Lu Zhiheng knew that the situation here was not good, so he planned to discuss with his father-in-law and wife after dinner whether or not to return to Kyoto.
Lu Zhiheng secretly made a decision. The situation outside was getting more and more chaotic. He thought about telling his wife not to go to work. If no one in the family went to work, but they could still live peacefully, people would become suspicious.
"Dad, don't be so agitated. There are still some factories here, it won't be as difficult as in those villages. And don't even think about taking us back to Kyoto now. Have you forgotten what you told Lu Qingfeng before? We're a little better off here in the city. If all else fails, we can go to Guangcheng. The situation there should be better than here." He Caiwei saw that her father was agitated and quickly tried to comfort him.
It would have been better if he hadn't tried to comfort him; the attempt only made Lu Zhiheng more agitated. He really didn't know when this would end. Just when things were starting to look a little better, he wondered what kind of trouble those people would cause this time.
After finishing her exams and receiving her results, He Caiwei, along with her parents and grandfather, boarded a train to Kyoto with several large packages.
"Grandpa, how many times have you taken the train?" This was He Caiwei's first time riding a train in this era. There was no Spring Festival travel rush back then, and there weren't many people on the train. There were still quite a few empty seats.
People nowadays are frugal. If they can walk, no one wants to spend money. Besides, train tickets are quite expensive. Normally, taking a donkey cart or oxcart costs less than half the price, it just takes longer.
"I don't remember. Before there were trains, we used horse-drawn carriages and donkey carts. Later, when we got trains, I only rode one a few times. Then we got cars, and I usually traveled by car. I rarely took the train. For business people, the train was too slow. It was fine for transporting goods or traveling, but if you were in a hurry, the train wasn't the best choice." Old Man He told his granddaughter about the past with a smile. If you really think about it, he really hadn't taken the train many times.
"Did Grandpa ever ride a boat? The kind that goes to the ocean with that old man?" As He Caiwei spoke, she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten these past few days: she hadn't told her mother about meeting Qu Qingqing at the beach in the fishing village.
"Mom, no, Mom, I forgot about this when I came back from Zheng Mingyue's house. We were supposed to go beachcombing that day, right? When we got there, I saw an unexpected person. Mom, do you want to guess who it is?" She was actually quite used to being called "Mom," but later Lu Zhiheng told her that everyone outside calls her "Mom" and that she should change it and get used to the new title.
"Who is it? Do you think you can run into Zhang Sumei and the others here?" He Yuping asked, puzzled, but still revealed the First Madam's name.
“Hey, you guessed right. But it’s not Zhang Sumei, it’s Qu Qingqing. She looks pretty down on her luck right now, her clothes are all tattered, and she’s with that group of people trying to smuggle themselves out.” He Caiwei looked at her mother with a sly smile.
"No way, when Zhang Sumei wanted to burn down the Qu family mansion, she first took out all her dowry. When she got married, the Zhang family was at the height of its power, and the dowry she received was quite substantial. Even if she were to live like before, she certainly wouldn't have lasted more than just a few years." He Yuping found it somewhat unbelievable. Zhang Sumei's dowry was indeed quite large, and she often brought it up to suppress the concubines like them who didn't have much dowry.
Those concubines who had stayed in the mansion for two years were able to memorize Zhang Sumei's dowry lists. After all, with so much showing off and the same things being repeated over and over again every day, it was hard not to remember them.
"Wait, she's with people trying to smuggle themselves in. Is she trying to smuggle herself to Hong Kong? Did she recognize you?" He Yuping was still a little afraid that Qu Qingqing would recognize her daughter.
"I didn't see her directly, I just spotted her in the crowd. And I doubt she'd recognize me anyway, I'm all grown up now, I don't look like I did as a child. The main reason I recognized Qu Qingqing is because her face looks more and more like Zhang Sumei's. I didn't notice the resemblance before, mainly because Zhang Sumei was willing to spend money on expensive cosmetics for her. Now, without those cosmetics, her face is completely exposed, and I can recognize her at a glance." He Caiwei still admires Zhang Sumei. She really knows how to have children. Her two sons look remarkably like Master Qu, and they're quite presentable. But her only daughter, for some reason, doesn't resemble Master Qu at all; she's practically a carbon copy of Zhang Sumei.
"No way, does she really not resemble her father at all? If it were still the family background of the past, she wouldn't have to worry about not being able to get married, but in the current situation, she might not be able to get married." He Yuping felt a little sorry for Qu Qingqing.
He Caiwei was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. Indeed, it was true; without makeup, she really didn't look very good.
He Caiwei just didn't understand why the female protagonist of the novel would look like that. Even if it's a historical novel, she should at least have a pretty face, or at least some of the hard work and diligence that are unique to that era.
But as far as she knew, Qu Qingqing was a pampered young lady at home who wouldn't even lift a finger to pick up a fallen oil bottle. Indeed, she was a pampered young lady in the Qu family, with six or seven servants. She lacked all the qualities that people in this era needed.
Is she really worthy of being the female lead in a period drama? Or did the author make a mistake?
Hey, let's not think about that now. Let's think about what to do next. If it really is as the history books say, this city and the surrounding villages will lose more than half their population.
Can these factories still operate without people? And how can other industries function without people?
While He Caiwei was lost in thought, they arrived in Kyoto.
In fact, He Caiwei and her daughter were both wrong. Qu Qingqing did not come here seeking a way out after squandering Zhang Sumei's dowry.
It was because Qu Qingqing broke up with her college boyfriend and left Qu Qingqing's older brother's house with Zhang Sumei and their belongings. As Zhang Sumei's eldest son, he knew how much his mother's dowry was.
This item originally belonged to the two brothers, but their sister kidnapped their mother while they were at work and ran away with it.
Brother Qu is a very shrewd man. The woman he married is just as good as him. Of course, if the things from their mother were divided between the two brothers, he wouldn't say anything, since they are brothers. But it's impossible for Qu Qingqing, an outsider, to get a share. At most, he would give her a little dowry and marry her off, and that would be fine.
But Qu Qingqing wasn't so easily appeased. So of course, she had to abduct all the dowry owners. She wanted to go back to Pingcheng to see if she could find her father and go back to Pingcheng to attend high school.
But now, she's not in charge of the household anymore, nor is Zhang Sumei. Ever since the eldest brother of the Qu family got married, the person in charge of the Qu family has become the eldest brother's wife.
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