"No need to worry, Mother. No matter how hard it might be, we must press on. After all, now that the family is split off, we can only rely on ourselves, can’t we?" Ji XinHe said these despairing words with an undertone of pride and happiness which aggravated Lady Ding who was all prepared to watch the siblings suffer.
Lady Ding just couldn’t take it anymore and she stormed off, cursing as she went.
Upon returning and seeing her precious little box ransacked, as well as the messy room that looked like it had just been ransacked, Lady Ding’s anger flared. She stood in the courtyard, hand clenching her waist, and began cursing loudly. Ji Dashan didn’t dare approach her.
Contrarily, Ji XinHe was feeling relieved. She discussed with Xiao Bei and Ji Dong: "The most important thing at hand is to prepare for the winter. We don’t have much money now. The money we conned from Lady Ding, plus the seven silver pieces we had earlier, all add up to only twelve silvers. If we want to have a comfortable winter, our house needs to be repaired. Otherwise, the cold winds will blow in from all sides and it won’t be livable. As for other necessary purchases, we’ll figure out those later."
Actually, per Ji XinHe’s desire, she yearned to build a new house.
However, she understood that Rome wasn’t built in a day. If they were to construct a new house, it would cost at least twenty silvers. Besides, they don’t have that kind of money now and winter is fast approaching, they can’t survive winter by mere enthusiasm.
They should first get through this winter and then think of other strategies later.
Ji Dong nodded: "Yes, it’s time to fix up the house. I’ll ask some folks from the village to help us renovate the house. At the very least, we need to block off the areas where the wind is getting in, and stack a few layers of thatch on the roof. If possible, we should build a heating mattress pad inside the house to keep us warm in winter."
Xiao Bei’s eyes lit up: "A heating mattress pad, a heating mattress pad! I want to sleep on a heating mattress pad!"
Ji XinHe smiled, "Alright, I will have a heating mattress pad made for Xiao Bei!"
Ji Dong added, "Although we have some money now, we can’t afford to spend it recklessly. We must plan well. I’m just a farmer, and apart from farming, I don’t have any other skills. Maybe in the spring next year, we should buy one or two acres of land to grow our own crops."
Ji XinHe furrowed her brows, "So, to survive, we will need to spend money in many places."
We’ll need to come up with more ways to earn money!
Ji XinHe clenched her fists. She didn’t believe that she couldn’t make a living here!
"Let’s go to bed early today. Tomorrow is the market day, we’re going to the town to take a look and buy some necessities," Ji XinHe said.
Xiao Bei was filled with childlike excitement: "Great!Tomorrow we’re going to the market!"
Ji XinHe couldn’t help but laugh, patting Xiao Bei’s head.
Perhaps because their hearts lightened today, the siblings had a sound sleep that night.
The next morning, as dawn was just breaking, Xiao Bei got up, ready to go to the market. It’s quite a distance from the village to the town, naturally they have to start early.
Although Ji Xinhe was sleepy, she had to fight off her sleepiness and get out of bed.
Ji Dong was left to cut firewood on the mountain since preparing for winter required lots of firewood.
Ji Xinhe and Xiao Bei, who was full of zest and enthusiasm, left for the market.
Because today is market day, the town was very bustling with people crowding the streets and vendors peddling their wares. Xiao Bei was so excited that he couldn’t take his eyes off the sights.
When he suddenly caught a whiff of the delicious scent of meat buns, Xiao Bei’s mouth watered and he stared hungrily at the buns displayed.
Ji XinHe laughed, and promptly ordered the vendor, "Give me two meat buns!"
"Sure!Each meat bun is two copper coins, totaling four copper coins!" The vendor replied cheerfully.
Ji XinHe readily took out four copper coins.
With a bun in hand, Xiao Bei’s eyes seemed to glow with green light. However, he swallowed his saliva and said, "Sister, let’s take these home and share them with our brother."
"We’ll buy more for our brother on the way back. Eat it while it’s still hot. Once it gets cold, it won’t taste as good." Ji XinHe smiled.
Xiao Bei nodded excitedly, took a huge bite of the bun, and his face beamed with joy. "This is so good! Sister, have a bite. This meat bun is delicious!"
Ji XinHe bit into her bun, even though she wasn’t as ecstatic as Xiao Bei, the long-missed taste of meat made her feel sentimental. In her previous life, she had tasted all kinds of delicacies, but there was nothing she particularly liked. Now, after experiencing a bit of hardship, even a humble meat bun was enough to stir her appetite.
Ji XinHe touched the small amount of silver in her purse. For the first time feeling the joy of having money.
"Okay, let’s move on. We still have plenty of stuff to buy."
Xiao Bei was also excited, hopping along as they walked, "Okay!"
When they left their house, the sky was not completely bright. Now it was into late morning, the sun was warmly shining on them.
Ji XinHe was calculating in her mind that they couldn’t squander their money, and they have to buy the necessities only. For winter, they needed cotton clothes, and those rickety cotton quilts at home were in bad shape and far too thin for the severe winter. Xiao Bei was still young and eating only coarse grain food wasn’t good for his growth. They needed to buy some rice so they can have hot porridge. They also needed to buy some meat and perishable supplies, since the oil and salt at home were almost used up. Considering all these, today’s shopping list was getting very long.
As Ji XinHe walked and planned, she felt someone pull her hand. Turning around, she saw Xiao Bei holding her hand and standing suddenly in front of a tea house, her bright eyes curiously looking inside.
"What’s wrong?" Ji XinHe turned to her.
Looking inside the tea house, Ji XinHe saw a storyteller, talking animatedly with a wide audience paying close attention to his story.
Just then, the storyteller clapped his props, saying loudly: "Now when we talk about His Majesty, we must admit that he is a man of great talent and strategies, completely incomparable! The so-called ’mandate of heaven’, is the Emperor chosen by God himself! Surely he is the one to bring prosperity to our Da Qian dynasty!"
"Excellent!" came a chorus from the audience.
"And then there is one other figure that we cannot fail to mention in relation to our present day, it is our current Prime Minister, Mu Xiang! He is the one who identified the true emperor and forged him!"
The audience grew deadly silent, listening intently to what was coming next.
Ji XinHe laughed, "Xiao Bei, are you interested in these stories? Shall we go in and listen?"
A little embarrassed, Xiao Bei nodded, "I want to know what happens next."
At the mention of the "Prime Minister, Mu Xiang," Ji XinHe remembered Wu Si mentioning this character before and felt a twinge of curiosity. Ji XinHe led Xiao Bei into the tea house, took a seat, and waited for the storyteller to continue with the story.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
