Chapter 17: Identity in Doubt

The boy was about eight or nine years old. Though dressed in rags, his delicate features and innate elegance could not be concealed. He was no different from a celestial child. Even Jiang Lihua felt envious of his appearance.

Noticing Jiang Lihua staring at him in a daze, the boy’s eyes flickered with a hint of disdain. The man child said, “He’s mute. Miss, do you still want to buy him?” He assumed Jiang Lihua wouldn’t be willing to pay.

“Three hundred taels is three hundred taels. I’ll buy him,” Jiang Lihua replied, aware of the man child’s intentions. This boy’s good looks meant the man child likely intended to sell him at a high price to some wealthy noble with peculiar tastes. Since Jiang Lihua had come across him, she decided to spend the money on a good deed.

The scarred man bowed his head in gratitude. “Thank you, Miss, thank you.” Though reluctant, the man child had not expected Jiang Lihua to truly purchase them. Since the two had been picked up along the way without cost, he simply took them to complete the paperwork.

After the formalities, Jiang Lihua stayed with the four of them and returned to Lihua Village together. Bringing so many people back at once drew the attention of the villagers, sparking much gossip. Eventually, the village chief came to inquire, and upon learning that Jiang Lihua had bought servants, he let the matter drop.

Everyone wondered where Jiang Lihua had gotten the money to buy servants—and four at once—since even the village chief’s household lacked any help.

Jiang Lihua told Guo Xiaoyi the residences of Huang Yingrong, Yang Wenbin, and Li Lian’er. Guo Xiaoyi then secretly observed and sketched portraits of the three before leaving.

Jiang Lihua’s courtyard had only two side rooms: she occupied one, and the other was given to two elderly women. The scarred man and his son were arranged to stay with Ni Wenyu nearby, since their proximity caused no trouble.

The two elderly women, surnamed Zhang and Zhao, were respectfully called Aunt Zhang and Aunt Zhao by Jiang Lihua. When asked their names, the scarred man said they had none and asked Jiang Lihua to name them.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “You shall be Jiang Qiang, and he shall be Jiang Limu.” Upon hearing the names, the scarred man knelt and thanked her, “Thank you, Miss, for bestowing names upon us.” The boy stood silently by his side.

Jiang Lihua paid no mind. “Uncle Jiang, don’t kneel so often from now on. Just focus on doing your work well. I don’t have many rules here.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Today, rest well. You’ll start working tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Miss.”

After their respectful bows, everyone went to rest.

A few days later, the processing workshop was completed under the diligent efforts of Carpenter Wang. The workshop was simple: four walls with a door and windows, topped with a roof. Carpenter Wang and his team helped move the jars for pickling spicy cabbage inside before leaving once everything was settled.

Once the workshop was ready, Jiang Lihua asked Uncle Jiang to purchase a large amount of cabbage and radishes from the village. The scar on Jiang Qiang’s face frightened many villagers, though some brave ones dared to speak with him.

“Uncle Jiang, Miss Lizi is buying these to sell to whom?” villagers inquired. Uncle Jiang always wore a cold expression and said, “That’s Miss’s business.” After repeated questions yielded no answers, the villagers stopped asking.

The village chief personally visited Jiang Lihua—not to reprimand her but out of curiosity.

“Miss Lizi, since you built this workshop, many villagers have benefited. On behalf of the village, I thank you,” he said.

“Where’s the need for thanks? I settled here with my cousin. As a member of the village, I naturally want to see us prosper.”

“Hmm, very good,” the chief nodded approvingly. “But, Lizi, who are you doing business with to manage something this large?”

“I’m trading with the owner of Wanfulou in town. He owns ten restaurants.”

It was no secret, so Jiang Lihua told him frankly.

Hearing this, the chief treated her with more respect. He knew Wanfulou well; its dishes were expensive. It was said the owner had powerful connections in the capital.

“If the village needs anything, Miss Lizi, just ask me. I promise to help,” he said.

Lizi nodded, “Thank you, village chief.”

After inspecting the workshop once more, the chief left.

— Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Jiang Lihua, in the Yang family estate, Yang Wenbin’s sister, Yang Xiuhua, had returned to the village.

Mrs. Sun looked at her daughter clad in silks, adorned with various jeweled hairpins, followed by a maidservant. She resembled a wealthy lady.

“Xiuhua, it’s been so long since you came back. Did you bring anything for your brother?”

Xiuhua disliked her mother’s question, caring only about her son and never about her mother.

“Mother, I barely get to come back. Instead of asking how I’m doing, you only care about whether I brought anything for my brother?”

“You’re married into a wealthy family. What could be wrong with your life? Your brother mixing with these mud-footed villagers is the real problem.”

Xiuhua said no more and told the maid to hand over some items to Mrs. Sun.

“These are some snacks and fabrics I bought.”

Mrs. Sun happily accepted them. “Is there something you came back for?”

After dismissing the maid, Xiuhua asked, “Where is Jiang Lihua?”

Hearing her daughter mention “that dead girl,” Mrs. Sun recalled the eerie cries at night and felt afraid.

“Why do you suddenly ask about that girl?”

Seeing Mrs. Sun’s unease, Xiuhua suspected her mother was hiding their business dealings and felt a chill in her heart.

“My husband’s employer is doing business with a girl named Jiang Lihua in Lihua Village. Why have you been hiding this from me?”

Mrs. Sun’s legs gave way, and she collapsed.

Xiuhua coldly watched without helping.

“Mother, are you so afraid I’d find out? I’m married now. Even if you make money from business, you think I’d take your money?”

Mrs. Sun sat on the floor.

“Xiuhua, what nonsense are you saying? Your mother fell and you won’t even help her.”

“Mother won’t admit it, but my husband said that girl personally told him her name was Jiang Lihua.”

“Call that girl here. She caused my husband to lose face before his employer. I’m here to teach her a lesson.”

“Xiuhua, stop. I’m telling you, that girl died two months ago.”

“Died? How did she die? Would you lie to me like that?”

“Why would I lie? That girl suddenly fell ill two months ago, gasping for breath. We didn’t care, thinking she’d recover in a few days. Who knew she’d pass that afternoon?”

“You know how disliked that dead girl was—always causing trouble and making us angry. She was often beaten. When she died, to prevent the villagers from thinking we’d beaten her to death and harming your brother’s reputation, we secretly threw her body on the back mountain at night.”

Hearing this, Xiuhua believed it. Before she married, that girl was often beaten and always bore fresh wounds.

“Are you sure she’s really dead?”