Yang Ruxin kept her mouth shut about the Fang Family’s adversity, as there are some things better left unknown—it’s like that internet phrase goes, "The more you know, the faster you die."
Fang Tianze’s condition had improved significantly, but his body was still extremely weak, so he continued to lie in the healing room. However, upon seeing Yang Ruxin arrive, the joy that radiated from his heart was unmistakably evident.
"Now you shouldn’t think about anything else, just focus on resting more," Yang Ruxin comforted the young man. "When you are a bit stronger, I’ll come to take you to the countryside for proper convalescence."
"Sister Ruxin, are you really leaving?" Fang Tianze immediately showed a look of reluctance.
"Yes, there’s still so much to do back home," Yang Ruxin said with a smile.
Fang Tianze could only nod in agreement. He understood that Sister Ruxin couldn’t stay with him forever. He needed to get well quickly—that was the proper thing to do.
When leaving the Fang Family, Yang Ruxin’s hands were full of gifts she had to accept, so she didn’t bother to decline.
In the afternoon, the family went out for a walk around town. After all, since they were in the county, it was proper to buy some gifts to hand out upon their return.
In the evening, Qian Er came back. The deeds for the house and shops he had eyed had been transferred without a hitch because he had been forewarned by Fang Dehua, making the process super smooth.
"That land registrar had never encountered such straightforward buyers like us before," Qian Er said excitedly, having accomplished a great task. "In the end, we even saved twenty taels of silver. I took the liberty of giving the land registrar ten taels as a token of appreciation..."
"You did well," nodded Yang Ruxin, glancing at Qian Er, who seemed to have more to say. "Speak your mind."
"Sister Ruxin, I was able to find the shop so quickly this time because a friend from before helped me. He wants to work for you..."
"I’m actually in need of more hands."
"It’s just... he brought along two other people I’m not familiar with..."
"It’s okay." Yang Ruxin smiled. "You get to know people after working with them once or twice."
Qian Er relaxed a bit. "They’re waiting outside the inn. Should I call them in or..."
"Let’s have them come in," Yang Ruxin nodded. The room belonged to Qian Er, so she didn’t mind having strangers enter.
Qian Er’s friend, named Wang Dali, was in his twenties and had worked with Qian Er at a gambling den in the past, even helping him out. As he had received some years of education, he later worked in a shop’s accounting room. However, the shopkeeper was extremely suspicious and didn’t trust him, often docking his pay, making Wang Dali feel suffocated. He had wanted to find a new place to work but lacked suitable opportunities, and since he needed to support his wife and children, the encounter with Qian Er solidified his determination to leave.
For this reason, he committed himself to helping Qian Er scout out the shop.
As for the other two, one’s surname was Hu, so he went by Hu Zi, and the other’s surname was Gou, hence he was called Gou Zi. Both were orphans who had worked in that shop, both not very old—one eighteen, and Gou Zi only fourteen.
Yang Ruxin’s mouth twitched at the names. What kind of names were these? But in this era, that was just how it was, and compared to names like Chengzi and Liang Zi, these seemed less elegant.
Upon seeing Yang Ruxin dressed in a simple cotton jacket and skirt, without any accessories in her hair, and considering her apparent age of only about fourteen or fifteen, Wang Dali felt a bit disappointed. However, with years of societal experience, he noticed Qian Er’s respectful demeanor towards her and dared not reveal his feelings.