Chapter 5: Preparing to Head for the Mountains

Wang Li and Han Ya entered the bedroom. Seeing the mess, the two of them started tidying up. Not long after, someone from the Liu family arrived.

It was Zhao Cui, the wife of the second steward. Her husband and son had gone into the city with the Master.

Zhao Cui looked at Wang Li as she stepped in. “Madam, I just took a look around the village. Only five people are left. With the three of us, that makes eight. The rest are all dead.”

“The one tenant family that made it out safely had gone to Wangjia’ao. Zheng Daya’s younger brother from her mother’s side was getting married, so they went to attend the wedding feast. They just got back and are now waiting outside our main gate. And there’s also Erlai, who had gone to town to gamble and just returned.”

“Alright. Go bring them all in. You all handle the arrangements. First, gather all the dead in our Courtyard and put them together. Then collect the ones from the village and group them as well. Let’s move them all out and burn them.”

With so few people, trying to bury the dead would be too much. Burning them would be easier.

“Go ahead. Once you’re done, tell them to come back to the Courtyard for a meal,” Wang Li instructed the servant.

After Zhao Cui left, Wang Li turned to Han Ya and said, “Go to the kitchen and see if there’s any food left. Make a pot of porridge—enough for ten people.”

“But Madam, I haven’t helped you clean up the room yet.”

“It’s alright. I can manage on my own. Go on.”

“Alright then.”

After the maid left, Wang Li looked around the room.

According to the original host’s memories, it seemed that her name was also Wang Li—given to her by the Master. Her previous name was Wang Erya, given by her biological parents. They believed that giving a child a humble name would help her survive tough times.

Enough overthinking. There was no one around right now, so she decided to take a look. She remembered there were twelve gold bars hidden under the bed.

She knelt down and pressed a spot near the bed leg. Sure enough, the small box was still there. She took it out and transferred everything into her spatial dimension—thankfully, she’d checked earlier and the space was still intact.

This body really wasn’t in great shape. Just a bit of activity and she already felt completely exhausted.

The original host had been married into this family for several years, living a life where clothes were brought to her and meals were served.

She had two maidservants of her own, but the Master had taken them to the city with him to maintain appearances and help out.

As Wang Li searched the room, she pondered. This landlord wasn’t bad at all. He owned over a thousand mu of land, and half the villagers farmed his fields. The rent was fair—split fifty-fifty—which made him a relatively generous landlord in this area.

Whenever a family was in trouble, as long as they came to him for help, he would always lend a hand.

From the original host’s memories, it was currently June of the 42nd year. The crops in the fields hadn’t been harvested yet. Most likely, when harvest time came, the bandits would return.

She sighed at her misfortune. Life had been so hard in the modern world, and just when she had finally settled down in the village and could live her own life—she ended up transmigrating.

When she first woke up and heard the maid calling her “Madam,” she thought her good days had finally come. Who would’ve thought it would turn out like this?

She remembered that cellar she’d woken up in—it seemed to be full of grain. She needed to make time to move everything into her space. Nowhere was safer than her own space.

First, she packed everything in her own room that could be stored, then went to the Laoye^[1]old master; used to address wealthy or noble older men’s room and did the same. That desk was nice—maybe she’d take it later when the Laoye came back, just not now. If she moved it now, people might get suspicious. After all, who’d believe bandits would want to steal a desk?

In the study, she packed away the books. She remembered there was a hidden compartment behind the bookshelf. She pressed down on the brush holder, and a large box popped out. Opening it, she found six gold bars inside, with two hundred silver dollars neatly stacked beneath them.

Wang Li’s heart bloomed with joy…

Just as she was about to keep searching, she heard Han Ya’s voice calling out again.

“Madam… Madam, where are you? Madam, the food’s ready.”

Wang Li thought to herself, Might as well eat first. This girl can’t be left alone for even a moment without coming to find me.

As she walked out, she replied, “I’m here.”

By the time she stepped outside, Han Ya had already come running over.

Panting, she said, “Madam, Aunt Liu and the others already burned the corpses. They even added some firewood on top.”

“Good, nicely done. Where are they now?”

“They’re already in the front hall, waiting for you.”

“Alright. Go tell them to wash their hands and faces first. After that, they can eat. I have things arranged for after the meal.”

Just as Wang Li stepped into the house, that Han Ya came running in again, carrying a food container.

“Madam, I brought you a bowl of porridge and a dish of pickled vegetables. Everything else was taken by the bandits.”

“It’s fine. As long as no one was hurt, that’s what matters. Don’t be upset. Have you eaten, girl?”

“Madam, you really still remember me…”

“It’s okay. Don’t be sad. From now on, it’s just a few of us left. You don’t need to call me ‘Madam’ anymore—just call me ‘Jiejie,’^[2]Used by a younger sibling to refer to their older sister. Can also be used affectionately to address a slightly older girl or young woman, even if not biologically related. alright?”

“How could that be? Madam, you’ve always been so good to me. I know that in my heart. How about I call you Yiyi^[3]A child’s way of calling their maternal aunt or sometimes any adult woman (non-relative) in a polite, friendly tone. instead?”

“Alright, Yiyi works too. Just don’t call me Madam anymore.”

After the meal, Wang Li gave instructions to the Liu family to tell the tenant farmers to pack their things and move into the main Courtyard. A place this big, where people had died—it was too frightening. It would feel much safer with more people around.

“Madam, that Erlai helped out too. Can he move in? He’s not a bad person—just has a bit of a gambling problem.”

“Just have him stay in the servants’ quarters. Don’t let him into the front Courtyard—if the Laoye returns and sees him, he’ll break his legs.”

“Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

“Go on, then.”

Once everyone had left, Wang Li looked at the yatou^[4]servant girl; can also be used affectionately for a younger girl. “Take a lantern and lead Yiyi to the cellar. I think I may have dropped a hairpin down there—I want to look for it.”

At the cellar, she had the yatou stay above while she went down herself. Wang Li stored all the burlap sacks into her space. There were also two large urns and a box in the back—nice finds. Not a loss at all.

It took her three full days to clean up all the valuables in the Courtyard and the house. She wanted to take everything she could.

On the fourth morning, she prepared to head into the mountains and hide for a few days. She’d wait until the Laoye came back and decide what to do next.

Han Ya had packed everything, carrying bundles large and small on her back.

Then someone from the Liu family brought in a man, covered in blood, barely breathing.

“They’re all dead. All of them. It was terrifying. Even the young master is dead… what do we do?”

Wang Li had Han Ya fetch water, then instructed the Liu woman to take the man down to be cleaned up first. He needed to drink some water, eat a little something, and then give a proper account of what happened.

Once he’d been cleaned and had eaten a little, he came over and knelt before her. Wang Li told him to rise and speak.

He was the eldest son of the Liu family. According to him, they were hosting a banquet for the young master when a group of puppet soldiers stormed in. As soon as they entered, they started smashing things and firing their guns. Over a dozen people were killed.

He had been following the Laoye around to toast guests, staying close to both the Laoye and the Eldest Young Master. The Eldest Young Master was shot. The Laoye, seeing that he couldn’t escape, told him to take the young master and run through the dog hole—he was to head straight to their home.

In a panic, he ran as fast as he could. But just before reaching the village, he tripped and tumbled down a slope into a ditch. When he woke up and got to his feet, the young master was no longer breathing. He sat there and cried for a long time, not knowing what else to do, then finally carried the young master back here.

Sigh… What a miserable start to all this!

They really had to leave this place. With the autumn harvest coming, bandits were bound to show up again. And with only a few people left here, it just wasn’t suitable to stay.

No, they needed to find another landlord and see if they could sell the land off cheaply.

Go to Beijing or maybe Shanghai—those places were still better than here.

She gave orders to have everyone pack up. They would head to the provincial capital to check on the Laoye, see if he was still alive.

(Wang Li thought to herself: That’s the only way to say it—otherwise these people would cling to their homeland and refuse to leave. She couldn’t do it alone.)

“When you go out, don’t mention anything about the Laoye’s household. If anyone asks, just say the Laoye is going to settle in the provincial capital and that’s why he hasn’t returned, understand?”

“Otherwise, if people from neighboring villages hear that the Laoye is gone, they’ll come and loot the place.”

That afternoon, she said, “Han Ya, come with me to town.”

“From the Liu family, have your people search around—see if there’s anything of value left in the house. We’ll take everything we can. Traveling poor is tough; it’s better to set out like a rich man.”

By the time they reached town, the sun had already set.

They originally had a car at home, but the Laoye had taken it. So Wang Li and Han Ya booked a room at an inn. When traveling, it was always safer to have two people together.

The next morning, before dawn, they got up and went to the estate of Landlord Ma. Wang Li sat in a grand chair and sipped tea for half the morning.

It was quite a while before Landlord Ma appeared, beaming as he greeted her.

“Sister-in-law, what brings you here today?”

“Big Brother Ma, my eldest son has just been promoted. The Laoye wants to move to the city, so we’re planning to sell the Courtyard along with the farmland. The Laoye’s helping with the arrangements but can’t get away at the moment, so he’s entrusted everything to me.”

“How much land does your family have in total?”

“Five hundred mu of high-grade land, three hundred mu of mid-grade, and two hundred mu of low-grade. All of it comes with the Courtyard. How much do you think you can offer?”

“I can only offer ten taels of silver per mu for the high-grade land, eight for the mid-grade, and six for the low-grade.”

“Brother Ma, that’s far too low. Wasn’t the going rate for high-grade land eighteen silver dollars per mu before?”

“Sister-in-law, you know how things are now—chaos and war everywhere. Given the situation, I’m only making an offer out of respect for your Laoye and the years of friendship between us.”

(Wang Li thought to herself: Whatever the amount, it’s better than nothing. The priority now is to get the money and leave quickly. If anyone from the Laoye’s family turns out to be alive and I’m still around, I probably won’t even get a single silver dollar.)

Wang Li pretended to think it over.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“That comes to a total of nineteen thousand four hundred. I’ll round it up to twenty thousand, including the Courtyard.”

“Big Brother Ma, that Courtyard has five courtyards in depth, and you’re only adding six hundred for it?”

“Sister-in-law, I’m a bit strapped for cash myself these days. Why don’t you ask around at other places if you’re not satisfied?”

“Alright then. For the sake of your friendship with the Laoye, I’ll give it to you.”

After agreeing, they went together to complete the property transfer paperwork. Landlord Ma even sent along a horse-drawn carriage, where the silver dollars and gold bars were packed into boxes and loaded onto the cart. Luckily, Han Ya knew how to drive.

The two of them set off together for Xie Family Village.