“Ah? When did this happen? Is it serious? Which hospital? We’ll come lend a hand,” Chen Meiling asked with concern.

“Sigh… better not mention it!” The village chief really couldn’t bring himself to say more.

The introduction letter was issued smoothly. As per Jiang Wanting’s request, the number of people written on it was two, with the reason being that she didn’t dare go out alone and wanted Cui Ni to accompany her.

The village chief didn’t think too much about it. For a girl, it really was dangerous to travel alone; having company was much better.

The next morning, Jiang Wanting and Cui Ni set out with the letter, openly and confidently, without having to hide from anyone’s eyes anymore.

They first went to the neighboring village to collect lingzhi mushrooms. The first day’s yield wasn’t as good as she had hoped. Most households were afraid of being tricked, so only five lingzhi were sold to her.

Jiang Wanting paid the agreed price of 1.5 yuan per lingzhi and promised to return the next day, settling accounts on the spot just like today. Before leaving, she emphasized once again that she would never buy from the family that bullied Cui Ni.

This turned out to be quite effective. By the third day, when Jiang Wanting came back to the village, she was already able to collect ten lingzhi. Children even came to tell her that Gouzi had been beaten badly when he went home that day, crying out miserably.

As the number of lingzhi she purchased steadily increased over the past two days, Jiang Wanting’s purse began to swell. She needed to deposit the extra money in the Rural Credit Cooperative. Since her household registration was still with the Jiang family and hadn’t been split off, she had no choice but to ask the village chief again to issue her a proof of identity.

Jiang Wanting deposited four hundred yuan, keeping a little over one hundred in her pocket for buying lingzhi.

At this time, the bus station had also become much safer than before. In the past, one didn’t need an introduction letter to buy tickets at the county station, but after the day Jiang Wanting was robbed, tickets could no longer be purchased without one, and the address on the letter would be strictly checked.

What made people complain even more was that the passenger station now also inspected luggage. If passengers carried dangerous items like knives, they would be refused boarding.

Because of this, long-distance travelers were cut by more than half, which actually made Jiang Wanting feel much more at ease.

After following Jiang Wanting to sell lingzhi for five days, Cui Ni also made a small profit. Now she had sixty yuan and was practically a little rich lady.

One morning, the two of them arrived at the county together. Cui Ni hesitated, then said to Jiang Wanting:

“Big Sis, I’m afraid I can’t go to the city with you today.”

“Not feeling well?” Jiang Wanting looked at the neat and clean Cui Ni, dressed in a brand-new blue cotton outfit. She didn’t look sick at all—just a little absentminded.

The day before, Chen Meiling had finished sewing all the clothes and delivered them to Cui Ni that night. Cui Ni’s elder sister, holding a baby in her arms, only stood aside silently. Cui Ni couldn’t hold back her tears. She said it was her first time wearing new clothes, and she almost couldn’t bear to put them on—she even wanted to give them to her sister instead. But since the clothes were tailored to Cui Ni’s measurements, her sister couldn’t possibly wear them.

So, when Cui Ni went out today, she finally put on a set of clothes that belonged solely to her.

Yet now, in her new clothes, Cui Ni told Jiang Wanting she wouldn’t be selling lingzhi today.

That made Jiang Wanting worry that she might be unwell.

Cui Ni shook her head. “I need to go to the mining factory’s cafeteria today.”

“You’re not going to sell lingzhi? What are you going there for?”

“I… I’m going to buy steamed buns.” Cui Ni lowered her head, her shoes scuffing the ground.

“Steamed buns? You told them about the money you earned?” Those were white-flour buns—villagers only ate them during New Year or when entertaining guests.

Cui Ni’s sixty yuan was kept with Jiang Wanting. By agreement, Jiang Wanting gave Cui Ni fifty cents each day to hand in at home, telling her family it was a little benefit she got from accompanying Jiang Wanting on her errands.

“I didn’t tell them about the money. It’s just… my dad said he wanted to eat steamed buns and told me to use today’s earnings to buy some at the cafeteria. Buying buns takes time, so I can’t go with you.” The more she spoke, the softer her voice became.

Hearing that, Jiang Wanting felt reassured, and the two parted ways in the county.

At the bus station, Jiang Wanting met Song Zhiguo as planned. Today, Song Zhiguo came empty-handed, without any lingzhi.

When he saw Jiang Wanting, he almost couldn’t recognize her. She had changed so much.

Her clothes, once patched upon patched, were now a brand-new set of blue cotton. Her hair, usually a messy, uneven length that covered her face, was now neatly trimmed into a tidy ear-length bob, revealing her thin yet pretty face. Song Zhiguo couldn’t believe this was her.

It turned out that the day before, Chen Meiling had not only finished Cui Ni’s new clothes but also Jiang Wanting’s. After changing into the new outfit, Jiang Wanting had asked her mother to cut her hair. Chen Meiling had flatly refused.

When asked why, Chen Meiling explained that Jiang Wanting was too good-looking, and she had deliberately kept her hair messy to cover her features, afraid something bad might happen in the village. And so, for more than ten years, Jiang Wanting’s hair was kept that way—but trouble had still come anyway.

Jiang Wanting explained: “When doing business outside, being clean and neat leaves a very good first impression, and it greatly increases the chances of success.”

Only after Jiang Wanting reassured her repeatedly did Chen Meiling reluctantly agree to cut her hair.

What Jiang Wanting didn’t expect was that Song Zhiguo didn’t even recognize her.

“Uncle Song,” Jiang Wanting took the initiative to greet him. “Where are today’s lingzhi?”

Song Zhiguo pulled his gaze back, rubbing his hands awkwardly. “Yesterday your aunt’s illness got worse. I want to take her to a hospital in the provincial capital, so I didn’t have time to pick any. I just came today to let you know, in case you waited for nothing. I probably won’t be able to come for the next couple of days either.”

Jiang Wanting asked with concern, “Is it serious? Do you have enough money for the treatment?”

She knew that recently, Song Zhiguo had been using the money he earned to buy medicine, though she had no idea how much he had already spent.

Song Zhiguo frowned, finding it hard to speak. A dark, rough-skinned middle-aged man—how could he bring himself to ask a little girl to lend him money? He’d have to throw away all his pride.

Before he could answer, Jiang Wanting pulled out all the money she had on her—over a hundred yuan—and stuffed it into his hands. “Uncle, this is all I have on me. Take it first. If it’s not enough, come back here and wait for me, I’ll scrape more together for you. Aunt’s illness is the priority. Lingzhi can still be picked later, that’s not urgent. Hurry home and take Aunt to the hospital. No illness should be delayed.”

Song Zhiguo rubbed his eyes, clutching the money tightly. “Ah! I’ll take her to the hospital right away. This money—I’ll count it as a loan, I’ll pay you back in the future!”

“The money doesn’t matter. If you don’t have it, you don’t need to repay it. What matters is her treatment.”

Song Zhiguo wanted to say something but couldn’t. He just nodded hard, then turned and ran off anxiously.

Without Cui Ni by her side, this was Jiang Wanting’s first time taking the bus alone. She carried a shoulder pole with bamboo baskets hanging front and back, each loaded with ten lingzhi mushrooms. Each one was large and dark in color. On the bus, people kept asking about the price, but as soon as they heard thirty yuan apiece, they all backed off.

Jiang Wanting didn’t care. She already had buyers for all her lingzhi; they’d never end up spoiling in her hands.

When Zhou Weidong saw Jiang Wanting that day, he was stunned for a long while, just as she expected. “Y-you look like this?”

“Mm, my mom cut my hair,” Jiang Wanting said casually, while helping him pick out the largest lingzhi.

Zhou Weidong looked uneasy. He didn’t dare lift his head to look at her, but his eyes seemed uncontrollable, repeatedly sneaking glances at her face. He quickly chose his lingzhi, paid, and rushed off.

Jiang Wanting didn’t take his reaction to heart, but Zhang Shengli’s comments were much bolder. “So you’re actually this good-looking! Why didn’t you dress up earlier? Oh, wait—that wouldn’t do. If you had, I probably wouldn’t have been able to buy any lingzhi from you!” he joked easily.

He paid 225 yuan for nine lingzhi. Since Jiang Wanting had arrived early, Zhang Shengli wasn’t in a rush to leave, and they ended up chatting at the door about lingzhi cream mushroom soup.

“You earn so much money, and you really don’t want to come in and try the lingzhi soup? It sells out quickly every day. We even have a middle-aged couple who come without fail, every single day for the past four or five days.”

Jiang Wanting had long wanted to try it, but her previous shabby appearance kept her from accepting the invitation. Zhang Shengli’s offer was one thing, but how could she really walk in dressed in rags? Today was different. With her new appearance, no one would find it odd for her to dine inside.

“Alright then, Brother Zhang, save me a seat. I’ll come at eleven when the restaurant opens.” Jiang Wanting readily agreed.

“No problem—I’ll reserve one just for you!”

There was still half an hour before eleven. Jiang Wanting went to the May Day Department Store next door and spent one yuan on two tins of Pechoin cream—one for herself, one for Chen Meiling.

When she returned, Binhu Hotel was just opening for business. Jiang Wanting walked in with practiced ease, and a server led her to the reserved table.

“Steak set meal, one coffee. And replace the set’s soup with lingzhi cream mushroom soup,” Jiang Wanting ordered smoothly, without even looking at the menu.

The server, who had just been about to make recommendations, quickly jotted it down. “Do you have foreign exchange coupons?”

“No.”

“Then the set meal is fifty-eight yuan, the coffee three yuan, totaling sixty-one. Is that alright?” The server still broke the rules to ask, worried. After all, this one meal cost the equivalent of two months’ wages for most people. She was afraid the little girl in front of her couldn’t pay, and preferred risking punishment over not confirming.

“No problem. I can pay in advance.” Jiang Wanting didn’t feel offended.

“Ah, no need—just pay after the meal.” The server, realizing her inner thoughts had been seen through, flustered a little.

She went to place the order, whispering to a colleague, “That single diner over there—she’s spending two months of wages in one go. Doesn’t look rich from her clothes though.”

“That seat was reserved by Manager Zhang. Maybe she’s his relative.”

“What kind of relative would warrant spending that much?”

“Who knows. Just don’t make a mistake.”

Jiang Wanting could feel the furtive gazes directed at her. Eyes kept turning her way. But she didn’t mind at all. Just like in her previous life, when she dined here alone, she also drew countless stares.

People would speculate, full of suspicion and curiosity, analyzing a hundred possibilities—what kind of person she was, why she would eat alone in a Western restaurant.

The mushroom soup was perfect—the cream was sourced from Shanghai, and the steak was the same as in her previous life, imported from the Soviet Union. Everything felt familiar, relaxing her as though she had slipped back into her past life.

“Jiang Wanting?” Suddenly, someone sat down across from her, calling her name.

Jiang Wanting looked up, pleasantly surprised. “Lu Yuan! How come you’re here?”