Chapter 45


    "Sister-inw Qin Luoxia, off to work!"


    "Yes, digging up some wild vegetables."


    "Don''t overdo it, the sun is rather fierce."


    "I know, I''ll be careful. Thank you, auntie."


    ......


    Under the big tree at the vige entrance, a group of people were chatting.


    They wouldment on every passerby.


    Watching Qin Luoxia''s figure disappear into the distance, they started talking: "Second Jiang has really hit the jackpot with his wife. She''s so capable and hard-working."


    "And her temper is so good, she never gets angry with anyone."


    "Her personality is great too."


    "If you ask me, her personality is a little too good, a bit of a pushover."


    "Not a pushover, just naive. With that huge mansion in the county town, if it were me, I''d raise hell, cry and throw tantrums until I got something out of it."


    "Tsk, you have no idea how deep the waters of the wealthy run."


    "I heard that Second Jiang was kicked out of his family because he poisoned his own father to death~"


    "What? No way, Second Jiang isn''t that kind of person."


    "Just hearsay, they say his father was gravely ill, and Second Jiang identally gave him the wrong medicine, switched it with something else, and his father died after drinking it."


    "Ah~"


    "Tsk~"


    ......


    There were many versions of the story about Second Jiang circting in the vige, this was just one of them.


    The main point was that Second Jiang used to be from a wealthy family, but now he was just as poor as them, if not poorer. After all, Second Jiang was inept at everything - farming, carrying manure, chopping wood - he would probably starve to death.


    But Second Jiang had been educated, so the vigers still naturally respected him as a schrly person.


    And initially, they thought there was no long-standing grudge between father and son, so perhaps Second Jiang would return to the manor one day.


    As for Qin Luoxia, an orphan girl from elsewhere, being able to marry Second Jiang, everyone was rather envious.


    In a vige, all sorts of talk happens.


    But after so many years, with Second Jiang having children and finding work, living just like them, they got used to it. They would still tease Second Jiang, and say some sour grapes remarks behind his back, but they also epted him and Qin Luoxia.


    After all, the two of them were good people. Whenever anyone in the vige needed help, they were always willing to lend a hand.


    Second Jiang also had some medical knowledge, and vigers would often ask him for help with headaches and fevers.


    Second Jiang never charged a fee, just telling them which herbs to gather.


    The couple had a good reputation in the vige.


    Hearing this version of the story, the others were shocked, but not many believed it.


    And someone even came out to refute it.


    Yan Laosan, who was leaning against the tree trunk, drunk, cursed: "Nonsense, in those big manor houses, even the maids and servants don''t know what''s going on. The idea that a child could identally give the wrong medicine to a sick person and no one would stop them is clearly made up."


    Everyone''s gaze shifted to Laosan.


    Laosan was also a famous figure in the vige.


    He was an outsider, a refugee from the famine.


    But his mother abandoned him here and ran off with another group of famine refugees.


    Out of pity, the vigers took care of him, and the clever Laosan did odd jobs to get by.


    He stumbled and bumbled his way to adulthood.


    After growing up, the vigers no longer supported him, as he was able-bodied and had to work for himself.


    But Laosan waszy, only doing the bare minimum for sustenance, never going the extra mile.


    He never married either, so at his age, he was considered a vige idler.


    He didn''t have any bad habits like stealing chickens or mischief, he just ate and drank, loved to sing, and was surprisingly good at it.


    Everyone mocked him, saying a grown man like him should just go and be a street performer.


    Of course, suggesting someone be a street performer was an insult - even though the vigers were poor, they still looked down on those types of people.


    Yan Laosan did as he pleased, his hair unkempt, sleeping under trees during the day and finding broken-down shacks to sleep in at night.


    When he spoke up to refute the rumor, others justughed at him.


    "Yan Laosan, you''re just a refugee, what do you know about manor houses? You''ve never even set foot in one."


    "Laosan, if you ask me, you should drink less and save up to find yourself a wife..."


    Yan Laosan waved his hand, annoyed by the noise, and stumbled away.


    His hair disheveled, beard unkempt, clothes in disarray, his figure swaying unsteadily.


    The others burst intoughter.


    Amidst theughter, a young wife muttered, "Yan Laosan would probably look quite handsome if he cleaned himself up."


    ......


    "To the county town."


    "To the county town."


    "Not far from the county town."


    Once out of the vige, Qin Luoxia''s pace quickened.


    Her shadow stumbled and trailed behind her body.


    She held her breath and hurried to the county town.


    Last night, she had nned it all out - the fastest route there and back before needing to nurse the baby.


    As she approached the county town, there were more signs of human habitation.


    Under the scorching sun, people were still tilling the fields.


    The county town was clearly more prosperous than their vige, with t, fertile fields and abundant water sources.


    Qin Luoxia disguised herself as a peasant woman, her face covered by a cloth, making it impossible to see her features.


    She walked with her head bowed, shoulders hunched, looking somewhat fearful.


    Evidently, news of the peddler couple''s abduction had not reached this area yet.


    The county town was quiterge, surrounded by prosperous farnds, and the streets were twice as wide as their vige''s.


    Qin Luoxia wandered around the town, eventually squatting in a corner to nibble on a dry bread roll, bite by bite.


    Across from her hiding spot was a seedy brothel, one of those dank dens.


    Even in broad daylight, the doors opened asionally.


    Disheveled young women opened and closed the doors mechanically.


    Sounds of beatings and cries asionally emerged from within.


    "You mangy mutt, daring to steal food, if you eat even one more bite, I''ll break your legs today."


    "Even if you''re dying, you still have to spread your legs. Did you think you were still ady?"


    Qin Luoxia just squatted in the corner, swallowing the bread one bite at a time.


    No water to wash it down, the bread got stuck in her throat, making her eyes sting with pain.


    Perhaps because Qin Luoxia had been squatting there for too long, a man eventually came out to chase her away.


    "What kind of beggar wench are you? This is no ce for you, scram."


    The man raised his foot to kick her.


    Before he could, Qin Luoxia scrambled away in disarray.


    After leaving that ce, Qin Luoxia found another alleyway, setting down her basket to appear as if she was selling herbs.


    In the alley, a few children were ying.


    One of them was a chubby, sturdy boy, with a plump face and meaty arms, but he seemed to be mentally disabled. The other children bullied him from time to time, quickly dirtying his new, finely made clothes.


    The fat boy didn''t seem to know how to avoid them, justughing foolishly when hit.


    Hisugh was strikingly simr to Little Peddler''s.


    Little Peddler was a dwarf.


    The fat boy wasn''t, his body seemed healthy, just his mind was slow.


    Qin Luoxia could imagine how overjoyed a dwarf couple would be to have a healthy son.


    The children yed and roughhoused, with adults chatting nearby, an ordinary scene.


    The fat boy seemed unaware he was being bullied, always trying to join the other children''s games.


    At one point, a child lost control of his legs and kicked the fat boy hard in the back, sending him flying and crashing to the ground.


    An old woman lounging against the wall and snacking on melon seeds shouted, "That''s enough, hit him again and when his father returns, he''ll catch you all and sell you off!"


    This was amon threat used against the children in the alley. At first, the children were afraid, as dwarves could be quite frightening. But after being threatened so often, they no longer feared it,ughing and running off.


    The old woman, who was hired to watch the fat boy, made no move to help him up, continuing to chat and fan herself.


    A child getting bumped and bruised was normal, especially a slow-witted one.


    The fat boy was indeed very plump, with chubby elbows and round fingers that had dimples. He was clearly well-fed, as no scrawny child could be that fat.


    Qin Luoxia helped the fallen boy up, gently patting the dust off his clothes.


    Qin Luoxia''s grip was very gentle.


    She saw him bump into something, causing a nosebleed.


    She tenderly helped him wipe the blood off.


    Perhaps because she was also well-built, resembling his mother a bit.


    The chubby little boy grinned foolishly.


    Drooling while smiling.


    He looked at the woman before him and called out, "Mom, food, delicious food."