Public opinion shifted in an instant. Since ancient times, the poor and the rich had always stood in opposition. Most of the passersby were poor, so they naturally empathized with Guan Xiyue.
Even Chunliu looked at her with more sympathy. She had originally thought Guan Xiyue was an extremely capable woman, but she didn’t expect her to have such a tragic past.
Even the old vegetable-selling woman came forward, took her hand, and comforted her for a long while.
Thus, the Zhou family’s eldest young master not only gained the nickname “silver-painted candle spear” (good-looking but useless), but also earned another title—“heartless man.” His notoriety spread widely.
Guan Xiyue and Chunliu bought more ingredients before returning to the village. However, they didn’t know that when they arrived back, the villagers were looking at them strangely.
It turned out that someone had seen her setting up a stall in town. Seeing how well her business was doing, they were naturally both envious and jealous. Then, when Zhou Zhengye jumped out and claimed that Guan Xiyue had been sold by his family, the villagers felt a strange sense of balance.
She built such a good house and could make fried pastries, yet she had actually been sold off—who knew where her money came from?
After the villagers returned and spread the story, the admiration others had for her also lessened. Instead, people began whispering about whether her silver came from improper sources.
Guan Xiyue and Chunliu were puzzled, but then Yang Daya suddenly shouted, “What’s wrong with you all? If you have something to say, say it to her face. Why are you all gossiping behind her back? Xiyue is standing right here!”
Guan Xiyue swept her gaze over the crowd and smiled. “Looks like someone saw me selling fried pastries in town. What’s so strange about that?”
Liu Sister-in-law hesitated before saying, “Xiyue… someone in the village saw the Zhou family’s young master. He said you were a concubine they discarded and sold off.”
Guan Xiyue admitted openly, “Yes. He sold me for a few taels of silver.”
Liu Sister-in-law added uneasily, “But he also said that the Daoist from Baiyun Temple said you were a disaster star…”
Guan Xiyue looked at her with a faint smile. Liu Sister-in-law couldn’t hold up under her gaze and looked away, uneasy.
These past few days, she had seen Guan Xiyue making that red bean paste. She had even tasted it—smooth, delicate, sweet but refreshing, nothing like the coarse, overly sugary fillings sold in town.
It was said that today at the market, the fried pastries sold extremely well—nonstop business, nonstop frying, hundreds sold in a single morning.
Just a rough estimate showed she had earned several hundred cash coins in profit.
To say she wasn’t jealous would be a lie.
Guan Xiyue wasn’t particularly angry. Envy of others and resentment of those doing better—that was human nature. Especially in a village, people’s horizons were narrow; they only saw the small patch of land in front of them.
She said loudly, “If I were truly a disaster or jinx, why would I have been able to cure the Zhou young master through a ‘lucky bride’ marriage? He was bedridden for half a month and couldn’t even take medicine. The Daoist from Baiyun Temple personally said I had great fortune.”
Someone immediately questioned, “Then why did they still sell you?”
Everyone fell silent, staring at her.
Guan Xiyue said with grief, “Because after I cured him, the Daoist said he would have to rely on himself for his future exams, so the Zhou family thought I was useless and sold me off.”
Another voice asked sharply, “Even if you were useless, they wouldn’t sell you. The Zhou family isn’t short of a few taels of silver. And if you were sold, how did you get so much money to build a house?”
The crowd grew larger and larger. Even Village Head Yang and others looked at her in confusion.
Guan Wangshi suddenly shouted, “Xiyue can build a house—that’s her ability!”
Before anyone could feel even a bit moved, she added proudly, “No matter where her money came from, the house belongs to our Guan family!”
The other members of the Guan family stared at Guan Xiyue with burning eyes. Only the third branch looked uneasy, and little Guan Xiaomei looked like she was about to cry.
Guan Xiyue finally stopped teasing them.
“I earned the money by selling recipes,” she said calmly. “While I was at the Zhou family, I created two dishes in their kitchen and sold the recipes to Dongkang Restaurant. That’s how I got the money to buy myself out—self-redemption. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Dongkang Restaurant. Tian’an Tower also bought my recipes, which is why I had money to build the house. Is that clear enough?”
She looked around and added, “If you can create good dishes too, you can sell them to restaurants as well. Just like my fried pastries—I invented them myself, and they sell very well.”
The crowd grew slightly uncomfortable. She had made it clear: if they had the ability, they could also make money by selling recipes or food. Anyone could get rich that way.
But they didn’t have that skill.
Liu Sister-in-law forced a smile and tried to build rapport, reaching out to take her hand. But Guan Xiyue avoided it.
“Sister Liu, I feel it’s not very convenient staying at your place. I plan to move in with Yang Daya. I’ll settle the accommodation fee immediately.”
She then calculated everything precisely. For twenty days’ stay, agreed at two hundred wen per month, she counted out 134 copper coins with Chunliu’s help.
Liu Sister-in-law regretted it deeply—regretted speaking up, regretted her jealousy.
Yang Daya’s eyes lit up.
Her house was decent, just a bit run-down. Her father had passed away early, and her widowed mother raised her and her younger siblings with great difficulty.
A few days ago, she had been working for Guan Xiyue and earned thirty wen a day, so she was very grateful. Today she had only spoken up for her, yet Guan Xiyue had noticed.
Yang Daya was straightforward. Since Guan Xiyue didn’t mind, there was nothing more to say.
She immediately took her belongings, told Chunliu to pack the remaining things from Liu Sister-in-law’s house, and led them away.
The villagers were left behind, scolding the gossiping troublemaker for spreading rumors without understanding the situation. People were always like that—when they could blame others, they never blamed themselves.
Yang Daya quickly took Guan Xiyue and her maid home and cleaned out the two best rooms.
Guan Xiyue ignored these small matters and focused on preparing her red bean paste. Her baking skills were at the level of a modern chain bakery, so this was no challenge.
The accumulation of capital was slow and tiring, but she enjoyed it. Life here could be taken slowly—no need to rush.
Reaching the top overnight wasn’t impossible—for example, by selling all her recipes at once—but if people didn’t see the process, and she suddenly became too capable, these ancient villagers might even treat her as a monster.