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Su Qingqing realized she had no choice but to go to a fabric shop, buy a few bolts of cloth, and get some cotton to make her own bedding.
She looked down at her hands. In her previous life, she’d occasionally dabbled in cross-stitch after watching her mom embroider after work. But that was just following printed patterns for fun—not real skill.
Making a quilt from scratch? Not happening.
The original Su Qingqing was skilled in embroidery, and she had inherited those memories—but theory and practice were worlds apart.
She rubbed her chin in deep thought.
Hmm…
Got it!
There was always Aunt Wang and Sister-in-law Yang—true natives of this era. They could definitely make bedding without a problem.
With that, Su Qingqing picked up her burlap sack and rushed toward the fabric shop.
She bought half a bolt of coarse cotton for mattress padding, and another half bolt of finer cotton for duvet covers. Altogether, it cost her three taels and five hundred copper coins.
Sigh!
Productivity in this era was painfully low—everything from food to cloth was expensive.
She then bought six jin of cotton at 200 copper coins per jin, spending an additional one tael and two hundred coins. Cotton was even more precious—no wonder her winter coat was stuffed with reed fluff and willow catkins instead.
With so many purchases, her burlap sack was bursting, and she still had more things to buy.
She decided to rent a cart to carry it all.
When she arrived at the cart rental shop, the first person she saw was the same old man who had given her rides twice before.
The old man lit up the moment he saw her—business had come knocking again! This girl was a reliable customer!
“Hey there, little missy! Need a ride? I just happen to be available!” he said eagerly, grinning from ear to ear.
Su Qingqing: …I can’t. Please pretend you don’t know me.
She walked straight past him, pretending not to hear.
But the old man wasn’t discouraged. He trotted after her, talking non-stop.
No way he was letting this customer slip away!
In the end, Su Qingqing gave in to his persistence and rented his rundown donkey cart for 20 copper coins.
As she sat on the cart, she sighed inwardly: Ancient grandpas sure have thick skin!
The sun was high now—lunchtime!
Su Qingqing asked the old man to pull over at her usual noodle stall.
They each ordered a bowl of meat noodles. Su Qingqing added a fried egg to hers.
While waiting, a loud cry suddenly came from a nearby table.
“Wife, what’s wrong?!”
Sobs followed.
“Wife, please don’t scare me! Someone help my wife!”
“Mom, mom! Wake up! Bao’er wants his mommy! Waaa…”
The cries of both man and child echoed together, drawing a crowd.
Su Qingqing and the old man were among those who pushed their way in to see what had happened.
She hadn’t planned to get involved, but the cries were impossible to ignore. Maybe she could help somehow?
“Her lips are purple, she’s foaming at the mouth… Looks like poisoning. She has to be taken to the clinic immediately—she won’t survive much longer.”
“Sigh… probably too late already. Poor kid, losing his mother so young…”
“Poisoned? How? Could it be the noodles?!”
The crowd turned their attention to the noodle stall owner.
The vendor frantically waved his hands.
He swore on his life—he’d never poison his own food. That would ruin him!
“She hasn’t even eaten yet!” the man cried, looking up. “We just sat down—my wife hadn’t taken a single bite before she collapsed!”
The vendor exhaled in relief. Thank goodness this guy was honest. If he’d said otherwise, it would’ve been hard to clear his name.
“Please, help me take my wife to the clinic! I’m begging you!” the man said, dropping to his knees.
His little boy copied him, also kneeling. The man was so scared and weak that he couldn’t carry his wife himself.
The onlookers exchanged hesitant glances.
No one wanted to get involved. What if they got blamed later? Better to stay out of it—after all, the woman looked like she wasn’t going to make it anyway.
Su Qingqing and the old man finally squeezed through the crowd.
When she saw the woman lying there, barely alive, with her husband crying and the little boy beside her, Su Qingqing’s heart softened.
This wasn’t just about one life—it was about an entire family.
Her upbringing wouldn’t allow her to turn a blind eye. She regretted not studying medicine in her previous life. She didn’t even know if rushing to the clinic would be fast enough.
Screw it. Every second counts—let’s try!
She took a step forward, ready to lift the woman—
“It’s too late to get her to the clinic. We need to treat her now,” the old man said, grabbing her arm.
“You can save her?” Su Qingqing looked at him, hope flaring in her eyes.
“I’ll try,” he replied solemnly, all traces of his earlier silliness gone.
He removed a silver hairpin from a young woman’s head nearby and knelt down to begin first aid.
Everyone around held their breath.
Minutes passed—though it felt like a century.
The old man used the silver pin to prick several pressure points, then gently tilted the woman’s body.
She retched violently—and slowly regained consciousness.
Nobody cared about the mess. The crowd erupted into cheers.
The man and his child bowed repeatedly to the old man in thanks.
He quickly helped them up. “She ate poisonous mushrooms. As long as she vomits it out and rests for a couple days, she’ll be fine.”
The man’s face went pale. His wife had only eaten half a coarse grain cake they’d brought from home—he’d foraged some mushrooms yesterday and mixed them in. Thankfully, their son had begged to eat noodles, so they ordered one bowl to share with him, and he and his wife had planned to eat the cake.
If they hadn’t… all three of them might’ve been poisoned.
He thanked the old man again and again.
Su Qingqing watched the woman wake up and let out a sigh of relief. In her heart, she gave the old man a huge thumb-up.
This old guy’s got skills! With just a silver pin, he pulled someone back from the brink of death.
Her instincts had been right—he was no ordinary cart driver.