Zhao Lanzhi's face was gloomy, and she remained silent.
Xu Xinchen looked down at the mother and daughter, her expression indifferent, and said, "I will not marry him, and whether the Lu family has me as a daughter is not up to you."
"You!" Zhao Lanzhi was so angry that her face turned purple, and she was about to faint.
Upon hearing this, Lu Shuangshuang's lips twitched slightly, and she chuckled softly. She looked directly at Xu Xinchen and said, "So it's because of Yang Laosan's marriage that you refused?"
"Lu Minshi, what are you thinking? You don't still want to marry Brother Baifei, do you?" She looked at her incredulously. "How old are you this year? This town is so small, who do you think you can marry after you reject this marriage? Brother Baifei said that when we were together."
Her tone was light and cheerful, and her expression revealed a hint of disdain without any restraint. "So what if you're pretty? You're still as dull as a block of wood. Even someone as good-tempered as Brother Baifei can't stand your boringness. Do you think any other man can put up with you? There are only a few unmarried men in town. You should take advantage of your youth and not be a wastrel. Do you really think you can fly up to a branch and become a phoenix?"
Xu Xinchen stared at her without moving, lost in thought.
Actually, Xu Xinchen wasn't persuaded by her. Although her words were absurd, they did give her some inspiration. The town didn't have a large population, and it wasn't a good idea for her to stay there any longer. Besides, she had already planned to leave, so why not take this opportunity and go with the flow?
"Fine. You told me to get out, so I'll leave tomorrow."
Xu Xinchen composed herself, smiled at the mother and daughter who were sitting on the ground in a daze, and walked away.
"What...what does she mean?" Zhao Lanzhi stared blankly at her departing figure, wondering if she had misheard.
Lu Shuangshuang chuckled dismissively. "Mom, don't worry. It's just to scare you. Where can she go after leaving Qingyuan Town?"
A woman with no one to rely on would probably regret it after walking less than half a mile.
Xu Xinchen returned to her room, took out a pen and paper, and carefully planned her escape route. Having just arrived in this world, aside from Qingyuan Town and a place not far from it (about ten miles away), she had never seen the outside world. She wasn't particularly curious about what it looked like, but recently her heart had been increasingly restless. A figure surged into the depths of her mind, and Xu Xinchen shook her head, trying to shake the image away.
She added up all the assets she had earned in the past month or two, counted them, held the thin wad of banknotes, sighed, and realized that it totaled only a little over 50 yuan.
This little bit of money probably wouldn't even cover her travel expenses. After thinking it over carefully, she decided to take a bus to the county town tomorrow, and then try to find a job there to save some money.
The economic base determines the superstructure, a fact she, a woman from the 21st century, understood all too well.
She opened the notebook in front of her, picked up her pen and buried herself in writing. Under the lamp, a graceful figure sat quietly, her pen flying across the page until the moon rose above the treetops, at which point she finally closed the pen cap.
The notebook was filled with dense writing on one page. She carefully tore a page off and put it into a pre-prepared envelope. This was a letter she wrote to Lu Zhenjun. In this world, he was, at least, her first relative, even though they weren't actually father and daughter. Perhaps it was because she had entered Lu Minshi's life...
His body, which still shared the same bloodline as his, now evoked a slight sense of reluctance and sadness.
She sighed, completely shaking off her melancholy thoughts, and lay down on the bed to fall asleep.
The next morning, before dawn, she woke up. Perhaps because she was about to leave that day, she couldn't sleep soundly.
Holding the prepared package, she locked the door and left the letter she had written on the table, knowing that Lu Zhenjun would definitely come to her room.
The courtyard was quiet, the sky was a pale blue, and thick clouds covered the sky.
Xu Xinchen walked on the empty street. Some early-rising business people greeted her with smiles, and she returned their polite smiles.
The sound of a car engine came from not far away. Xu Xinchen's ears twitched, and he quickened his pace. After turning a corner, he saw Uncle Wang leaning against the car and smoking.
He exhaled smoke, his gaze sweeping across the room before suddenly fixing on Xu Xinchen. "Girl, where are you going?"
Xu Xinchen smiled sweetly, still feeling a natural trust in the old man who had helped her before. "I'm going to the county town to visit relatives, Uncle Wang, can I ride in your car?"
Uncle Wang, a cigarette between his fingers, leaned against the car, glanced at her, and smiled, "Get in."
When Xu Xinchen arrived in the county town, she first looked for a place to stay. It wasn't easy to find a place to stay here. She was unfamiliar with the area and the prices. It took her almost a whole day to find a place to stay.
The tiny room, less than 15 square meters, could only comfortably accommodate her alone. The bed and table were right next to each other, and there were hardly any other decorations in the room. It was difficult to even turn around. Fortunately, the windows were spacious and bright, and the midday sun shone through the glass windows, making the whole room bright and cheerful, which made her feel better without her even realizing it.
However, the house was located on both sides of a bustling street, surrounded by detached houses. The street was wide and clean, and the neighborhood seemed to be safe, so Xu Xinchen decided to buy it without much consideration.
As a result, only half the money remained.
Xu Xinchen got up very early the next day. The sound of roosters crowing came from outside. When she went out, the alley was empty and clean.
Following her memory, she arrived at the small restaurant she had visited before. The door was locked, and no one was inside. She sat on the steps at the entrance, watching the passersby.
As the sun rose higher, the streets became more crowded. She was beautiful and sat alone in front of a restaurant, resting her chin on her hand, seemingly lost in thought. She attracted a lot of attention, and passersby frequently turned to look at her.
An elderly man, who was squatting on the street corner fanning himself, stared at her silently for a while. He couldn't help but walk over and pat her on the shoulder. "Young lady, who are you waiting for here?"
Xu Xinchen pointed behind her, still a little dazed, "Excuse me..."
Before she could finish speaking, the old man interrupted her, picked up a palm-leaf fan, fanned himself, and smiled kindly, "You're waiting for this family? They stopped doing business a long time ago and went back to their hometown."
The old man sat down next to her and asked with great interest, "What do you want with them?"
Xu Xinchen had just snapped out of her daze after receiving the message, a strange sense of loss welling up inside her. "I came here to see if I could find some odd jobs..."
Xu Xinchen was absent-minded, her eyes unfocused and vacant. The old man thought she had some unspeakable troubles, and he couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. He comforted her, "Young lady, if you want to do odd jobs, go to Old Ji Xu's place. Their restaurant is big and they need staff every day."
Xu Xinchen came to her senses, thanked the old man, asked for directions, and then left.
When she arrived at the grand restaurant the old man had specified, she realized he was right. This was indeed the most impressive restaurant in the county. Two imposing bronze statues stood at the entrance, and people were coming and going in an endless stream. You could see how crowded it was inside from the windows.
Xu Xinchen went inside and explained her purpose to the receptionist. The receptionist pointed in a direction, and she followed the path to the backyard. The backyard was spacious, and a woman in a cheongsam was sitting on a stone bench in the yard. There was cold tea and a notebook on the table next to her.
There were already about ten people in line ahead of her, men and women, most of whom knew each other. They chatted and laughed together. She walked over and joined the end of the line, but no one noticed her.
The woman frowned, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and looked at the queue. "Hurry up, register your names and then go help out. Don't waste time!"
But her seriousness did nothing to dampen the atmosphere. A boy in a shirt in the line shouted, "Boss lady, what's the rush? Are you in a hurry to be reincarnated?"
"Pah! Don't be so glib, or you won't get paid."
Although it was a threat, the tone was smiling, suggesting they were already quite familiar with each other.
Xu Xinchen didn't say anything, and followed the line forward step by step. Soon it was her turn. She picked up a pen and prepared to write on the paper, just like the people in front of her.
As I was writing my name, a hand reached out and touched it.
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