The shop assistant probably noticed the expression on Jian Xiu’s face.

It made sense—ordinary people wouldn’t use such expensive stationery.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Jian Xiu was startled.

“This expensive?”

“If you think this is too costly, young lady, you can check this set over here. It’s cheaper—only 800 coins for the whole set,” the assistant suggested.

Following the direction he pointed, Jian Xiu sighed inwardly: You really do get what you pay for.

Considering her current situation, she decided to buy the cheapest set.

She had originally planned to buy two beginner-level books as well, but after asking about the price, she was immediately shocked.

She couldn’t afford them.

After today’s events, Jian Xiu realized for the first time—was she being too impulsive in deciding to send Liu Tou and Qi Tou to the academy?

It seemed she needed to find more ways to earn money.

After roughly calculating the silver she had, she found it still wasn’t enough.

Sending both brothers to the academy would cost at least 20 to 30 taels.

Building a house? That would cost even more.

By the time she found Zhang Zhiyong again, his ox cart was already carrying several people.

“Sister-in-law, over here!” Zhang Zhiyong waved at her enthusiastically as soon as he spotted her.

Jian Xiu quickly ran over, easily climbed onto the ox cart, and found a relatively spacious spot to sit.

Even though she had ridden an ox cart many times, she still wasn’t used to it.

It was just too bumpy.

Thinking about the price of the muntjac earlier, Jian Xiu couldn’t help but ask Keke, “Has the score for that muntjac been calculated yet?”

“Yes, it’s out.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, weren’t you busy?”

Jian Xiu thought about it. True, ever since she got back, she had been running around like a spinning top and hadn’t had time to check.

“So, how much? It’s not less than the venomous snake, right?”

“What do you think?”

“I think it should be more. Definitely more than the venomous snake!” Jian Xiu said confidently.

“You’re right. That muntjac sold for 98,000 points.”

“That much?”

“Yeah.”

“Then how many points do I have in total now?”

“Not quite 200,000 yet, just a little over 170,000,” Keke replied.

“That’s still far from 880,000.”

“Sometimes there are discounts. If there’s a 20% off promotion, you’ll only need a little over 700,000.”

“That’s still a long way to go.”

Keke: “…” Of course, if you don’t work hard, you’ll always be far from your goal.

It wanted to say—given that this was only after a few days, earning that much was already impressive.

“Keke, what about the design plans? Did you buy them for me?” Jian Xiu asked again.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t have enough silver?”

“I should have just enough now. Buy them first. If the discount ends later, I’ll lose out.”

Jian Xiu insisted.

She had to build a house, and she didn’t understand anything about design, so getting the plans was necessary.

Calculating her current silver, today’s earnings alone included over two taels from dried bamboo shoots, more than ten taels from the muntjac, another ten taels from the wild boar, plus three taels from selling a wheelchair to Shopkeeper Wu, and earnings from plantain herbs.

That added up to almost 30 taels.

She still had dozens of taels left from selling the formula last time.

All together, she had over a hundred taels now.

Even after setting aside 30 taels for her brothers’ academy fees, she still had enough to build the house.

Besides, she would continue earning from dried bamboo shoots and plantain herbs.

And soon, her soy sauce would be ready.

This batch was small, and she hadn’t used the traditional method, so the fermentation time was shorter.

In the apocalypse, if soybeans were coated in flour before fermenting and then placed in brine, soy sauce could be ready in about twenty days.

Once it was done, she would bring it to Shopkeeper Wu for a taste—he would surely be satisfied.

But what troubled Jian Xiu the most wasn’t silver; it was her supermarket points.

As she was lost in thought, the ox cart arrived at the village center.

Zhang Zhiyong always stopped here, whether leaving Quanyong County or returning.

The villagers would get off here.

A large banyan tree stood in the center, where village women often gathered to snack on sunflower seeds and gossip about others.

“Look! Isn’t that Jian Xiu? She’s finally back! We were just talking about her.”

One of the women in the group spoke up.

Sure enough, at those words, all eyes turned toward Jian Xiu.

Seeing this, Jian Xiu instantly understood—clearly, she had been the topic of discussion.

“Jian Xiu, you’re finally back!”

One woman warmly greeted her, holding a handful of sunflower seeds, as if eager to pull her into a chat.

Jian Xiu frowned slightly—leaving wasn’t an option, but staying wasn’t either.

Before she could react, she was already pulled under the banyan tree.

“Jian Xiu, you might not know this yet, but your mother-in-law has been bedridden since that incident.”

As soon as Jian Xiu arrived, the woman eagerly shared the latest gossip with a smile.

Her friendliness didn’t bother Jian Xiu much.

Instead, she found her straightforward personality rather refreshing.

This woman’s surname was Zhao, and everyone called her Aunt Zhao.

She had a son and a daughter, and her daughter was married—to someone from Jian Xiu’s hometown, Jianjia Village.

So whenever she saw Jian Xiu, she naturally felt a sense of familiarity.

With Jian Xiu’s arrival, the women immediately started chattering away.

“I heard that after what happened that day, Old Zhang even beat up your mother-in-law?”

“Oh? Tell us! We want to hear the details!” Another woman asked eagerly.

Jian Xiu simply stood there, watching their excited expressions.

In truth, she envied their simple lives.

If it weren’t for the scheming and backstabbing in the apocalypse, people in Jianjia Village could have lived happily.

“Mother…”

Just as the women were talking animatedly, a young woman’s voice called from nearby.

Looking in that direction, they saw Aunt Zhao’s daughter, Zhang Xuemei.

“Oh, daughter! What brings you back?”

“I haven’t visited you in a while, so I thought I’d come see you!” Zhang Xuemei said sweetly.

As she spoke, she noticed Jian Xiu and froze for a moment.

Because in the past, Jian Xiu rarely appeared in the village center.

She was always too busy with chores, never had enough to eat, and lived a tough life—everyone in the village knew that.

How could she have the leisure to sit around gossiping?