Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Old Lady He left early that morning, cloth bag in hand and copper coins from Su-shi, to buy rice at the village head’s home.

Several women from the village were already gathered there, stitching shoe soles and chatting.

The village head’s wife smiled and asked, “Old Lady, what brings you here to buy rice today?”

Old Lady He chuckled, “It’s not that I’ve suddenly become generous; it’s my Li Niang who’s earned some money and given it to this old woman to buy rice.”

Hearing this, the women’s expressions varied.

One woman teased, “Looks like you’ve struck gold, Old Lady He.”

Another remarked sourly, “Now that the widow can earn money, who’s to say she won’t run off? Old Lady He, you’d better be careful—don’t end up worse off than you started.”

Old Lady He, always strong-willed, snorted coldly, “Don’t meddle in my family’s affairs. Even if she runs off, at least I’ve already spent her money. Your daughter-in-law may not run away, but that doesn’t mean she’ll give you any money to spend.”

Seeing an argument brewing, the village head’s wife quickly intervened as a peacemaker, saying, “Let’s just keep it friendly; no need for real quarrels. We’re all from the same village, after all—we’ll see each other often.”

Old Lady He gave the woman a dismissive huff. “I may be old, but I’m not too old to curse. When I was young, I had a short fuse—better not provoke me recklessly.”

The woman, feeling insulted, flushed red and wanted to retort, but was held back by those around her.

An old widow who had single-handedly raised her grandson was not someone to be trifled with.

Besides, if a quarrel truly upset the old lady, they’d be the ones left to clean up the mess.

Seeing that things had calmed down, the village head’s wife breathed a sigh of relief and said to Old Lady He, “Come with me, Old Lady, and I’ll scoop the rice for you.”

The old lady followed her into the main room with her rice bag and handed over eighteen copper coins.

The village head’s wife went inside, scooped the rice, weighed it in front of Old Lady He, and then gave it to her.

Then, lowering her voice, she added, “I pulled some vegetable seedlings from the garden this morning. Tell Li Niang to come by later with a basket, and I’ll give them to her to take home.”

The vegetable seeds had been sown too densely, causing the seedlings to grow crowded. Thinning them out would help the remaining plants grow faster.

It was common for households with extra seedlings to give them away.

The village head’s wife continued, “Someone else asked me for the extra seedlings this morning, but I didn’t give them any. I remember Li Niang mentioned she’d sown some seeds, but it’ll take a while before they’re ready to eat. With these starter plants, she’ll have vegetables in half a month.”

Old Lady He was surprised to hear the village head’s wife repeatedly refer to her as “Li Niang,” but she didn’t ask further.

When she returned home and saw Su-shi hanging laundry, she asked, “When did you get so familiar with the village head’s wife?”

Lu Yuan turned to her, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Old Lady He said, “The village head’s wife saved some vegetable seedlings for you. She wants you to bring a basket over later.”

Lu Yuan immediately brightened. “When I went to grind beans the day before yesterday, I mentioned that I didn’t know when we’d have fresh greens. The village head’s wife said she had extra seedlings and could share some with me.”

Lu Yuan had visited the village head’s house three times. While grinding beans, she would chat with the village head’s wife, and gradually they grew closer.

Old Lady He remarked, “You really can strike up a conversation with anyone. You’re so quick with words—I don’t know why I ever thought you were awkward and meek.”

Lu Yuan wrung out the clothes and hung them on the bamboo pole, replying, “I was just afraid you wouldn’t like someone too slick, so I acted simple and honest. Otherwise, would you have taken me in?”

“Of course not.”

If she had been like this from the start, Old Lady He would have worried that the widow was cunning and restless.

Lu Yuan laughed and pressed, “What about now?”

Old Lady He shot her a look. “Enough of that. Don’t forget the conditions you agreed to when you decided to stay.”

Lu Yuan’s good mood vanished. She turned back to hanging the clothes, secretly pursing her lips, and said, “I haven’t forgotten.”

Getting married was one thing, but the condition that followed—she couldn’t fulfill that.

After hanging the laundry, Lu Yuan went into Qi Cheng’s room to feed him liquid food.

She set the food aside first and said to Qi Cheng on the bed, “I’m going to check your heartbeat. If you’re conscious, try thinking about something stimulating.”

Lu Yuan waited a moment, then leaned over Qi Cheng’s chest, listening as his heartbeat grew increasingly rapid.

Wow, was he practicing drumming in his mind?

After listening for a while, she straightened up and stared at Qi Cheng. “What on earth were you thinking to make your heart beat so fast?”

As soon as she spoke, a faint blush spread across Qi Cheng’s face.

Lu Yuan, unsure what came to mind, chuckled mischievously and teased, “You weren’t thinking about some steamy thoughts, were you?”

Soon, Qi Cheng’s face grew even redder.

It didn’t look like embarrassment—more like he was red from suppressed anger.

Lu Yuan figured that if Qi Cheng were awake, he’d probably be furious enough to grab her and give her a beating.

She was only daring to tease him because he was lying helpless.

Having stirred him enough, Lu Yuan decided not to bully the unconscious man further. She wiped the smile from her face and said, “I’ll stop teasing you.”

It wasn’t entirely without purpose—during the stimulation, she aimed to make Qi Cheng more emotional, keeping his brain activity active and increasing the chances of him waking up.

Lu Yuan then fed Qi Cheng the liquid food and went about her tasks.

She carried the bamboo shoots into the yard to dry.

Last time, Lu Yuan and Old Lady He had worked for two days, preparing two large basins full of bamboo shoots.

Over a hundred pounds of fresh bamboo shoots would yield about thirty to forty pounds of dried bamboo shoots after drying.

Once this batch was nearly done, she planned to make another haul from other bamboo groves. She expected that once her business gained traction, others would follow suit and dig up bamboo shoots too, making them harder to find. So, she needed to stock up quickly.

The locals weren’t fools—with a bit of effort, they could figure out how to remove the bitterness. As for drying them into bamboo shoot strips, they had far more experience in drying goods than she did.

She spread the bamboo shoot strips out to dry evenly. Chun Hua and Qiu Hua helped alongside her.

Of course, Qiu Hua was more of a hindrance, messing up the bamboo shoot strips. Lu Yuan didn’t stop her, planning to tidy up after the child tired herself out. Otherwise, day after day of just digging up bugs would drive anyone silly.

Lu Yuan got up early to boil soy milk and, as usual, hung up the tofu skin that formed on the surface.

The tofu skin collected from these three rounds of boiling soy milk, once dried, weighed several ounces—enough for two meals.

She thought that after setting up her stall today, she’d buy some meat to braise with the tofu skin.

When Lu Yuan finished boiling the soy milk and carried it out of the kitchen, she spotted Huang Lan in her yard and asked in surprise, “Sister-in-law, aren’t you going to the market today?”

Huang Lan said, "I came to lend a hand and walk you to the village entrance."

After all, she had drunk a few bowls of Lu Yuan's soy milk without paying, so she figured she might as well come and help out.

Lu Yuan smiled and said, "Thank you so much, sister-in-law."

The village entrance was a good ways off, and having someone help carry the load would make things much easier.

This time, she had brought more things with her.

Three pounds of dried bamboo shoots and some lightweight embroidery.

At the village entrance, they happened to run into Xing Niang, who had previously quarreled with Huang Lan by the river.

Huang Lan muttered, "Just my luck to run into her when I’m not even going."

Then, turning to Lu Yuan, she whispered, "If Xing Niang tries to provoke you with her words again, don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. Just talk back to her."

Lu Yuan glanced at Xing Niang, who immediately averted her gaze, as if afraid of stirring up gossip.

She probably really was worried others would think she still had feelings for Qi Cheng, which was why she was being so cautious and avoiding her.

She didn’t seem like she was looking for trouble.

Lu Yuan nodded, thanked Huang Lan, and then got on the ox cart, deliberately sitting a couple of seats away from Xing Niang.

At the market, without Huang Lan to secure a spot, her stall location wasn’t particularly good this time.

She gave a bowl of soy milk to the older woman selling vegetables next to her and asked her to keep an eye on the stall while she went to fetch water.

After returning with the water, she started energetically calling out to attract customers.

Some returning customers, recognizing her stall, came over to buy a bowl of soy milk. As they drank, one remarked, "I’ve been thirsty all morning, holding out just for your soy milk."

Lu Yuan smiled and said, "My business is all thanks to everyone’s support."

The customer said, "Your soy milk doesn’t seem to have sugar added, so why is it slightly sweeter than others’?"

Lu Yuan replied with a smile, "That’s my secret recipe—can’t reveal it."

The difference lay in the water source: mountain spring water versus river or well water.

After selling one bucket of soy milk, the second bucket proved much harder to sell. Staring at the more than half-full bucket, Lu Yuan grew worried.

Just then, the young woman she had previously made arrangements with arrived, accompanied by two other women around the same age.

"You had me searching all over—from one end of the market to the other," the young woman said.

As Lu Yuan took out the embroidered items wrapped in cloth, she explained, "I arrived late and couldn’t get a good spot, so I ended up at the far end of the market."

The young woman said, "Don’t assume those with good stalls just arrived early. They have connections in town and secure their spots as soon as the market opens."

Lu Yuan’s eyes lit up. Right—why hadn’t she thought of that?

If she could get a spot near the front, with more foot traffic, she wouldn’t have to worry about selling two buckets of soy milk.

But who did she know that could help?

Lu Yuan turned to the young woman, who was examining the handkerchiefs, and asked, "Miss, could you help me ask around if anyone can secure a stall for me on market days? I won’t ask for free labor. I’ll pay two coppers for a spot in the middle or front section, and one copper for anywhere behind that, as long as it’s not at the far end like these undesirable spots."

The women exchanged glances, and the young woman said, "If you trust me, I can introduce you to someone, but you’ll need to pay upfront. Otherwise, no one will want to cover the stall fee the local officials collect in advance."

Without hesitation, Lu Yuan replied, "Sure, I can pay upfront."

The young woman smiled. "You trust me quite easily—aren’t you afraid I might pocket the stall fee?"

Lu Yuan said sweetly, "Madam, you’re well-dressed and well-spoken. You wouldn't miss two coppers."

Pleased by her words, the young woman couldn’t suppress a smile. "You certainly know how to flatter, don’t you?"

Perhaps feeling charmed, the women bought all three handkerchiefs and three tasseled good luck knots Lu Yuan had brought, and they also bought three bowls of soy milk.

Before leaving, Lu Yuan paid the stall fee for the next market day in advance.

After they left, Lu Yuan cheerfully dropped the coins into her cloth pouch.

Another person approached the stall, and Lu Yuan quickly put away her money pouch, greeting them with a smile. "Ma’am, would you like some soy milk?"

The visitor was a cheerful-looking woman in her forties.

The woman didn’t speak, just stared at Lu Yuan, scrutinizing her.

Feeling puzzled, Lu Yuan asked again, "Ma’am, would you like to buy some soy milk?"

Suddenly, the woman grinned and said, "Give me a bowl."

Lu Yuan swiftly ladled out a bowl for her.

The woman, standing nearby, asked, "Sister, you’re out here selling alone—why isn’t your husband here to help?"

Lu Yuan handed her the soy milk, took the coin, and replied with a smile, "We have elders and children at home. My husband is taking care of them."

This woman had been sizing her up from the start and now asked about her husband—how strange.

Hearing this, the woman’s smile faded, and she fell silent for a moment.

She thought to herself, *It’s not about taking care of the elders and children—it’s the elders and children taking care of him!*

*This widow sure knows how to twist the truth.*

Seeing that the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, the woman decided to cut to the chase. "I won’t beat around the bush, sister. I’m Matchmaker Yang from Shifang Village. Someone has asked me to propose a marriage match for you."