Considering the fact that she couldn't go back to Earth, Hua Yuanshi had decided to accept that this was her new life for the time being. The one thing she was glad to experience was the feeling of having a family. However, that did not extend to Aunt Yue. The woman was worse than a screaming banshee.
Aunt Yue taunted her about Li Ming all the time. She constantly made snide comments, telling her to move out. She also called her and her siblings bad luck and blamed them for why she couldn't get married.
Hua Yuanshi might have let it slip that she couldn't find a husband because she was ugly, in a fit of anger, which led to the current situation. Aunt Yue angrily evicted Yuanshi and her siblings from her home, and now they had to survive.
Yuanshi held her siblings with both hands as they walked around the market. She had tried the whole morning to find a job, but no one would employ three malnourished children who looked like they couldn't even lift a pot of water. Yes, a shop owner had said that to them.
"Sister, what are we going to eat today?" Yuexi said while tugging at her skirt.
Hua Yuanshi felt her breath get stuck in her throat and said, "We'll have delicious dumplings today. Didn't I say so earlier?"
"But we don't have any money," Yuexi said.
"Yeah, and sister, we've been walking around aimlessly the whole day. I'm getting tired and hungry," Hua Yuanshi muttered.
All of a sudden, the old lady she was following turned around to walk into a deserted alley, and Yuanshi realized that this was the chance she had been looking for.
She carried Ergu and ran past the crowd, falling in front of the old lady, accompanied by her butler.
The old lady was the wife of a merchant in the city, known for caring for the poor, as Hua Yuanshi had gleaned from gossip in the market. She had been following her all day, but the market had been too crowded to execute her plans. If she could get something from the old lady in front of a crowd, it would have been snatched away.
Suddenly, Yuanshi started wailing profusely, crying, "Madam, help me! My husband is dead, and my son has not eaten for three days! Please help me, however you can, madam. Please!" She cried even harder, tears streaming down her face. Ergu simply looked confused in her arms, while Yuexi looked on with her mouth wide open.
The madam sighed and lifted her up. "It's alright, little lady. Aiyah, you look so pitiful."
Hua Yuanshi cried even harder. "This humble one has been looking for a job, but no one will employ me. I feel so guilty burdening you with this, but my little boy will die if he doesn't eat!"
The madam called her butler beside her. "Give the lady ten taels of silver."
The butler frowned. "Madam, that's too much."
The old lady frowned at him. "Follow my instructions!" She looked at Hua Yuanshi again and said, "I'm so sorry about your husband. I hope this money is enough for you and your child."
Hua Yuanshi, upon receiving the ten taels of silver, rolled on the ground in front of the old lady, saying, "Thank you, great benefactor! Thank you!"
The old lady's daughter came around to get her, and she climbed into a carriage and left.
Hua Yuanshi quickly grabbed her siblings and bolted, counting their coins to make sure no one tried to snatch them along the way. "Well," she muttered with a sigh of relief, "that was easier than I expected."