Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Arrival

"They arrived at the wharf by the end of noon."

"Ding Zhao noticed two suspicious old women selling rattle-drums, weaving through the crowd and approaching anyone holding or carrying a baby."

"It was no surprise that these women were likely sent by those who meant harm to Xiang Xiang."

"Ding Zhao whispered something to Mrs. Zhang, who immediately tensed up and tightened the strap binding the child."

"Ding Zhao softly advised, 'Don't panic, we can't let them notice anything unusual.'"

"He adjusted the cloth covering Ding Xiang’s head to make it more secure."

"One of the old women spotted them and hurried over, her face plastered with a smile, 'Buy a little drum, only twenty wen each.'"

Ding Zhao waved his hand, saying, "No need, we already bought one in the capital."

The old woman persisted, "Fifteen wen each, much cheaper than in the capital. Young man, take a closer look, these drums are of excellent quality."

Indeed, the drums, selling for twenty-five wen each in the capital, were finely made and surprisingly affordable. However, it seemed illogical for such quality drums to be sold so cheaply.

Ding Zhao, now more convinced of his earlier suspicions, decided to buy a drum.

The old woman glanced at Mrs. Zhang's back, where the child was wrapped in coarse blue cloth, with only a small opening revealing the child's face and a hint of medicinal scent.

She smiled and asked, "What a lovely child. How old is he?"

Mrs. Zhang replied with a smile, "Just over two months. Poor thing, suffering from diarrhea so young and having to take bitter medicine."

The thick wrapping and blue cloth indeed made it look like a two-month-old baby.

Ding Zhao handed over the coins and received the rattle-drum.

The old woman, not noticing anything unusual, moved on to another spot.

The couple let out a sigh of relief and went to a noodle stall for a meal. They had initially planned to ask the stall owner to warm the rice soup for Ding Xiang, but now dared not. They also didn't change Ding Xiang's diaper, deciding to wait until they were on the boat.

They were particularly worried that Ding Xiang might cry from hunger or discomfort, gently patting her from time to time for reassurance.

The child was remarkably calm, not crying at all until they boarded the boat.

Those two old women even followed them onto the boat to sell rattle-drums, leaving only when the boat was about to depart.

After more than two quarters of an hour, seeing no suspicious people, Mrs. Zhang finally unwrapped Ding Xiang from her back.

Ding Xiang had soiled herself twice, smearing her buttocks and legs, wetting her pants and wrapping cloth, leaving her lower body chillingly cold.

Ding Zhao and Mrs. Zhang, feeling extremely distressed, quickly wiped her down with a dry cloth, changed her clothes and pants, and inserted a new diaper.

Mrs. Zhang said tenderly, "Good child, you have suffered."

Ding Zhao also whispered softly, "Xiang Xiang is such a good and smart girl. The bad people are gone now, it's okay to cry if you're uncomfortable."

Knowing it was safe, Ding Xiang pouted and whimpered softly, a form of coquetry. She didn't cry, grateful that the ordeal was over despite the discomfort.

A nearby elderly lady, unable to ignore the scene, shook her head and commented, "What a way to care for a child, not changing the diaper immediately after it's soiled. Tsk tsk, such a pitiful sight."

The couple didn’t dare to respond.

Mrs. Zhang, holding Ding Xiang, searched the boat.

She spotted a woman holding a baby, her chest noticeably full.

Mrs. Zhang approached with a smile, "Sister, I weakened after childbirth and have no milk. Could you nurse my child three times a day, ten wen each time?"

The woman was more than happy to earn the money, beaming, "Sure, I have plenty of milk, my son can't finish it all."

The man nearby was overjoyed, not expecting to make money on the boat. Over a seven or eight-day journey, they could earn over two hundred wen.

The woman had an unpleasant odor, and Ding Xiang, sensing she hadn’t bathed in days, guessed her “nipple” wouldn't be clean. Despite being dizzy with hunger, she turned her face away, refusing to drink her milk.

Mrs. Zhang had no choice but to take her back, leaving the woman biting her teeth in frustration.

Ding Zhao then used a larger sum of money to ask the boatman to help cook rice soup.

A well-fed and satisfied Ding Xiang smacked her lips contentedly.

The cabin of the boat was stuffy and smelled unpleasant.

Ding Zhao and Mrs. Zhang took turns carrying Ding Xiang outside the cabin. In the warm afternoon sun and cool river breeze, a few birds chirped overhead, circling above them.

Ding Xiang smiled with her little mouth and soon fell back into a peaceful sleep.

The boat, mostly used by the less affluent, traveled only during the day, docking at night for rest and supplies. Passengers preferred to stay on board instead of spending money at inns onshore.

Ding Zhao and Mrs. Zhang, who had purchased seating tickets, dozed off leaning against each other. Fearing someone might steal the child at night, Ding Zhao wrapped Ding Xiang in a large cloth and tied her to his chest, holding her tightly even in sleep.

In this secure embrace, Ding Xiang slept soundly and contentedly.

The weather had been moderate these days, with a few days of light rain but no strong winds. On the afternoon of September 2nd, the boat smoothly reached the dock of Linshui County.

Once ashore, the last bit of unease in Ding Xiang's heart dissipated with the wind.

She was now completely free from the clutches of the wicked old Xun woman and no longer the emperor's granddaughter, the daughter of Princess Dongyang and Xun Fu Ma. From now on, she would live many years as a little farm girl in the vast countryside, farming and doing business, prepared to fight against any evildoers.

Ding Zhao hired a donkey cart to North Spring Village.

The cart had no canopy, but the area was warmer than the capital, and the warm sunlight felt extremely comfortable.

Ding Xiang, squinting her eyes, silently recited the names of those in the capital connected to her and the switch plan she had overheard. The detestable face of Nanny Li, with a green bean-sized mole on the left side of her eyebrow and her prominent white-eyed glare, appeared in her mind.

After pondering over the troubles in the capital, she began to think about how to use her knowledge from her previous life to make her first fortune.

Her adoptive parents were so kind, having gone to great lengths to bring her to safety, and her first priority was to repay their kindness and improve their lives.

In her previous life, Ding Xiang had studied fine arts and was admitted to a prestigious 985 university with the fourth-highest score in her city.

Actually, she excelled academically but chose to study fine arts as a way of rebelliously spending more of her parents' money.

After graduating, she joined a well-known studio and drew comics, earning a considerable income of two to three hundred thousand a year, a high salary in her nearly first-tier city.

However, she ended up overworked, and after eight years of strenuous drawing, she was diagnosed with a heart condition. She decided not to sacrifice her life for money.

She used her savings of 1.2 million, and after pressuring her parents, each contributed 150,000, enabling her to buy a 54-square-meter apartment outright. She didn't want to marry; living alone was enough for her.

Additionally, she spent over 80,000 on a luxury watch for her uncle, securing a job for herself in a state-owned steel company's archive department through a talent introduction program.

Her maternal grandfather had been a top executive in that company before his death. Now her uncle was a senior manager, and her cousin also worked there, making her grandmother's family a steel industry lineage.

Suddenly relieved from her previous stress, Xun Xiang, uninterested in dating, filled her time with various activities. Even without the previous overtime, she habitually went to bed after midnight.

One thing was certain; she didn't, like many of her contemporaries, waste hours on mobile games, seeing it as a life squandered.

Thank you to Song A Mei and Yi Sha Ou for the rewards, and to Nuan Yu Ru and Xue Xia Feng Shu for the monthly tickets. Thank you all for your support.