On the way home, she felt that even if she had money, it would be difficult for her to rent a shop and start her own business.
When she asked some old ladies how they were able to rent their shops, they looked at her strangely.
But she couldn't give up just because of that!
She still had to visit town sometime. She hadn't been there yet.
She reached the village entrance.
She was used to going far up the mountain. Thinking about going back too early and going straight home, she hesitated when she thought of how enthusiastic her grandmother and Li Yan'er had been yesterday.
After walking away, she heard someone faintly talking about her.
Li Fu'er tried to look over her shoulder. She did so and realized she was too far away to see anyone.
She simply stopped looking. She wondered who was talking about her?
When she arrived at her place, she quickly cooked food. There were leftover hazelnuts for her meal. She added a little wild vegetables and some rice with wild fruits and lettuce.
Although she bought rice, she rarely cooked it to eat.
She rinsed the rice and put it in a pot to dry. She didn't have to cook it. After she was done, she steamed it. It had a slightly burnt taste, but it was good. It was better than flatbreads with roe deer meat and wild vegetables.
She ate a lot. It was delicious.
After eating, she looked at the wild ginseng growing in her space.
She didn't know how much silver she could get if she sold the two that grow the best. She could probably rent a shop. Maybe she could even buy a small house in town?
The town was just close by. The county was slightly more expensive.
If she had a place in the town and in the county, she didn't have to stay in the village.
But even if her father agreed to split the family, he would probably want to stay in the village alone. Should she continue to grow wild ginseng or not? She should ask her father first.
She would go to the county sooner or later anyway.
She left some rice and meat for her father before returning to the village.
She took care on the way back to the village and walked back towards the road. She appeared at the entrance of the village and headed home, to see if she could bump into anyone on the way.
Maybe she could hear something useful.
But she hadn't taken more than a few steps before she ran into one of the men from the village. The man was a village idler. He was filthy and obviously liked to wander around. She wondered what he was doing at the entrance of the village. When he saw her, he looked at her. When she saw him from a distance, she circled away to ignore him, not listening to what the idler was saying.
Even as she ran away, she felt the idle man's gaze on her. This idle man had always been like this. She didn't like it, but the village people were like that.
Instead, she walked on and bumped into someone else.
Auntie Zhao.
When Auntie Zhao saw her, she immediately smiled and called out to her, "Sister Fu, we've met again. It's always such a coincidence. The last time we met, I felt that you had changed a lot. This time, you've changed even more. Many people don't believe me. I said that you weren't fooling around and let them see for themselves, but you never appear in the village. If you don't appear, no one will believe me."
"Auntie."
Before Li Fu'er could say anything.
"I'm guessing that something good happened to you. You even said that you met a god," Auntie Zhao said with a smile.
"Yeah."
This was exactly what Li Fu'er wanted. She admitted it directly.
"Sister Fu, are you serious? Did you really meet a god? But everyone said that someone said it today." Auntie Zhao thought of something and stopped.
Li Fu'er wanted to ask about it.
"You should go home," Auntie Zhao said. Some things were hard to say.
She was afraid that he would start a conversation that would cause Sister Fu to be scolded when she returned home.
Li Fu'er understood some of this.
Auntie Zhao said that she was here to pick vegetables, so she left.
Li Fu'er walked slowly. Just as she was about to reach her house, she saw Li Yan'er.
She was not the only one. There was also Mother Wang's mother-in-law, Grandma Wang.
They were talking about something.
After hearing this, Li Fu'er felt that she didn't have to guess anymore. Li Yan'er probably didn't think that she would dare to come back so soon.
She looked to the side, looking for somewhere private to eavesdrop.
At this moment, Grandma Wang said, "Sister Yan, do you think your Sister Fu really didn't meet a god? That's what everyone thinks and guesses. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense!"
"How can that be? Big Sister is unlucky. She couldn't have met a god!"
Li Yan'er immediately denied it.
Li Fu'er wanted to laugh. How could Li Yan'er be so shameless?
She was that sure?
The next moment.
"Why not? Sister Yan, someone said that your Big Sister Fu has changed. She's become better. If she didn't meet a god, what happened?"
Grandma Wang was equally puzzled.
Li Yan'er smiled and said in a scathing tone, "Grandma Wang, you don't know this, but our family has always been helping Big Sister recuperate. If there's anything delicious, I'll leave it for Big Sister. Big Sister has just grown up. In the beginning, she was inconspicuous, so no one noticed."
"Really? Your grandmother would treat your big sister that well?"
Grandma Wang clearly did not believe her. "I watched how your grandmother treated your big sister."
Li Fu'er was also wondering when her family would compensate her. She didn't even know. To think that Li Yan'er could say it.
What surprised her even more was—
"Grandma Wang, you don't know Grandma. She has a sharp tongue. She's doing this for Big Sister's sake. No matter what, she raised Big Sister," Li Yan'er praised again.
Li Yan'er did not expect that the moment Li Fu'er left today, the village would say that she had met a god.
Word spread too fast. It changed every day.
She was just rejoicing yesterday!
After hearing that, Grandma Wang said, "I see. But why does your big sister always go out to look for food?"
"Big Sister said it because of the fortune-teller!" Li Yan'er said.
Li Fu'er was speechless.
Did Li Yan'er want the villagers to remember her as a jinx?
Li Yan'er was scheming. It was right of her to keep this in mind.
Grandma Wang's expression changed. "That's true. But Sister Yan, it's true that your family is going to hand your elder sister over to the flower woman, right? They said that they're going to talk about marriage, but if they can't find a good one, they'll learn something from the flower woman?"
Her tone darkened, as if she wasn't quite sure how to put it. She looked around, afraid someone might overhear.
"This is also for Big Sister's sake."
Li Yan'er didn't pause at all.
Grandma Wang nodded.
"Anyway, Grandma said Big Sister had a bad life and she wanted to find her a match."
"Wouldn't that be a random one?"
They lowered their voices before speaking again.
Li Fu'er didn't have to listen. So this was what the family was planning. Was this the truth?
Sell her or marry her out?
It was impossible to find a good match for her like this. Then—
She didn't wait to finish the thought.
Li Yan'er asked Grandma Wang not to say anything outside as it concerned Big Sister. She left carefully.
Grandma Wong remained where she was.
Li Fu'er glanced over and approached. "Grandma Wang," she called.
"Sister Fu?"
When Grandma Wang heard this, she quickly turned to look at her. She saw that her expression had changed slightly, as if she had not expected it.
Then, without waiting for her to speak, she looked at her and said, "You're back? I heard that you always go out to look for food? You look really different. We all wondered if you had met a god, but your Sister Yan said that it was impossible. She said that you had just grown up."
"If you ask me, you probably met a god right? Otherwise who could it be?"
The other party was genuinely curious.
Li Fu'er said, "A god. I told my sister before."
"Really? You met her? Then Li Yan'er still said that it wasn't true. That girl, Li Yan'er, is full of lies." Grandma Wang didn't believe her at first, but then she got angry and scolded her.
Without another word, Li Fu'er returned to her front door, pushed it open and went in. She waited.
Li Yan'er probably heard the commotion inside and ran out. When she saw her, she immediately smiled. "Big Sister."
The exact same enthusiasm.
Li Fu'er wanted to slap her.