she calculated that making one set of summer clothes required roughly eight chi of cloth. One bolt was enough for about five outfits.
So she selected one bolt of white cotton cloth and one bolt of blue cotton cloth before carrying them to the counter.
The shopkeeper glanced over them and said,
“One tael and six qian.”
He Wanqing inwardly sucked in a breath.
Even medium-to-lower-grade fabric was this expensive?
Suppressing the pain in her heart, she paid the money and then stood the fabric bolts upright inside her basket.
After leaving the cloth shop, Lan Xirou still wanted to continue following He Wanqing, but behind her came the anxious voice of a maidservant.
“Madam! Why did you come all the way here? This servant was worried sick!”
Only then did Lan Xirou remember that back at the bookstore, she had sent her maid to buy pastries.
But how could she lose face in front of her new friend?!
So she straightened her chest and declared righteously,
“And whose fault is it for taking so long?! Was I supposed to sit in the bookstore waiting for you? What happened to all the rules you learned? Go home and stand facing the wall for half an hour!”
The maid, A-Qin, was practically on the verge of tears.
What was wrong with Madam today? Wasn’t she usually very easygoing?
But she didn’t dare say such things aloud and could only dejectedly accept the punishment.
“Madam, this servant knows her mistake.”
Lan Xirou revealed the smile of a victorious conqueror. But when she turned around intending to speak with He Wanqing again, she discovered the woman had already walked ten paces away.
“Hey, He Wanqing, wait for me!”
Lan Xirou was just about to chase after her when A-Qin hurriedly stepped forward and bravely reminded her:
“Madam, it’s nearly noon. Master and Young Master are still waiting at home for you to return for lunch.”
“Oh dear, it’s already noon.”
Lan Xirou looked regretfully at He Wanqing’s retreating figure, unwilling to give up.
“What village do you live in?”
After finally meeting a woman whose way of thinking matched hers so well, Lan Xirou was afraid she might never find her again.
He Wanqing paused.
After a brief silence, she answered,
“Shangliu Village.”
From her clothing alone, He Wanqing could already tell this woman’s family background in Baima County was definitely either wealthy or noble.
At first, she hadn’t wanted to become entangled with someone like that.
But during their conversation, she realized Lan Xirou lacked the usual arrogant superiority of wealthy people, and chatting with her had actually been quite pleasant.
So in the end, He Wanqing decided to tell her where she lived.
As for whether they could truly become good friends—
That would depend on fate.
Afterward, He Wanqing headed toward the marketplace, where many stalls selling vegetables and meat gathered together.
The moment she spotted the meat stalls, she practically couldn’t move anymore, her eyes glued firmly to the cuts of meat laid out on the table.
The butcher enthusiastically greeted her.
“Big sister-in-law, want a piece of meat? These pigs were slaughtered fresh this morning—couldn’t be fresher!”
“How much?”
“That depends on which cut you want. Fattier cuts are twelve wen per jin. Leaner cuts are ten wen per jin.”
“Give me one jin of the leaner kind.”
“Alright!”
The butcher’s knife rose and fell swiftly. Soon, a perfectly weighed piece landed on the scale.
“Anything else? Our pork bones and pig’s blood are fresh too. Want some?”
“How much?”
“One bone for six wen, pig’s blood for three wen a piece.”
Thinking about how skinny her children had become from hunger, He Wanqing added another large soup bone.
The butcher quickly wrapped the bone and meat together in lotus leaves.
“Sixteen wen total. Here you go!”
Further ahead, He Wanqing saw a stall selling eggs and chicks.
Remembering how A-Ming had talked about raising chickens for eggs last night, she crouched down.
“Big Sister, how old are these chicks?”
“About ten days old. Don’t worry, the chicks hatched by my hens are easy to raise.”
“How much?”
“Five wen each.”
“Then I’ll take ten. Can I have the cage too?”
“Sure. There are exactly ten in this cage. Pick whichever you want.”
He Wanqing selected a cage full of lively chirping chicks.
But buying chicks wouldn’t immediately produce eggs, so her gaze shifted toward the basket of eggs.
“How much are the eggs?”
“Two wen each. Buy ten and I’ll give you one extra. I always pick the bigger eggs to sell, so you won’t suffer any loss.”
“Alright, then I’ll buy twenty.”
“I’ll pack them up for you right away!”
The woman carefully counted out twenty-two eggs and placed them into He Wanqing’s basket.
Originally she wanted to pad them with straw, but after seeing the clean fabric bolts inside, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Sister, be careful when you walk. If the eggs crack, they’ll dirty your cloth.”
“Thank you for the reminder. I’ll be careful.”
He Wanqing wasn’t worried at all.
The moment she walked away carrying the chick cage, she had already transferred the eggs into her storage grid.
After buying vegetables and leaving the marketplace, He Wanqing entered a general goods shop to purchase bowls and chopsticks before finally heading home.
Back home, the children were all squatting under the eaves waiting for her.
The moment they saw her, they excitedly jumped to their feet.
“Mother, you’re back!”
“I’m back.”
He Wanqing handed the basket to Ye Jianshan.
“Careful. There are eggs inside.”
Naturally, before entering the courtyard, she had already moved the eggs back out of storage.
“Wow, Mother bought chicks! Ah, and meat too!”
A-Ming was the first to notice what she was carrying and immediately bounced up in excitement.
“Awoo, awoo!”
Beside him, A-Lan also circled around He Wanqing happily.
Smiling, He Wanqing said to A-Ming,
“Take the meat to the kitchen and quickly stir-fry a dish. Save the bone for soup tonight.”
“Okay!”
Even though the rice was already cooked, A-Ming certainly didn’t mind an extra plate of meat.
“Jianwen, there are new bowls and chopsticks in the basket. Go wash them.”
“Jianshan, you take the chicken cage. Fence off a corner of the courtyard and let the chicks out. Put out some water for them too.”
After giving her instructions, He Wanqing picked up the two bolts of fabric and prepared to head into the room to rest for a while.
Walking around outside in such blazing weather had truly tired her out.
Seeing he had no assigned task, Ye Jianwu scratched his head and wandered into the kitchen to help A-Ming tend the fire.
“Whew, it’s really hot today.”
Setting the fabric down, He Wanqing took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat.
Only after feeling the softness of the fabric did she realize she had taken the wrong one.
This was Lan Xirou’s handkerchief.
Thinking of that overly talkative woman, He Wanqing chuckled softly and set the handkerchief on the table, intending to wash it later.
Still fully dressed, she lay down on the bare wooden bedboards and began mentally calculating today’s expenses.
The total came quickly.
Including the expensive fabric, she had spent over one tael and seven qian altogether.
And this was only the first day.
Later they would still need to build a house, buy furniture, purchase farming tools…
The little bit of savings in her storage grid clearly wasn’t enough.
It seemed the most urgent matter now was finding some small business to support the family.
For survival.
For raising the children.
This laid-back woman could only shoulder the heavy burden of supporting the household herself.
Who would’ve thought that the goal she had set on her very first day here would collapse so quickly?
Sigh.
Life really wasn’t easy.
After a long sigh, He Wanqing began seriously considering where to start.
From what she observed today, Baima County’s economy wasn’t bad. Most street vendors and stall owners carried energetic expressions, which meant small businesses could indeed make money.
But what should she do?
He Wanqing began searching through the countless food recipes stored in her mind.
Most were things she had learned from watching food videos in her previous life.
Although the dishes she personally cooked often turned into dark cuisine, that didn’t stop her from memorizing the methods.
Unfortunately, before she could think of a suitable idea, Jianwu came to call her for lunch.
No matter how big heaven and earth were, eating came first!
Three dishes were served for lunch: stir-fried pumpkin, eggplant with long beans, and sliced pork stir-fried with eggs.
When A-Ming saw that his mother hadn’t scolded him for using eggs, he grinned so hard his eyes nearly disappeared.
He Wanqing lightly tapped his head with the opposite end of her chopsticks.
“What are you grinning about? If you don’t start eating now, there won’t be any meat left.”
A-Ming’s smile instantly vanished.
He immediately grabbed his chopsticks and lunged for the meat while shouting,
“Third Brother, you’re taking so much at once!”
Ye Jianwu stuffed meat into his mouth too busily to answer him.
The other two boys were no slower. Before long, each had already finished one bowl of rice and gone back for a second.
Watching them, He Wanqing suddenly felt that as long as she could raise these children well and let them live happily every day, it wouldn’t matter even if she had to work a little harder.
The instant that thought surfaced, He Wanqing startled herself.
Had her affection for these children already reached the point of selfless devotion?
Still…
The feeling didn’t seem bad at all.
After lunch, drowsiness overtook He Wanqing, and she returned to her room for a short nap.
The children, however, had never developed a habit of napping.
After cleaning the kitchen, each went off to do their own thing.
Seeing A-Ming squatting under the eaves playing with A-Lan, Ye Jianshan suddenly realized the house lacked far too much furniture.
There was only one table, and they even had to stuff wooden blocks underneath to keep it steady.
There were no chairs at all.
Only a single stool remained, and even its seat had been partly eaten away by insects.
For the past two days, they had been eating while standing.
Finding Ye Jianwu sitting by the bed carving wood, Ye Jianshan said,
“Jianwu, stop carving for now. Let’s go get some lumber and make tables and stools.”
Looking at the wooden beds also reminded him they didn’t have enough beds either.
The thatched house originally only contained three beds.
Mother slept on one.
He and Jianwen shared another.
Jianwu and A-Ming shared the third.
The beds weren’t large to begin with, and with the hot weather, squeezing together was quite uncomfortable.
But for now, there was no other choice.
After all, he only knew how to make simple tables and stools. Large things like beds were still beyond his skill.
Ye Jianwu had always listened to his older brother.
Putting away his knife and wood block, he followed him outside.
“Big Brother, are we going up the mountain to cut trees?”
“Freshly cut wood has to dry before it can be used. Let’s walk around the village and see if anyone has extra lumber in their yard we can borrow first. Later we’ll cut trees and repay them.”
The brothers left the courtyard together and casually glanced toward the neighboring Du family yard.
Unexpectedly, there really was lumber there—and it had already been processed and was ready for use.
The brothers exchanged glances and smiled.
Ye Jianwu rubbed his chin.
“Big Brother, this is the family whose auntie brought us vegetables yesterday, right?”
“Mm. Mother said Aunt Du is a very nice person.”
“Then should we go ask?”
“Together.”
So the two brothers entered the Du family courtyard together.
The yard was quiet and empty, causing both brothers to unconsciously lighten their footsteps.
Just as Ye Jianshan prepared to call out, a slender figure emerged from the main room.
“Who are you?”
The young woman’s features were as beautiful as a painting, and her voice was soft and sweet.
For a moment, Ye Jianshan froze in place.
Ye Jianwu noticed his older brother acting strangely and felt deeply puzzled, but he still answered first.
“Don’t be afraid. We’re your neighbors. Your mother even brought vegetables to our house yesterday.”
Ye Jianshan snapped back to himself.
Realizing how embarrassing his reaction had been, he awkwardly lowered his head, a blush spreading across his darkened skin.
So these were Aunt He’s sons.
Du Ruoyun relaxed, and a smile appeared on her face as well.
“Do you need something?”
Ye Jianwu tugged at his brother’s sleeve.
Ye Jianshan took a deep breath and stared fixedly at the top of Du Ruoyun’s head instead of her face.
“We wanted to borrow your family’s lumber to make some tables and stools. Don’t worry—we’ll return it later.”
“Borrow lumber? No problem. Go ahead and take it.”
Du Ruoyun’s straightforward agreement surprised Ye Jianshan, and his gaze unconsciously met her bright eyes.
Immediately, he hurriedly looked away again.
“Th-thank you.”
The brothers quickly began carrying the lumber out.
Meanwhile, confusion arose in Du Ruoyun’s heart.
That person seemed…
Almost afraid of her?
Was she really that frightening-looking?
After the brothers left, Du Ruoyun returned to her room somewhat gloomily.
Back home, after setting down the lumber, Ye Jianwu nudged his brother with his elbow and sincerely asked,
“Big Brother, what happened to you just now?”
The redness that had barely faded from Ye Jianshan’s face instantly spread again.
“N-Nothing. Stop standing around and hurry up and get the tools.”
By the time He Wanqing woke from her nap, the brothers had already finished one completed stool.
“Mother, we just finished this stool. Try sitting on it.”
Taking the stool, He Wanqing tested its sturdiness and found it surprisingly solid.
“Not bad. Very steady. And the height’s good for sitting while working too. But where did you get the lumber?”
Ye Jianshan pointed toward the wall on the right.
“We borrowed it from the Du family. Later I’ll go into the mountains to cut trees and repay them.”
“You definitely should repay it.”
The sun was still blazing fiercely, so He Wanqing sat beneath the eaves watching the two boys hammer away making stools.
Before long, Sister-in-law Du arrived, accompanied by her husband, Du He—a genuine rural farmer through and through.
“Madam He, good thing you’re home. Hurry and have your sons follow my husband to move the mud bricks. He already helped borrow unused bricks from several families for you.”
Only then did He Wanqing remember the matter, gratitude filling her face.
“Thank you so much, Brother Du and Sister-in-law Du. Jianshan, Jianwu, stop working for now and go help your Uncle Du move them.”
Knowing the He family lacked a cart, Du He had even brought out his own handcart from home.
Ye Jianwu immediately stepped forward and grabbed the handles.
“Uncle Du, let me do it.”
“That’s right, let Jianwu handle it,” He Wanqing said with a smile. “He’s strong.”