Everyone is actually quite concerned about this issue, but since Ruyi just woke up yesterday, we were worried that she hadn't fully recovered, so we didn't ask.
The original owner of this body was not actually petite or thin; on the contrary, she could be described as tall and strong. Her height was estimated to be over 1.65 meters and her weight around 120 kilograms. This physique was definitely outstanding for a woman of this era, and not much different from that of an average man. Therefore, it was quite puzzling that a strong, healthy, and painless adult woman would suddenly faint while going out to buy food, and end up with a head injury and unconsciousness.
Ruyi herself didn't really know much about what happened. Her memory was that the grain shop was extremely crowded, and she was being pushed around. The original owner of this body had never experienced anything like this before, and she was completely at a loss when suddenly she was pushed hard against a wooden box...
Recalling the scene of her crashing into the sharp corner of the wooden box, her body still trembled. After all, that could be considered the last scene before the original owner died. If someone really wanted to murder the original owner, then the murderer must have harbored deep malice towards the original owner. Now that she had been resurrected, the other party might use the same trick again. Whether it was to avenge the original owner or for her own safety, Cheng Ruyi wanted to find this person!
After recounting everything she remembered, she thought about it carefully and added, "The situation was quite chaotic at the time, and I didn't see anyone deliberately push me. But if it was an accident, one thing is very suspicious: when I woke up, I found that my purse was gone."
Everyone was shocked after hearing this. They had been pushed down? Why would anyone want to harm them for no reason? The Cheng family had always treated people kindly and had never made enemies with anyone. Who could be so ruthless?
"Ah! I know who it is!" Xu Cui suddenly slapped her thigh and exclaimed loudly.
“It was Wang Liu!” she said decisively. “When you mentioned the missing purse, I suddenly remembered! When I helped you up, I saw Wang Liu sneaking around in the crowd, backing away, and then he disappeared in the blink of an eye. It must have been him!”
Wang Liu was a notorious hoodlum in the area, spending his days idly stealing chickens and dogs. He would gamble away the money he stole, and when he lost it all, he would continue to steal. He had ruined almost everyone on the street. However, his elder brother, Wang Da, knew people in the county government, so he would be detained for a few days each time before being released. Therefore, the neighbors all deeply resented the family.
Moreover, Wang Liu had pursued the original owner of the body in his youth, but after being rejected, he harbored resentment and would harass the Cheng family every now and then, which was extremely disgusting.
If it were him, it is indeed possible that he would deliberately push the original owner down and then steal the original owner's money bag.
Thinking of this, Ruyi nodded and said, "Yes, that's possible, but we don't have any evidence. Talk is cheap. Let's not worry about this for now. Just try to avoid him and be careful when you encounter him."
Cheng Yan agreed: "Ruyi is right. The most important thing right now is food. The longer the lockdown lasts, the less safe it will be. After we buy the food today, we should try not to go out again!"
After all, he had experienced a major disaster when he was young and barely survived, so he was quite sensitive to the impending crisis.
Although the other family members were indignant, they were helpless and could only hold their breath and remain silent.
Ruyi sighed and reassured everyone, "A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. We're not saying we'll let it go, but the timing isn't right. If we have the chance to find out the truth later, I promise you, we will never let the murderer get away with it!"
Revenge must be taken; it's just that the time hasn't come yet.
"Really? Really? Will Mother catch the bad guys herself this time?" Little Yunle asked with starry eyes full of anticipation after hearing the news.
Yun An frowned after hearing this: "Mother, don't act impulsively again. Your safety is more important than catching bad guys!"
"This time too?" "Again?" Why would these kids say that? Could it be that the original owner was originally an impulsive personality who hated evil? Ruyi, who hadn't fully digested the original owner's memories, was a little confused.
"Yes, yes, Mother knows! Yun'an, you need to take good care of your sister-in-law and younger sister at home. Yunle, you also need to behave well and not cause trouble for your older sister. Do you understand?"
Both daughters answered in unison, "Understood."
Ruyi couldn't help but sigh once again how worry-free her family was. Finally, she reminded everyone: "Be careful. No matter whether you've bought any food or not, be sure to be home before noon."
No one had any objections, and after packing up a bit, they set off.
Before leaving, Ruyi handed two taels of silver to Cheng Yan: "Father, there are still more than three taels of silver left at home. You can take these two taels first! Also, if you see a pharmacy still open, remember to buy some common medicines for colds and flu."
In ancient times, medical standards were low, and getting sick was a serious matter. Moreover, it was uncertain whether clinics would remain open after a city was locked down, so it was safer to prepare some commonly used medicines on your own.
After listening, Cheng Yan nodded seriously: "Don't worry, leave the medicine to me! As for the money, we don't need it. What kind of father takes his daughter's money? That's not right!"
After saying that, he turned around, grabbed Yunping, and went straight out the door. They disappeared around the corner.
"Sigh! What's the point of saving face now? If we don't give them money, how will they buy food?" In the original owner's memory, since he took over the family business, Cheng Yan would give all the money earned from the shop to the original owner every month, so he shouldn't have any private savings.
Xu Cui covered her mouth and laughed, "Alright, alright, the men have their own methods, let's not worry about it." After saying that, she also pulled the bewildered Ruyi out the door.
It was just getting light, probably not yet Chen Shi (7-9 AM).
The Cheng family's house is located at the end of Wutong Lane. Although it is called the end of the lane, it is actually the intersection of three nearby lanes, which is why a public well was set up there.
Walking along the winding alleys, you can reach Nanqian Street in less than fifteen minutes.
At this time of day, the streets would normally be filled with vendors preparing to open their shops and a few early risers heading out to work. But today was clearly different. All the shops on the street were closed, the vendors were nowhere to be seen, and instead, there were many more hurried passersby.
Cheng Ruyi and Xu Cui searched all the grain shops on the nearby streets, but none of them were open. Seeing that there were more and more people on the street, they decided to try their luck on Qingyun Street.
Many people shared the same idea. On Qingyun Street, several of the city's largest grain shops were closed and showed no signs of opening. However, people had already gathered outside early in the morning. Unable to wait for the grain shops to open, the crowd began to bang on the doors and shout loudly.
When Ruyi arrived at Qingyun Street, this was the scene she saw. Her heart sank. "It seems we won't be able to buy any food today. We'd better leave quickly!" This surging crowd was not a good sign!
Xu Cui was also seeing such a scene for the first time and was so frightened that she didn't react for a moment. Ruyi then pulled her away quietly through a side path.
After a busy morning with no results, Ruyi was inevitably a little frustrated. Although she could get by for a while with her cheat code, who knew how long the lockdown would last? Moreover, as a descendant of the Chinese nation, she was born with the gene of hoarding goods to feel at ease. The possibility of running out of food at any time made her extremely uneasy!
Lost in thought, Ruyi didn't notice that Xu Cui hadn't led her home, but instead led her through a maze of unknown alleys. When she came to her senses, she realized they had stopped in front of a shop. The shop was in a very secluded location. Although the door was closed, the dilapidated door and the illegible signboard revealed the shop's state of business.
Xu Cui gently patted the door and whispered, "Old Zhu, I know you're in there, open the door quickly!" Then she pressed her face against the door to listen for any sounds from inside.
After a while, the gate remained tightly shut. Xu Cui spoke again: "Open the gate quickly! If you don't open the gate, I'm going to go to the street and call someone over, saying there's grain for sale here!"
"No, no, no!" Before she could finish speaking, the door opened a crack, and a thin old man peeked out from behind it. "Oh, my dear grandma, please keep your voice down!"
"Why didn't we just open the door from the beginning!" Xu Cui said as she pulled Ruyi inside.
This shop was even smaller than the Cheng family's shop. Judging from the layout, it looked like a general store, but the shelves were empty except for pots, pans, and some seasonings.
Ruyi only just realized that in ancient times, you didn't necessarily have to go to a grain store to buy food; a general store could do it too! She was really limited by her fixed mindset.
"As you can see, it's not that I don't want to open the door, it's just that there's nothing left to sell you!" the old man explained.
Xu Cui ignored her and glanced at her before saying, "Your shop is in a very remote place. You don't have a single customer on weekdays. If it weren't for my frequent patronage over the past few decades, you would have closed down long ago. Tell me, isn't that right?"
After listening, the old man sighed, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Wait here for a moment!" He then turned and went into the backyard.
A moment later, she came out carrying a burlap sack. Xu Cui immediately took the sack and the two of them opened it. It contained soybeans, which looked to weigh about fifty or sixty pounds.
Soybeans are highly nutritious and can be used in cooking or made into tofu. No matter how they are prepared, they are delicious and are one of the most common ingredients in ordinary households. Normally, soybeans cost eight coins per liter, but now it is difficult to set a price.
However, the Cheng family doesn't have a stone mill, so making tofu seems a bit difficult.
Ruyi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and realized that soybeans could be sprouted, and that each pound of soybeans could sprout about ten pounds of bean sprouts in just four or five days. It was convenient, simple, and yielded a considerable amount of produce. This was indeed a very important food during this extraordinary time!
Thinking of this, Ruyi took out two taels of silver and handed it over, saying, "Ruyi thanks Boss Zhu! I see that Boss Zhu seems to have some seasonings here. I wonder if you could sell us some?"
When I finally left the grocery store, besides a large bag of soybeans, I also had plenty of oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. Although I didn't buy any staple food, I still left with a full load.
It wasn't long after leaving the grocery store that I arrived home; the straight-line distance was probably less than 100 meters. Ruyi had never heard of such a nearby place before, which shows how well hidden the grocery store was.
Why would a perfectly good general store be located in such a hidden corner?
"Even the people living nearby don't know about this shop. I only discovered it by chance when I first came here decades ago and didn't know anyone."
On the way, Xu Cui told the story of the shop: "I heard that it used to be just a house. When the old man was young, he often went out to work to earn money. One year on the Lantern Festival, the old man did not come home. His wife took their children to see the lanterns alone. Unexpectedly, they encountered human traffickers and their daughter was abducted. She has never seen her since. The old man once promised his daughter that he would open a general store, so he turned the house into a shop and has been guarding it here ever since."
Human traffickers are truly a social scourge, harming countless people over thousands of years! Even in this technologically advanced modern era, people are still abducted every day, tearing apart countless families.
However, even in the so-called peaceful times of the previous life, an ordinary person like Ruyi could only help forward messages and could do nothing else. How much more so in this turbulent ancient times, where a widow can do even less...
Anger and helplessness intertwined in his heart. The anger stemmed from the sense of justice left behind by the original owner, while the helplessness arose from Ruyi's rationality as a modern person...
I'm barely able to take care of myself right now, how can I possibly help others?
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