Chapter 34 The Second Path to Wealth

Chapter 34 The Second Path to Wealth

After firmly rejecting the business offered by Hao Yu, Jiang Yuan began to make money like Xie Wanniang.

Unless the weather is bad, the two of them would take Xiaoyang into the mountains together. One of them would hunt, and the other would take Xiaoyang to collect herbs. Although they were busy and tired, they were full of energy every day and never slacked off.

On the contrary, Hao Yu, who was originally very diligent, seemed to be working only sporadically because she had other things to do.

Occasionally, when the weather is unsuitable for going out, Xie Wanniang will stay home and do needlework. Jiang Yuan can't do this, but he can take care of the vegetable garden and help Xie Wanniang dry medicinal herbs with the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).

As they continued their busy work, August arrived. On the fifth day of the eighth lunar month, Xie Wanniang left the village for the first time and went to Baihe Town with Jiang Yuan.

She had Jiang Yuan help her sell the small embroidery pieces she had embroidered in her spare time at the cloth shop in town.

There was only one cloth shop in town, Qin's. Although it was called a cloth shop, it also did other cloth-related businesses such as embroidery, ready-made clothes, and shoes and socks.

Unlike specialized embroidery workshops and clothing shops, this fabric shop does not have dedicated embroiderers or tailors. The embroidered items, ready-made clothes, shoes, and socks they sell are all acquired little by little from individual buyers like Xie Wan Niang by the shop owner, Qin Niangzi.

Xie Wanniang was skilled at embroidery. When Jiang Yuan first came to deliver her embroidery, Qin Niangzi took a liking to Xie Wanniang's embroidery skills.

After nearly two months of observation, Aunt Qin discovered that Xie Wanniang was not only fast at embroidery, but also consistently high-quality. Whether embroidering purses, handkerchiefs, pillowcases, quilt covers, or clothes, she never fell short of standards. So she decided to ask her to help embroider a kang screen.

Xie Wanniang came to town with Jiang Yuan this time to discuss the upcoming cooperation.

Of course, she also wanted to find out the latest news about the Xie family and her own disappearance.

For nearly three months after she fell into the water, Jiang Yuan continued to go to town frequently to sell his prey, just like before.

Because Xie Wanniang escaped by jumping into the water, he would always pay extra attention to whether anyone was asking about Xie Wanniang whenever he came to town.

Sure enough, about a month ago, two groups of people actually came to town looking for Xie Wanniang.

One group of people searched very perfunctorily, asking only a few questions before leaving. The other group searched very diligently, but because Xie Wanniang had never appeared in Baihe Town, they did not find out any useful information.

Jiang Yuan witnessed this scene in town. Fearing that those people might encounter people from Mingfu Village, or that they might simply go to Mingfu Village to look for someone, he deliberately mingled among the onlookers and followed them discreetly for about two hours.

However, those people revealed an important message in their conversation—today was their last time searching for someone, and if they still couldn't find the person they were looking for in Baihe Town, they would give up the search tomorrow.

Those people said it, and they did it.

The group that had been so perfunctory in their search had lunch in town and rested for a while before leaving Baihe Town in groups, some on horseback and some by car.

The group that took the search more seriously worked tirelessly in Baihe Town until sunset.

They left Baihe Town by car before sunset.

The two groups left in the same direction, but Jiang Yuan guessed that their destinations were different.

The group that takes the search seriously is almost certainly headed to Xiejia Village, while the group that takes it very casually is more likely headed to Qingxu Mountain.

Xie Wanniang's surname is Xie. If she escaped by jumping into the river near Xiejia Village, which is the ancestral home of the Xie clan, then she did indeed drift downstream a long distance, just as she herself said.

As a renowned Taoist holy site, Qingxu Mountain is a place where it is quite reasonable for some powerful, wealthy, and influential people who have no offspring to carry on their family line to travel a long distance to pray for children.

Although Xie Wanniang did not tell Jiang Yuan a long story about her background, Jiang Yuan could easily piece together the truth from the few words she occasionally revealed.

Her adoptive father, her maternal uncle, lived in a Taoist temple, but would always appear at crucial moments to interfere in her life's major events. Her aunt's biological mother, who had been acting like she was dead for over ten years, suddenly reappeared recently, insisting that she acknowledge her ancestors and find a husband for her biological father...

Based on the known information, Jiang Yuan guessed that the two groups of people looking for her were probably sent by her adoptive father and biological father.

The person who would kill her is most likely her father's second wife, whose own interests have been harmed.

Jiang Yuan's guess was confirmed by Xie Wanniang. After he told Xie Wanniang what he had seen in town, Xie Wanniang briefly told him about her complicated background.

"The Xie family was originally very powerful. Although they were not a family of dukes or marquises, three generations of them had members who served as prime ministers."

"When the previous dynasty fell, my great-grandfather and my grandfather, who were officials in the capital, both died for their country along with the last emperor."

“My great-grandfather suffered even worse; he died in office at the very beginning of the turmoil.”

"The rest of the Xie family members who held minor official positions in the court soon either passed away or resigned and returned to their hometowns."

"The Xie family had completely fallen into decline at that time. Then, my mother was jilted at the altar."

"She was separated from her mother and brother while fleeing the war. In order to make it easier to travel together, she married her fiancé at the time without the witness of any elders."

"Later, her former mother-in-law insisted on the fact that they had gotten married without the permission of their elders and demanded that her ex-husband break off the engagement and marry someone else. Her ex-husband agreed and even suggested that she become his concubine."

“She refused, took the divorce papers, and became a nun.”

“I was born to her at the Taoist temple. Later, my adoptive father came and she registered me under his name.”

“Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but the problem is that my biological father couldn’t have any children. He had many wives and concubines, but he never had any children of his own.”

"They came to Qingxu Mountain seeking a son, and I was unlucky enough to run into them."

“I look like my mother, and they became suspicious of me as soon as they saw me. But my mother is also a bit out of her mind, and she actually agreed to let me be recognized as her ancestor.”

She doesn't recognize any ghost ancestors, nor does she belong to any clan!

The scoundrel who broke off his engagement and remarried, who abandoned his wife and daughter, is now childless and without descendants. Isn't this the good fortune he and his mother have accumulated over the years?

She couldn't understand her mother's thought process, and since her mother couldn't persuade her, she simply used "I'm doing this for your own good" as an excuse.

Ignoring her personal wishes, they quickly reached an agreement, and then she was forced to jump into the river by two guys who appeared out of nowhere.

To avoid attracting attention, the other side did not carry long weapons, but each carried a short dagger that could be hidden in their sleeve or under their clothes.

Otherwise, she, an ordinary transmigrated woman who had only taught herself a few self-defense techniques, would not have had the opportunity to escape by jumping into the river under the enemy's meticulously planned ambush.

She wasn't bragging, but she was quick to react and quick to run. If she had hesitated for even a moment, or if her legs had gone weak out of fear, the other party would have left her with at least two bloody holes.