Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 223_1

Chapter 223: Chapter 223_1

Shen Wenchen flashed a smile that stole the hearts of Yan City’s young ladies, while Nanzhi was still comfortably lounging in the rocking chair, basking in the sun.

After a few days, Yuanbao had already become completely familiar with the three little ones from the Lin Family, and now the four of them were happily running circles around the courtyard.

"Mom, Mom, look how fast I can run with big brother!"

At this moment, Yuanbao was wearing an outfit Shen Zhiyu had outgrown last year, with two little braids tied on top of his head, his eyes curving into crescents when he smiled.

"Slow down, slow down, don’t fall over."

Nanzhi watched the children playing nearby with amusement, but her mind was already pondering her own small business.

She had two hundred catties of cumin powder in her possession, which was quite a fortune in her hands. She was just waiting for the swelling in her ankle to subside so she could go out and explore.

It was better to sell off this cumin powder sooner rather than later, to avoid any potential accidents if it stayed for too long.

As she was thinking, there suddenly came a knocking on the door.

The four children, who had been running around playfully, also stopped, looking towards the door with some confusion.

Today, apart from the five of them, everyone else had gone out to conduct business. If it was a family member returning, they would naturally know how to open the door, but if not, who could it be?

While puzzled, they heard Shen Miaomiao’s voice coming from outside.

"Sister Nanzhi, are you home?"

Shen Miaomiao, standing outside after knocking for quite some time without a response, started to doubt herself.

Could it be that she had found the wrong house?

But she clearly remembered that Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin lived here, didn’t they?

Recognizing the person outside, Nanzhi finally relaxed and called out, "Miaomiao?"

"Yes!"

"Zhiyu, go open the door."

Nanzhi looked at her son and pointed toward the door.

The little guy nodded and, with his short legs, toddled over to open the door, allowing Shen Miaomiao to enter the courtyard.

"Sister Nanzhi, what happened to you?"

Shen Miaomiao exclaimed upon seeing Nanzhi’s foot wrapped up like a zongzi (rice dumpling).

She clearly remembered that Sister Nanzhi had only stumbled over some fugitive the day before yesterday – could her injury be that serious?

Could it be that her bones were crushed?

As the thought crossed her mind, the young girl’s face turned pale.

"It’s nothing serious, just that the children wrapped it up a bit too thickly."

Nanzhi laughed it off, recalling how that morning her sisters-in-law helped her to the courtyard, assuring them that she was alright. Yet they were too worried and gave the children a lengthy lecture before leaving.

The result was her ankle, which had already stopped swelling, ended up being wrapped up like this again.

"That’s good."

Shen Miaomiao said, sighing with relief, and placed the pastries she was carrying on the small table in the yard.

"Sister Nanzhi, I brought you some snacks."

She spoke hesitantly, and seeing that she had something more to say, Nanzhi gently tapped the back of her hand.

"Just say what you have to say. There’s no need for formalities between us."

After speaking, Nanzhi signaled the children to go to the back yard, and Lin Zihan, being the eldest brother, naturally took his younger siblings away from the front yard.

With the children gone, Shen Miaomiao pursed her lips and took out a package from her arms.

Spreading open the handkerchief, it revealed scattered silver ingots, which left Nanzhi stunned.

"Miaomiao, what is this?"

"Didn’t Sister Nanzhi say she wanted to do business before? I thought about it and realized I probably can’t just wait until I’m twelve, nor can I just marry anyone that comes along. My brother’s whereabouts are unknown now, and I can’t leave my parents at home. Although I can take on some embroidery work, it barely makes much silver."

The little girl said, her hands clutching the corners of her clothes as her cheeks reddened.

In the past two years, she had only saved four taels of silver, and the remaining six were given to her by her father and mother, so she could do business with Sister Nanzhi properly.

"I want to shamelessly ask Sister Nanzhi to take me with her in doing business. These ten taels of silver can be considered my share of the investment. I know that the price of spices is high, and I don’t want a large share, just being able to follow you is enough."

Upon hearing the little girl’s words, Nanzhi was momentarily at a loss for words.

Shen Miaomiao saw that she had not agreed for a long time, and her heart felt a slight disappointment. She wanted to say something more when she heard a soft sigh from the person opposite her.

"Silly girl."

Seeing the little girl’s baffled look, Nanzhi gave a slight smile.

She had lived two lifetimes, and if it weren’t for Shen Miaomiao’s family in both, she would have starved to death somewhere long ago.

In that lifetime, she had made so many preparations so she and Zhiyu could survive, but every time her body was controlled by the spirit substitution, it all turned out to be for nothing.

One could say that Zhiyu’s survival was inseparable from the help of the people in the village.

Otherwise, how could she and Zhiyu have survived on wild vegetable soup alone?

At first, the villagers pitied them, mother and son, and they would give them something to eat now and then. Among them, Aunt Guihua always managed to give them white flour buns to eat while claiming she was of no use.

Latter, during the great drought, every household in the village could only look after themselves, and only Ms. Lin and Li Zheng’s families quietly helped her.

Their families did so because they were already on good terms with their in-laws, but Aunt Guihua lived some distance away, and their families weren’t particularly close. Yet every time Zhiyu went out, he would always come back with a dark-faced bun in his pocket.

When asked where it came from, the lad could only mention a grandmother.

In those years following her death, the books only briefly mentioned that Gougou, after Ms. Lin’s death, was raised by a girl from the Shen Family, but she knew.

She knew how hard it was to survive on the road fleeing famine while caring for a child.

After she died, Shen Miaomiao remained unmarried for over a decade, just raising the child Zhiyu until he grew up. While she was alive, Shen Miaomiao had become a good friend of hers and was one of the few friends she had in this world.

"Sister Nanzhi, why are you crying?"

As Nanzhi’s tears started to fall, the little girl was clearly panicked.

She hurriedly took a handkerchief from her bosom.

"Sister Nanzhi, don’t cry, I know my silver can’t compare to what you’ve put in, but, but I won’t take advantage of you. I will work hard, oh please, don’t cry..."

Seeing her cry so sadly, the little girl was flustered, trying to dry Nanzhi’s tears, nearly kneeling down to beg her to stop crying.

"What are you saying!" Nanzhi scolded with a laugh, taking Shen Miaomiao’s hand in hers.

"Miaomiao, remember, from now on we are sisters, and you can’t talk like that anymore."

"Alright, alright."

Fearing that Nanzhi would start crying again, Shen Miaomiao quickly nodded in agreement, afraid that if she was a second late in her response Nanzhi would shed tears again.

"I’ll take the silver. From now on, the money we earn from our business, we’ll split fifty-fifty, but we’ll need to wait a bit before we can start."

"Won’t a fifty-fifty split be a bit too much?"

Shen Miaomiao hesitated. She had only put forward ten taels of silver, but the ideas and the goods were all provided by Sister Nanzhi. Although she had limited experience, she knew the value of things.

The spices that Sister Nanzhi had were worth more than ten taels of silver, not to mention that the recipes and methods were hers too. If she really let her share in the profits, it would already be good to get a thirty percent share.

"It’s not too much, just listen to me," said Nanzhi, shaking her head, her almond eyes still a bit red.

"Then, if there’s any hard or laborious work, just tell me, I can do it."

Shen Miaomiao patted her small chest, causing Nanzhi to laugh heartily.

Yet inside, she felt a bit sour.

Two years ago, Miaomiao was a lively, charming sixteen-year-old girl, but now her eyes already bore some tiredness.

What was the use of that famine from two years ago in this novel?

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