Not long after he left, a stranger arrived at the house. Upon inquiry, it turned out to be the village chief's wife.
She was about fifty years old, a very kind and amiable elder. She struck up a conversation with Zhao Jiaqi as if they were old friends: "What's your surname, my little bride? I'm the village chief's wife. My husband's surname is Liu, and everyone in the village calls me Madam Liu Qin."
Zhao Jiaqi invited her into the house, asked her to sit on the kàng, poured her a cup of water, and replied with a smile, "My husband's surname is Fan. From now on, Auntie can call me Madam Fan!"
Madam Liu Qin surveyed the room. It was dilapidated, but meticulously clean. It was clear to her that this young bride was someone who knew how to manage a household.
"In our village, people your age have already left to find better livelihoods. No one wants to come back and live here. Why didn't you go to the town? What are you doing in the village?"
Zhao Jiaqi concealed some truths and fabricated a story on the spot: "My husband and I were not favored in the old family household, so we decided to live separately. Because the houses here are cheaper, and we heard the village chief is a good person, and the villagers are very united, we decided to stay here temporarily!"
"When we save up enough money, we'll move to a better place. If we grow fond of living here, then we'll stay!"
Madam Liu Qin could deeply sympathize with her plight. Zhao Jiaqi's story had struck a chord with her, as she herself had been troubled by the people in the old family household.
"Child, I tell you, living separately is the right thing to do. Why should we work hard and still be picked on?"
Madam Liu Qin's face was filled with indignation. In the end, she comforted Zhao Jiaqi, "Child, as long as you and your husband are united, there's no need to fear that life won't be good. Listen to Auntie, Auntie never misjudges people!"
Zhao Jiaqi forced an unnatural smile. It was just a casual excuse, and she hadn't expected it to hit a nerve with the village chief's wife.
In such a short time, she had learned about their situation. Would their future days be truly good?
However, she had spoken the truth. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck, but she did seem to possess a sharp eye.
"Thank you for your kind words, Auntie!"
Madam Liu Qin smiled and waved goodbye. The more she looked at this young bride, the more attractive she found her. She was likable, unlike some other young brides who would complain about all sorts of things within three sentences.
Even though she had chosen to live separately, she hadn't spoken ill of the old family household, which indicated that this young bride was not one to gossip.
"I like this little bride of yours!" Madam Liu Qin said. Seeing that the sky was getting late, she got off the kàng, put on her shoes, and added, "It's almost noon, and you need to prepare lunch. I won't chat with you any longer. I'll bring some of the other aunties over this afternoon to keep you company!"
As she walked out, she continued talking, "We're all in the same village. I need to introduce you properly!"
Zhao Jiaqi walked her to the door, listening to her chatter: "We all live in the same village, we see each other every day. Besides, knowing more people will make it easier to get things done, right?"
Zhao Jiaqi nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, Auntie is right. If you have time this afternoon, please come over. I could use some lessons on making padded trousers and jackets. I'm really not good at it, and what I make turns out particularly ugly!"
Madam Liu Qin, perhaps genuinely fond of Zhao Jiaqi, patted her chest heartily. "I'm good at this. I won't say I'm the best in our village, but I'm certainly better than others. I'll come teach you this afternoon!"
Finally, the village chief's wife left with reluctance. Zhao Jiaqi had just caught her breath when a voice suddenly came from behind her, startling her.
Fan Zehao stood behind her, watching the old lady walk away. He asked in a low voice, "Who was that? A neighbor?"
Were neighbors always so friendly these days? They had only moved in yesterday, and someone was already visiting!
Zhao Jiaqi was startled by his sudden appearance. She turned to see him grinning, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
"Why do you walk without making a sound? Don't you know that startling people can scare them to death?"
Fan Zehao was glared at but didn't get angry. He rubbed his nose and smiled sheepishly, "I have a loud voice, and I was afraid you'd be annoyed if I spoke too loudly. If you don't like it, I'll walk and speak louder next time!"
She ignored him. Seeing that he had returned safely, she didn't continue the conversation. Instead, she went to the kitchen, thinking about what to make for lunch.
She began to wonder how she had fallen for this man in the first place, unable to comprehend it. Before she could even start a fire, he had already entered the kitchen.
As soon as he entered, he started talking, "Wife, the people in town who buy wild game are really stingy. They only gave me twenty wen for such a large wild chicken, and only ten wen for a wild rabbit. It was barely enough to buy rice for the past two days!"
"But I'm thinking of going into the deep mountains to catch some big game and sell it in the prefectural city. I reckon I can sell it for a lot of silver!" He rubbed his cold hands, took the firewood from his wife's hand, and began to build a fire.
He continued, "However, it will take at least two days to go to the prefectural city and come back. I'm not at ease leaving you alone at home. We'll go together. You make some dry rations tonight, and we'll eat them on the road!"
He spoke so convincingly that Zhao Jiaqi momentarily believed they were truly poor commoners.
"Why do you need to work so hard? We're not short of money. It's the middle of winter, and the wild beasts in the deep mountains are fierce, especially after starving all winter. You shouldn't go into the mountains. Just catch some small animals outside!"
Fan Zehao grinned happily when he heard his wife's words, "It's fine. The large game I'm talking about are just wild oxen, wild sheep, and roe deer. If we're lucky, we might even catch a deer!"
He wouldn't dare to go after more ferocious prey. Tigers were exceptionally fierce, and while he might be able to handle them alone, he would definitely get injured. Besides, they weren't truly lacking in money, so there was no need to provoke such large animals.
Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Zhao Jiaqi could only sigh, "Withdraw some money from the bank and live your life here. Why bother so much?"
Upon hearing this, Fan Zehao immediately corrected her, "That won't do. We came out this time to experience the life of the past. I only brought two taels of silver with me this time!"
"Ah? Two taels!" Zhao Jiaqi couldn't believe her ears.
Their family truly wasn't short of money. There were countless zeros after that "two." Why was this man so stubborn and simple-minded?
"I told you, I want you to fall in love with me again. We lived through such hard times before. Now, I'm bringing you back to relive it, so I naturally can't bring too much silver. Otherwise, we won't be able to experience the taste of our past life!"
"But don't worry, your husband will absolutely not let you starve, nor will he let you work too hard!"
Zhao Jiaqi was now truly speechless. If that was the case, then the two sets of clothes he had tidied up last night were deliberate?
They had only one change of clothes each, not even an extra undergarment.
She finally understood his words and his intention. They were now paupers, starting from scratch.