"Both Widow Tian and I learned embroidery from your mother, but my hands are clumsy. I just couldn't get the hang of it. Later, your mother focused on teaching me knot-tying, which also helped supplement the family income. After that dead husband of mine, Hu Dashan, passed, I couldn't support these little mouths to feed on knot-tying alone, so I had to go out and find work."
Widow Xie had three sons and one daughter.
Her eldest son, Hu Xing, had married Mrs. Ge, and they had a pair of fraternal twins, Xiao'an and Hua.
Her second son, Hu Liang, was seventeen this year and was betrothed to a girl from the Cao Family in the neighboring village.
Her third son, Hu Dacheng, and her daughter, Hu Ximei, were also twins, having just turned ten this year.
Just after Hu Dacheng and Hu Ximei were born, her husband, Hu Dashan, was conscripted, and he died on the battlefield not long after.
She had struggled to raise her children. Then, two years ago, during the labor levy, her eldest son, Hu Xing, was sent south to repair the canal and never returned. His wife, Mrs. Ge, couldn't bear the hardship and ran off with another man less than six months later.
Now, Hu Liang was the only adult male in the family. Hu Dacheng and Hu Ximei were half-grown, and Xiao'an and Hua were only three, an age where they couldn't be left alone.
Usually, Widow Xie would be out scrounging for work while Hu Ximei stayed home to look after her little nephew and niece. Hu Liang and Hu Dacheng managed the fields.
Speaking of land, they had sold most of it off over the years. All that was left were three and a half mu of low-grade fields, which was nowhere near enough to feed six mouths.
"I've worked at the brick kiln and the quarry, but it's too easy to have an accident in those places. If I died too, what would happen to this nest of children? Later, a silk-reeling workshop opened in town, so I went there... It's close to home, and they don't skim your wages. What's a little damage to your hands? As long as it doesn't kill you, it's fine."
Widow Xie spoke as if it were nothing, but it left a bitter taste in Ji Huan's mouth.
"Aunt Xie, things will get better."
'For the poor, everything is a tragedy. As long as there was money, everything would be alright.'
The reason she brought this up with Widow Xie today was precisely that she had thought of a way to make money.
Dafeng Village was located far to the north and entered winter earlier than other places. Snow usually started to fall around the end of the eleventh month and would continue until the second or third month of the new year.
During these months, most villagers would hole up at home for the winter, but there were still many who had to go out to work to support their families.
Work, of course, required using one's hands. In the freezing weather, even though the old method of applying some animal fat could alleviate chapping to some extent, it didn't last long in harsh conditions. Hands would inevitably become red, swollen, and ulcerated.
Thus, a hand cream with waterproof and anti-frostbite properties would have a huge market!
'Although I was forced to study both Chinese and Western medicine in my past life, I actually ended up focusing more on the Chinese side. During my graduate studies, I was even in charge of a related project: developing skincare products with traditional Chinese medicine ingredients for a publicly traded company. The product line was very well-received and later launched on the international market.'
Ji Huan had it all planned out. Her first target customers would be the female laborers who had to keep their hands submerged in water year-round, like those working in dyeing workshops and silk-reeling factories.
And the potential customers were even more numerous! The entire north, as long as it had people, was a market waiting to be tapped.
Ji Huan's ambitions weren't huge. She just wanted to earn her first pot of gold to establish a stable life for herself.
'Of course, the main reason is the lack of silver. The medicinal herbs I can find on the mountain are limited, and even if I could find them, I can't mass-produce anything. Mass production requires not only a large quantity of raw materials but also land, workshops, and manpower... In short, strong financial backing and a powerful network of connections are both indispensable.'
Ji Huan just wanted to live a quiet, stable life; she had no intention of becoming a workaholic who toiled day and night again.
Therefore, she decided to sell the formula.
Having made up her mind, she proposed a trip to town to Widow Xie.
She was still trying to think of an excuse to convince Widow Xie, but to her surprise, Widow Xie agreed without even asking why.
"Perfect. I need to go to Dacheng's maternal grandmother's house, and I'll be passing through town."
Dafeng Village was a little over ten kilometers from Yeyang County. It would take about two hours to walk there.
The town was only four kilometers away, a walk of a little over half an hour. Going by cart would be even faster.
Hu Ximei padded a basket with a thick layer of straw, carefully placed the eggs they had collected over the past few days inside, and covered them with a cloth. Widow Xie looped the basket over her arm, told the children to watch the house and not run off, and then led Ji Huan toward the village entrance.
There was a mule cart in the village that specialized in taking people to the town and the county. A trip to town cost one copper coin, and a trip to the county cost three copper coins.
Ji Huan still had the ten cents Ji Liansong had given her. She had just taken them out when Widow Xie preemptively handed two copper coins to the driver, Uncle Niu, and pulled her onto the cart to find a seat on the long bench.
Don't be fooled by Widow Xie's decisive actions, as if she didn't care about a few coins. Ji Huan knew that in the past, she always walked with her basket when she went back to her parents' home. She wouldn't even splurge on the cart for a trip to the county seat.
'The reason she's taking the cart this time must be because she's worried my injuries haven't fully healed and I can't walk that far...'
Ji Huan squeezed the copper coins in her palm, glanced at the eggs Widow Xie was guarding so carefully, and suppressed the churning emotions in her heart, turning her head to look away.
A few more people boarded, and then Uncle Niu urged the mule onward toward town.
Along the way, a few gossips chattered endlessly, stealing glances at Ji Huan as they spoke, their faces filled with a lust for gossip they couldn't hide.
One of the more blunt ones asked her directly.
"Aiya, Wan, I heard you really jinxed Mr. Bai's son to death? Is it true?"
"I heard something even more outrageous! They say his grave was struck by lightning because of you!"
"My heavens, is it really that cursed?"
"Isn't it? That fortune-teller was spot on..."
"Bullshit!" Widow Xie shoved the basket of eggs into Ji Huan's arms and pointed at the ringleader. "Gou Sheng's wife, what kind of maggots are you chewing with that mouth full of yellow teeth? Didn't you rinse your mouth before you left home? Your breath stinks for ten li downwind!"
There were several men on the cart, and the wife of Gou Sheng flushed red with anger.
"Widow Xie, who are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about whoever's got the foul mouth!"
"You... Hmph! No matter how foul my mouth is, it can't compare to a slut like you! Who in the village doesn't know about you, rolling around with a pile of men, spreading your legs every night? Half the men in the village have probably climbed over your wall!"
After Gou Sheng's wife finished, the other women burst out laughing in unison, and the men on the cart also had strange expressions on their faces.
Ji Huan, who had been nonchalant just a moment ago, now had a cold expression on her face.
Rural life offered little entertainment, especially during the slack farming season. After finishing their chores, people passed the time by gossiping about their neighbors' affairs.
That's why she hadn't taken it seriously at first. 'It's just a few words of idle gossip,' she had thought. 'Let them talk. It's no skin off my back.'
But she had forgotten that rumors could also kill.
These illiterate women were masters of telling barefaced lies. It was precisely because of their ignorance that they could be so cruel without even realizing it.
Judging by the look on Gou Sheng's wife, this wasn't the first or second time she'd said such things.
With basin after basin of filthy water being splashed on her like this, if it was said often enough, even those who didn't believe it at first would come to believe most of it. No wonder Widow Xie had such a terrible reputation!