Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

"Young lady, let's get the formalities done first, this way please!" Fearing that Zhao Lian might change her mind, the matchmaker quickly urged Zhao Lian to go over and pay the money to complete the formalities.

Originally intending to buy servants, Zhao Lian brought enough silver notes.

The money is exchanged for the indenture, and both parties then sign and affix their seals to the agreement.

Only after receiving the twenty-five taels of silver note did the matchmaker feel relieved. She carefully checked the note to confirm its authenticity before cautiously placing it into her inner pocket.

"Young lady, if you ever need to buy anything in the future, be sure to come and find me." The matchmaker said warmly before leaving.

Although they didn't earn much this time, the round trip still brought in 15 taels of silver. After deducting other expenses, they still made more than 10 taels of silver, which meant the whole family wouldn't be stuck with debts anymore.

Zhao Lian took them to a clothing store first, intending to buy each of them a few outfits.

"Third Aunt, I bought you new clothes today. Take a look and see which one you like!"

Wang shook her head: "No way! This will cost you money. We still have clothes to wear, we can't waste them like this."

Zhao Lian knew she was worried about her spending money recklessly: "Third Aunt, look at the clothes you're wearing, are they even wearable? Don't catch a cold in this freezing weather."

"If you catch a cold, you'll need to see a doctor. Besides, we can't skimp on this money; you're my pride and joy. If you're dressed shabbily, wouldn't that be a slap in my face?"

Wang thought Zhaolian's words made sense, but still advised, "Alright, but let's buy fabric first, I can make clothes."

Zhao Lian asked about the price. Buying the cloth was cheap, but it was troublesome. She had to wait and there was also a processing fee. In the end, it wasn't much cheaper.

Ready-to-wear clothes are more expensive, but you can wear them immediately, saving a lot of time. Besides, it's not like I can't afford them, so there's no need to agonize over such trivial matters.

Zhao Lian spoke up directly: "Alright, you can choose any ready-made clothes you like."

When the shopkeeper's wife saw that a big customer had arrived, she quickly and enthusiastically promoted the good clothes in the shop.

They tried to sell them all kinds of fabrics, from silk and fine cotton to satin and brocade, but refused to sell them coarse linen clothing.

Faced with the shopkeeper's sales pitch, Wang Shi remained unmoved. She knew her place; she had been bought by Zhao Lian to be a servant, and it was already a blessing to have coarse cloth clothes to wear.

The two sisters-in-law picked out several sets of coarse cloth clothes for their husbands and children.

Zhao Lian nodded secretly at Wang's actions, knowing that she knew when to advance and retreat and understood the proper measure.

Finally, Zhaolian bought them several pieces of clothing, not only inner garments but also outer garments and cotton-padded jackets.

Besides clothes, shoes and socks were also provided for them.

Standing before that imposing mansion, everyone was taken aback. Looking at the words "Liu Mansion" written above the gate, Madam Wang asked incredulously, "Zhaolian, where is this?"

Zhao Lian said earnestly, "Third Aunt, this is my home! You'll be living here from now on."

"But why is 'Liu Mansion' engraved on the gate?" Wang asked, expressing her question.

Zhao Lian blinked: "Third Aunt, have you forgotten that I changed my surname a long time ago and now take my mother's surname, Liu?"

Wang suddenly realized: "Oh, no wonder, I knew it!"

Once inside, Zhao Lian introduced the other people to Yan Guihua and Liu Jinzhu.

As for Wang, her family was also from Niujiao Village. Upon meeting, Wang casually inquired about her family. Knowing that they also didn't know, she couldn't help but feel somewhat saddened.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Nowadays, we can't even take care of ourselves, so who has time to take care of others?

There were nine people in total, including the Wang family, and these nine people provided three laborers for each of the Liu brothers' households.

Zhao Lian arranged for them to stay in the back house, finally they had a roof over their heads, and in such a large house at that. Only then did Wang Shi breathe a sigh of relief.

After washing up, everyone changed into new clothes and looked much more refreshed.

At the dinner table, Zhao Lian asked Wang Shi why they had come to the capital.

When Zhao Lian asked, Madam Wang sighed, "Ah, it's a long story."

It turned out they were assigned to the neighboring Stone Village. But the situation in Stone Village was even worse than in Locust Flower Village.

Stone Village has little else but plenty of stones; even the mountains are covered in stones of all sizes. The land is also full of stones, with little soil, so nothing can be grown there.

The conditions were so harsh that even the local villagers shook their heads and sighed. In the end, they were allocated a few plots of land, but those plots were almost all rocks and could not be used to grow anything.

If we can't grow anything, this won't do! Everyone will starve to death. Seeing that we're not far from the capital, the two brothers discussed it and decided to go directly to the capital.

Since there's no way to make a living here anyway, I might as well take a chance and maybe I can find a way to survive in the capital.

Unexpectedly, as they approached the capital, both Li Tong and Li Erwang fell ill at the same time.

Both of them developed a high fever at the same time, and the fever persisted. They tried every free remedy, but nothing worked.

They knew that their only option was to call a doctor, but they didn't have a single penny left. How could they afford to call a doctor?

Seeing that they had no other way out, a beggar finally told them to try selling their daughter at a human trafficking shop to get some money to save their son.

But the matchmaker relentlessly pushed the price down, and the little silver they had wasn't enough. In the end, the two brothers gritted their teeth and sold their entire family to the matchmaker.

They sold the goods for ten taels of silver and finally hired a doctor. However, they didn't expect doctors in the capital to be so expensive. They gave each of them a few doses of medicine, and the ten taels of silver were gone.

Fortunately, the person was saved and recovered, so the money was spent.

They stayed at the brokerage for more than ten days, and many people came to ask about the price. They heard that they insisted on selling their whole family together, but no one was willing to buy from them.

Fortunately, she met Zhaolian today and was able to buy them all back. At this point, Wang was moved to tears again.

As they were talking, Wang suddenly brought up another matter, saying that she had encountered the He family on the way and they didn't seem to be doing well either.

She also said that when she saw them, the old Yang and the old man seemed to be quite ill. Gao Feng and Liang Zhu even said they were going to abandon them halfway, and the second and third sons didn't dare to say a word.

Everyone was too busy taking care of themselves to worry about them, and no one knows what happened to them afterward.

Liu Chunmei was indignant: "Pah! If you ask me, they deserve it! They don't deserve any pity."

"By the way, have you seen He Qing?"

Suddenly, Zhao Lian remembered her aunt, with whom she had been separated outside the city gate, and she didn't know where they had gone.

There's also Chen Guang's family. I wonder if they've met. After all, Chen Guang and Chen Yong know a little martial arts. If they run into each other, they can help each other out.

Wang shook her head: "I didn't see that! But then again, didn't they leave with you?"

Zhao Lian sighed helplessly, "Sigh~ We encountered a riot outside the city gate and then we got separated."

Although she wasn't very close to her aunt, she was a pitiful person raising two daughters alone with no one to rely on.

Besides, her temper had improved a lot since then, and Zhao Lian didn't want the three of them, mother and daughters, to encounter any danger.