A master of metaphysics is farming.

Words can be terrifying; they can spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. No matter how good your character is, if you have even the slightest flaw, it will be magnified infinitely. That's the scary thing about how word spreads from person to person.

A kind word warms the heart for three winter months, while a harsh word chills the heart for six summer months.

Xiang Lianhua sobbed, her eyes red from crying, "I...I didn't do it..."

With her eyes darting away and her momentum weakening considerably, Xiang He was too lazy to argue with her anymore. She turned around and walked back along the river to where she had been washing clothes, with her fourth aunt following behind with a pout.

"Lotus girl is still being stubborn. People have come to our door in broad daylight. Do you think we'd lie to her for her sake? How ridiculous!"

"Whether I did it or not, I know perfectly well," Xiang He raised her left wrist, which bore a faint scar, "It was a stroke of luck..."

"Ah? What do you mean?"

"It's nothing," Xiang He said, rolling up her sleeves. "We should hurry up and do the laundry!"

"Oh……"

As the two walked away, Xiang Lianhua's earlier aggrieved expression vanished, replaced by venomous resentment as she stared at Xiang He's retreating figure. "Just you wait!"

-

Today is the day the construction is completed, and Xiang He hurried back, where Huang Laoliu was already waiting for her.

"Hey girl, what do you need this mud stove for?"

On the right-side outer wall, Xiang He requested that a stove for drying mud be built and a thatched shed be erected to protect against wind and rain. It actually looks quite decent.

Xiang He squatted down to examine the air vent. "Isn't this just like a mud stove used for blacksmithing?"

"Of course, there's nothing I can't do."

"Thank you, Uncle Huang. Let's go to town to get the silver. I don't have that much on me."

Huang Laoliu slung his cloth bag over his shoulder. "Is this Wande Money Exchange? There's only one money exchange in town."

"Yes, Uncle Huang has an oxcart, so we can get there as soon as possible. I'll go get a bamboo basket."

The two of them descended the muddy steps one after the other. The oxcart was at the very edge of the ground, not far from the front of the fourth brother's house. Just as they reached the oxcart, they heard a commotion of cursing. The voice of the woman surnamed Li was all too familiar.

It seems the rumors spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the entire village. The fighting prowess of those old women was truly unparalleled.

Xiang He got on the oxcart, and Huang Laosi drove the oxen along slowly. Xiang He looked at the several big trees not far away, where there were old women washing clothes that morning.

The older woman, whose surname didn't belong to her family, said with a look of disgust, "Have you heard? The eldest granddaughter of the fourth son's family is filthy!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Meeting with Er Gouzi first thing in the morning! I didn't expect that the matter of framing He Yatou wasn't over yet. She actually sold her body to frame He Yatou. Good heavens!"

"Tsk tsk tsk! Is it really true?"

The old woman pointed confidently to her eyes, "I saw it with both eyes, Er Gou admitted it himself!"

"Oh my! The Xiang family really... raised such a girl."

Every now and then someone would say something. Xiang He remained calm. She had long guessed that Er Gou would go to Xiang Lianhua, but she hadn't expected Xiang Lianhua to be so despicable, offering such a condition in order to frame her.

If Xiang He hadn't discovered it in time this morning, would Xiang Lianhua have given in?

"He girl!"

A call interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and saw Xiang Huiying running over with a bamboo basket on her back. Uncle Huang stopped the oxcart.

"Uncle Huang, can I take a ride? I'd like to go to town to sell some things."

"Come on up, it's just on the way."

The two little girls chatted and laughed on the oxcart, and they even met some villagers along the way, who gathered in small groups to talk about the interesting things they had heard recently.

Xiang He couldn't help but exclaim again, "This speed is comparable to the internet..."

"What?"

Xiang Huiying looked puzzled, while Xiang He shook her head slightly. "It's nothing. Have you heard about the lotus flower?"

"Eighth Sister? I overheard some of it when I passed by earlier. What a terrible thing."

The incident happened in the morning, and news of it spread within half an hour...

Sitting in front of the car, Huang Laoliu sighed, "Sigh, what a mess this has become. None of your family members are easy to deal with."

"Who says it isn't?"

The three chatted for about half an hour before finally arriving in town. Xiang He hurriedly went to the money exchange and exchanged twenty taels of silver. He had already paid a deposit of several taels, and today he had to pay the balance.

"This is ten taels, Uncle Huang, you can calculate it."

"Hey! Do you think I don't trust you? This is a long-term business. If you need any repairs or additions in the future, just come to me, and I'll charge you less!"

"Thank you, Uncle Huang!"

The two watched Huang Laoliu leave. Xiang He hung the silver on her waist and said, "Seventh Sister, where are you going? I'll go with you and we can buy some things along the way."

Xiang Huiying pulled on the bamboo basket weaving straps, "I'm going to sell Grandma's shoe soles and some embroidered handkerchiefs. This time they're not as good as last time, and I don't know if the shopkeeper's wife will accept them."

"Walk."

After walking for a while, the two arrived at the center of the main street. They stood in front of a shop with a sign that read "Luoyifang" hanging above it. The shop looked quite large inside.

"This is the store you usually sell to?"

“No,” Xiang Huiying said with a bitter expression, “I always ask this shop first, and if they don’t want it, I go to another small shop to sell it.”

"Huh? Why?"

Xiang Huiying's face flushed slightly, and her voice was barely audible, "I...I wanted to test whether my embroidery could... meet Madam's standards..."

"Oh, I see. Seventh Sister likes embroidery, right?"

"Um……"

It seemed she had been rejected many times, but she still didn't give up. Xiang He pushed her shoulder and went inside, saying, "Let's go ask."

Xiang Huiying was already courageous, and as soon as she stepped inside, she went straight to the shopkeeper's wife, "Madam, may I take a look at my embroidery this time?"

The shopkeeper's wife put down the fan in her hand and turned around to see her face clearly.

She had an ordinary appearance, but her complexion was rosy due to the makeup. Her eyes were smiling, but not to the core. Her nose was slightly crooked, and the tip was thin and hooked.

Xiang He's eyes twitched slightly. The shopkeeper's wife leaned against the table and said, "Oh, Miss Xiang, what embroidery did you bring this time? Let me see if there's anything that catches your eye."

With a smile on her face, Xiang Huiying put the bamboo basket on the ground, took out a cloth bag, and carefully placed the contents on the table. "Madam, please take a look. Please give me your advice if there's anything I didn't do well this time."

"I wouldn't call it giving you advice, but I'll take a look for you."

Xiang He looked around aimlessly, and suddenly noticed a fan with a pretty design: a kingfisher looking back from a branch. She didn't really understand the embroidery techniques, but the design was quite interesting.

"Seventh Sister, that round fan is beautiful."

Xiang Huiying was looking dejected when Xiang He diverted her attention, and she looked over as well. Right next to Xiang He's hand, this glance surprised her a little.

"This pattern... looks so familiar."

Xiang He picked it up casually, but it was taken away by another hand. The shopkeeper's wife gently waved her fan and said, "Don't touch it easily, it won't be good if you get it dirty."

"..."

Seeing that she was trying to cover herself with the fan, Xiang He immediately guessed what was going on. No wonder she had such a face; she was up to no good.

Xiang He immediately packed up Xiang Huiying's things, picked up the bamboo basket, and took her hand as they left the shop.

“Those are patterns I embroidered…”

Sensing the sadness around her, Xiang He gently comforted her, "Don't think about it anymore. Don't send it to this place again in the future, lest someone copy it."

"Um……"

It was clearly embroidered by herself. The lady had made it clear that she wouldn't want it, but unexpectedly, she copied it and took it for herself.

Xiang He stopped talking and followed her to a rather ordinary clothing shop. The shopkeeper bought her shoe soles and handkerchiefs at a low price, and she was much happier to receive twenty-odd coins.

The two strolled through the streets, and Xiang He bought a lot of things, filling a bamboo basket to the brim. They casually bought some meat buns and left the town, slowly making their way back.

Walking is different from riding in an oxcart; it wasn't until around 1:00 PM that we returned to the fork in the road leading back to the village.

"Hey girl, look ahead."

Xiang He fanned himself with his hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and squinted as he looked around. There was a horse-drawn carriage on the path leading into the village.

A glint flashed in his eyes. "Oh ho, though he's a womanizer, he still has some sense of loyalty?"

"Ok?"