Chapter 4

Gu Xinxin winked at Gu Xiangrong, but he didn’t understand the signal. However, he noticed his elder sister’s expression changed in an instant. She had been fine when they got off the cart, but now she looked… about to cry? And why was she swaying unsteadily?

Gu Xiangrong quickly reached out to support her. Gu Xinxin sighed, adopting the mournful tone of rural funeral lamentations: “Oh, auntie, even if we wanted to become thieves, we couldn’t! We can’t run fast and have no strength. If we tried stealing from others, we’d just be waiting to get beaten to death!”

The aunt fell silent for a moment before nodding. That made sense – with the siblings’ frail figures, they wouldn’t even qualify as thieves.

Gu Xinxin continued: “I was seriously ill yesterday, running a high fever. Xiangrong was afraid I might die, so he urgently took me to the county town to see a doctor. See, we just got these medicines from the county town – they weren’t cheap at all.”

Since they were from the same village, someone showed concern: “What did the doctor say?”

“The doctor said I’ve been undernourished for years, my body hasn’t developed properly, and I’m internally deficient. I might look like a person on the outside, but inside I’m empty. Fortunately, we went in time yesterday, otherwise…” Gu Xinxin paused meaningfully, “I might have burned to ashes.” Someone quickly made spitting sounds: “What unlucky nonsense are you saying? A young girl like you shouldn’t talk recklessly. Sometimes if you say false things too often, they might come true.”

This was the concept of self-fulfilling prophecies. In ancient times, when child mortality rates were high, people were very superstitious about children discussing topics like death.

Someone else sighed: “Ah, how much can a girl really eat? Your stepmother is truly too stingy. It’s not like your father can’t earn money – your family is among the wealthiest in our village…”

After all, they could afford to live in a small courtyard house.

Even with two girls sharing one room, their family situation was much better than many others – most girls in the village still shared rooms with their grandparents, at most separated by a curtain.

Another person asked curiously: “So did your stepmother have a change of heart and give you money for medical treatment?”

“Definitely not.” Gu Xinxin quickly waved her hands: “We just got lucky. Right after we arrived in the county town, we met a young lady from a wealthy family. She had got separated from her maid and was panicking. She didn’t dare trust random men or women on the street, but she felt she could trust my brother and me because we look so thin and weak. So, she asked us to help find her maid.”

She needed to create an excuse for their newfound money.

More importantly, Gu Xiangrong had said that Gu Daniu had a terrible temper. When they returned home, they would inevitably face a beating. She didn’t want to be beaten – what a joke! In her previous life, she hadn’t been struck even once before dying. Was she going to get beaten after transmigrating?

So, she needed to find herself a powerful backer.

“Only after we helped that young lady did, do we learn she comes from a very influential family.” Gu Xinxin declared loudly. It happened to be dinner time, and to save lamp oil, most villagers were eating outside while chatting.

The large tree at the village entrance was probably several decades old, thick and sturdy. In summer, this was the coolest spot in the entire village.

Nearly half the village had gathered to listen to Gu Xinxin’s tall tale: “You’ll never guess whose daughter she was.”

The villagers played along: “Whose daughter, was she?”

“The county magistrate’s.”Gu Xinxin drew out the suspense: ‘The precious child of our beloved official!”

“Old Father and Mother” is an affectionate term for the county magistrate, of course. Only an upright official would be called Old Father and Mother—if it were a corrupt official… who would dare call them that?

The crowd gasped in amazement. “Gu girl, your luck is truly remarkable! Are you really the daughter of the Old Father and Mother’s household?”

“Why would I lie to you? Otherwise, do you think money just fell from the sky for me to pick up? The young lady of that household, to thank my brother and me, specifically gave us her old clothes. You see, they look new, but they were worn by the maids and servants in her home. However, since they take good care of them and don’t have to work in the fields like we do, even their old clothes are bound to be fresh and new.”

This made sense, and everyone nodded in agreement. After all, how could the maids and servants of the county magistrate’s household be like them, toiling in the fields?

Just as they were talking, Gu Daniu’s voice came from not far away: “You little brats, you’ve got some nerve! How dare you take advantage of my absence to boil all the eggs in the house!”

Gu Xinxin raised an eyebrow and glanced at Gu Xiangrong. See? We were away for just a day and a night, and all he cares about are his eggs.

Gu Xiangrong was astonished—how could he read such words on his elder sister’s face without her even opening her mouth?

Gu Daniu arrived brandishing a stick. Seeing the siblings, he didn’t care if there were others around and raised the stick to strike them fiercely.

The bystanders hurriedly intervened: “Oh, Da Niu, don’t be angry. The children didn’t mean any harm. Your daughter was seriously ill, and her brother was worried, so he took her to the county town. And look, they were lucky—they even met important people there.”

“Father, the county magistrate’s daughter said she would come to visit me in a few days,” Gu Xinxin seized the moment while Gu Daniu was being restrained and shouted abruptly. “If I’m injured, it won’t look good.”

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted: “Really? The county magistrate’s daughter is coming to see you?”

Gu Xiangrong pinched Gu Xinxin’s arm hard. Where did this county magistrate’s daughter come from? What does “a few days” mean? What if no one shows up?

Gu Daniu’s movements halted, his face dark and uncertain as he stared at Gu Xinxin.

Gu Xinxin remained composed. “Father, shall we discuss this at home?”

Gu Daniu paused for a moment, then withdrew the stick and nodded. “Let’s go home.”

Family shame should not be aired in public. Even if Gu Xinxin had truly met some important figure, it couldn’t be discussed in front of everyone at the village entrance.

Gu Xiangrong was very nervous, but Gu Xinxin patted the back of his hand. “Just follow my lead.”

As night fell, the father and two children entered the house. From inside, the stepmother’s sarcastic voice rang out: “Oh, the young lady and young master of the Gu family have returned! You two are so precious. Yesterday, you finished off all the eggs we’d saved for months. The Gu family can’t afford to keep such esteemed individuals.”

Gu Xinxin acted as if she hadn’t heard and called out toward the main room: “Grandma, I bought you new clothes. Would you like to see them?”

There was a stir from the main room. “New clothes? What new clothes are new?”

The old lady emerged shakily from the main room; her eyes fixed intently on Gu Xinxin.

Gu Xinxin opened the parcel and handed it first to Gu Daniu: “Father, I bought this for you. Try it on first to see if it fits. If it doesn’t, have Stepmother alter it for you. I’m not good at needlework and might ruin it if I tried. These two sets are for Grandmother. She should try them on too.”

Gu Daniu glanced at the clothes, then looked at Gu Xinxin: “Where did you get the money?”

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