Yu Xiaolian and Jiang Lin were giggling as they filled a basket with goji berries. On their way back, Jiang Lin suddenly asked, "What was that thing you had on your eye yesterday? Why did you put it on your eye, didn't it hurt?"
"That thing is called a beauty lens. It can change the size and color of the eyeball and adheres to the eye without hurting."
Jiang Lin added, "That's good. If it hurts, you shouldn't wear it."
Yu Xiaolian stopped in her tracks and looked at Jiang Lin seriously, "I suppose you've guessed where the antidote I used to save you came from yesterday. I'm a descendant of the Witch Clan. I hope you can keep this a secret for me. I don't want to be caught one day and bled dry."
Jiang Lin earnestly declared, "Who would dare? Whoever tries to bleed you, I'll kill them!"
Yu Xiaolian laughed, "Brother Lin, I don't have any siblings, and neither do you. How about we become sworn siblings? You can be my elder brother, alright?"
Jiang Lin laughed heartily, showing a set of white teeth, "Alright, Sister Lian. From now on, your brother will look after you!"
Just like that, Yu Xiaolian had her first true friend in this other world.
…
The next day.
Yu Xiaolian, along with Mrs. Sun and Yu Changhe, went to pay respects at Yu Zikuang's grave.
Yu Zikuang's grave was just a low mound of dirt, without even a tombstone, surrounded by tall wild oats.
Mrs. Sun first opened an oiled paper package, which contained five delicate osmanthus cakes, and placed them in front of Yu Zikuang's grave.
Yu Xiaolian watched as Mrs. Sun used a branch to draw a circle on the ground, then used a tinder to light the paper and began burning paper money within the circle for Yu Zikuang.
Yu Xiaolian couldn't bring herself to kneel for someone who was neither family nor friend, but since she was now enjoying the love of Yu Zikuang's parents, she couldn't just stand there. She bowed three times to the small mound and said in her heart, "Brother Kuang, I'll earn more money and dutifully care for our parents. If you can reincarnate, then go. May you be reborn into a wealthy family in your next life, living carefree and blessed."
On the way back, Mrs. Sun was heartbroken and kept turning back every few steps, which made Yu Xiaolian feel really bad too.
There are eight sufferings in life: birth, old age, sickness, death, meeting things you despise, parting with loved ones, unfulfilled desires, and the thriving five aggregates.
Parting with loved ones must be the most painful, right?
Now that she was here, her parents must also be heartbroken like Mrs. Sun. Thinking about it, she felt unfilial.
But fate had brought her here, she could only make peace with it.
After returning home, Yu Xiaolian, under the guise of picking wild vegetables, sneaked to Huichun Hall.
Lai Shun saw it was her, immediately grinning as he welcomed her into the inner hall, serving her tea and snacks.
Yu Xiaolian didn't waste time and took out the accumulated American ginseng slices she had collected these days, placing them on the small table.
Lai Shun was stunned by the large package of ginseng slices, weighing four to five pounds, his eyes nearly popped out.
Lai Shun cheerfully fetched a scale, quickly weighing the ginseng slices as if afraid that Yu Xiaolian might change her mind, "Little one, four and a half pounds, that's a total of four hundred and fifty taels of Silver. Do you want silver notes or silver ingots?"
"Silver ingots!"
Who knows if these ancient money shops would go bankrupt? If silver notes accidentally got wet, it would also be troublesome. Silver ingots, pure and white, looked festive, and holding them felt real and secure.
Lai Shun was dumbfounded and asked again, uncertainly, "Little one, these four hundred and fifty taels weigh over thirty pounds, very heavy. Are you sure you want all silver ingots?"
"Sure, just bring them! Also, don't call me little one anymore, my name is Yu Xiaolian."
Lai Shun nodded, "Alright, wait here. I'll fetch the Silver for you."
In Great Liang Country, the largest denomination of Silver in circulation was ten taels per ingot. The hundred-tael ingots were specially made by the national treasury, and ordinary people like them had no use for them.
When Lai Shun placed the ten-tael ingots of Silver one by one into Yu Xiaolian's basket, Yu Xiaolian was smiling so broadly that her eyes nearly disappeared.
Afraid of any mishaps, she covered the basket tightly with cloth, bid farewell to Lai Shun, and once out of the town, she stored all the Silver in her hidden space.
When Yu Xiaolian returned to River Bay village, the first thing she did was look for Jiang Lin at the foot of the mountain. Jiang Lin had already gathered a large basket of wild vegetables, waiting for her.
Yu Xiaolian and Jiang Lin made a perfect handoff, transferring the wild vegetables into her own basket before heading home with the large basket of wild vegetables.
Since Mrs. Feng's punishment last time, she had been feeling very down. Mrs. Sun, too, didn't dare go to the Zhao family for embroidery work and had been sewing at home.
Just as Yu Xiaolian was about to show off her large basket of wild vegetables, she heard Yu Changhe in the small storeroom counting baskets over and over again, seemingly missing a few finished baskets.
Yu Xiaolian put down her basket and ran into the small storeroom, "Dad, what's wrong?"
Yu Changhe frowned, "My baskets, why do they not seem to increase no matter how much I weave? I noticed it was less the other day, double-checked, there should be thirty-five, and I made three more this morning, so it should be thirty-eight, yet, when I checked just now, it's down to thirty-three!"
Thinking of seeing Yu Ziyi lurking around the storeroom a few days ago, Yu Xiaolian confidently stated, "Dad, it must be that Yu Ziyi secretly took them to sell. I'll go find him!"
Yu Changhe grabbed Yu Xiaolian, "Don't wrong someone without evidence!"
Yu Xiaolian thought it over and agreed, without catching him in the act, Yu Ziyi would never admit it, and might even turn the tables, accusing them of slandering him.
"Dad, I have a plan!" Yu Xiaolian whispered, "Let's not make a fuss about the missing baskets, act like you haven't noticed. Yu Ziyi tasted success, he'll definitely come back to steal again. I'll keep an eye on him, and catch him red-handed next time."
But Yu Changhe disagreed, "It's better not to make it a big deal. Having a thief at home is a disgraceful matter. It might affect your third uncle and Zishu's exams, and besides, Ziyi is only twelve, still a child. Every child makes mistakes, I'll talk to him privately. Don't worry about this matter!"
Yu Changhe was so soft-hearted, quite unlike the selfish and petty Yu Laotai.
Though Yu Xiaolian didn't agree with Yu Changhe's approach, she was also powerless.
Upon leaving the small storeroom, she saw Mrs. Sun picking the wild vegetables she had brought back, saying she would wash them and preserve them with salt.
Yu Xiaolian thought about how she hadn't added salt to the salt jar in days, so she snuck to the kitchen in the backyard wooden house, opened the salt jar, and added some coarse salt. Luckily, the coarse salt from her supermarket was similar to what Mrs. Sun had bought, so it wouldn't be noticed.
She checked the bottles of soy sauce and vinegar one by one, seeing they weren't depleted, she didn't add more. Mrs. Sun seldom cooked, and even when making wild vegetable soup, she was stingy with salt, making it quite bland.
Suddenly, there came a commotion from the front yard, and Yu Xiaolian quickly went to see what was happening there.
Upon reaching the front yard, she saw Mrs. Zhao, hands on her hips, shouting for Yu Changhe to repay money.
Mrs. Zhao knew about her son's betrayal of Yu Changhe and, back then, watched Zhao Kuo hesitate and struggle, repeatedly persuading him.
Now, after yesterday's incident, Mrs. Zhao worried Yu Changhe might figure things out, so she decided to retrieve the four taels of Silver he owed.
If Yu Changhe found out the truth and severed ties with Zhao Kuo, not only would their friendship be over, but the four taels of Silver could be lost too.
Therefore, regardless of Mrs. Feng's obstruction, Mrs. Zhao came to demand money from Yu Changhe.
This moment humiliated Yu Changhe, his face burning with embarrassment. He never imagined Mrs. Zhao would so publicly demand repayment, attracting the neighbors over to watch the spectacle.
"What? No money?" Mrs. Zhao mocked, "You've been a government official for so many years, and haven't saved a penny for yourself, unbelievable."
Seeing Yu Changhe remain silent, Mrs. Zhao turned to Yu Laotai, "He handed his earnings over to you all those years, why don't you pay off the debt for him?"
Yu Laotai spat on the ground, "Dream on, we've already divided the family, as you well know. When the family divided, it was agreed - whoever's debt, they pay it."
Seeing Yu Laotai's firm stance, Mrs. Zhao realized having her cover for Yu Changhe wouldn't work, so she said, "What now? I'll give you three days to repay, or we'll go to the village head for a certificate to use your land as settlement."