Lu Qiqi carried a basket of red berries and washed white radishes home and met an aunt on the way.

The round-faced aunt asked, "Little Lu, where did you get all these radishes?"

Lu Qiqi had heard from Madam Lu that Aunt Qian was particularly fond of taking advantage of people behind their backs; she would even try to pluck a feather from a swallow to cook into soup. She laughed and said, "Bought it."

When Aunt Qian heard that it was bought, her bright little eyes dimmed a little, but her smile remained unchanged. "Your radishes look so fresh and juicy."

She was about to reach out and touch him when Lu Qiqi deftly dodged, preventing her from touching him.

Aunt Qian pursed her lips and said, "I'm just looking, I'm not taking anything from you. Your behavior is a bit stingy."

Lu Qiqi didn't confront her directly. This kind of person is the most gossipy. If she makes things clear today and complains that Lu Qiqi is taking advantage of her, Lu Qiqi can tell the whole village tomorrow that she doesn't respect Lu Qiqi at all.

Their family are from another village, so if a conflict arises, things might not end well. Once they're settled at the foot of the mountain, she won't care who you are.

But for now, she still had to put on a show. Lu Qiqi said, "Auntie, what are you saying? It's just that my radishes are dirty, and I'm afraid they'll get your hands dirty. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."

Having said that, he took two steps back, turned around, and went into his own tent.

Aunt Qian originally wanted to take a radish and say some polite words to get it, but Lu Qiqi, being a young girl, was too shy to offend her verbally.

Unexpectedly, Lu Qiqi was like an eel, her words slippery and impossible to find fault with. Frustrated, Lu Qiqi stomped her foot on the spot before leaving.

Lu Qiqi entered the tent and had just put down her bamboo basket when Madam Lu came over with a rag and asked, "Who were you talking to just now?"

Lu Qiqi said, "Aunt Qian, she wants to take my radish."

Only then did Mrs. Lu notice the basket of radishes on the ground. She smiled, but then, thinking of Aunt Qian, she immediately frowned and asked, "Did she take the radishes?"

Lu Qiqi said, "No, I didn't even let her touch me."

When Madam Lu heard that Aunt Qian hadn't taken advantage of Lu Qiqi, she finally relaxed and said, "She still hasn't paid me back the two cloves of garlic she borrowed from me last time. Doesn't she know that eating two more cloves of garlic can kill her? If she dares to ask you for anything again, just scold her to death!"

Upon hearing Lu's words, Li immediately jogged over and patted Lu's arm, saying, "Sister-in-law, what nonsense are you teaching?!"

Madam Lu disagreed, saying, "What's there to be afraid of? Anyway, Seventh Girl will be looking for a husband in the future. It doesn't matter if she has a reputation for being a bit shrewish. She doesn't have to stand up for her mother-in-law."

"Hey, little sister, don't push me!" Li couldn't stand her teaching the child so haphazardly, and pushed Lu away.

Lu Qiqi was somewhat surprised, not expecting that there would be such benefits to finding a son-in-law.

You should know that people in ancient times valued reputation the most, especially women. If a woman had a reputation for being shrewish, she probably wouldn't be able to get married.

Lu Dahai and his men cut down eight cartloads of timber today, unloaded them and piled them up at the entrance of their tents, planning to haul them to the foot of the mountain tomorrow.

When Lu Qiqi saw Lu Dahai directing Li Changlong and the others to unload the wood, she guessed most of it.

The freshly cut wood doesn't have any names carved on it, and they all look the same. Now the whole village needs to use wood to build houses. If it's left at the foot of the mountain tonight and then found missing tomorrow, no one will know what to say.

That evening, Lu Qiqi asked Lu Shi to cook all the radishes. Everyone enjoyed the vegetarian radish dish.

After finishing their meal, Lu Qiqi filled a bamboo basket with the red berries, and everyone sat down together to eat.

Lu Yao took a red fruit and sat down to eat it politely. Lu Qiqi thought she was cute, eating like a little rabbit.

Xi Bao loved the red berries. She held one in her left hand, one in her right hand, and one in her mouth. She spoke in a childish, unclear voice, urging everyone to eat together.

It made everyone laugh.

Just before going to bed, Lu Dahai said to Liu Tong, "Chef Liu, let Qi Yatou go to the county with you tomorrow. I'll feel more at ease that way."

Liu Tong thought it was something important, and he said, "Okay, I was going to go with her anyway."

The next morning, Lu Qiqi and Liu Tong and his apprentice ate some dry rations and walked to Qingshui Town.

Liu Tong and his apprentice found work today and won't be coming back. Lu Qiqi can't ride alone, so fortunately Qingshui Town isn't far from the veteran village, only an hour's walk away.

Lu Qiqi and Liu Tong, master and apprentice, arrived at the gate of Qingshui Town and found soldiers standing below.

When Lu Qiqi and her group passed through Qingshui Town yesterday, there were no soldiers guarding it. What happened?

Liu Tong also noticed that Qingshui Town was different from yesterday, so he stepped forward and grabbed a man who had just come out of Qingshui Town.

Liu Tong asked, "Brother, why are there soldiers guarding Qingshui Town today? Are they preventing us from entering the town?"

Seeing that Liu Tong spoke politely and had a pretty young girl with him, the man figured he wasn't a bad person, so he said, "Yesterday afternoon, many shops in Qingshui Town were vandalized by refugees. Today, the government sent people to guard the city gates, and each person has to pay a large sum of money to enter the city."

Liu Tong stared wide-eyed, remaining silent. It was Lu Qiqi who thanked the man, "Thank you for informing me, Uncle, but I heard that Luzhou Prefecture accepts refugees and even arranges for them to settle down and be allocated land. How could they do such a thing?"

Seeing that Lu Qiqi was polite and pretty, the man reminded her, "I heard that she didn't have the money to buy land and was assigned to a barren place to reclaim wasteland. She was dissatisfied with the government's arrangement and started to have crooked thoughts. In my opinion, these refugees have all been robbing and killing their way here. Who knows how many lives they have on their hands! If you go into the city to buy things, come out quickly after you're done, otherwise it might not be safe if you go back late."

Lu Qiqi thanked the man again, and he waved and left.

Liu Tong then said, "It costs a lot of money for each person to enter the city. If they go in and out every day, a month's salary might not even be enough to get them into the city."

Lu Qiqi suggested to Liu Tong, "Why don't you find a job at a restaurant that provides meals and accommodation? You can use the lower salary as rent money."

Liu Tong felt that Lu Qiqi was right, and that was the only thing they could do now. However, he thought that finding a job inside might not be so easy.

Liu Tong walked in front of the line, with Lu Qiqi and Zhuzi Dunzi following behind. Liu Tong took out four large coins from his pocket and handed them to the soldiers.

Once inside the city gate, Liu Tong was about to take his apprentice to find work. He was a little worried about Lu Qiqi and said, "Why don't you come with us? Once we find work, we'll go with you to find a shop."

Lu Qiqi shook her head, "Going separately is more efficient. Don't worry, Uncle Liu, most people can't beat me."

Liu Tong shuddered as he recalled Lu Qiqi's ruthlessness in killing the Tartars, thinking to himself, 'Ordinary people really can't beat her.'

Seeing that Lu Qiqi said this, Liu Tong did not insist. He said, "Then after you finish your work, wait at the city gate. I will have Zhuzi take you back."

Lu Qiqi nodded to Liu Tong to reassure him, "Okay, you all be careful too."