Wolf-Raised Cub with a Space: Surviving the Disaster Years

Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Discovering the Secret in the Study

The next day, the sky was clear.

Shen Ningning had Jiang Zhi and Chen Ye accompany her, and they drove the horse-drawn carriage straight to the Capital City.

Seeing the serious expression on Shen Ningning’s small, round face, Jiang Zhi immediately rolled up her sleeves. "Ningning, with that look on your face, are you going to a fight? Just tell me who we’re hitting. You point, and I’ll punch!"

Shen Ningning froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"You’ve got it all wrong! I was just thinking about what we need to buy."

"We’re just going shopping? In that case, you could have just said so. I would have gone for you."

Shen Ningning shook her head. "We need to buy too many things. I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to carry it all by yourself."

Jiang Zhi laughed heartily, her manner unrestrained, heroic, and dashing.

"How could that be? You underestimate me."

A short while later, Jiang Zhi realized she had spoken too soon.

She had truly underestimated the immense shopping desire bursting forth from Shen Ningning’s tiny body.

Shen Ningning led her and Chen Ye straight to a tailor’s shop upon arriving in the Capital City.

The little girl pointed at the shelves. "I want to buy all the quilted jackets. I’ll take as many as you have."

The jacket fabric was rolled up in long bolts, to be cut and made into clothes as needed.

Hearing such a bold declaration the moment she entered, the Shopkeeper was stunned. "All of it? Miss, this is no small matter."

Shen Ningning slapped a five hundred-tael silver note onto the counter.

"Brother Chen, Brother Jiang, come on. Move all the jacket fabric to the carriage."

The Shopkeeper hastily picked up the five hundred-tael silver note and checked the serial number.

After confirming it was real, his face broke into a wide, joyful smile. "I’ll help you carry it, Miss."

She paid five hundred taels for ten bolts of jacket fabric. The total was twenty taels short of a full measure, so the Shopkeeper threw in half an arm’s length of cloud brocade to make up for it.

After loading everything onto the carriage, Shen Ningning took Chen Ye and Jiang Zhi straight to a winter clothing shop.

She bought almost everything they had.

Finished cotton-padded clothes, thick hats, cotton-padded shoes, and even the Shopkeeper’s four prized bearskins—she took them all, spending eight hundred taels of silver.

After that, she went to several other shops and bought nearly two hundred cotton quilts and fleece-filled comforters, spending another six hundred taels.

Fox and mink furs were essential as well, which cost another one thousand taels.

Finally, Shen Ningning bought a large amount of charcoal to bring home.

There wasn’t much charcoal on the market right now, only about fifty catties, but it cost the little girl three hundred taels.

As winter drew closer, the price of charcoal was sure to rise again.

They bought so much that the horse-drawn carriage could barely move. As they approached the slope of Wolf Mountain, Chen Ye had to get out and push.

Just then, Uncle Liu came out of the village, carrying a shoulder pole.

Seeing the carriage packed full of goods, he asked in surprise, "Ningning, did you buy all this to open a shop?"

Shen Ningning greeted him with a smile before saying, "Nope! I think this winter will be very cold, and it’s not convenient for Grandma and me to live on the mountain, so I’m preparing in advance."

Uncle Liu nodded in understanding. "That’s very thoughtful of you, but you’ve bought so much."

But the little girl said, "It’s not just for Grandma and me. I also have to take care of that big family at the shop."

Uncle Liu was quite impressed by her actions.

Before she left, Shen Ningning reminded him, "Uncle Liu, you should probably start preparing too."

"Stock up on some extra potatoes and cabbage, and make some cured meat since it won’t spoil. That way, you’ll have something to eat even if the weather gets very cold."

An ordinary person might not have taken Shen Ningning’s advice to heart.

But Uncle Liu listened and took it seriously. "Alright, I’ll be sure to do that."

’The earlier sleet must be a sign that this winter will be extremely cold,’ Shen Ningning’s reasoning was simple.

She couldn’t worry about everyone else; she could only take care of herself, her grandmother, and her pack of wolves first.

Shen Ningning had Chen Ye and Jiang Zhi help her move the items into the village house.

As they came out, they ran into the old village chief, who was discussing with another family how to protect their loquat trees from freezing in the winter.

When he saw Shen Ningning, the old village chief smiled kindly. "Ah, Ning, you’re here. I was just saying I should go and ask you."

"Winter is coming soon. With all this cold rain lately, the Wang Family in the east of the village already had a loquat tree freeze to death. We were discussing wrapping the tree roots with soft cloth. Should we do yours too?"

Shen Ningning thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, let’s wrap them. Grandpa Village Chief, please help me arrange it. I’ll bring some fruit later to thank everyone."

The old village chief nodded repeatedly. "You’re too kind, child."

Shen Ningning pointed to the roof of her village house and asked, "If a harsh winter comes with heavy snow, will my roof beams collapse?"

The old village chief and Chen Ye both looked it over.

"It won’t. Yours was just renovated and reinforced. If anything, we should be worried about our own houses," the old village chief said with a laugh, clearly not taking it too seriously.

Shen Ningning’s little face grew serious, and she said earnestly, "Then what are you waiting for, Grandpa Village Chief? Have Uncle Deng reinforce it soon, so the heavy snow doesn’t crush your house and leave you with nowhere to go in the freezing weather."

The old village chief froze.

There had been heavy snows before, but never enough to cause a roof to collapse.

However, Shen Ningning’s words were a wake-up call.

"It’s about time we reinforced it. We didn’t do proper repairs during the drought years. With the cold rain these past few days, I can feel a draft on my head even when I’m lying on the kang."

And so, the old village chief started calling for every household to reinforce their homes.

By purchasing materials together, they could bargain for a cheaper price.

Shen Ningning stored all the winter clothing and gear she had bought in the village house and locked the door. Since Jiang Zhi usually lived there, no one would dare to steal from it.

So, after doing all this, the little girl felt quite at ease.

She did some calculations with her silver and gave Chen Ye and Jiang Zhi fifty taels each.

Both of them immediately refused.

But the little girl insisted. "You two, take it. Brother Jiang, you can buy yourself some things for the winter. I have plenty of food and drink at home, so you don’t need to worry about that."

"You too, Brother Chen. Granny Chen is getting old. You should buy her some warm knee pads."

Jiang Zhi and Chen Ye cupped their hands in thanks.

Shen Ningning counted her remaining silver. After all her spending, she had about six thousand seven hundred taels left.

Of that, three thousand taels were what she planned to return to Xie Suzhi.

Although her godfather had said she didn’t need to pay it back, the little girl remembered Second Madam Xie’s attitude that day and decided she would return it in front of them.

’I don’t want Godfather to be blamed by anyone because of me,’ she thought privately.

’So, I must give it back. And I should give back more than I owe.’

With this in mind, the next day, after her classes at the National Academy ended, Shen Ningning went back to the Prime Minister’s Mansion, planning to stay the night.

The Prime Minister’s Mansion had become her second home.

Muchun and Wanchun served her so attentively, which made Shen Ningning very happy.

Before returning to the Prime Minister’s Mansion, she made a special detour to buy a bag of Drunken Immortal Duck.

She had heard from Wanchun that it was her godfather’s favorite food.

However, after she returned to the mansion, the housekeeper said, "His Lordship is still at the palace and has not yet returned."

Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes. "That’s okay. I’ll have dinner with Godfather tonight. Has Brother not returned either? In that case, Sister Muchun, could you please take the Drunken Immortal Duck to the kitchen and ask them to keep it warm?"

’That way, Godfather and Brother can eat it hot when they get back!’

Muchun immediately said, "Yes, I will go at once."

Wanchun then led Shen Ningning back to the courtyard where she was staying.

On the way, Shen Ningning asked, "Last time, Godfather said the family has a book collection. Where is it usually kept? I’d like to go have a look."

’There’s still a while before dinner. I might as well pass the time by reading.’

Wanchun smiled. "In His Lordship’s study."

After that, Wanchun led Shen Ningning down a long corridor to Xie Suzhi’s study.

As the door pushed open, the fine fragrance of pine resin washed over them.

The shelves full of books made Shen Ningning feel like a little mouse that had fallen into a rice vat, her dark eyes widening with delight.

"Commandery Princess, please take your time. I will go and pour you some hot tea."

"Okay, thank you, Sister Wanchun."

After Wanchun left, Shen Ningning browsed the shelves.

’With so many books, where should I even begin?’ she wondered.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, the little girl saw a half-rolled scroll on the desk.

The gentle, beautiful smiling eyes of a woman in the painting instantly captured all of Shen Ningning’s attention.

She walked over to the desk and stood on her tiptoes to get a better look. "Wow, what a beautiful lady."

’Could she be Godfather’s wife?’

Thinking this, she couldn’t resist reaching out to unroll the scroll.

To her surprise, the painting was of a beautiful woman, but nestled in her arms was a small baby.

The child was reaching out a tiny hand, seeming to playfully tug at the woman’s hair.

It was a portrait of mother and child so heartwarming it made Shen Ningning’s eyes well up.

She was about to roll it back up to avoid smudging it when she suddenly noticed a tiny dot on the baby’s outstretched hand.

Shen Ningning froze in stunned silence.

She raised her own right hand and saw, in the exact same spot—

the red mole that connected to the Immortal Realm.