Holding her daughter, whose complexion had returned to its rosy hue, Mrs. Sun sincerely thanked Old Lady Li and Jiayin for their thoughtful consideration.
Before Old Lady Li could even refuse, he stuffed the silver notes into her arms, leaving only ten taels of silver outside.
At this moment, the maids and servants also brought in a basin of water, preparing to help Miss Sun wash up.
Grandma Li hesitated for a moment, then hugged Jiayin and bowed deeply before leaving.
The wet nurse and maidservant were quick; not long after Old Lady Li carried Jiayin back to her room, they brought over three large bags of clothes.
Half of them were Miss Sun's old clothes. Although they were called old clothes, they had only been worn once or twice and were no different from new clothes.
The needlework was fine, the fabric was soft, and the delighted old lady Li looked at it again and again.
The remaining half was a mess, containing women's clothes, men's clothes, and even clothes belonging to half-grown children, all of which the wet nurse had begged from the maids, servants, and young men of the Sun family.
When everyone heard that the Li family had just saved their master, they eagerly donated gifts, even just to show their loyalty, and collected a large bag full of them.
"Oh my god, Mother! There are so many clothes, and ten taels of silver too!"
Wu Cuihua held up a blue and white floral top, proudly comparing it to herself, while talking and her eyes darting furtively at the ten taels of silver beside Old Lady Li.
Unlike Wu Cuihua, Tao Hongying and the others didn't follow the rules. They looked at the clothes and silver but didn't touch them, waiting for Old Lady Li to speak.
After taking a couple of puffs of her pipe, Old Lady Li told everyone how Jiayin had saved Miss Sun.
"Oh dear! Doesn't that mean our lucky girl has become Miss Sun's savior?!"
Wu Cuihua listened with a delighted expression, looking at Jiayin as if she were looking at a treasure.
Jiayin couldn't stand Wu Cuihua's quick change of attitude; she rolled her eyes and buried her head in Tao Hongying's arms.
"Alright, Madam Sun is still our family's savior! You can just keep this to yourselves and don't spread it around."
Seeing that Wu Cuihua was getting a little too excited, Old Lady Li quickly put away the silver and gave her a few harsh words of reprimand.
Wu Cuihua was somewhat unconvinced, but she didn't hesitate at all when choosing clothes, grabbing several pieces for herself...
The large ship sailed south along the river and soon arrived at the Minnanling Wharf.
The Minnan Ridge is located on the dividing line between the North and South. Once you reach this point, you've already completed half of your journey.
The disaster victims were slow on their way and were blocked by the local governments along the way, so the docks were not so chaotic before they arrived here.
As they got closer to Kyoto, the people on the ship became more relaxed and happy.
"Yusheng, come with me to the shore and take a look. Let's find some fresh vegetables and dried goods to replenish the warehouse."
Manager Wang called out to Li Lao Er, intending to disembark and make purchases.
Li Lao Er responded loudly, but was stopped by Wu Cuihua just as he was about to disembark.
"I want to go too! I'm so bored on this ship!"
Wu Cuihua complained incessantly, which annoyed Li Lao Er.
But Manager Wang was still waiting, and it wouldn't be good to delay for too long, so he didn't say anything and tacitly allowed Wu Cuihua to follow behind.
Manager Wang also brought two servants, but they didn't say anything upon seeing this.
After the group reached the shore, Manager Wang headed straight for the vegetable stalls by the roadside.
Wu Cuihua's eyes kept darting around, and she would stop to touch anything that caught her eye, always lagging behind the others.
There were several beggars by the roadside, their hair disheveled and dirty, begging pitifully. Their tattered clothes reeked of a foul odor, making people want to avoid them.
A man in fine clothes and with a large belly swaggered past on the road.
Upon seeing this, the beggars hurriedly approached, holding their dirty, broken bowls.
"Grandpa! Grandpa, please have mercy and give me some food!"
"Get out!"
The man had a fierce face and looked like he had a bad temper. In addition, the beggar smelled terrible, so he raised his leg and kicked him.
The beggar was already starving, and he couldn't withstand the attack. He let out a wail and rolled several times on the ground, eventually rolling right up to Wu Cuihua's feet.
She was about to curse him out of disgust when the beggar blocked her way.
"Sister? Big sister! Waaah, big sister, it's me, it's Er Gouzi!"
The beggar grabbed Wu Cuihua's leg and cried even harder.
Wu Cuihua subconsciously looked down and examined him closely, then gasped in shock.
"Er Gouzi? What are you doing here? Didn't you and Dad leave a long time ago?"
She didn't mind the smell anymore, and squatted down to pull out the beggar's food.
Hearing the commotion, Li Lao Er turned back and frowned when he saw who the beggar was.
Wu Cuihua was the eldest child in her family, and she had a younger brother named Wu Ergou.
When he grew up, he didn't want people to call him by his full name, so he would tell everyone that his name was Wu Er.
The Wu family only had one son, and the whole family spoiled and pampered him, which fostered his lazy, selfish, and self-serving nature.
Even though Wu's mother died a few years ago, Wu Ergou hasn't changed his temper.
When the famine struck, everyone fled south with their families.
Wu Cuihua's father ran away with Wu Er and the family's money and grain, never even remembering that he had a daughter named Wu Cuihua.
But Wu Cuihua kept thinking about it. In the early days after she escaped, she would often talk to Li Lao Er about wanting to find her father and brother.
Li Lao Er knew what kind of people Wu Er and his father were, so he completely ignored Wu Cuihua. He never expected to run into her here.
Wu Cuihua, however, was crying with her younger brother, clutching his arm and asking him questions repeatedly.
"Where's Dad? Isn't Dad with you?"
Wu Er brushed aside the disheveled hair covering his eyes and quickly sized up Wu Cuihua.
Seeing that she was dressed in neat clothes without a single patch on her body, and that her face was fair and clean, it was clear that she was living a very good life.
He clutched his stomach, his face filled with grief.
"Waaah, sister, Father was killed on the road by bandits who were stealing our grain. Luckily I ran into you, otherwise I would have starved to death too. Sister, please get me something to eat, I haven't eaten for three days!"
His biological father, who gave him life and raised him, was beaten to death, yet he spoke of it as if it were a complete stranger—truly heartless and cold-blooded.
When Wu Cuihua heard that her father had died, she cried bitterly.
"Did you bury your father? Did you put up a tombstone? If you want to find him in the future, bring him to the ancestral grave!"
Wu Er was getting impatient. "He's already dead, what's the point of burying him? I can't even afford to eat, where would I get the strength to erect a tombstone for him?"
“You really are… Come on, I’ll take you to the boat.” Hearing her brother say this, Wu Cuihua was heartbroken, but there was nothing she could do, so she pulled him toward the boat.
Li Lao Er wanted to stop him, but there was no way to stop him. He could only tell Steward Wang and then chase after him.
On the deck of the large ship, Grandma Li was holding Jiayin as she stood by the railing, watching the crowds coming and going at the dock.
Jiayin's little mouth was slightly open, and her big eyes were fixed on the screen, watching intently.
This world was completely unfamiliar to her.
The Tianwu Dynasty, despite not existing in any particular period of its history, suffered from low productivity and widespread poverty among its people.
Most of the people coming and going at the dock were dressed in patched clothes, their faces were sallow and thin, clearly indicating that they were not living well.
Grandma Li looked at her granddaughter's face and thought she was seeing things. She thought there was a hint of seriousness and pity on her face.
How could a baby less than a month old possibly have such an expression?
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