Shen Yiyi felt a pang of regret.
After all these years navigating Da Lü Jiang and reading so many time-travel novels, why hadn’t she memorized all the key details?
Whenever she came across passages describing recipes or production processes, she would skim a few lines before flipping the page, sometimes even grumbling to herself about those sly authors padding their word counts.
Now, she wished she could slap herself twice! Was that really just filler? Those were the authors generously spoon-feeding her time-travel survival guides!
Shen Yiyi swore that if she ever traveled back, she would absolutely “memorize and transcribe the entire text” whenever she encountered such informative chapters!
Maybe she could just plagiarize some stories and sell them? With the vast resources of Lü Jiang and certain other platforms, source material wouldn’t be a problem. But her family was dirt-poor, and every single member was illiterate. Forget about luxury items like brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones—even the rice jar was so empty a mouse would slip trying to climb in.
Well, now that she was in the city anyway, she could see if she could move around alone and get her hands on some paper and writing tools. It would be even better if she could learn about the sales trends at bookshops…
“…Ma the Bald’s wife next door went back to her parents’ home yesterday and said there’s a kidnapper in town! Their neighbor lost a five- or six-year-old girl,” Niu Shi said, having eaten and drunk her fill, and now starting on the gossip again.
“What use is a little girl worth anyway? She’s at that awkward age—too young to work if bought, and you’d have to feed her for nothing first.”
Hu Sicai leaned lazily against the chair back and responded half-heartedly, “Hmph, not worth anything? If she’s pretty enough, there are plenty of places that’ll pay a high price for her!”
Shen Yiyi’s heart tightened. She immediately shelved her plagiarism-and-market-research plan and reminded herself that this was not the safe modern society she came from. She had to be extra careful when going out, especially making sure never to be alone.
Hmm, maybe she could check out what kind of street snacks were being sold? It would be great if she could find something that didn’t exist here yet. She might not know how to make them, but having watched so many food videos, perhaps she could guide Niu Shi to give it a try…
“…That old man just lay crying in front of the door, saying that medicinal stew was his family’s secret recipe, and Baowei Restaurant had to pay silver for it. What kind of place is Baowei Restaurant? Would they indulge him? The head manager didn’t even show his face, just sent word saying it was just a few tonic soups. If his family could sell them, why couldn’t Baowei Restaurant?”
Niu Shi listened, wide-eyed: “Is this soup really that precious?”
Hu Sicai scoffed disdainfully, “Don’t listen to his nonsense! Baowei Restaurant’s chefs tasted it a couple of times and recreated it. What kind of rare recipe could it be? What kind of skills do they have there? What kind of medicinal ingredients do they use? What does that poor wretch have to compare?”
“Why doesn’t he mention that two stalls in the west market started making it too, selling it cheaper than him? Stuck in the middle like that, of course he’s losing money till his eyes are red. The old guy got a good beating from the staff, hehe…”
Alright, Shen Yiyi crossed off the just-listed food-based wealth-building plan and reminded herself once again: times have changed, this is not a society governed by the rule of law. She wasn’t a native here, hadn’t even grasped the common sense yet, let alone understood the hidden risks of doing business.
Come to think of it, she did know some handicrafts like knitting and flower-making, and had some basics in calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting. Could she just ask Hu Sicai and the others which of these might make money, and then pull them in to work together?
Perhaps I could claim my skills were taught by ancestors or gods in a dream? The ancients were quite superstitious about such things, after all…
“Speaking of which, there’s another strange incident! You know the Qian Family in the county town? The one with pawnshops and rice shops—they say their silver is stored in an entire cellar, even their chamber pots are made of silver. Tsk tsk, truly living up to the surname ‘Qian’! One of their grandsons was possessed by a ghost!”
“What?! Was the ghost powerful? Did anyone die?”
“No, not that—the person just went mad! I heard the young master who was possessed had been a fool since childhood. Last year, he fell seriously ill and was sent by the Qian Family to their estate to recuperate. A few days ago, for some reason, he ran back to the city alone and was caught by the Qian Family at the city gates.”
“Pfft, how is that possession? You scared me for nothing.”
“Not possession? Do you know, that boy refused to go home no matter what, struggling like a madman. He even bit off the ear of one of the Qian Family’s servants—a bloody hole! Many people saw it with their own eyes!”
“Before he was gagged and tied up and taken back to the Qian mansion, he kept shouting that his mother didn’t drown herself in a well, but was beaten to death by his father, Qian Baye, while drunk! And that his grandmother, Madam Qian, sank his mother’s bones in the well, and he was going to report it to the authorities!”
“Oh dear! That really is madness—who would accuse their own grandmother and father! What happened next? How did it end?”
“The Qian Family invited several doctors in a row, but none of them could do a thing. In the end, it was a Taoist priest from Qingfeng Guan who performed a ritual and determined that the young master was possessed by a minor ghost, causing him to lose his mind. The priest even went to the Qian Family’s estate to exorcise the evil. In broad daylight, he summoned a bolt of heavenly lightning to destroy the ghost’s lair.”
Niu Shi’s mouth hung open: “The Taoist priests of Qingfeng Guan are that powerful?! Then, what about the young master who was possessed?”
“They say his soul was damaged, and he’s now bedridden, just waiting out his days. Qian Baye, however, bears no grudge and is searching all over the city for medicine for him. They say a son may be unfilial, but a father must not be unkind—what a good father!” Hu Sicai smacked his lips, his face full of envy.
“Madam Qian also had a prayer lamp lit for this grandson at Qingfeng Guan, with a full ninety-nine taels of lamp oil.”
“Tsk tsk, how much silver must that have cost! If you ask me, the Qian Family is too kind-hearted.” Niu Shi muttered, feeling pained. “Keeping such a troublemaker at home—aren’t they afraid? Why not just deal with him quickly?”
Shen Yiyi listened, feeling chills all over. Based on all the domestic intrigue novels she had read, she swore there was definitely something fishy going on here. Thinking of how easily the mother and son were done in by the family, she couldn’t help but tighten her grip on her cup. Her mental plan was now filled with the word “lay low.”
Was it because the ancient society she had transmigrated into had such poor public security, or was she just too useless herself?
No matter how much she thought about it, with her current six-year-old body, there was simply no way she could survive independently after leaving the Hu Family.
She repeatedly reminded herself: You’re just a useless student! Unless absolutely necessary, stay put and keep a low profile!
Being poor is just being poor…
Wait! Transmigrating to ancient times, born into a poor farming family, parents unreliable, surrounded by terrible relatives—oh my!
Why does this kind of opening sound so familiar?!
According to the Da Lü Jiang script, if she had transmigrated as a boy, she would definitely be on the path of a grassroots commoner changing his fate through the imperial examinations. Even achieving the top three ranks in the exams would be standard, and if she only managed to become a jinshi, she’d be considered an academic failure in the transmigration world.
Since I’m still transmigrated as a girl, the plot should be about building a fortune while also pushing the brothers in the family to study and become officials. Oh, and there might also be some identity mysteries mixed in, like suddenly joining a wealthy family halfway through and switching to a new map for inner-household struggles…
Huh? Now that I think about it, does Hu Sicai’s claim of kinship actually seem somewhat reasonable?
Stop, stop! Don’t let this couple lead me astray!
Thinking this, I glanced at Hutou, who was wiping his mouth and nose all over with his sleeve, and couldn’t help but twitch the corner of my mouth.
Not only does he have a bad personality, but he also doesn’t seem very bright…
Relying on him to become an official? It’d be more realistic to aim for becoming the village’s richest person myself, right?
Just as the couple was chatting animatedly, Hutou started dry-heaving a few times, complaining that he was so full he felt like throwing up.
Niu Shi scolded him irritably but, fearing he might actually make himself sick, dragged him out to the courtyard to walk off the meal.
As soon as she opened the door, she found several people of all ages standing in the courtyard. Among them was a woman who looked about Niu Shi’s age, eavesdropping by the window.
Hah! Someone’s really daring to provoke the wrong person! Especially here, where Niu Zhaodi is Master Shen’s in-law—who does she have to fear?
Niu Shi raised an eyebrow, puffed out her chest, and strode over to the woman, ready for battle. But as soon as she opened her mouth, she let out a loud burp, and her noticeably protruding belly weakened her imposing aura considerably.
The other woman was clearly more skilled. Even though she’d been caught red-handed, she showed no sign of panic. Instead, she smoothly struck up a conversation, showering Niu Shi with praise—from the stitching on her dress to Hutou’s loud voice.
Back and forth, she soon had Niu Shi beaming with delight. They exchanged knowing glances—this was the start of a sisterly bond!
“Sister Niu!”
“Sister Zhang!”
Niu Shi and the woman held hands, their address already shifting to “sister,” as if a brand-new pair of best friends had just been born.
Flushed with pride, Niu Shi couldn’t resist the urge to show off. She declared that her family was related to Master Shen and promised to look out for her new “sister” in the future.
Sister-in-law Zhang hadn’t expected this. She’d only come to gather information and, realizing this woman was easy to fool, had planned to exchange a few perfunctory words. She never imagined such an unexpected windfall! Her smile instantly grew more sincere.
“Sister, your family has such noble connections! I could tell at a glance that you weren’t ordinary—you must be a relative of the Late Old Madam? Or perhaps from Madam Wu’s side? Do tell me more, sister, so I can learn from you!”
“It’s not some distant relative! My Yuan Jie’er is Master Shen’s own flesh and blood!” Niu Shi lifted her chin high and pointed at Shen Yiyi, who had just strolled to the doorway.
Whoosh—all the ears perked up in the courtyard instantly focused on Shen Yiyi. Countless gazes, almost tangible, swept over her from head to toe, making her extremely uncomfortable.
Sister-in-law Zhang’s smiling mask stiffened for a moment before shifting into an indescribably strange expression.
Then, from this woman’s mouth came a bombshell: at this very moment, everyone in the Houdao Fang Courtyard was, in fact, the same kind of “Master Shen’s in-law,” and they had all brought their own daughters to claim him as their father!