Chapter 2: Lunan Town

She harbored a bold suspicion in her heart.

She tried to think of Pear Blossom Village, and indeed, in the blink of an eye, she found herself back in bed.

It was incredible. Jiang Lihua tried several more times before she confirmed that she truly could come and go freely from the department store.

But when she previously entered the department store, Ni Wenyu could see her, which meant her body had not disappeared.

Could it be like those mythical dramas on TV, where her spirit left her body and then entered the department store?

Having figured this out, Jiang Lihua was overwhelmed with excitement. With this department store, her future was practically unstoppable!

After all, she had nothing to hold onto in the modern world.

Since she was here now, she decided to make the best of it. With this extraordinary advantage, she believed she could fulfill the dreams she couldn’t achieve back in the modern era.

Excited until late into the night, Jiang Lihua finally drifted off to sleep in a daze.

Early the next morning, before dawn, Ni Wenyu came knocking on the door. “Lihua, are you awake?”

Jiang Lihua groggily opened the door.

“Lihua, I’m heading to town; do you want to come along?”

Hearing Ni Wenyu’s words, Jiang Lihua instantly became alert—she had been planning to visit town herself.

The original owner had never even left Pear Blossom Village, so Jiang Lihua had no idea what was beyond the village.

“I want to go. Wait a moment; I’ll wash my face.”

With that, Jiang Lihua went to scoop water from the courtyard cistern to wash her face.

Ni Wenyu watched her with a dazed expression, sensing a change in her. She used to always keep her head down and rarely spoke.

After washing up, Jiang Lihua called out to Ni Wenyu, “Let’s go.”

Ni Wenyu snapped back to reality. “Wait a moment.” He ran inside and came out with a cotton jacket, handing it to Jiang Lihua.

“I haven’t worn this jacket yet; you can wear it first.”

“Thank you.” Jiang Lihua didn’t refuse. The cotton jacket she had on was worn out and offered little warmth.

She took it and went back inside to change out of her tattered jacket.

Dressed in the new clothes, the two set off toward town.

It was still dark, and the road was empty; the two walked side by side along the country path.

Jiang Lihua noticed the bundle Ni Wenyu carried on his back and asked, “What are you carrying?”

“I copied books for the study hall.”

Jiang Lihua nodded; she had seen on TV that poor scholars copied books for the study hall in exchange for silver coins.

“Lihua, what are your plans for the future?”

“You saw what happened last night, right?”

“Yes, I saw. I noticed they were sneaking around, so I quietly followed them. Are you going to take revenge?”

“Of course. They nearly killed me. I will definitely make them pay.”

Speaking of it made Jiang Lihua angry. She had thought the original owner died from a beating but discovered she was starved to death instead.

Last night, she checked the original owner’s body and found that none of the wounds were fatal.

Recalling the original owner’s memories carefully, she realized the owner was overworked and often went hungry.

At noon yesterday, the original owner finally fainted from hunger.

The Yang family mother and son saw her barely breathing, gasping for air, but they did not feed her or call a doctor.

They dragged it out until nightfall, and the original owner died from exhaustion. That was when the Yang family mother and son disposed of the body last night.

Hearing Jiang Lihua’s vow of vengeance, Ni Wenyu firmly said, “Lihua, I will help you.”

Ni Wenyu’s words puzzled Jiang Lihua.

Why was he so kind to her? From her memories, the original owner and Ni Wenyu had little connection.

“Why are you so good to me?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“What?”

“Five years ago, shortly after you arrived in Pear Blossom, I was walking alone and was suddenly chased by a dog. You scared the dog away and saved me.”

Ni Wenyu recalled the tiny figure back then—so small, yet brave enough to chase off a dog.

It was also then he promised himself to protect her when he grew up.

Jiang Lihua had not expected this.

Perhaps the original owner was too young at the time or never took the event to heart, so Jiang Lihua found no memory of it.

“You don’t need to hold onto childhood things; I’ve forgotten them. Thank you this time—you saved me from having nowhere to live.”

“Lihua, you don’t have to thank me.”

“I already knew that Mrs. Sun treated you badly before, but I didn’t expect it to be so cruel as to want to kill you.”

Jiang Lihua was shocked by such a vicious woman.

“Lihua, you know I’m now a scholar. The villagers give me some respect. From now on, I will protect you.”

Looking at this thin young boy so determined to protect her, Jiang Lihua felt deeply moved.

But she was still the child bride of the Yang family. If rumors spread between her and Ni Wenyu, it would ruin him.

In this feudal era, once a person’s reputation was destroyed, their whole life was ruined.

So Jiang Lihua declined, “Thank you, Ni Wenyu, but I can protect myself. Don’t worry, I won’t let the Yang family bully me anymore.”

Ni Wenyu wanted to ask how she would protect herself but didn’t. No matter what, he would protect her.

“Lihua, do you plan to return to the Yang family?”

Jiang Lihua was not someone who sought trouble. She wanted revenge, but she had no intention of going back to live there.

Moreover, given her current situation, it wasn’t suitable to return and risk exposing herself.

“No, I plan to buy a small house in the village to live in.”

“Lihua, where will you get the money to buy a house? Village houses cost at least twenty taels of silver.”

“I’ll get one tael today by handing over the copied books to the study hall, and I have three more taels saved up. I’ll give them all to you so you can rent a house first.”

Twenty taels of silver—Jiang Lihua didn’t yet know the local prices, but earning twenty taels by selling some goods from the department store should be easy.

“Don’t worry, we’ll talk about it when we get to town.”

“Okay, it’s another half-hour’s walk.”

Just as Jiang Lihua felt her legs were about to give out, they finally saw the tall, rustic city gate not far ahead. Above it hung a plaque engraved with the characters “Lennan Town.”

Ni Wenyu led Jiang Lihua into the town.

By now, the sun had risen, and the streets bustled with people, with various shouts and calls filling the air.

“Lihua, are you hungry? Let’s buy some buns first.”

“Okay.” After walking so long on an empty stomach, Jiang Lihua was famished.

Ni Wenyu took her to a bun stall. “Boss, two meat buns and one vegetable bun, please.”

“Sure.” The stall owner efficiently wrapped the buns in greaseproof paper and handed them to Ni Wenyu. “That’ll be seven wen.”

Ni Wenyu paid and passed two meat buns to Jiang Lihua while he ate the vegetable bun himself.