Chapter 55: Reputation Ruined

Shopkeeper He was on the second floor, leisurely sipping tea and watching the long queue below. He felt like he was watching silver pouring down from the sky.

Suddenly, he spotted a familiar small figure. He abruptly stood up and dashed out,

his movement so forceful that it knocked over the chair behind him!

Where was the scholarly elegance and graceful demeanor of a man of letters?

Shen Xingnong glanced at the long queue and decided to go to the restaurant first and come back later.

As she was about to turn and leave, an excited hand grabbed her wrist tightly: “You’re finally here, girl! Do you know how much I’ve missed you these past two days?”

Shen Xingnong: “. . .”

People in the queue: “. . .”

Everyone looked at Shen Xingnong, then at Shopkeeper He, their gazes filled with suggestive implications.

Shopkeeper He, realizing his gaffe, addressed the people in line: “It’s not what you think! This is my… little sister! Little sister! You understand?”

With that, he pulled Shen Xingnong away in a hurry.

The gazes of the crowd, however, became even more suggestive!

Shopkeeper He brought Shen Xingnong to her dedicated study. While grinding ink, he rattled on about how hard he had worked to print the books, and how well they were selling.

After finishing his speech, he spread open a blank manuscript and placed the brush in her hand: “Girl, the printing blocks for the first storybook will soon be fully carved. We can start carving the second one. Thank you for your hard work!”

Shen Xingnong switched the brush to her left hand and began writing.

Shopkeeper He ordered someone to bring in some snacks and then went next door.

An hour later, he figured Shen Xingnong was almost done writing and came back.

Shen Xingnong was indeed almost finished. After writing a few dozen more characters, she put down her brush.

Shopkeeper He gave Shen Xingnong a pouch, and they walked out of the study together.

“When will you come again next time?”

“I don’t know.”

“As soon as possible, don’t make me wait too long!” Shopkeeper He felt a headache coming on, thinking about how this girl’s arrival time was uncertain.

Didn’t she know that one should strike while the iron is hot, and that making money should be done without delay?

The person who had been at the end of the queue just finished paying the deposit and went to the backyard to use the toilet. He happened to see the two of them coming out of the room together. He looked up at the sky, then at the two of them, his expression and eyes becoming increasingly suggestive!

Shopkeeper He: “……”

Shen Xingnong: “……”

She would wear men’s clothing next time she came!

“Farewell!” Shen Xingnong nodded to Shopkeeper He.

Shopkeeper He waved his hand: “Hurry up!”

His lifetime reputation was probably ruined!

~

After leaving the bookstore, Shen Xingnong went to the restaurant.

In the restaurant’s backyard, some dilapidated buildings were being demolished for reconstruction.

Shen Hanyu was not there.

Shen Xingnong left a new address for the waiter from last time and left.

Then she went to the lumber shop and bought a set of tables and chairs for the main hall, and a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk for each room. She chose simple designs without any complicated carvings. These were cheaper, but they still cost a total of seven taels of silver.

Furniture delivery was included. While the furniture was being loaded onto the cart, Shen Xingnong went to buy some quilts and bed curtains, spending another two taels!

The silver she had just earned was almost spent!

Shen Xingnong got on the delivery mule cart and went home together.

Because the house was at the end of Peach Blossom Village, Shen Xingnong asked the driver to take a detour, entering the village from a small road by the river that led to the town. Although this route was a bit longer, it avoided going through the village.

✿✿✿

It was evening, and children from every household in the village were out playing. With so many mule carts entering the village, having to avoid the children would only slow them down.

As the mule cart traveled along the small road by the river, Shen Xingnong saw a familiar figure in the distance, standing in the river and vigorously washing her face and hair.

Shen Xingnong said to the driver: “Wait a moment.”

The mule cart stopped, and she jumped off, running to the riverbank: “Grandmother!”

Madam Gu was startled and quickly squatted down, immersing herself in the river water. She vigorously scrubbed away the filth on her body. When Shen Xingnong approached, she smiled and said, “Xingnong, why are you here? Grandmother just saw a fish here and thought about catching it to make soup, hehe.”

Even though Madam Gu was squatting in the water, Shen Xingnong could still see that her clothes were covered in pig dung.

She walked straight into the river and pulled Madam Gu up, her face as dark as ink: “What happened?”

Madam Gu smiled: “It’s nothing. I just accidentally fell into the pigsty while working. You know, Grandmother works for a family in town that sells livestock. Well, we bought land today, and I was so happy…”

Shen Xingnong’s gaze fell on Madam Gu’s hair, where some pig dung was still clinging to it.

This was not an accidental fall; she had been splashed with pig dung!

“Grandmother,” Shen Xingnong interrupted her, her eyes fixed on her, “You don’t have to make excuses for someone else’s mistakes.”

Under her granddaughter’s penetrating gaze, Madam Gu’s eyes welled up, and she couldn’t help but tell the truth.

For the past ten-odd years, she had taken many jobs, but none of them lasted long. She would be fired after working for a fortnight, a few days, or even just half a day. This job of cleaning pig pens, stables, and cow sheds was the longest she had held, but it was tiring and dirty.

It was Madam Yao who had introduced her to this job. The owner of the livestock seemed to be a cousin from Madam Yao’s maternal family.

However, after the falling out with the eldest branch of the family, her workload had increased several times.

Yesterday, they bought land, and the children kept urging her to quit her job and go home to take care of the fields. There were already crops in the fields, and they did need tending. So, this afternoon, when she saw the owner, she asked to quit. Unexpectedly, he flew into a rage and dumped a basket of pig dung he had just cleaned out onto her.

“Anyway, I’m not working tomorrow, so don’t go looking for them. I already threw it back at him! He must have heard that the eldest branch of the Shen family was fined over ten thousand taels.”

Shen Xingnong listened silently to Madam Gu’s words, her movements swift and gentle as she helped her grandmother clean the filth from her body.

At this moment, the driver of the mule cart by the road shouted, “Miss, are you done? We can give the woman a ride home.”

“Yes, we’re done.” Shen Xingnong sped up.

Only then did Madam Gu notice the several mule carts parked by the road. “What are those?”

“I bought some furniture.”

Madam Gu: “……”

Where did she get the silver to buy several cartloads of furniture? Forget it, she wouldn’t ask!

After helping Madam Gu clean up, Shen Xingnong carried her onto the mule cart and wrapped her in a new thin quilt.

Madam Gu: “. . .”

The drivers: “……”

~

That night.

Shen Xingnong once again sneaked into the Shen family mansion and dumped the night soil from the toilet onto the couple who had returned to the village in the evening to discuss with Shen Wanshan how to raise the silver and deal with Madam Li’s imprisonment.

Earth-shattering screams erupted from the room. Shen Xingnong had already nimbly slipped out of the window, climbed over the wall, and rushed towards the town!

A quarter of an hour later, similar earth-shattering screams came from a certain household in the town.

When Shen Xingnong returned to the village, the Shen family mansion was brightly lit.

Madam Gu was woken up.

Seeing Shen Xingnong coming in from outside, she breathed a sigh of relief: “Where did you go?”

Shen Xingnong: “To empty the night soil.”

Madam Gu: “. . .”