"Uncle Lizheng, don’t worry. Xiaofeng will study and take the civil service examinations as well. I won’t let anyone criticize him..." Yang Ruxin said with a smile.
Li Cheng also nodded in satisfaction. He hadn’t paid much attention to this child before, as everyone said she was simple and foolish. But after a few interactions, he realized that she was actually very astute.
"If you have any troubles, go and find your Second Aunt at the elder’s home..." The village chief was also very pleased with Yang Ruxin’s attitude.
Yang Ruxin thanked everyone in turn, then she called her younger siblings together to start moving.
Although they didn’t have much in the way of valuable possessions, the small and sundry items were indeed quite numerous, making everyone look as though they were fleeing a disaster.
"Eldest sister, does your face hurt?" Sini looked up at Yang Ruxin’s swollen half-face with red-rimmed eyes.
"It doesn’t hurt," Yang Ruxin shook her head, "don’t worry, it will heal soon."
The younger siblings all pouted, looking very uncomfortable.
"Hey, what’s with all of you?" Yang Ruxin raised an eyebrow slightly, "We should be happy today. We have our own new home now, and we all have our own full names. Why are you all making such long faces?"
"Weren’t you always so capable? How come you didn’t know to dodge this time?" Ruhao, who is also known as Sanni, couldn’t help but mutter.
"Let me tell you, I did it on purpose." Yang Ruxin suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper that only they could hear, "If I hadn’t done this, how would I have gotten our ancestors to sympathize with us? Look, a slap in exchange for two hundred catties of grain, and it won the elders’ sympathy for us. If there’s trouble in the future, they might even lend us a hand. So, this is a blessing in disguise..."
The eyes of the younger ones suddenly lit up; so that was the plan.
"Cheer up quickly, especially you," Yang Ruxin pinched Yang Rumeng’s small face, "smile for me..."
Everyone could feel that Yang Ruxin’s mood was genuine, and their spirits were lifted instantly. Excited, they began to pick up their things...
"We’ll help you out." As they were just leaving the Yang Family old house, two people came over to take the items Sini and Xiaofeng were carrying.
It was Li Dafeng, the daughter of the local loudmouth, and her husband He Zhuang.
"Thank you, Uncle He, Auntie He," Yang Ruxin nodded in gratitude.
He Zhuang also took the items from Sanni’s hands and quickly walked ahead.
"No need for thanks," Li Dafeng waved her hand, "My mom fought with your grandma; don’t take it to heart... Besides, you helped us just now..."
Yang Ruxin smiled. Although she harbored resentment towards Yang Anshi, she couldn’t speak ill of her in front of outsiders and stayed silent.
Knowing that Yang Ruxin wouldn’t agree with her openheartedly, Li Dafeng didn’t pursue the topic further. Instead, she brought up the matter of making money, "Now that you’ve moved out, you’ve got peace, but you’ll need silver to live. Have you thought about that, girl?"
"Auntie He, I’ve thought about that. Our sisters are good at needlework, especially Sanni’s embroidery, which is really nice. So, we’ll make some embroidered items, and that should cover our monthly food and drink expenses..." Yang Ruxin could see Li Dafeng’s genuine concern and responded sincerely, "Besides, we live near Xiaocang Mountain. We can live off the land, and we certainly won’t starve..."
"Goodness, you’re brave, girl. That mountain is not a place where just anyone can go..." Li Dafeng’s face changed, "There are wild beasts in there. Years ago, someone was even taken away by wolves..."