After the matter was settled, the Huang family slept soundly.
In the middle of the night, Jiang Nuan went to her space and worked all night as usual. Early in the morning, she found Xie Shi.
"Jiaojiao, come with me to the county town today."
"Going to the county town?" Xie Jiao was stunned. "Mother is going to find my third brother?"
"Is the mistress in the county town?" Jiang Nuan shook her head. "We're not going to find him, we're going for a stroll."
"What are you going to shop for?" Xie asked, completely bewildered. "The county town is better than the town, and you can spend a lot of money there too. Mother, is there anything you want to buy? We can go to the town market tomorrow. The county town is too far away. It takes two hours to go there and back by oxcart, and half a day to walk."
“Let’s take an oxcart,” Jiang Nuan decided immediately. “Just the two of us. I’ll go to the county town and see if there are any ways to make money.”
"Mother wants to find work in the county town?" Xie shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, even in the county town, there are only a few things that women can do, such as washing clothes or doing needlework. No matter how difficult things are for our family, we can't let you suffer."
"Don't rush," Jiang Nuan said softly, "I can read, so I might be able to find it. Let's go and take a look first."
Jiang Nuan didn't plan to do any work. Even if she could do accounting, what difference would that make? How much would she earn in a month? The Huang family has more than a dozen people; what could they possibly do with that little bit of money?
She even plans to send her grandson to school!
In the end, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law spent four coins to take an oxcart to the next village.
The oxcart was packed with people, men in front and women behind, separated by a tall wooden sign.
“Huang Shu’s wife,” a woman wearing a scarf pointed at Jiang Nuan next to her and asked, “who is this person next to you? Why does she look so familiar?”
“Auntie,” Xie smiled awkwardly, “this is my mother. She hasn’t left the village much since my father passed away, so you probably don’t remember her.”
“Huang Mu’s wife,” the man’s face stiffened, and he quickly stepped back, “you two continue your conversation, I won’t interfere.”
"Why is it Huang Mu's wife? She shouldn't have gone out today!" Jiang Nuan heard someone say in a low voice.
Then, the two cleared a space around them.
"Jiaojiao, what's wrong?" Jiang Nuan asked softly.
She felt very embarrassed. These people knew her, and they all wanted to get off the bus immediately, as if she were some kind of virus.
“Mother,” Xie coughed lightly and explained in a low voice, “They might be afraid of crowding us.”
Her mother-in-law's cursing skills were unmatched in the surrounding villages. However, she was also the kind of person who would never let go of someone's anger once she was in the right. Once she found someone's sore spot, she would want to beat them all to death.
These people were naturally very wary, but they couldn't say these things outright.
"Is that so?" Jiang Nuan looked puzzled, but didn't delve into it further.
Since arriving at the Huang family, many strange and unusual things have happened, so this one is no exception.
I'll be in charge of this body from now on. There's still a long time ahead, and I'll have plenty of opportunities to figure it out.
So, at the back of the oxcart, a group of women crowded on the left, while Jiang Nuan and Xie Shi occupied the right side.
Seeing the group of women huddled together, headscarves wrapped around their heads, looking pitiful, Jiang Nuan couldn't help but laugh.
Why squeeze onto the left side when there's so much space on the right?
Huangjiakou is 20 miles away from the county seat. The road is full of potholes, and even an ordinary oxcart feels like a roller coaster ride.
As soon as she got off the bus, Jiang Nuanhua threw up.
"Mother, have some water," Xie quickly took out a bamboo cup filled with hot water, opened the lid, and fed it to Jiang Nuan.
After drinking water and resting for a while, feeling much better, Jiang Nuan finally spoke, "Let's go into the city."
The journey from Huangjiakou to the county seat took longer than Xie had mentioned. We set off early in the morning and arrived in the county seat close to noon, taking about two and a half hours.
Xie helped Jiang Nuan to the city gate, took out her household registration certificate from her bundle, and handed over two copper coins before the guards let them go.
Throughout the process, Jiang Nuan remained silent.
Forgive her for being ignorant; she never imagined that going to a county town would require a household registration certificate, and what's worse, she had to pay money.
It's so troublesome and a waste of money.
No wonder some people never visit a county town in their entire lives.
Xie had never been to the city either. She knew all this because her third brother was an apprentice in the county town. Huang Xiaosan was afraid that he wouldn't be able to find him if something happened at home, so he specifically told his family about it.
Upon arriving in the city, seeing the endless stream of people coming and going, Xie Shi was at a loss for what to do.
"Mother, where are we going?"
After a moment's thought, Jiang Nuan spoke up. "Let's go to a restaurant or a teahouse."
These two places have a large population and information flows quickly, making them ideal for preliminary investigations.
“Mother,” Xie Shi tugged at Jiang Nuan’s sleeve and said, biting her lip, “Why don’t we go find the mistress?”
She paused for a moment and explained, "The other man has been in the county for more than two years. He knows the county better than my daughter and me. If there's anything, we can just ask him. He's much better than outsiders."
“Okay,” Jiang Nuan thought about it and realized it made perfect sense. “Let’s go find him.”
Turning her head, Jiang Nuan asked, "Which restaurant is the mistress at?"
“Wuweilou!” Xie said, pointing to the road ahead. “Xiao San said that after entering the city gate, walk along the main road for one mile, and when you see a large mansion, turn left. It’s just a few more steps away.”
"Alright, let's go."
The two walked forward at a leisurely pace, and bought some things at the candied fruit and pastry shops they passed by.
A short while later, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrived at their destination.
Looking at the tall and imposing two-story restaurant in front of her, Xie felt a little scared.
"Mother, let's wait here for the mistress to come out."
“No need,” Jiang Nuan said calmly as she walked into the restaurant.
Along the way, Jiang Nuan gained a deeper understanding of this era, feeling both helpless and melancholy.
The best building in this county town is probably the city gate, which is more than five meters high, majestic and imposing, and looks quite impressive.
Other houses, even those belonging to wealthy families, were just one-story brick and tile houses, a bit bigger, taller, and more spacious than those in the village, and a bit tidier, but otherwise no different.
As for pavilions and towers, Jiang Nuan has only seen a few so far, and none of them are as nice as the ones she has seen before.
Overall, I was quite disappointed, including by the restaurant in front of me.
The two-story restaurant is supported by four sturdy pillars in the middle, and the walls are made of blue bricks.
It is not a purely wooden building, but a combination of brick and wood.
From the outside, it looks very simple and unadorned, without the antique charm I had imagined.
"Sir, would you like to eat?" As soon as you entered, a waiter greeted you with a smile.
“I’m not going to eat, I’m here to see someone,” Jiang Nuan said with a smile. “I’m Huang Lin’s mother. I’m just passing through the county and thought I’d drop by to see him.”
"Huang Lin?" After a moment of surprise, the waiter realized, "Oh, it's Auntie. Huang San is in the back room. Please have a seat, Auntie. I'll call him over right away."
"Thank you for your help, sir," Jiang Nuan said, taking out a bag of candied fruit. "I bought a lot of candied fruit today, so I'll take a bag to sweeten my mouth."
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