"This girl is quite pitiful. If I had twenty taels, I would definitely help her."

"Who says otherwise? But how many people can easily produce twenty taels of silver, except for those wealthy and powerful families?"

Yuan Doudou happened to have twenty taels of silver on her to buy groceries. If she gave it to her, she would have to find another way to pay for the groceries.

"Miss, I work at DouDou Tavern. I'll take care of this." She thought for a moment, deciding to prioritize solving the immediate problem.

It was November, and a cold wind was blowing outside. The girl was wearing only thin clothes, and her nose was red from the cold.

If it snows, they might freeze to death on the street.

"Thank you, benefactor. As long as you help me bury my father, I will be your person from now on, and I will be willing to serve you like a slave." Huang Rong knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing. She had been standing in the cold wind for more than an hour, and her hands and feet were frozen stiff.

Yuan Doudou was her savior, like the winter sun and the spring breeze, warming her world.

An Rong busied herself with various tasks, spending half a day helping Huang Rong bury her father, Huang Zhong.

After the funeral, An Rong suggested that she work at the tavern for one tael of silver a month.

"This is the boss's idea; I'm just responsible for relaying it," An Rong explained.

Huang Rong was extremely grateful. "You flatter me, my benefactor. Twenty taels is the money I paid for selling myself into servitude. It is enough that you provide me with food and lodging. I don't want a single penny."

An Rong was not good with words, so he took Huang Rong back to the tavern and let her talk to Dou Dou directly.

Yuan Doudou was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner dishes when she heard the noise outside and guessed that they had returned.

"Huang Rong." She walked to the door and saw Huang Rong following behind An Rong.

Huang Rong forced a smile and looked at Dou Dou, "Boss lady, I will work hard and don't want any reward."

Yuan Doudou took Huang Rong's hand and led her inside, sitting down opposite her for a casual chat.

Huang Rong's hometown is in Northeast China. Ten years ago, her mother ran away with someone because she thought her father was poor.

She and her father had come to find her mother, but her father fell ill and died on the way. They had also run out of money, and since they were thousands of miles away from the Northeast, they had no hope of returning.

Left with no other choice, she had to sell herself to bury her father.

“Huang Rong, I understand your situation. Although I have helped you, I will not restrict your personal freedom. You can help here and I will pay you according to the market price. Once you have saved enough money for your journey, you can go back to your hometown in Northeast China at any time.”

"I'm not going back," Huang Rong said hastily.

From the moment she made up her mind to sell herself to bury her father, she was prepared to dedicate her life to it.

"Sister Dou Dou, I'm not a gentleman, but I do know what it means to keep your word. This is what my father taught me since I was little." Huang Rong's eyes were filled with tears as she thought of her father, and her heart ached.

"I understand how you feel. How about this, you stay for now, and we'll talk about the future later." Long-term plans are often defeated by reality. Huang Rong is determined to repay the kindness. If I insist on letting her leave, it will probably make her even more upset. If something unexpected happens in the future, Huang Rong might leave on her own without me even having to ask.

"Sister Dou Dou, I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life." She wasn't going anywhere. Besides, her father was here, and she didn't have any important relatives in the Northeast. She didn't even know where her mother was. She had no desire to go back to her hometown.

Huang Rong's words made no mistake, but to her they sounded rather strange.

Yuan Doudou took her to the room where Ye Xiaoqian used to live and told her that she would live there from now on.

“I noticed you’re dressed too lightly, so I’ve asked Sister Li from next door to come over later to take your measurements and make you a cotton-padded coat.”

After Yuan Doudou finished speaking, she went to get her old cotton-padded coat.

“This is what I wore before. Now that I’m pregnant, I can’t wear it anymore. You can wear it for now and change into the new cotton-padded coat when it’s finished.”

Huang Rong took the cotton coat and hugged it to her chest, smelling a faint fragrance—the smell of home.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and her delicate and pitiful appearance reminded Yuan Doudou of Lin Daiyu.

Will she, like Lin Daiyu, feel resentful and dependent on others?

"Don't cry, this is your home. Just think of Ping'an Town as your second hometown, and you won't be so sad." Yuan Doudou thought of herself. Huang Rong was just like her, having left her hometown. If she wanted to live a comfortable life, she could only try to think more positively.

In this era without cell phones, internet, or any modern facilities, if you can't think straight, you can only wait to die.

She doesn't want to passively wait to die; she wants to actively live, and live better than most people.

"I'm not crying because I miss home, I'm just so happy to have met such a wonderful person like Sister Dou Dou." Huang Rong cried and then laughed.

Yuan Doudou was both amused and exasperated. She wasn't exactly a saint either; it wasn't that the shop was short-staffed, but rather that they were looking for someone.

Finding someone who sells themselves to bury their father, and who will still be devoted to you, isn't that great?

"You should rest for a while, it'll be quite busy tonight." He runs his own shop and doesn't get any rest.

Except for rainy or snowy days, business is very busy every other day of the month, and the staff in the shop are all extremely busy.

Huang Rong changed into her cotton-padded coat and went to the kitchen. She saw Yuan Doudou washing vegetables and quickly took over the task.

"Sister Dou Dou, you can't touch this cold water." She had seen many pregnant women in her hometown, and they were all very careful. When they were pregnant, they would stay in bed and not move except to eat, go to the toilet, or take a walk.

The men or the in-laws do all the housework. Everyone treats pregnant women like royalty and wouldn't let them do any work.

"It's okay, I'm not afraid of the cold." Yuan Doudou was amused by her nervous look. The little girl had just turned fifteen and knew a lot.

Lu Xi came in carrying firewood and saw Dou Dou there. She started scolding, "Dou Dou, didn't I tell you to go and rest? Why are you here again?"

Lu Xi was also at a loss. Brother An Rong had instructed him to keep an eye on Dou Dou when he went out to buy drinks and not let her into the kitchen. But as soon as he left for a while, Yuan Dou Dou would sneak in and either prepare or wash the vegetables, never idle for a moment.

“Lu Xi, you’ve come at the right time. I haven’t formally introduced you yet.” Yuan Doudou pointed to Huang Rong. “Lu Xi, this is Huang Rong. She’s three years older than you. You can call her Sister Rongrong from now on.”

Huang Rong was wearing a maroon cotton-padded jacket, which made her oval face look even more radiant; she was truly more beautiful than the flowers.

She looked very young and looked great standing next to Lu Xi.

Lu Xi was looking at her, and Huang Rong was looking at him.

The young man had regular features, and there was even a hint of nobility in his eyes.

"Hello, I am Huang Rong."

"Hello, I'm Lu Xi." Lu Xi was shy from being stared at, so she lowered her head and spoke softly.

Yuan Doudou felt happy to see how well-matched they were.

"Alright, Lu Xi, you teach your sister Rongrong. I'm going to lie down for a while." My calves were stiff and numb from standing for so long.

Lu Xi nodded and put the firewood away.