Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Early morning on the second day of the Lunar New Year. Jiang Wan...
Early morning on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
Jiang Wan was awakened by the sound of knocking on the door. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up from the bed.
Since crossing over, Jiang Wan had been constantly busy, rising early and going to bed late, without a single good night's sleep. Furthermore, the torture her original owner had endured during exile had completely drained her energy, so Jiang Wan often felt exhausted. After being freed from slavery, she relaxed and slept all day, finally recovering somewhat.
Who is it? A knock on the door so early in the morning. She cursed inwardly, but she got dressed anyway, stretched, and staggered to the water tank to wash her face. Only then did she sober up a little and pushed open the door.
Two young boys, who looked to be around fourteen or fifteen, stood at the door. Their clothes were ragged and their faces were pale and thin. When Jiang Wan opened the door, the two children excitedly called out "Master".
"Who are you?" Jiang Wan was stunned. Who were these two people? She had never seen them before. She carefully recalled the original owner's life and realized that she had never taken in any disciples. Jiang Wan tried to recall. Could it be that some of her followers from her past life had also traveled through time? That wasn't right. She had changed her body. Even if they traveled through time, they wouldn't recognize her.
Seeing Jiang Wan's confusion, the two children chattered away, explaining things to her until she finally understood. They were apprentices to Master Cheng, having worked with him for three years. On New Year's Eve, Master Cheng was beaten and driven out of town, leaving the two children with nowhere to go. Having heard about the banquet, they became incredibly adoring of Jiang Wan and eagerly came to her to become his apprentice.
"Your master was beaten because of me, and now you want to follow me?" Jiang Wan asked coldly. She hated ungrateful people the most. With such people around, they wouldn't even realize they were being sold. So she had to ask clearly. If Cheng Gongjian treated these two teenagers well, and they turned around and wanted to follow her, then Jiang Wan would never keep them around.
The taller boy grumbled, "He's not my master! My brother and I have been studying under him for three years, but he didn't teach us any skills. He just made us do rough work for him, like doing odd jobs, washing clothes, and cooking. He beat and scolded us if we weren't satisfied with anything. For three years, we haven't had enough to eat or wear warm clothes. We've lived worse than slaves. The day before yesterday, we kindly sent him clothes and dry food, but he scolded us for not giving him any good advice when making gifts, and said we were the ones who got him kicked out."
The thinner one looked like the younger brother. He was aggrieved and on the verge of tears. "My brother and I have no parents, and he relied on his connections with the government to refuse to let us go. My brother and I tried to escape, but he caught us and beat us up every time. Now that he's been driven away, can't we find another way out?"
Jiang Wan observed the brothers' expressions and believed what they said. He quickly patted his younger brother's head and comforted him, "Don't cry, don't cry. It's all over. From now on, just follow me. I'll teach you a good craft and you'll have good food and drink. Okay?"
She felt a pang of pain at the sight of the two young men. In her previous life, when she was fourteen or fifteen, she, like them, had no parents and endured starvation, witnessing the world's many hardships. It was precisely because of this that she became the unwavering, ruthless, and unwavering Jiang Wan, the unwavering leader in the antiques business.
She took them in as if she was taking in her former self.
My brother opened his eyes wide and said, "Really?"
"Of course," Jiang Wan said gently, "What are your names and where do you live?"
"My name is Wang Da, and my brother's name is Wang Er. We don't have a home, so we live with Master Cheng." Wang Da looked worried. "Now that Master Cheng is gone, I guess our house will be taken back after the Chinese New Year. Then we'll have to make a thatched hut."
"How can that be? After the New Year, I'll go and ask the magistrate to leave the house to you," Jiang Wan said. "To be my apprentice, you must be serious and obedient, not lazy, or I'll kick you out. Can you do that?"
"Okay!" The two of them were used to hardship and agreed without hesitation. The younger brother rubbed his hands excitedly:
"Master, what should we learn first?"
Jiang Wan pondered for a moment. These two had been working with Cheng for three years, and while they hadn't learned any specific techniques, they should have no problem mastering the basics. She could let them do it themselves, and she could simply provide guidance. However, she needed to spend some time figuring out where to start. They wouldn't be able to master anything too complex, and simpler ones wouldn't improve their skills. Furthermore, given the current financial situation, the materials and tools they could purchase were limited.
Anyway, it's only the second day of the Chinese New Year, and she wants to spend the New Year with her mother and brother, and at the same time recuperate and think about the next arrangements.
"You two go back first, and I'll think about it." Jiang Wan took out a tael of silver and placed it in Wang Da's palm. "Come back to me on the fifth day of the New Year. This is Master's New Year gift for you. Go back and buy some delicious food."
The two brothers had never seen so much money in their lives. Their eyes widened and they asked blankly, "Is this really for us?"
Jiang Wan smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, Master!" The two children reacted and beamed with joy. "Happy New Year, Master!"
Jiang Wan watched the two young men walk away, a faint sweetness filling her heart, and her sleepiness faded away. Having seen so much indifference and calculation, she especially cherished this rare bit of enthusiasm and innocence.
She turned around to go back to the house, and suddenly remembered what the Wang brothers said about picking up straw to build a house.
Jiang Wan looked at the leaky house in front of him: ...
The place I live in is even worse than that little kid's.
Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, and the renovation team in the city just happened to start work. I might as well spend some money on some repairs and buy some new furniture. My mother's bedding is thin, and it's not good for her to recover in the cold winter.
Si time【1】, Commercial Street.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, many shops are closed. Only rice and flour shops, medicine shops, furniture shops and decoration shops, which are essential to life, will open during the festival. Therefore, the streets are deserted and there is no sound of hawking.
Jiang Wan stopped in front of a narrow door.
The door was simple, with no signboard, just a wooden board propped up on the ground with the words "Uncle Wang Repairing the House" scribbled on it. A dark, thin man in his fifties sat on the ground, banging on a chair.
"Good morning, Uncle Wang!" Jiang Wan shouted.
Uncle Wang raised his head and saw Jiang Wan. He grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. "Hey, Jiang girl! What's up? You didn't go to work today?"
"I just escaped from slavery." Jiang Wan explained, unwilling to talk more.
Uncle Wang's face tensed for a moment, then relaxed again, his expression normal, as if the change had just happened was just Jiang Wan's illusion. He didn't ask any more questions, but nodded naively, "Congratulations."
"Uncle Wang, my house is made of thatch and mud, and it's leaking everywhere. I'd like to patch it up and replace the outer walls and roof with wooden boards. Do you have time to help me with it? The price is negotiable."
Uncle Wang was stunned when Jiang Wan said, "The price is negotiable." He wanted to ask her how much she was worth, but he was afraid of hurting the girl's pride. He chose his words carefully and asked slowly, "I've seen the condition of your house. If I use wooden boards to patch up the exterior wall, it would cost at least ten taels of silver. Mud is even cheaper. Why don't you use mud to patch it up first? I'll only charge you five hundred copper coins for the labor. How about that?"
Jiang Wan took out ten taels of silver and placed them in front of Uncle Wang. Uncle Wang's eyes widened. "Where did you get so much silver?"
Jiang Wan didn't want to say more, and evaded the question by saying, "I sold my dowry in exchange for it."
Uncle Wang was still for a while, then said blankly, "Okay, okay, I'll prepare the materials and go to your house on the fifth day of the New Year to replace the exterior walls and roof."
Jiang Wan discussed the details of replacing the exterior wall with Uncle Wang, then said goodbye and went home.
Uncle Wang watched her figure walk away, then he put away his innocent expression and wiped his face. A layer of black grease was wiped off, revealing his fair cheeks. He returned to the house with an expressionless face.
After a while, a pigeon flew out of his room and soared into the blue sky.
At the gate of the county government office.
The notice board was surrounded by a crowd of people, three layers deep and three layers deep, making it impossible to get through. Jiang Wan passed by on his way home and looked curiously in the direction of the notice board. But there were so many people gathered that Jiang Wan could not see anything.
Normally, whenever there was news, the people would gather to watch, often engaging in lively discussion. But this time, the crowd was silent. Those on the periphery stood on tiptoe, their eyes filled with anxiety and fear; those inside read the notice with intense concentration and nervousness. Some clutched their chests and breathed a sigh of relief, others paled and remained silent, and one or two women suppressed soft sobs.
Jiang Wan moved closer, grabbed a passerby who had seen the notice, and asked, "What's on this notice? Why are people so nervous?"
The pedestrian hesitated, sighing, "The battle started yesterday... The outcome is still undecided, and the list of the dead is posted here."
Jiang Wan nodded silently, a little solemn, looked at the notice board, saluted, and whispered a low "rest in peace." Then he hurried home.
He ran into Jiang An's anxious face head-on.
"What's wrong, brother? Why are you so anxious?" Jiang Wan asked puzzledly.
"What were you doing during the New Year's holiday?" Jiang An was so anxious that his face flushed and he was out of breath. This was the first time he had yelled at his sister in all these days. After yelling, he felt regretful. He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and forced himself to suppress his anger. He said in a hoarse voice:
"Mom just vomited blood. I'm going to find a doctor and will be back soon. You should go back and stay with her."
"What?!" Jiang Wan's head rumbled, as if something had exploded. How could this be? Her mother had clearly been taking her medicine regularly, and her complexion was becoming increasingly rosy. She had also spoken to Madam Li, and neither the guards nor the supervisors should have treated her harshly. What had gone wrong? If she knew who dared to bully her mother, she would make sure they paid the price!
Jiang Wan clenched her fists tightly, her blood rushing up, she felt dizzy, her body swayed, and she staggered towards the Jiang family's hut.
【1】Sishi: 9 to 11 a.m.
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