Huá Wànxī was quite satisfied with Madam Wang’s tact. Although she trusted them, she didn’t like being overly scrutinized. This level of curiosity was just right.
She took out all the handmade soap she had prepared in advance, and casually handed over a few inconspicuous rubber bands to Madam Wang. “Sister-in-law, these can be used to tie hair. Take them back and try them with Mother-in-law.”
She demonstrated on the spot how to use them. The method was simple, and Madam Wang quickly learned it.
Madam Wang was already somewhat immune to the occasional strange items Huá Wànxī produced. In her mind, her second brother and second sister-in-law were capable people who could always source unusual goods.
Huá Wànxī then handed Jiang Wenwan a large velvet scrunchie. It was wine-red in color, made of satin fabric, and very beautiful.
“Wenwan, this is for you. It works the same way as the one I just showed you!” she said. The girl was at the age where she loved beauty, and the moment Huá Wànxī saw the hair tie, she felt it suited Jiang Wenwan perfectly.
As expected, Jiang Wenwan loved it. She took it happily. “It’s so pretty! Second Aunt, thank you!”
Madam Wang also looked on joyfully. “It’s made of satin, isn’t it? It’s beautifully crafted! The color is so bright and lively—perfect for a young girl like her!”
In truth, Huá Wànxī had long wanted to speak privately with Jiang Wenwan. A natural disaster was coming, and she knew Jiang Wenwan was already anxious and restless, yet didn’t know what to do. Meanwhile, she herself also needed Jiang Wenwan to help push the village into early preparation—after all, Jiang Wenwan was the heroine, blessed with plot armor and influence, making everything easier for her to accomplish.
Yes, after careful consideration, Huá Wànxī still decided to follow the main group during the great migration. One major issue had convinced her: household registration.
Without proper household registration, even if she arrived early in a safe place, she wouldn’t be able to settle down. And as a widow with two infants, it would be far too suspicious to go to the village head alone to separate her household registration.
Huá Wànxī then said, “Wenwan, Aunt really likes you. If you’re free tomorrow, could you come over and chat with me for a while?”
Jiang Wenwan agreed without suspicion. “Of course! Second Aunt, I’ll come find you after I finish gathering pig grass tomorrow!”
“Alright.”
After they left, Huá Wànxī put the silver into the bathroom, then took out all the soap and began unwrapping it.
She threw the packaging directly into the bathroom trash bin, where it would automatically disappear the next day.
Once everything was unwrapped, she started scraping the soap. While working, she thought about how she should talk to Jiang Wenwan the next day. Her excuse needed to be believable and convincing enough for Jiang Wenwan to cooperate. She believed that following the heroine was definitely the right choice.
In the original story, Jiang Wenwan’s family survived the journey of migration with some hardships but no fatal danger, eventually arriving safely near the capital and living a very good life. She even married a young general.
Huá Wànxī’s wish was simple: follow the heroine’s family to the outskirts of the capital, find a relatively safe small town, buy a house with a storefront, and rely on the supplies in her bathroom to run a small general store.
Her only desire was for her whole family to survive peacefully and live an ordinary life.
The next morning around ten, Jiang Wenwan arrived.
Once there, she immediately started helping with chores—sweeping the floor, wiping the table, and even offering to wash dirty clothes.
Huá Wànxī stopped her. “Wenwan, don’t be busy yet. Close the door first. I have something to tell you.”
“Alright, Aunt!” Jiang Wenwan obediently closed the door and sat on a stool by the bed, staring at Huá Wànxī with clear, unblinking eyes, waiting for instructions.
Jiang Wenwan was very delicate-looking, though a bit tanned from the sun. Her features were beautiful, especially her large, bright eyes that were full of life.
Huá Wànxī steadied herself and adjusted her expression. It was time to act.
With a hesitant look, she said, “Wenwan… do you know about next year’s natural disaster?”
Jiang Wenwan’s eyes widened instantly. After a long stunned silence, she asked in disbelief, “Second Aunt… could it be that you also…?”
Huá Wànxī looked both surprised and as if it all made sense. She grabbed her hand and said, “I knew it—you also came back!”
Tears welled up in her eyes at just the right moment.
“Second Aunt! Wuwuwu!!!” Jiang Wenwan lost all composure and threw herself into her arms, crying loudly.
Since her rebirth, she had lived every day in anxiety. She wanted to change her family’s fate but didn’t know how. If she had to relive the pain of losing her family again, she would rather not have been reborn at all.
She had been desperately trying to think of ways to warn the adults, to let everyone know about next year’s disaster, to prepare for the northern migration and stock up supplies—but she was only a twelve-year-old child. Who would believe her?
Now that she knew her second aunt was also reborn, she finally felt she had someone to rely on. She was no longer alone.
She cried for about half an hour before gradually calming down. The children, startled by her crying, looked around in confusion. Huá Wànxī had no choice but to hold them both and soothe them while waiting.
Jiang Wenwan apologized awkwardly after realizing she had woken the babies. “Sorry, Second Aunt… I got too emotional and forgot they were sleeping.”
“It’s fine. They were about to wake up anyway.”
After calming the children and putting them back down, Jiang Wenwan finally collected herself and asked suspiciously, “Second Aunt… when you died in your previous life, the disaster hadn’t even started yet. How did you know about it?”
Huá Wànxī’s eyes turned red again. After a pause, as if lost in memories, she choked out, “After I died in my past life… perhaps because of lingering obsession, my soul never left. I watched everything. I saw the disaster next year… I saw everyone fleeing north… I saw your family…”
She paused, crying softly. Jiang Wenwan also wiped her tears.
“…I saw you hit a huge rock. I rushed over, shouting your name, trying to hold you, but you still… And then I even saw your soul. We stayed together for a few days and promised that if we ever got another chance, we would change our fate.”
Jiang Wenwan widened her eyes. “So that’s what happened? Why don’t I remember any of it?”
“Maybe you hit your head too hard when you fell,” Huá Wànxī said, wiping away her tears as if the performance had ended.
When she had read the original novel, the details of Jiang Wenwan’s past life were only briefly mentioned. She only knew the Jiang family all died, leaving Jiang Wenwan alone. After struggling for a few days in misery, she eventually hit a rock and died.
So Huá Wànxī could only improvise the details—after all, the key point was that Jiang Wenwan died by hitting a rock.