Once everyone had dispersed, her younger siblings finally returned from the fields, covered in mud like little loaches. An Xin made sure they were bathed and fed, serving the food she had set aside for them. After ensuring they were settled, she found a quiet spot to reflect on her next steps since arriving in this unfamiliar time.

The next day, before dawn, An Xin, who hadn’t slept a wink, got up with dark circles under her eyes. Moving quickly, she retrieved a small amount of grain from her portable warehouse and discreetly replenished the household’s flour and rice jars—just enough for three meals a day to avoid arousing suspicion.

Without looking back, she left the house. The night before, she had told her family she was heading to town to buy a wedding dress.

Although her warehouse contained everything she needed—wedding dresses, matching shoes, socks, skirts, and more—she decided to visit the market to avoid drawing attention.

She had thought it through clearly last night. Right now, marrying Bai Yichen was just a temporary solution.

She needed to find a way to earn money, support the An family, and get her mother admitted to a hospital in the provincial city for treatment. Curing her mother’s illness was the priority.

But the question remained: where can she earn money? First, she planned to explore the city and see if any opportunities for quick profits presented themselves.

With this in mind, she headed to the village entrance. Along the way, she encountered several elderly women who gave her odd looks, tinged with a peculiar kind of envy.

Preoccupied, she didn’t dwell on their stares. It was only after she passed that the women began gossiping in hushed voices.

“Hey, did you hear? That An family girl, got a bride price of 1,060 yuan from Bai Yichen!”

“Of course, I heard! Who wouldn’t know about it? No girl in this village has ever fetched such a high bride price. Who would’ve thought this troublemaker was worth so much?”

“Bah, she probably seduced Bai Yichen because he has money.”

“Exactly! I heard that when Tian Zhengying left the An family yesterday, she was green with envy. She even muttered that if she’d known Bai Yichen was offering so much, she’d have sent her own daughter to seduce him.”

At this, one woman scoffed disdainfully.

“Shameless! Does she think her daughter, as stocky as an ox, would catch Bai Yichen’s eye? My niece is far prettier!”

“Oh, please! Your niece is short like a gourd and you call her pretty? Look at my Shun’er—now that’s beauty!”

The comment sparked a heated rebuttal.

“Who are you calling a gourd? Your pockmarked daughter is the one no one would want!”

“What?! How dare you insult my daughter? Let’s settle this right now!”

Before An Xin even reached the village entrance, the gossip about her bride price had spiraled into a brawl among the early-rising women.

Meanwhile, the news of Bai Yichen’s lavish bride price spread rapidly throughout the village. An Xin, however, couldn’t care less about such nonsense. Standing at a fork in the road, she hesitated.

Should she go to the county town or the provincial city?

To the left lay the county town; to the right, the provincial city. Their village was conveniently located on a mountainside between the two.

After a brief moment of indecision, Shen Zhihuan turned and headed down the road to the provincial city.

Larger cities offered greater opportunities, especially in the 1980s, a time when China’s economy was on the verge of rapid development. Anyone with ambition could carve out a path in this burgeoning era.

When An Xin arrived in the provincial city, she was greeted by bustling streets filled with cars, throngs of people, and a cacophony of vendors hawking their goods. Besides large state-run factories, small family-operated businesses dominated the economy.

After exploring the city for a while, An Xin got a rough idea of its workings. She found a street stall selling hand-pulled noodles and sat down to order a bowl of noodles with sauce.

By then, it was too late for breakfast but still early for lunch. The stall was nearly empty, with An Xin as its sole customer. The owner served her noodles and then sat on a nearby bench, striking up a conversation.

“Young lady, how do the noodles taste? If you want more, I’ll add some for you,” the owner said kindly.

“Thank you, Uncle! You’re so generous!” An Xin replied warmly.

Eating slowly, she casually asked, “Uncle, this street seems busy. You must make a good profit selling noodles here.”

The middle-aged man smiled sheepishly, his white teeth gleaming. “Not really. Running this stall earns me 20 to 30 yuan a day, just enough to cover household expenses and my kids’ school fees. There’s not much left over.”

Weekends, however, were a different story—he could earn over 100 yuan. But like most businesspeople, he downplayed his earnings. Had An Xin not seemed so innocent and kind, he wouldn’t have shared even this much.

Taking a bite of noodles, An Xin feigned admiration. “Wow, that’s a lot! Uncle, why not set up shop in a busier area, like a train station or a bus terminal? With so many people passing through, you’d probably earn even more!”

The man shook his head with a wry smile. “Young lady, you don’t understand. Places like train stations and bus terminals may have more foot traffic, but most of those people are travelers. They’re in a hurry and don’t have time to sit and eat noodles. They’d rather grab something quick, like roasted sweet potatoes or boiled eggs, to take with them.”

His explanation made sense. Having run his stall for years, the owner knew that transient crowds rarely sat down for a proper meal.

Nodding thoughtfully, An Xin followed up with a string of compliments.

“Uncle, your noodles are delicious! I can tell you put a lot of care into making them. I’m sure your business will only get better!”

The man’s face lit up with a grin, and he laughed heartily, growing even more generous.

“Ha! If you like the noodles so much, let me add some more for you, on the house.”