There was no entry fee required to get into the county, which surprised Qian Chunhua—it didn’t match the novels she had read before transmigrating.

Since she was already in the county, she decided to take this opportunity to buy new shoes for the two younger children.

On the way here, Qian Chunhua had carefully observed that Zhao Qingyun was wearing cloud-toed brocade boots—shoes that were both stylish and warm, considered the best and most fashionable footwear of this era.

For now, Zhao Qingyun didn’t need any new clothing or shoes, but getting proper footwear for Zhao Qingfeng and Zhao Xiaoling was urgent.

In addition to shoes, Qian Chunhua also wanted to get them clothing and bedding.

She wanted to give the best of everything to these three children she had gained after transmigrating.

However, since their family hadn’t officially split yet, she couldn’t afford to be too conspicuous.

So for this trip, she decided to only buy shoes. The rest could be planned gradually.

Qian Chunhua walked quickly through the streets, scanning her surroundings, and finally found a ready-made clothing shop.

Upon entering, she glanced at the garments hanging on the racks.

The colors were dull, the styles outdated—clearly not what she was looking for.

“Madam, are you looking to buy some clothes for your family?” The shopkeeper noticed Qian Chunhua’s expression and took the initiative to ask.

Although she was dressed plainly like a typical village woman, the shopkeeper keenly sensed her dissatisfaction and grew curious about her identity.

Qian Chunhua nodded and pointed to a pair of cotton shoes for children. “Please let me see that pair.”

To her, whether the shoes looked nice didn’t matter—what mattered was warmth.

She couldn’t bear the thought of the children suffering from the cold just because they had no proper shoes.

“Madam, are the shoes for a young master or a young miss?” the shopkeeper asked cautiously, trying to fish for information.

Qian Chunhua chuckled.

She found the shopkeeper quite smooth with his words.

She looked so plainly dressed—how could she possibly be called madam?

“For my son and daughter. One’s three years old, the other six,” she said straightforwardly. “Give me one pair each.”

She tested the shoes for size—having measured the children’s feet before leaving home.

Each pair cost 100 wen, and she paid 200 wen total to buy new shoes for both children.

In this era, most people preferred to buy materials and make their own clothes and shoes.

Few bought ready-made ones, which made such items relatively expensive.

But Qian Chunhua had no time to fuss over these details.

Nanzhou County was small but well-equipped, consisting of just five main streets.

These streets were lively and bustling, lined with all sorts of shops—tailors, fabric stores, general goods—each one reflecting the vibrancy of the town.

Almost everything a household might need could be found here.

Qian Chunhua strolled along, visiting shop after shop.

There were quilts for sale too, but after seeing the price, she walked away without hesitation.

She wasn’t really here to shop—this was reconnaissance.

She wanted to see what goods were being sold so she could later smuggle out items from her space subtly and believably.

After all, overly modern products would only arouse suspicion in this era.

In the general goods shop, items of all kinds were on display.

As Qian Chunhua browsed, she quietly memorized all the details.

As she was about to leave town, a delicious aroma wafted through the air, catching her attention.

She looked toward the source and saw a small, inconspicuous restaurant at the end of the street.

Though modest in appearance, the place seemed to serve a wide variety of food, and that tempting smell—it came from freshly steamed meat buns.

Her stomach growled.

The plain millet porridge from that morning had long since digested.

Though she had food in her space, she couldn’t just take it out right now.

So, she decided to treat herself.

She walked up and bought two steaming hot meat buns, three wen each—six wen in total.

As she walked and ate, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Mmm, so good!”

She devoured them with delight, completely unaware that a pair of eyes had been watching her from behind.

In no time, the two meat buns were gone.

Though she still felt a little hungry, it was far better than earlier.

Thinking of the children at home, she remembered how little they had eaten that morning.

They must be hungry by now.

She decided that when she got close to home, she would take out a few big meat buns from her space for them.

As for the rest of the family—Qian Chunhua didn’t even consider them.

They had tried to take her children from her—how could she feel any goodwill toward them?

As she neared the village entrance, she hesitated slightly and chose not to enter.

Instead, she bypassed the village and headed straight for the mountain behind it.

She intended to skip going home for now and go find the three children who were out gathering pigweed.

While walking, she calculated—she’d take out seven meat buns.

Two each for the kids, and one for herself.

To her, Zhao Qingsong truly was a wonderful child.

Whether in the original host’s memories or from what she saw last night, he always looked after the younger two with genuine care—more so even than Zhao Qingyun.

So, in Qian Chunhua’s eyes, even though Zhao Qingsong was part of the eldest branch, giving him two meat buns wasn’t a big deal.

She wasn’t a petty person.

Following the original host’s memory, she crossed the fields behind the village and stepped onto the path leading to the mountains.

In early winter, though the sun still shone brightly, its heat was gone.

The air had grown cool.

To get to the mountain, one had to pass the Zhao family’s fields.

Qian Chunhua’s eyes held a trace of curiosity as she looked out over them.

The crops had long been harvested.

Only the dry stalks remained, swaying gently in the wind.

The eldest branch of the family always left early after breakfast, claiming to be busy in the fields—but there was never any sign of them.

Not only were the Zhao family’s fields empty, but the entire village’s farmland was eerily quiet—no signs of labor anywhere.

Qian Chunhua gradually realized that the eldest branch, despite going out daily, was definitely not working in the fields.

She thought of the foolish original host—working herself to the bone at home, cooking for everyone, even raising the two kids from the second branch to be diligent and obedient.

The chickens, ducks, pigs—all the family’s livestock—were fed by her hand.

What she saw now gave Qian Chunhua a whole new perspective on the eldest branch.

This family—it really would be better to split sooner than later.

She didn’t intend to take advantage of them, but if they thought they could treat her like a fool, they were dead wrong.

Qian Chunhua walked past the Zhao family’s fields and arrived at a small river behind the village.

The water level had dropped significantly, revealing the rocks and sand on the riverbed.

At the riverbank, two women were busily washing clothes.

Their hands were red from the freezing water, but they kept scrubbing without pause.

“Chunhua! Chunhua, is that you back already?” Zhang Qiurong looked up from her washing and stood.

Zhang Qiurong and Li Cuihong were from the same village, both married into Huanghualing, and this shared hometown connection made them especially close.

Zhang Qiurong had married Ma Yuping of Huanghualing and was known throughout the village as “Sister-in-law Ma.”

“Sister-in-law Ma, doing laundry too?” Qian Chunhua replied with a smile.

But inside, a trace of confusion stirred.

What did she mean by “You’re back”?

Qian Chunhua didn’t overthink it.

Zhang Qiurong continued, “Chunhua, I heard you went to town today—to send Qingyun to school?”