Chapter 251: The Heartbroken Li Family

After breakfast, the mother and daughter loaded the soap onto the horse carriage and prepared to depart for town.

The carriage slowly rolled along the village's main road.

Jiang Wei sat at the front, gripping the reins and driving the carriage.

Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't sit still inside the carriage, so she slipped out and sat beside her mother.

A gentle breeze blew against her face, carrying a faint chill.

Jiang Xiaoxiao instinctively pulled her coat tighter; the weather was growing colder, and even Jiang Wei couldn't help frowning: "It's only the end of autumn and it's already this cold—what will it be like when winter comes?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao sniffed and nodded in agreement.

At that moment, a commotion came from nearby.

The mother and daughter turned to see some children throwing stones at Lao Li's house, shouting for the Li family to leave the village.

"You little brats, get lost!" Old Matriarch hobbled over to shut the courtyard gate, cursing under her breath.

She'd been beaten with a board just yesterday—her buttocks were all bruised and bleeding, pain so severe she felt like she was dying, and walking was agony; now these children came to cause trouble, and she snatched up a broom nearby, ready to strike them.

The children scattered at her approach, still shouting defiantly: "If you don't leave, are you defying the County Magistrate's order? You'll be thrown into Da Lao!"

"To hell with Da Lao!" Old Matriarch panted with rage, trying to chase them down, but one step sent pain through her bones—she could only grit her teeth and stagger back inside.

Inside, Old Man lay helplessly on the kang, his body aching so badly he'd lost all his former vigor, listless and hollow-eyed…

"Old man, are you alright?" Old Matriarch noticed his odd state and hurried onto the kang to shake him.

Old Man was shoved hard several times, yet his gaze remained vacant, as if devoid of life.

Old Matriarch panicked, straddled him, and slapped him hard across the face.

The sharp crack of the slaps echoed unnaturally in the dim, silent room.

Slowly, Old Man's blank expression began to return to life.

He stared at his stinging, dry eyes, then burst into loud sobs: "We're being driven out of Yuhe Village... sob sob sob... This is the ancestral home passed down through generations of our Li family—now ruined by me... What shall I do? I have no face to meet our ancestors..."

Hearing this, Old Matriarch felt a pang of sorrow.

Thinking of being expelled from Yuhe Village, of living homeless forever, she clenched her teeth in fury: "It's all that bitch Yun Ying's fault! If not for her, how would we have angered the County Magistrate?"

The more she spoke, the angrier she grew—she rose to go confront Yun Ying.

"Wait—"

Old Man stopped her: "It's already done. What good will it do to go to her now?"

"We can't just let her get away with it!" Old Matriarch still seethed. "She ate our food, used our things, and destroyed our family—killing her wouldn't be enough!"

"If you kill her now, the money won't come back," Old Man frowned. "Our only option is to find the money Feng Yatou hid—then even if we're driven out, we'll have funds to survive."

"Right! We must get that money fast!" Old Matriarch's eyes lit up; she scrambled off the bed. "I'll go find Feng Yatou before she runs—don't think I don't see Sun Shi's scheming. I'll keep my eyes on them, mother and daughter, every moment!"

"Be careful. Don't alert them," Old Man warned.

Old Matriarch muttered a hasty reply, ignoring the searing pain in her buttocks, and dashed toward the east side room.

After she left, a shadow hid behind the wide-open door.

Sun Shi still held a basin of freshly boiled hot water.

She and Li Jinfeng were the only ones in the family who hadn't been beaten; she'd taken on all the household chores, originally planning to bring water to wash the elders' bodies—only to overhear this.

Sun Shi stood behind the door, her expression dark, lost in thought.

…

Meanwhile.

Jiang Xiaoxiao and her mother arrived in town quickly in their carriage.

As soon as they reached their shop, Jiang Xiaoxiao leapt down and rushed inside.

The shop was already full of customers, chatting and laughing, warm as mid-spring.

Jiang Xiaoxiao's chilled hands and feet finally warmed up after the long ride.

Xiao Linzi brought her a cup of hot tea and teased: "Why so early today?"

"Not early," Jiang Xiaoxiao drank the tea, her body gradually warming; she smiled. "We always come at this hour—now that dawn comes later, it just seems early."

"You should wear more clothes, little thing…" Xiao Linzi started to tease again, but Fan Zhongyong called him to carry soap.

This load of soap was heavy—enough to fill a month's stock from the soap workshop; Xiao Linzi made five or six trips to move it all.

After stacking every bar on the second floor, he was panting from heat and exertion.

Fan Zhongyong was accounting at the counter; a wealthy steward had just arrived and bought dozens of bars at once—apparently, winter was coming, and the soap didn't dry the skin and had moisturizing effects, so he planned to buy extra for the servants and maids in his household.

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoxiao thought of her family's soap workshop—many households in the village had begun raising pigs, and lard production was steadily rising.

In winter, skin dries out and cracks easily; she could try making a moisturizing face cream from lard and sell it in their shop.

As she pondered this, Jiang Wei entered carrying several bags of steaming buns. "It's so cold—eat something warm first."

"Got it!"

Xiao Linzi, starving, snatched the buns from Jiang Wei without waiting, bit into one despite the heat, and gasped: "Oh! Meat filling!"

Jiang Xiaoxiao chuckled at his reaction.

She wasn't in a hurry—she waited until the bun cooled, then took a bite.

Thin skin, generous filling; the first bite burst with juice, filling her tongue with rich meat flavor.

Quite tasty.

The filling was generous—these buns probably cost three wen each.

Jiang Xiaoxiao was still savoring the taste when Jiang Wei called her to the carriage.

"Huh, Mom? Where are we going now?"

"To East Street to buy some things," Jiang Wei said, her expression unreadable.

She found a scarf in the backyard, wrapped it around Jiang Xiaoxiao's neck, lifted her up, carried her out of the shop, and shoved her into the carriage, adding: "Stay inside and don't come out into the cold wind."

Jiang Xiaoxiao could only manage an "Oh," and sat in the carriage, continuing to clutch her meat buns and gnaw on them, yet she couldn't help wondering in her heart: What was with all this mystery—where exactly was her mother taking her?