Chapter 35: Qin’s Fabric Shop

Having narrowly escaped death, Xie Wanniang had no intention of returning to the Xie family, only to be manipulated by her biological parents and trapped in an endless cycle of assassination attempts and domestic strife.

Fortunately, no one knew she could swim, and even fewer knew she was a transmigrator who had skipped the entire bureaucracy of the underworld and inexplicably embarked on a second life. Her biological father and foster father, relying on their own common sense and experience, had concluded that it was impossible for Xie Wanniang to be anywhere near White River Town or further downstream. Sending people to inquire in White River Town and the two villages further upstream was already a result of them expanding their search, driven by the desperate hope that, by some slim chance, she might have survived. When they failed to find her in any of these three places, however reluctant they were, they had to accept the result: she was neither seen alive nor found dead.

Having regained her freedom and a new life by escaping far enough away, Xie Wanniang thanked her own diligent and low-key self without a hint of false modesty. She thanked herself for cherishing her life in both her past and present incarnations, for always being mindful of her physical health and training, and for learning various essential survival skills. She was also grateful that she had never bragged about her physical fitness or told anyone that she possessed these survival skills.

After the people searching for her withdrew, Xie Wanniang, for the sake of caution, did not leave the village immediately. Instead, she continued to hunker down honestly in Mingfu Village for nearly another month. Through three consecutive months of gathering medicinal herbs and embroidery, she had earned a total of twelve taels of silver and over eight hundred copper coins. After deducting the expenses spent on Xiaoyang and repaying Jiang Yuan for the medical fees he had advanced for her, she currently had nine taels of silver and over six hundred copper coins left.

Originally, she had intended to drag Jiang Yuan along to calculate and settle the accommodation and food expenses for herself and Xiaoyang, as well as the money Jiang Yuan had spent buying things for them. However, neither her creditor, Jiang Yuan, nor her landlord, Hao Yu, would accept her money. The two of them took turns persuading her to abandon the idea.

Jiang Yuan said, "No need to pay it back. I didn't spend much on those things."
Hao Yu added, "You haven't been staying for free, so why pay accommodation fees?"
Jiang Yuan chimed in, "How much could the two of you possibly eat? There's no need to pay extra."
Hao Yu continued, "You’ve been cooking for us every day, and we haven't paid you any wages either."
Jiang Yuan said, "If you really want to calculate, let's first calculate how much we should pay you for the sewing you do for us."
Hao Yu concluded, "Exactly, being so calculating only makes us strangers."

Xie Wanniang was speechless. She couldn't win an argument against the two of them and had to give up on having Jiang Yuan calculate a rough figure for her. But she wouldn't start taking advantage of them just because of a few words. It didn't matter if Jiang Yuan and Hao Yu wouldn't take her money; she could just buy things for them from time to time.

Once she received the household registration she had asked Village Chief Chen to help process, and successfully purchased a plot of land in the village, she would hire some people to build her own house. Of course, for safety's sake, she would build it at the edge of the village, becoming neighbors with Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan. These two were capable and upright, and Xie Wanniang had already made up her mind to maintain a long-term, friendly, and neighborly relationship with them.

Pondering these future plans, Xie Wanniang walked with Jiang Yuan to the Qin Family Cloth Shop. The shop was quite large, a business that had been the foundation of the Qin family for three generations. The current proprietor, Mistress Qin, was a formidable woman who had successfully brought a husband into her family under the watchful eyes of covetous relatives and clansmen, and had managed to preserve the family business even during the chaotic years of war. Perhaps because she had suffered much due to her status as a woman, after taking over the shop, she had set up a separate counter to sell shoes, socks, garments, and embroidery made by women who could not go out to work and used their spare time to create these items.

Thanks to her, Xie Wanniang was able to earn nearly a tael of silver every month by embroidering in her spare time. To Xie Wanniang, who primarily earned money through medicinal herbs, this was not much, but it was enough to make the women in the village green with envy. After all, many families in the village struggled to save even a single tael of silver by the end of the year. They could barely manage to keep their families fed and clothed, let alone dream of having surplus grain or money.

Because of this, many women in the village who lacked a way to earn money were deeply envious of Xie Wanniang, who possessed exquisite embroidery skills. If it weren't for the fact that Xie Wanniang was well-known for being extremely busy—either gathering herbs or processing them—the women in the village would have long since run over to ask if she could teach them, their daughters, or their daughters-in-law a few tricks. They didn't expect themselves or their families to reach Xie Wanniang's level of skill; they only hoped that the things they made could meet the purchase standards of the town's cloth shop, giving them an extra skill to rely on.

Xie Wanniang, anxious to make money, was completely oblivious to the thoughts of the village women. Her heart and mind were entirely focused on "how much money I earned today, how much I have saved so far, and how much more I need to save to buy land and build a house."

"Auntie," Jiang Yuan, who was already familiar with the owner and clerks of the Qin Family Cloth Shop, walked up to the woman who was busy organizing fabrics. "Could you please call your proprietor for me?"

The woman was in her early forties, with a fair, round face and a smile that was both sincere and pleasant. She recognized Jiang Yuan immediately, as he had often come on behalf of Xie Wanniang to sell embroidery. "Oh, it's you." Seeing Xie Wanniang standing beside Jiang Yuan, the woman's eyes lit up. "Is this the girl who has you bringing in embroidery to sell?"

Xie Wanniang smiled and curtsied slightly. "Hello, Auntie. My surname is Xie. You can call me Little Xie or Wanniang."

"Wan-niang?" The woman was startled for a moment, thinking to herself, *How could parents give their child such an ominous name? Is it because they have such a big throat that they accidentally coughed out their heart and brains?* While she slandered the name in her heart, she quickly suppressed the look of surprise on her face.

Xie Wanniang, who was not experiencing the strange looks from others due to her name for the first time, calmly explained, "It is the 'Wan' from 'a gentle smile,' not the 'Wan' of 'evening.'" Since it was the name her mother had given her, could she change it herself? She might as well make do with it.

The woman gave an embarrassed smile. "Look at me, I..."

Xie Wanniang's smile remained. "It is my name that is prone to misunderstanding, it is not your fault."

The woman's smile immediately became much more natural. "Then wait a moment, I'll go call our proprietor right now."

"Thank you for the trouble." Xie Wanniang nodded slightly to the woman and then began to stroll slowly through the shop. She intended to buy two bolts of fine cloth to take back and make into clothes for Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan. She and Xiaoyang also needed to add a new set of clothes each.

Quickly selecting a bolt each of navy, dark brown, and dark gray fine cloth, Xie Wanniang leaned against the counter, patiently waiting for the woman to return with Mistress Qin. Mistress Qin arrived quickly; she lived with her husband and children in the two-courtyard compound behind the shop.

"Is this Miss Xie?" Mistress Qin, who had been invited out by the woman, smiled before she even spoke. She walked a few steps quickly to stand before Xie Wanniang. "I am Qin Rong. I have long wanted to see which sister it was who could embroider such beautiful patterns."