Chapter 6 Chapter 6 It was almost midnight when Jiang Wan said goodbye to Madam Li...

It was almost midnight when Jiang Wan said goodbye to Madam Li and headed home.

The moonlight was cold, casting long shadows across the narrow road. It was a cold night, but when she saw the dim light coming from the thatched cottage and thought of her mother and brother waiting for her, she felt particularly warm, and even the fatigue of a busy day dissipated.

"Mom! Brother! I'm back!" Jiang Wan pushed open the door, and his voice couldn't help but add a bit of excitement.

Jiang An was sitting by the bed, feeding Jiang's mother medicine. After taking the medicine yesterday, Jiang's mother's face was no longer as pale as before, and she had the strength to sit up and talk. When they heard Jiang Wan's voice, they both turned their heads, their faces filled with worry.

"Wanwan, come to me quickly." Jiang's mother's eyes reddened at the sight of her. Officer Xu's wife had just brought medicine and told the Jiang family that Jiang Wan had been beaten. Jiang's mother was anxious to get out of bed, but her feet staggered as soon as they touched the ground, nearly falling. Fortunately, Jiang An was quick to catch her and push her back to bed to rest.

In fact, Jiang An himself was also extremely anxious. He wanted to go to the pawnshop to pick up his sister at that time, but he was afraid that his sister would leave early on her first day of night work and make the shopkeeper unhappy. He had to control his temper and secretly hated himself for being incompetent and having to rely on his sister to earn money for his mother's treatment.

Jiang Wan lay in his mother's arms, comforting her softly, "It's okay, Mom. It doesn't hurt anymore. I applied some medicine on the wound before going to work."

She rubbed Jiang's mother's face like a spoiled child: "I'm young, I'll get better soon, I'll be fine after a good sleep, don't worry."

Jiang Wan chatted with Jiang's mother for a while, helped her to sleep, tucked in the quilt for her, then quietly closed the door and came out with Jiang An.

"Little sister, are you really okay?" Jiang An was still worried.

"Don't worry, brother. You've been beaten more than I have, but you managed to hold on, didn't you?" Jiang Wan patted him with a smile and stuffed the medicine into his hand. "I won't be beaten again. I'll leave this for you. Brother, I'll definitely get you and mother out as soon as possible."

Jiang An retracted his hand, frowned and refused to take it.

"As your brother, I'm already sorry that I can't protect you. How can I use your medicine?"

"Brother..." Jiang Wan pulled his sleeve and shook it gently, "You have always been protecting me. If you hadn't helped me block the whip, I might have been beaten to death."

Jiang An tensed up and said nothing. Jiang Wan tried to put the medicine into his hand, but he clenched his fist tightly and didn't move.

Jiang Wan waved her hand in front of his eyes, then tugged at his sleeve. "Hey, hey, if you really feel bad about this, why don't you play with me for a while after work tomorrow afternoon?"

Seeing her innocent appearance, Jiang An couldn't help but burst out laughing. He relaxed and scratched her nose helplessly: "I thought you had grown up, but it turns out you are still so playful."

Jiang Wan took the opportunity to put the medicine bottle into his sleeve, chuckled, and ran back to his room.

Despite applying medicine, Jiang Wan's scabby back still itched. She lay on her small bed, closed her eyes, and opened the system interface.

Four buttons popped up on the panel. This time, Jiang Wan didn't hesitate and directly unlocked the "Tool Box" section.

Seeing the number 105 on the score column turn into 5, she felt a little distressed. She must save money in the future.

Jiang Wan entered the section and was greeted by a vast array of tools. From simple knives, swords, tongs, and charcoal fires, to kilns, automatic cutters, purification devices, centrifuges...hundreds upon hundreds of different tools. The more advanced the tools, the higher their prices. Jiang Wan scrolled down and saw that many items required hundreds or even thousands of points.

She can only buy things that cost 5 points or less.

Jiang Wan treasured these points so much that she could ask Madam Li for anything she wanted in this dimension, no need to exchange them. After a long search, Jiang Wan finally found a spiral carving knife. This knife could carve patterns deep into hard materials, and for only three points, it was a great value for her.

As the remaining points reached 2, she also gained a small carving knife in her hand. Jiang Wan placed the knife under her pillow, yawned, and fell asleep.

Noon of the second day.

Jiang Wan handed the washed clothes to the supervisor for registration. Having learned his lesson yesterday, the supervisor didn't dare to make things difficult for her. He registered the clothes honestly and even politely said, "Goodbye."

But this time, someone else was blocking the way. A group of officials entered the courtyard gate, led by a fat, big-eared man with his hands behind his back and a protruding belly. He was wearing the uniform of an eighth-rank official. Behind him were seven or eight other officers, including Officer Xu, who had rescued them the day before. They all respectfully addressed the leader as the "Du Tou."

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the chief of the police was a Dutou, who usually had ten policemen under him. The Dutou was responsible for supervising the criminal slaves, and he did not need to show up in public. He only needed to make occasional inspections to see if his subordinates were doing their best.

The captain was here for inspection today. He shouted, "The other yards haven't finished work yet, why are you finishing work so soon?"

An officer behind the captain echoed, "That's right. The criminal slave is used to being lazy. How can we not keep a close watch on him?"

Officer Xu glanced at Jiang Wan, took two steps forward, and opened his mouth as if to plead for mercy, but the captain glared back, and he dared not say anything more. The supervisor was even more terrified.

After what happened yesterday, Jiang Wan felt more confident. She turned to the captain and said loudly, "Our dynasty stipulates that work ends at noon. Sir, it's already past noon."

"You dare to talk back?" The captain glared and reached out to grab Jiang Wan. Jiang Wan nimbly dodged and took out the jade ring that Madam Li had given her yesterday.

The jade ring is crystal clear and sparkles in the sun.

The captain stared at Yuhuan intently and laughed: "You are sensible. I will let you go today." Then he was about to catch Yuhuan.

Jiang Wan withdrew his hand.

"Even if I dare to give it to you, I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it. This is a token of loyalty from Magistrate Li's concubine."

The captain's expression froze, and then, as if remembering something, he said disdainfully, "How could a little criminal like you have a token from the concubine? Stop trying to bully others with your power."

Jiang Wan sighed inwardly. This county town, from the supervisors to the captains, had such a style of work. No wonder it was so impoverished and weak, with its people living in dire straits.

The captain reached out and grabbed Jiang Wan's hair, throwing her to the ground. Jiang Wan cried out in pain and fell to the ground, begging for mercy: "My lord, I was wrong. I will go back and do the laundry right away..."

The captain smiled triumphantly, and the officers following him all flattered him, saying, "Captain, you're so mighty." No one noticed that the jade ring flew into Officer Xu's sleeve the moment Jiang Wan fell, nor did anyone notice that Officer Xu hid the jade ring in his sleeve and quietly slipped away.

The captain grabbed her collar and lifted her up, then pushed her hard towards the edge of the pond. The huge force made Jiang Wan stagger, and several female slaves hurried forward to support her.

The captain was very proud and pointed at Jiang Wan's nose: "Listen up! Anyone who dares to go against the government will end up like her!"

The female slaves were furious but dared not speak, so they each returned to squat beside the pond. The captain, with a show of force, led the officers around the courtyard for a complete inspection. Just as he was about to leave, he ran into Madam Li.

The captain was surprised at first, then remembered Jiang Wan's words and couldn't help but feel scared. He bowed deeply and said, "Madam, why are you here? There are only filthy criminals here. Don't pollute your eyes."

Madam Li held up her jade ring and said, "You said Miss Jiang was a fox borrowing the power of a tiger. Does that mean I am the tiger?"

The captain's eyes widened in horror. What the slave had said was actually true. She really knew the lady. What should he do? What should he do? If he had offended the lady, his position as captain would be over.

"No, no, it's a misunderstanding. I didn't mean that. I'll let Jiang go immediately. Miss Jiang, please leave..."

Madam Li snorted coldly, "I'll tell the master about your matter. And you guys," Madam Li glared at the officers, "Hasn't the master told you about the laws governing criminal slaves?"

The captain leaned against the wall, feeling exhausted, and all was lost. The officers kept their distance, and the louder they had flattered him just now, the further away they were now, wishing they had never known him.

"Get out of here!" Mrs. Li shouted, and several men ran away tumbling.

"Are you okay, Miss Jiang?" Madam Li walked up to Jiang Wan and squatted down.

Jiang Wan's scalp still ached slightly, and he gasped, "I'm fine. Fortunately, my wife arrived in time."

"I've already come up with the idea last night and will go look for the materials later. I'm just short of a brush and a tube of adhesive. I wonder if Madam could lend them to me?"

Including the ten taels of silver from yesterday, Jiang Wan actually still had nearly a hundred taels of silver on hand. However, until this month's wages arrived, until she was freed from slavery, her family would have to rely on this money to survive. Rather than buying these tools for herself, she would rather use the money to buy more food for her mother and brother.

If possible, she would like to have her own shop so that she can be self-reliant and not have to wait for others to help her like she does now.

"Of course!" Mrs. Li was delighted to hear that she had come up with an idea so quickly. "I'll have someone find it and send it to your house."

Outside the Jiang family's thatched cottage.

Jiang An sat on a low stool, waiting for his sister. He had come to wait as soon as he got off work. Since he had embarked on his exile in September, his family had died one after another from illness. Then his mother fell ill again, and the guards kept pressuring him. His sister had become increasingly depressed. It had been a long time since the two of them had been out and about together.

My mother took the medicine this morning and her condition has improved a lot. My sister has also become stronger and more sensible in the past two days, and Jiang An has also gained hope.

"Brother, I'm back!" Jiang Wan waved to Jiang An from a distance, "Brother, have you had lunch?"

Jiang An stood up and looked at his sister carefully. After confirming that she hadn't been spanked today, he smiled with relief: "I've eaten. I was just waiting for you, little turtle. You've eaten too, right? I'll take you out to play."

Jiang Wan nodded: "Okay, let's go - carry this basket on your back." She picked up the bamboo basket on the wall outside.

Jiang An was stunned. He could roughly guess that his sister had gone out for some serious business. Over the past two days, his sister had become increasingly capable and profitable, which had relieved his stress. However, his sister seemed to have many secrets, and he could no longer understand her thoughts.

But it doesn't matter, as long as he can help his sister, he doesn't need to ask so many questions.