Chapter 30: Chapter 30
Chapter 30
She had harbored feelings for Brother Heng since she was young. He was kind and a true gentleman. Whenever she had problems, she could always seek his advice. Back then, her parents even praised him, saying he was smart and would surely succeed and become a government official if given the chance to study further.
Unfortunately, Brother Heng’s family was not well-off, and although he never became a government official, his abilities were evident. He alone took care of his two younger siblings through numerous winters, all of which proved his worth.
Fu Yu liked him very much, so much so that she once offered him 100 silver taels to refuse marrying Yueqian. It’s a pity that Mu Heng did not see her romantically, as he always regarded her as a sister. Thus, he didn’t want her to live as his wife.
Seeing how well he took care of his wife now, Fu Yu felt sad, regretful, and very jealous.
"Hurry up a bit more, Brother Heng. If we’re too slow, Uncle Liang might be in grave danger before we even get there," the woman finally said. Her purpose was to make sarcastic comments on Yueqian, who was walking slowly as if she were a turtle.
However, what Fu Yu didn’t know was that Yueqian was the key to saving her uncle.
The reason Yueqian was walking slowly was largely because of the large blanket she was carrying that would help maintain Uncle Liang’s body temperature. If she weren’t burdened with the large blanket, her pace would be comparable to Fu Yu’s.
"Um, Qian’er, should I carry that for you?" Mu Heng didn’t say much to Fu Yu, he simply acknowledged and turned to speak to his wife with concern.
"It’s alright. Please watch the path, otherwise, we might be delayed." She wasn’t familiar with the path, and walking in the deep snow without knowing where to go could be dangerous. It was safer for him to lead and for her to follow his footsteps.
"Okay," Mu Heng led the young woman. Even if he were to carry the blanket, it was doubtful he could see the way ahead, given how the blanket covered him up. So, he left footprints for his wife to follow.
It took them a little while to reach Aunt Liao’s house. Upon arrival, they heard Aunt Liao’s wailing as if her heart would break. Everyone knew that falling into an icy river in such freezing temperatures was practically a fatal accident, with survival chances being less than 20%.
In this era, there weren’t any advancements like those from where Yueqian came. There, if someone fell into an icy river, they simply needed to wear extra warm clothing, build fires around them, drink warm fluids, take a couple of pills, and they could easily survive.
However, in this era, even starting a fire was challenging. They couldn’t build a fire indoors as the homes weren’t designed for it; otherwise, the smoke would fill the house and suffocate them. At most, they could light a lamp, but one lamp per house was insufficient to warm the place.
Seeing a situation like this, Yueqian couldn’t help but think about heaters. It was unfortunate that the level of technology in her department store did not allow for the purchase of electrical devices; otherwise, she would have bought a generator or solar panels to use.
"A’Heng, Yueqian, you’re here. Your Uncle Liang has fallen into the water, and it looks like he’s going to die. Sob, sob." Aunt Liao, who always said inappropriate things, even when her family member was sick, her words sounded as if she was asking for his death.
"Aunt Liao, haven’t you changed his clothes yet?" Yueqian panicked, shocked that they had not changed the clothes of the man who fell into the water, but had instead piled on several layers of blankets.
This was not correct. The first thing they should do was to change his clothes.
"That would just make him colder, do you want Zhu Liang to freeze to death?" Another woman staying with them shouted.
Yueqian immediately paused, staring at the woman who spoke as if she were foolish.
"Husband, Aunt Liao, if you trust me, change his clothes. If you don’t trust me, then consider me non-existent right now."
Yueqian didn’t want to argue with fools. She knew they all thought the same: removing Uncle Liang’s clothes would make him colder.
But they failed to realize that letting Uncle Liang lie down soaked was the worst idea. Because he had to lie cold with his own wet clothes. Even if they covered him with many layers and blankets, does the ice on his body just disappear?
Hearing this, Mu Heng was the first to believe her. He stepped forward, ready to change Uncle Liang’s clothes as his wife suggested.
"Stop what you’re doing. What are you thinking of doing? Aunt Liao! Mu Heng is crazy for his wife; no matter what the evil woman says, he believes it. If Aunt Liao wants your husband to live, just tell them to hand that blanket over and then stand back, isn’t that a better thing to do?!"
"Uh..." Aunt Liao hesitated, but soon walked back inside. This made everyone think that she didn’t believe Yueqian’s words. Some women, lacking men in their homes and thus receiving less share in land lease, secretly laugh with satisfaction.
They were jealous of Yueqian for having so much dowry, turning into a wealthy person even after being exiled to live in such a remote rural area. From now on, she wouldn’t need to work at all. For every harvesting, people would bring her everything.
So beautiful and so rich. While they had to skip meals, who wouldn’t envy Yueqian?!
They all laughed as if they had slapped Yueqian’s face. The person being mocked didn’t care. She just watched the dying man with an indifferent look.
If it had been when she first came into young Yueqian’s body, things would have been different. She remembered how she vomited and fainted when she saw her mother kill a servant with a cold face back then. In the era she came from, even people close to death could be saved by doctors. Thus, death was very rare unless it was really a fate.
Seeing this era, where death is rampant, and nobles act as if they live above everyone else. People truly were not equal here, if a servant or a poor person harmed a noble, they could easily be killed.
So, Yueqian wasn’t shocked by the demise of the man before her. Yueqian embraced a philosophy of doing what can be done and letting go of what cannot. If a matter was out of her hands, she would let it be. She wasn’t a kind-hearted person who would risk herself.
She has said what needs to be said; if they still don’t believe, then that’s their choice. She didn’t coerce anyone to follow her directives; their lives are for them to decide.
"Qian’er, sit and rest," Mu Heng, trusting his wife more than anyone else. Since others did not care for what his wife have said, he would not meddle. He simply sought a place for his beautiful wife to rest after she struggled to quickly walk with him.
“Huh.” Despite many being displeased, Yueqian and Mu Heng did not prolong their arguments, they have no right to say anything more. After all... many in the village still rely on Yueqian, causing her trouble would only harm themselves.
Looking around, if there were 100 people in the village, 80 would benefit from Yueqian. What could the remaining 20 do? Anything they attempt will only alienate them further.
Before the crowd could fully enjoy their schadenfreude, Aunt Liao rushed out of her house with new clothes.
"Kids, help me spread the cloth. I’m going to change my husband’s clothes," she said tearfully, realizing she had no one else to rely on. Whether she acted or not, her husband was already halfway to the next world.
Thus, Aunt Liao chose a different path from before. What had happened last time someone fell into the water and died, she would not repeat. She looked at Yueqian, seeking confirmation one more time.
Seeing Aunt Liao’s look, Yueqian knew she couldn’t just sit. The beautiful woman slowly got up after a short rest and walked over with the blanket she had brought from home to hand it to Aunt Liao.
"After you change his clothes, use this blanket instead. Has anyone boiled water yet? Boiling water with ginger for Uncle Liang to drink will help a lot," Yueqian spoke quickly, recalling how hot ginger water could warm one up in cold weather.
But Aunt Liao and the villagers looked at her strangely.
"Yueqian, I can change his clothes, use the blanket you brought, and boil water, but the money to buy ginger... I don’t have it," Aunt Liao said desperately, felt as if she was being cornered step by step.
Was she really about to lose her beloved husband?!
She wasn’t so concerned for herself, but what about her children? Aunt Liao hadn’t separated her household yet; the money they had gathered together was all pooled, and without a husband, they would get even less of a share in the future. They might end up with nothing at all, surviving meal to meal.
Aunt Liao had previously been carefree while her husband was healthy, not wanting to separate from his family, to save on taxes. She would rethink everything if her husband survived.
After hearing her say this, Yueqian felt exhausted on her behalf. She had forgotten how expensive nourishing foods were in this world. In her previous world, ginger powder cost only a few coins, cheaper than snacks.
"Just look at this, now I can’t tell if you’re here to help or to make things worse. Are you suggesting we fetch ginger? Why not ask for ginseng while you’re at it?"
"Yeah, where is Zhu family supposed to find ginger? How much does it even cost, or should they just sell their farm instead? Then you’ll go and buy it, right? Huh. I saw you leased your land to others to use for farming, everyone can throw money around once they have it, pretending to be charitable. Did everyone see today that this was all her plan?"
The women who couldn’t lease land scoffed. Yueqian felt like laughing at their demeanor, but of course, she maintained her manner, letting their words fall on deaf ears like idle chatter.
"I... It’s so cold, so cold, sob, sob, sob."
A groan emerged, sounding as if it might be his last bit of strength. This shifted everyone’s attention to Uncle Liang. Yueqian urged Aunt Liao to hurry and change his clothes before he could no longer endure it.
Aunt Liao and her male relatives helped change him. While they did, Uncle Liang felt tremendous pain, but once the wet clothes were removed, he noticeably felt better. Seeing that they had put new clothes on him, Yueqian quickly wrapped him in a blanket.
Her blanket’s texture was fine, containing specially synthesized fibers to prevent coldness. Uncle Liang, now with a new blanket and fresh clothes, felt much better, although his eyes were still profoundly weary.
A pot of boiling water was brought in. Yueqian did not wait any longer. She walked over, tearing open a package of ginger powder she had purchased, pretending to pull it out of her bag, and then sprinkled it into her palm. It might have seemed dirty and rushed, but she ensured no one saw the package because it was a product of modern innovation.
