"Quick, Xinhe, try on your outfit, it’s so beautiful, it will be a feast for my eyes too." Hong Qin said with a hint of envy.
The shopkeeper was very diligent now; he had been paid, so naturally he treated them well.
Left with no choice, Ji Xinhe took the skirt and retreated to the inner room.
She removed her coarse outer garment and put on the new one. When she walked out from behind the curtain, Hong Qin’s eyes lit up, "Xinhe, you look so beautiful."
Ji Xinhe looked at her reflection, since her rebirth, she had always been preoccupied with escaping poverty and rivaling the elite. She hadn’t had time to consider her own appearance. Now, looking carefully at her reflection, she noticed her complexion was indeed a bit pale but her features were delicate, her eyes lively. She was a beauty indeed and she was very satisfied with herself.
Since they were in town, Ji Xinhe decided to buy a bullock cart for her brothers. They would be frequently visiting the town in the future, especially once the grape wine was ready; they would need to transport it to the town for selling, and do so would be impossible without a bullock cart.
A cart itself wasn’t expensive, it cost just two or three silver, but a bullock was quite expensive and cost up to six silver. After haggling, they finally bought both the bullock and the cart for six silver in total, so they were able to ride the bullock cart home.
Along the way, Hong Qin was giggling, "Xinhe, I think brother Dongzi is determined to arrange your marriage. Do you have anyone you like in our village? If not, can I help you find a match?"
Ji Xinhe teased her back, "I wish I was as lucky as you, who was promised to a boy from the neighboring village before I was even born and who is getting married next spring."
Hong Qin blushed and lowered her head, "Don’t talk nonsense."
Because Hong Qin had been betrothed since she was a child, the boy from the Zhang Family dared to sneak a peek at her when he was only seven years old. As they had grown up together like childhood sweethearts, their feelings were strong as well. They were just waiting to get married.
Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but laugh. She suddenly thought that this ancient kind of love, simple and pure, didn’t seem so bad. Would she marry a sincere farmer and live a good and peaceful life? But then, the stern faces of Marquis Mu, Mu Houchu, surfaced in her mind, and she immediately discarded the thought of getting married.
Xiao Bei was excited to be on the bullock cart. His happy face was flushing red, his first time riding a bullock cart was making him so happy. He was a little fellow who got easily satisfied.
When they entered the village, comments came their way, "Yo, Dongzi, did you buy a bullock cart?"
Ji Dong responded cheerfully, "Our family needs it, so I bit the bullet and bought it."
Indeed, he had to grit his teeth finding six silver to buy it, which immediately splurged half of his savings.
Over the past few days, they had spent a total of eight silver, so only four left, barely enough for them to survive the winter.
However, considering her prospective grape wine business, Ji Xinhe didn’t feel much worried about it.
"Oh my, Xinhe girl, your new dress is really gorgeous. And seemingly, you have grown more beautiful lately." An auntie in the village said with a smile.
After her remarks, a commotion of banter arose amongst the villagers, "She now just has to find a good in-law family."
Ji Xinhe lowered her head, pretending to be shy, but in her mind, she just wanted to quickly pass these people; she was afraid they would bring up her marriage again.
Reaching home after a day’s worth of grape drying and jar drying chores outside, Ji Xinhe immediately got back to work.
"We need to crush all these dried grapes into a big jar. Don’t fill it to the brim, just half would suffice." Ji Xinhe was explaining while demonstrating by easily crushing a grape with one hand and tossing it into a big jar.
This work was simple, Ji Dong and Xiao Bei quickly joined her in the task.
Meanwhile, Lady Ding and her family started living lavishly again, with meat and vegetables in their meals every day. Ji Xiaobao ostentatiously enjoyed a big drumstick in the courtyard today.
Whenever Lady Ding went out, she held her head high and puffed her chest out, looking very proud.
Ji Xinhe found it amusing. What was there to flaunt about? Selling two acres of land for a temporary comfortable life without any care for the future? Were they not afraid of starving to death in the future?
Of course, Lady Ding was not afraid; she had her heart set on making Ji Xiulan the wife of an official.
The whole intention behind Ji Xiulan’s flamboyant daily grooming was to keep Gao Zhiru interested in her.
"Brother Zhiru, you study hard every day. You must take care not to overwork yourself, especially at night as reading can strain the eyes. I worry for you, Zhiru. You cannot harm your health by staying up late like this," said Ji Xiulan in her sweet and delicate voice.
Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Once she became rich, the first thing she would do was to move out!
Gao Zhiru lightly chuckled, "I always take these matters into account and would not let myself be overworked. You need not worry so much."
Ji Xiulan felt somewhat defeated. Gao Zhiru’s recent conversations hadn’t been as intimate as before. This left her feeling unsettled and maligned. It appeared that the earlier rumors about her and the pork seller had made Gao Zhiru discomfited.
"But....." Ji Xiulan had been about to say something more flattering when she abruptly noticed that Zhiru’s gaze seemed to have fixated on something, and he stood there still.
Following his gaze, Ji Xiulan saw Ji Xinhe in the courtyard sitting on a stool with a small basket of grapes on her lap, crushing grapes and dropping them into a large jar. Ji Xinhe looked particularly different today, her new dress perfectly accentuated her slender physique. Her loosely tied hair made her look exceedingly pretty, even her grape-crushing delicate fingers looked extraordinarily beautiful.
Seeing Gao Zhiru seemingly stupefied, Ji Xiulan felt a surge of rage but she could only endure it. She held onto Gao Zhiru’s sleeve and acted shy, "Brother Zhiru, now that you’ve dropped me home, you should go. My parents may see us, which wouldn’t be good."
Gao Zhiru finally snapped out of his stare. He said absently, "Ah? Oh! Yes, I... I should go."
Before he left, he couldn’t help but take one more glace at Ji Xinhe. Looking at the peaceful, picturesque girl, he felt a strange tingle in his heart. Why had he never seen this beauty before? But then it was a pity, she’s only a crude and unrefined girl.
Ji Xiulan, on the other hand, was so very cross she felt like killing someone. She waited till Zhiru vanished in the crowd and then flew into a tantrum and started shouting, "Well done, Ji Xinhe, did you get all decked up to lure men? Did you think one could not see through your pretense? You are nothing but an uncouth farm girl. Go look in the mirror!"
Ji Xinhe glanced at this suddenly hysterical woman, the corner of her mouth lifting into a taunting smile. "Just looked in the mirror, seems to look better than you."
"You...!" Ji Xiulan was so angry, she almost threw up in frustration.
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