Gu Chang'an admired her own beauty for a while, then left the dimension to find clothes to wear.
Little Chang'an was the happiest little girl in Qingfang Village. Her father provided her with good food, clothing, and entertainment. She had never worked or been scolded.
She was the envy of all the children in the village. Her clothes had no patches; they were finely crafted cotton dresses bought from clothing stores in the city.
She ate fine grains, had eggs and meat every day.
She didn't have to work. There were no brothers or sisters at home to compete for things with her.
There were no grandparents or parents who favored boys over girls. Old Gu Six loved Little Chang'an dearly.
Little Chang'an was beautiful, and many little boys liked her.
She lived in a world so different from the other girls in the village.
They didn't dare approach her, and they were also envious of her, so they tacitly isolated her.
Little Chang'an had no friends or playmates in the village.
But Little Chang'an didn't care. She didn't like playing with them either, as they always liked to say hurtful things that Little Chang'an didn't want to hear.
There were always women in the village who wanted to become Little Chang'an's stepmother, but fortunately Old Gu Six rejected them all. Otherwise, she would have been bullied by her stepmother like Hua Hua at the village entrance.
Hua Hua had endless chores, wore tattered clothes, never had enough to eat, and had to care for her younger brother.
Strangely, Gu Chang'an suddenly had Little Chang'an's memories.
Little Chang'an was an innocent and adorable girl. Gu Chang'an was grateful that she didn't have to maintain that persona.
Being truly innocent and pure would have been far too difficult to maintain.
Just as Gu Chang'an finished dressing, Old Gu Six brought in the food.
"Daughter, come and eat quickly. I've made vegetable and lean pork porridge. If I stir-fried it, the aroma would be too strong. Everyone is tightening their belts these days.
If the villagers knew we still had steamed rice, stir-fried meat, and vegetables, it would cause a big problem."
"Okay, you know best."
Apparently ravenous, Gu Chang'an ate two large bowls before feeling full. Old Gu Six ate the remaining half pot.
He patted his stomach and sighed, "I feel alive again."
Gu Chang'an followed Old Gu Six to the kitchen. She put the water barrel from the kitchen into her dimension, then ran back to her room and entered the dimension.
She found a water pipe in the warehouse, connected it to the kitchen faucet, and filled the large water barrel.
She emerged from the dimension, ran back to the kitchen, and placed the water barrel there.
"Dad, why don't you take a bath and change your clothes? You smell too bad."
Old Gu Six glanced at the water-filled barrel and silently said, "My daughter is a little fairy."
[Smiling emoji]
"Okay, I'll bathe after washing the bowls. You go rest in your room first. Once I'm done cleaning up, we'll go to town to buy supplies."
Gu Chang'an nodded. Instead of resting, she thought that with only three hundred taels of silver, Old Gu Six wouldn't have enough if grain prices rose too high.
She remembered that her safe had gold bars and various jewels and ornaments left by her grandfather.
She didn't plan to use the gold bars, as the gold refined in ancient times might not be as pure as modern gold.
If she used high-purity gold for purchases, it might cause unnecessary trouble.
It was best to adapt to the times. As an outsider, she should not try to change this world.
Wasn't she just a passer-by?
Passers-by should simply do their part and not interfere.
Gu Chang'an looked at the jewels and ornaments in the safe, but none of them were suitable for this world.
Jade might work, but the quality was too rare for pawnshops to give a fair price.
She relocked the safe, left the dressing room, and rummaged through the vanity in the bedroom.
She found an imperial green jadeite peace buckle pendant, a pair of handcrafted gold bracelets, and two pairs of exquisite pearl earrings.
Except for the gold bracelets, she could pawn the other two pieces and exchange them for silver to buy supplies.
She didn't need to buy winter supplies, as the villa had plenty of cotton quilts prepared as her dowry by her late grandparents.
She only needed to put on the appropriate covers from this era. For coats, she could wear her modern ones underneath and cover them with the clothes from this world. No one would undress her to inspect her clothes, right?
But to evacuate the village, she should still buy some winter gear appropriate for this era, just in case.
Gu Chang'an remembered that she had bought many down jacket inserts before. They were warm while allowing her to wear other clothes over them without appearing unusual.
From Little Chang'an's limited memories, she knew that cotton was a precious commodity in this world, extremely scarce and expensive.
The poor couldn't afford it and had to make do with reed mattresses in winter, stuffing the reed flowers into covers and using them like cotton.
Such bedding offered little warmth.
Wealthier families might buy their household members thin cotton padded jackets with only a thin layer of cotton.
That was considered luxurious, far better than those who relied solely on shaking to stay warm in winter.
Little Chang'an was the luckiest, with thick cotton quilts to cover herself and thick cotton-padded jackets to wear.
This was because Old Gu Six was a skilled hunter who could earn silver.
After the old hunter passed away, the Oldest Gu family wanted Old Gu Six to return and work for them, earning money like an ox or horse.
But Old Gu Six wasn't a saint. Why should he follow the idea that "all under heaven must obey their parents, filial piety is supreme", even if it meant breaking his bones and tendons?
Everyone in Qingfang Village knew he had been abandoned.
Those who blindly followed and jeered at him, he spat at them - they were nothing.
He wasn't going to pursue an official career, so reputation meant nothing to him.
He directly beat up Oldest Gu and broke the leg of Oldest Gu's son by his second wife.
Then he set fire to Oldest Gu's house.
As for his own blood brothers, Old Gu Six gave each of them a good beating - it felt great.
After that, no one from the Oldest Gu family dared to ask him to return again.
Once Old Gu Six had cleaned himself up, he brought the silver, hitched up the ox cart, and called from the courtyard, "Daughter, let's go."
Gu Chang'an found the exquisite Su Embroidery pouch her grandmother had made in the storage box in her dimension. She slung the small embroidered bag over her shoulder and left the dimension without delay, running out of the room.
The ox cart had straw and a tattered blanket cushioning the surface, allowing Gu Chang'an to sit without discomfort.
Old Gu Six waited for his daughter to settle, then cracked his whip at the large yellow ox, signaling it to slowly leave the courtyard.
Thinking that an ox cart would be inconvenient for evacuating, Gu Chang'an said, "Dad, let's buy a horse carriage."
"Horses are meant for the battlefield. Commoners are not allowed to buy and sell them privately. If you don't like the ox cart, I can get you a mule carriage instead - one pulled by mules."
"That works too. It's just the two of us with not much to carry. A mule carriage should be enough."
"Large mules can carry six to seven hundred pounds."
As the ox cart swayed through the village, the villagers who saw Gu Chang'an widened their eyes in horror.
"Ah, a ghost!"
The timid ones ran back home.
Some were so frightened that their legs shook, unable to move from where they stood.
They had clearly seen Gu Chang'an breathe her last. How was she alive again?
Was she even human?
But if she was a ghost, how could she appear in the sunlight?
Could she be a demon?
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