Chapter 5
The bed beneath her now was hardly comfortable, either. A layer of cotton padding covered the hard wooden bed frame, but whenever she lay down and put her weight on it, she could feel the boards pressing uncomfortably against her body. It was simply incomparable to the luxurious mattresses she used to sleep on, which were both resilient and quick to spring back into shape.
Lin Ji lay flat on her back with her eyes closed, slowly counting her breaths.
Inhale, exhale… Inhale, exhale… Inhale, exhale…
If she didn’t breathe in deeply, it was fine. But every time she inhaled, she could clearly smell the faint orchid fragrance drifting from the person beside her.
Lin Ji opened her eyes and stared at the dark ceiling.
She could tell from the steady breathing beside her that the other woman had already fallen asleep.
Unlike her, the patient apparently had no trouble sleeping. Meanwhile, Lin Ji was utterly exhausted, yet somehow still couldn’t fall asleep.
Lin Ji sighed silently to herself. Listening to the other woman’s soft, gentle breathing in the darkness, she thought for a moment before carefully turning onto her side to face the inner part of the bed.
Wei Yunxi had been sleeping on her side, facing outward the entire time.
When Lin Ji turned over, she found herself facing her directly.
The room was very dark. Even with the moonlight filtering in through the window, Lin Ji could only make out the vague outline of the woman’s features.
It was as though her face were veiled beneath a layer of delicate gauze. The hazy indistinctness only added to her beauty, making one all the more eager to look closer.
Lin Ji remained lying on her side. As she listened to the woman’s breathing and gazed at her face, she gradually adjusted her own breathing. At some point, without her realizing it, their breaths fell into the same rhythm, and her eyelids slowly began to droop.
That faint orchid fragrance lingered all around her, like the finest sleep-inducing incense, gradually lulling her into a drowsy haze.
At the first hint of dawn, Lin Ji was awakened by a chorus of roosters crowing one after another.
Out of habit, she rolled over and raised an arm to shield her eyes from the light, wondering why it was so bright when she was certain she’d drawn the blackout curtains last night…
Halfway through the thought, her mind suddenly snapped awake.
Lin Ji opened her eyes and saw the wooden beams overhead. Everything that had happened yesterday flashed through her mind like a series of rapidly changing scenes—
Oh, right. She had transmigrated into a novel and become an impoverished scholar with only a hundred wen to her name.
Life really was unpredictable. So terribly unpredictable.
Lin Ji let out a long sigh inwardly and turned to look at the person beside her.
Wei Yunxi was still asleep, undisturbed by the loud crowing of the village roosters.
Lin Ji reached out and touched her forehead. There was no sign of another fever, and her complexion had improved considerably.
She had been feverish for far too long yesterday. She would probably sleep more deeply and for longer than usual today.
Lin Ji carefully got out of bed, making sure to tuck the quilt around her before leaving.
There was no movement from the western room, either. The little girl was probably still asleep.
Lin Ji put on her outer robe as she headed toward the kitchen.
They had finished all the vegetables and eggs yesterday. Today, apart from rice, there was nothing else edible left in the kitchen. She could only make plain rice porridge.
Lin Ji lit the stove and first boiled a kettle of water to keep ready. Then she washed some rice and began cooking the porridge.
The water she had carried yesterday was nowhere near enough for their needs.
After placing the clay pot filled with rice and water on the stove to simmer, Lin Ji made several trips to the river behind the house, carrying buckets of water until the water vat was more than half full.
By the time she finished all that work, this body was already struggling to keep up. She was both hungry and exhausted.
Suppressing her hunger, Lin Ji gathered the inner and outer garments that had been changed yesterday and washed them together.
She was halfway through washing the clothes when Lin Nian emerged from the main hall. The little girl was still rubbing her eyes, but the moment she saw what Lin Ji was doing, she hurried over to help. “Big Sister, let me wash them.”
She had gone to sleep too late last night. This morning, she hadn’t even heard the roosters crowing.
“It’s fine. I’m almost finished. These clothes aren’t particularly dirty, so a quick rinse will do.” Lin Ji gently pushed the little girl’s hands away. “Go wash your face in the kitchen. There’s hot water in the kettle. Then help Big Sister keep an eye on the porridge.”
“Okay.” As soon as the little girl heard that she had a task to do, she obediently turned around and headed toward the kitchen.
Lin Ji gave the clothes another couple of quick washes before hanging them up to dry.
There was nothing she could do about it. She really was starving. This would have to do for now.
Lin Ji entered the kitchen and lifted the lid of the clay pot. The plain rice porridge had already thickened nicely.
She served herself a bowl, blowing on each spoonful as she ate, and finished two bowls as quickly as possible.
Only after the porridge reached her stomach did she finally feel somewhat better.
“Big Sister, would you like some more?” Lin Nian was already preparing to serve her another bowl.
Lin Ji shook her head. “I’ll go check on the eastern room. You eat first, and be careful not to burn yourself.”
Lin Ji entered the eastern room to check on Wei Yunxi, who was still sleeping. Not entirely reassured, she touched the woman’s forehead and arm again. Only after confirming that there was no trace of fever did she finally relax. She gently closed the door behind her and went outside.1
“Nian Nian.” Lin Ji returned to the kitchen and crouched down to speak to Lin Nian. “I’m about to make a trip into town to buy some rice, flour, grain, and oil. Help Big Sister look after Sister Xu in the eastern room. If she wakes up, serve her a bowl of plain porridge and tell her I’ll try my best to be back by noon. If I haven’t returned by then, go to Aunt Jiang’s house and have lunch there. I’ll bring back some candy for you and Hu Niu when I return.”
“Okay.” Lin Nian nodded obediently. “Don’t worry, Big Sister. I’ll take good care of Sister Xu.”
“Mm. Our Nian Nian is the most capable.” Lin Ji stood up and rubbed the little girl’s head. “Then Big Sister is leaving now.”
Lin Ji didn’t dare waste any time. As soon as she finished giving her instructions, she hurried toward the village entrance.
She was lucky. Just as she arrived at the entrance, she spotted Aunt Zhao driving her donkey cart along the road.
Lin Ji called out loudly, “Aunt Zhao, could you give me a ride?”
At her call, several older women sitting on the donkey cart turned to look at her. Aunt Zhao was even more surprised when she recognized her. “Well, isn’t this the Lin family’s girl? What, are you heading into town too?”
“Yes.” Lin Ji hurried over. “I need to buy some rice in town, but walking all the way there would be exhausting. I was wondering if I could ride in your donkey cart and save myself some effort. I have money to pay for the ride.”
“No need, no need.” Aunt Zhao waved her hand. “I’m heading into town to sell vegetables anyway, so it’s on the way. Hurry up and climb aboard.”
“Then thank you, Aunt Zhao.” With that, Lin Ji climbed onto the donkey cart.
Once Aunt Zhao saw that everyone was seated securely, she urged the donkey forward.
Walking from Wutong Village to Anping County town would take nearly half an hour at the very least. Although the donkey cart wasn’t much faster than walking, its advantage was that it saved her energy. At least she wouldn’t have to exhaust her legs.
The donkey cart rolled leisurely along the road.
The older women sitting in the cart nudged and prodded one another. Finally, one of them was pushed so hard by the woman beside her that she nearly lost her balance. She decided to ask the question outright.
“Lin girl, I heard that this year’s provincial examination will be held in Lingjiang Prefecture. Are you planning to take it?”
Back when Wutong Village first produced a female licentiate, it had been such joyous news that word spread throughout all the surrounding villages.
Who could have imagined that after Lin Xiuniang passed away, her daughter would become so irresponsible and reckless? Watching her behavior had left the villagers both angry and helpless.
But looking at her today, she seemed to have come to her senses somewhat.
Since the woman had asked so directly, Lin Ji didn’t try to conceal anything. She lowered her head, her expression filled with shame.
“Aunties, I’m sure you’ve all heard about my disgraceful behavior lately. To tell you the truth, I don’t have the luxury of thinking about the provincial examination right now. The real reason I’m going into town today is to look for work. Nian Nian is still so young. I can’t possibly let her go hungry and suffer from the cold alongside me. If I did, how could I ever face Mother after everything she entrusted to me before she passed away?”
As Lin Ji spoke, her voice even grew slightly choked with emotion.
The older women exchanged glances. The woman who had asked the question first reached out and patted Lin Ji on the shoulder.
“Who hasn’t taken a wrong turn in life? What matters is that you’ve come to your senses now. If you can’t take the examination this year, you can always take it three years from now. You’re still young, and you’ve got a long road ahead of you. Here, I happen to have some fresh vegetables. Take some home for Nian Nian.”
As soon as she spoke, the other women began pressing vegetables into Lin Ji’s arms as well.
Before long, Lin Ji’s arms were overflowing with vegetables. She looked up at the women and thanked them sincerely. “Thank you, Aunties. But I can’t accept your vegetables for free. How much should I pay you for these…”
“No need, no need.” Seeing her reach for her money pouch, one of the women quickly pressed her hand down. “Keep your money hidden. There are plenty of pickpockets in town. These vegetables aren’t worth much anyway. Just take them.”
Unable to refuse their generosity, Lin Ji could only accept the vegetables.
“To tell you the truth, Aunties, we used to have a vegetable plot at home. Mother was the one who tended it, but I’m terribly useless when it comes to such things. I don’t know how to look after it, so it’s been left abandoned. Since you all go into town to sell vegetables every day, could you set some aside for me? I can pay you the market price.”
The moment she climbed onto the donkey cart, she had noticed that it was loaded with fresh vegetables.
Lin Ji knew perfectly well that if she tried her hand at farming, there was an eighty percent chance she wouldn’t be able to grow anything. It would be much more practical to buy vegetables from the villagers nearby.
In the world she came from, vegetables like these would have been considered completely natural, pollution-free organic produce—rare and valuable.
But as far as the older women were concerned, what difference did it make whom they sold their vegetables to?
If they sold them to Lin Ji, she might even remember their kindness. And if she passed the provincial examination and became a provincial graduate someday, wouldn’t she remember the good they had done for her?
“Of course! Why wouldn’t that be all right?” The women readily agreed with smiles. “We’ve got plenty of vegetables at home. Whenever you want to buy some, just come over.”
Everyone in the cart chatted happily for the entire journey.
Once they reached town, Lin Ji temporarily left the vegetables the women had given her on Aunt Zhao’s donkey cart. Then she asked for directions along the way and headed toward a bookshop in town.
As she walked, she also inquired about the prices of various goods, gradually gaining a rough understanding of the cost of living in this era.
One wen was roughly equivalent to one yuan in the world she came from, and one tael of silver was worth a thousand wen. She now had only nineteen hundred wen left. If she were living alone, that amount might have lasted her a while. But with a child and a sick woman at home, if she didn’t find a way to earn money soon, they would all be left with nothing to live on.
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