“Exactly. If Shen Yu were a monster, she wouldn’t have just broken one arm. You’ve done so many evil deeds, she would’ve sent you to death a dozen times over by now.”
“Yeah! That old witch dares to keep spouting nonsense even after losing an arm. If she keeps yelling, we’ll break the other one too!” some villagers shouted, defending Shen Yu.
The old village head still had his doubts. He opened his mouth to ask Shen Yu something, then changed his mind. “It’s a good thing Yu’er has grown stronger. Maybe some of us in the village will benefit from being connected to her.”
He then addressed the villagers: “It’s late. Everyone, disperse. If anything like this happens again, the culprits will be expelled from the clan and the village. No exceptions.”
He turned and arranged for his son Shen Yong and a few villagers to escort Shen Liu and her son home. The other villagers left.
After all the commotion, Shen Yu and her parents felt their long-held frustration dissipate. After suffering for so many years, they finally had their revenge. They lay down happily and slept soundly until morning.
As for Shen Liu’s family, it was chaos. Back home, they called the medicine man, wailed, cursed, and screamed all night.
Xie Jinhua, upon learning what had happened, was so furious that she returned to her own family the next day, leaving all the cooking, feeding the pigs and chickens, washing clothes, and taking care of Shen Liu and Shen Yongtian to Shen Cui. Her hatred could practically be squeezed out as black liquid.
..
The next morning was neither cold nor hot—perfect weather.
After breakfast, Shen Yu told her mother she would go to town to pick up the iron pots. Lin Shuyuan gave a few reminders, then took little Shen Xiaohao up the mountain to dig wild vegetables, while Shen Yong’an continued making bamboo stools and tables at home.
Today, Shen Yu mainly wanted to buy a donkey cart to make small trips to town easier. She also wanted to take some of her favorite dishes from the restaurant in advance, so she could eat them whenever she wanted.
This time, she didn’t take the ox cart but tied two large stones to her calves and walked to town. Riding an ox cart would take half an hour; walking took her an hour.
Upon reaching town, she removed the stones and tossed them aside. Then she went to the “Juxian Lou” restaurant. The young attendant, seeing her, smiled and hurried over: “Miss Shen, are you here to deliver wild meat today?”
“No, I want to reserve a few tables of dishes,” Shen Yu replied with a smile.
The attendant froze for a moment and then asked, “Miss Shen, our dishes are fairly priced, but reserving several tables is not cheap. Are you sure?”
“Of course. Give me the names of your best dishes,” Shen Yu said, sitting at a table in the empty hall, as it was not yet mealtime.
Seeing Shen Yu was serious, the attendant enthusiastically listed their specialty dishes.
After listening, Shen Yu realized that in this era, stir-fried dishes weren’t common; most dishes were stewed or braised. That, she noted, was a business opportunity.
She reserved five tables and instructed the attendant to pack the dishes in containers and leave them at the restaurant’s back door for her to pick up later. The attendant agreed, and Shen Yu paid a deposit of two taels of silver before heading to the carriage shop.
The carriage shop was busy. Several servants from wealthy families were choosing horses and carts. A shrewd middle-aged man noticed Shen Yu and hurried over. “Miss, do you want an ox or a horse?”
“I’d like a donkey. Do you have any?” Shen Yu asked.
“Yes, we do. But only two, inside,” the man said, leading her in. His enthusiasm had slightly waned upon hearing she wanted a donkey.
In the corner, Shen Yu saw two donkeys: one lying down—a small, ordinary, gentle donkey—and one standing—a large, sturdy dark blue donkey, who snorted dismissively at the little yellow-haired girl.
Shen Yu couldn’t help but smile. “How much for this donkey?”
The man quickly advised, “Miss, it’s better not to buy this one. She’s stubborn and will resist being led anywhere. You might not be able to bring her home.”
“Stubborn donkeys have their price; otherwise, she wouldn’t be here. Tell me the price,” Shen Yu replied, intrigued.
Seeing she wouldn’t be dissuaded, the man said, “If you insist, seven taels. Originally, she could’ve sold for eight, but she’s so stubborn she won’t obey anyone. She’s eaten ten days’ worth of feed for nothing. But let me warn you: if she acts up, no returns.”
Shen Yu smiled at the donkey. “Don’t worry, I won’t return her. But seven taels is a bit high. How about this: throw in a donkey cart, and I’ll pay right away.”
The man thought for a while, then reluctantly agreed: “Fine. But I can’t give you a top-quality cart.”
The dark blue donkey seemed to understand and snorted again.
Shen Yu chose a simple, sturdy flat donkey cart, paid an extra half tael, and went to lead the donkey.
Using her sleeve to conceal it, she took out a sugar cube from her space, added a drop of spring water, and fed it to the donkey. The donkey’s eyes lit up, nudged Shen Yu’s shoulder, and obediently allowed itself to be harnessed to the cart.
The man’s eyes widened: how did this girl make such a stubborn donkey obey?
Shen Yu bid him goodbye and drove the donkey cart out. A few servants in front were loading horses onto carts, blocking her way. She waited patiently.
The servants muttered: “The master and mistress are leaving tomorrow? Isn’t that too soon? Even if the barbarians come, it’ll be five days before they get here.”
“They were instructed by the mistress to pack the household goods. There’s no delay. That’s why three carriages were bought at once. Apparently, the mistress’s sister in the capital sent a message urging a quick departure.”
Noticing Shen Yu, they quickly fell silent and finished loading the carriages.
Hearing this, Shen Yu was secretly surprised. A small border village really wasn’t reliable. No wonder she had never felt entirely at ease.
She drove the dark blue donkey out of the carriage shop, then headed toward the grain store. She wanted to visit several places to see if she could gather more information.
At the grain store, the attendant recognized a regular customer and warmly greeted her. Shen Yu asked for the prices of sorghum, black wheat flour, and soybean flour. Sure enough, prices had risen three wen per unit since her last purchase. Sorghum was now nine wen per jin, black wheat and soybean flour had also risen three wen. Shen Yu calmly bought 200 jin of sorghum, 100 jin of black wheat flour, and 50 jin of soybean flour.