Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"What's this?" Lu Wanxiao took it with curiosity and opened it to find several small pieces of silver and some copper coins inside.

Lu Wanxiao was somewhat surprised that Song Changting still had money, and even gave it to her!

Come to think of it, she had almost forgotten that she was now penniless, without even a single coin for the oxcart fare.

Alas, the convenient mobile payment and facial recognition, along with her nine-digit inheritance, had suddenly become a thing of the past in her life.

"Thanks," Lu Wanxiao said, both pained and regretful, as she took one copper coin from the pouch and handed the pouch back to Song Changting.

She had found a jade hairpin in the cave yesterday—it was in decent condition and should be worth some money. She could pawn it and get some cash.

As for Song Changting's money, he should keep it. For him to have saved up such money under the previous Lu Wanxiao, that terrible woman, it must have been no easy feat.

Song Changting didn't take the pouch she held out. He looked at her for a moment and said softly, "You need money to buy things. This can buy a lot."

Whether he thought she considered the amount too little or thought she didn't understand that buying things requires money, his tone held a slight note of helplessness, though neither noticed.

"I know," Lu Wanxiao nodded. "Don't worry, I have money. I won't take things from others without paying."

Song Changting clearly didn't believe her. If Lu Wanxiao had money, she wouldn't have gone to Hunter Zhu, and what happened afterward wouldn't have occurred.

Lu Wanxiao thought of that too. She sighed, took out the jade hairpin from her space, and said, "Look here. This should be worth a good amount, right?"

Song Changting took the hairpin and examined it. When he saw the hibiscus flower mark at the end, his eyes deepened. "Where did you get this jade hairpin?"

"I found it on the mountain yesterday," Lu Wanxiao answered truthfully, briefly telling him about falling into the cave.

Of course, she didn't mention how she got the Othershore Space.

She was short on money, not on common sense.

After that, she took out the dagger she had gotten from the cave and showed it to him—something she would definitely use later, and Song Changting would see it eventually.

Rather than having him see the valuable dagger and make wild guesses, it was better to show him directly and clear things up.

Living under the same roof, if we keep suspecting and guarding against each other, it would be exhausting and suffocating—a real downer.

It's not good for physical or mental health, nor for getting rich.

"Are you... all right?" When Song Changting heard that Lu Wanxiao had fallen into a cave, he asked with concern, though his voice remained calm, the care was evident.

Lu Wanxiao shook her head. "It's fine. There were lots of rotting leaves and soft mud below, so I didn't get hurt."

Hearing that she was okay, Song Changting didn't ask further. He handed the hairpin and dagger back to her. "This dagger is a rare find. Keep it for self-defense. As for this hairpin, if you really want to pawn it, wait until you can go to the county town. There's no pawnshop in the town, and that money is enough for what you need to buy today."

Lu Wanxiao found this reasonable. She nodded, shaking his pouch in her hand. "Then consider this money as a loan. I'll pay you back when I have some money."

When he heard this, his already indifferent gaze darkened further. His gaze returned to the book in his hand. "If you don't leave now, you'll miss the oxcart."

At that, Lu Wanxiao quickly stowed the pouch in her space. "I'm off. Remember to eat lunch!" With that, she hurried out the door.

Watching her hurriedly retreating figure, a dark gleam flickered in Song Changting's eyes. For a long time, he didn't turn a single page of the book.

Over at the village entrance, Lu Wanxiao rushed out to find that the oxcart heading to town was already just the tail end of the cart.

"Hey! Oxcart, wait!" Lu Wanxiao shouted and ran after it.

Old Man Yang, who was driving the cart, turned back at the shout. Seeing it was Lu Wanxiao, his brow furrowed into a deep crease as he hesitated, unsure whether to stop.

If he didn't stop, well, Scholar Lu had helped his family a lot while he was alive—writing letters, New Year couplets, and even teaching his son a few characters. And Song Changting had just recently helped him write a letter to his eldest son.

But if he did stop, he was afraid Lu Wanxiao would cause trouble like last time, refusing to pay after riding. If everyone followed her example, how would he make a living?

Old Man Yang was conflicted, but the people on the cart began urging him.

"Uncle Yang, keep going! That Lu Wanxiao is definitely here to freeload again."

"Right, right! Uncle Yang, drive on! Don't let her take advantage this time. We all pay to ride, why should she get to ride for free?"

"Exactly, Uncle Yang. If you let her get away with not paying again, we'll do the same from now on."

Hearing this, Old Man Yang, who had been hesitating, quickly raised his whip and tapped the ox, making the cart move faster.

He relied on the money from driving the oxcart to save up for his grandson's wedding. If everyone started freeloading like Lu Wanxiao, how could he continue?

Behind them, Lu Wanxiao saw that not only did the cart not stop, but it sped up. Thinking they hadn't heard, she shouted again, "Hey! The oxcart heading to town, wait for me!"

But the cart still didn't stop. Instead, she saw the driver whip the ox again to make it go faster.

Cursing under her breath at the roadside weeds, she sped up to catch up.

Fortunately, it was an oxcart—it couldn't go too fast. After a short sprint, Lu Wanxiao caught up.

Just then, the ox slowed its pace. Spotting an empty seat on the edge, Lu Wanxiao didn't ask Old Man Yang to stop; she jumped directly onto the cart.

Without even a greeting, Lu Wanxiao jumped on board. The two women next to her quickly shuffled aside, as if she were carrying filth.

Unfortunately, the original Lu Wanxiao had a terrible reputation in the village—domineering and unreasonable. The things the original Lu Wanxiao had done after Song Changting broke his leg were really unbearable.

What's more, she liked to try to swindle people by making false accusations, though she rarely got away with it. Still, it wasted time and got on people's nerves.

So everyone avoided her whenever they could and didn't want to sit near her. Of course, Nosy Liu, who loved stirring up trouble and often got into fights with Lu Wanxiao, was an exception.

Lu Wanxiao didn't care. She didn't like crowding either, and with them moving away, she had more space.

As soon as she got on, Old Man Yang stopped the cart, turned around, and said stiffly, "One coin per ride."

Lu Wanxiao nodded, still catching her breath. "I know. Let's go."

But even after she got her breath back, the cart still wasn't moving.

"Waiting for someone else?" Lu Wanxiao looked back and saw no one coming. She looked puzzled.