Mrs. Mei's Survival Diary - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Image of Blood

Rong Yinshuang paid more attention to studying magic at home daily since she wanted to use this method to support her family.

After devoting a month to studying, she made some progress. First, in terms of exorcising ghosts, she could already draw talismans in the air without the support of yellow paper. It was a great improvement.

Still, she was unable to deal with evil ghosts, but she could definitely deal with ordinary ghosts that make trouble in the house.

Another important skill she had mastered over this time was fortune-telling and physiognomy. After all, she studied Wu Daozi’s methods and could open her third eye.

Therefore, she could tell people’s fortune and misfortune, measure their joys and sorrows, and determine their life and death.

After she saved Granny Liu’s son from the female ghost, the young man slept for three days in a row. He woke up on the fourth day starving. After having a big meal, he said that he had a long dream.

Granny Liu didn’t tell her son the truth, but she vaguely knew the inside story. She followed Rong Yinshuang’s instructions and buried the pair of embroidered shoes deep in the ground.

After her son recovered, Granny Liu came to visit Rong Yinshuang and expressed her gratitude by bringing chicken eggs and duck eggs.

Rong Yinshuang couldn’t refuse, so she accepted them.

In Anxiang Village, Granny Liu was a powerful person because she bought a house with her own money. Of course, the money was given by Rong Yinshuang’s late husband, but it was another story. Most of the time, people in the village would listen to Granny Liu. Therefore, Rong Yinshuang asked the old woman to keep an eye on other families, and Granny Liu agreed immediately.

One day, Rong Yinshuang took the children out to play. When they passed by Zhuque Street, she thought that she hadn’t given the children something good to eat for a long time, so she turned and went to Uncle Bao’s restaurant.

Just as they were getting closer, she noticed a crowd leaving the restaurant. Leading the group was Zhao Qian, looking even more hostile than before. She stepped out of Uncle Bao’s restaurant, flanked by servants wielding sticks, and hopped into the Mei Mansion’s carriage.

Rong Yinshuang hurried over, and once everyone from the Mei Mansion had gone.

Uncle Bao was on the ground.

His restaurant, which had only been open for a month, was in ruins. Several waiters had bruises and looked scared and confused.

Rong Yinshuang knelt beside Uncle Bao, nudged him gently, and asked, “Uncle Bao, Uncle Bao, are you okay?” 

Uncle Bao had been shielding his head with his arms. Upon hearing her voice, he glanced around cautiously and whispered, “Are they gone?” 

Rong Yinshuang helped the old man up.

Uncle Bao’s clothes were dishevelled, his bun was falling apart, and his grey hair was a mess. Blood was smeared at the corners of his mouth and under his nose. He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand and managed to flash a weak smile at Rong Yinshuang. “I’m fine. These old bones are still holding up. I won’t die.”

Seeing the old man struggling to stay still, Rong Yinshuang sighed and helped the old man sit down next to her. “What’s happening? I saw Zhao Qian. So why is she here? Why would she do something so cruel to you?”

Uncle Bao took a moment to rest before replying to Rong Yinshuang. “After she got better, she found out I sold the house. She assumed I used that money to open this shop. She couldn’t accept it and brought her goons to teach me a lesson.”

Rong Yinshuang couldn’t stay calm upon hearing this. “What? But you sold the house for me! Why didn’t you just tell her the truth?”

Uncle Bao smiled through his wrinkles and said, “Madam, this isn’t your fault. Even if I told her you sold the house, she’d still come after me. I was going to get beaten regardless, so why involve you?”

“But…”

Rong Yinshuang wanted to protest, but Uncle Bao cut her off, saying, “Alright, ma’am, I won’t keep this shop open. She’s already beaten me and caused a scene. The shop’s reputation is ruined, and I can’t run it anymore.”

Seeing Uncle Bao trying to act calm, Rong Yinshuang sighed. She could see the pain and regret in the old man’s eyes. ‘Zhao Qian is so arrogant and bullies others.’

After helping Uncle Bao tidy up the store, Rong Yinshuang didn’t head back to the Taoist temple until evening.

When she went back, she saw Gu Yean pacing in the yard. After letting the eldest son and the youngest son go into the house to play by themselves, Rong Yinshuang went to the kitchen dejectedly.

She opened the lid of the pot, poured clean water into it, and then sat behind the pot without saying a word.

Rong Yinshuang just felt upset. It was because of her own incompetence, because of Uncle Bao’s injustice, and because of Zhao Qian’s jealousy.

Gu Yean suddenly came out through the wall, and seeing that the woman was in a daze, he came to her side. “I know how to make money. Do you want to hear it?” he asked after squatting down near her.

Rong Yinshuang turned her head to look at the man, and she came back to her trance.

After looking at his transparent body a few times, she ignored him and continued to boil water.

Seeing the distrust in her eyes, Gu Yean simply said it without keeping her in suspense. “Don’t believe me? Although I am just a soul, I know as much as a living person.”

Rong Yinshuang sighed, walked out from behind the stove, and asked listlessly, “Then what do you know? Tell me about it.”

“Okay, then I’ll tell you. Do you want to take a pen and paper to write it down?”

“…” Rong Yinshuang snorted.

Gu Yean curled his lips and said, “I went to the city today and found out that Mr Zhang, the owner of the rice shop, hid his money in his uninhabited ancestral home. I wrote down the address. If you’re happy, I’ll take you to dig for money tonight.”

“…” Rong Yinshuang scooped hot water into the kettle and put it on the stove beside her. She calmly added a little more water to the pot and prepared to cook porridge. After listening to Gu Yean’s words, she didn’t react much. After a while, she asked, “You want me to steal money?”

“How can it be called stealing? I am taking you to dig openly. Don’t worry; no one lives in Boss Zhang’s ancestral home. I have checked it out, and there is no ghost.”

Rong Yinshuang glanced at him coldly and said, “This is ill-gotten gains; you can’t take it.”

“…” Gu Yean rolled his eyes at the sky and said, “You mother and sons are living like this. Why do you care about what is right and wrong? The most important thing is to use the money to find some servants.”

Rong Yinshuang stuffed a few pieces of firewood into the pot and sat on a small bench on the side to pick vegetables.

Gu Yean was still chattering and persuading her. “Look at you now. You have to do everything by yourself. How hard it is.”

“No matter how tough things get, I live with a clear conscience. My late husband was a very principled businessman. Even though the Mei family wasn’t noble in the past, they had a solid family tradition. He’s gone now, but I won’t tarnish that legacy. When my time comes, I won’t feel ashamed to meet him again,” Rong Yinshuang let out a sigh and replied with a heavy heart.

“…” Gu Yean listened intently to Rong Yinshuang and stared at her for quite a while. After getting up again, he took the hint and decided not to bring up the topic of digging for money at night.

Noticing him standing by the door in a trance, Rong Yinshuang suddenly said, “If you genuinely want to help me, you can look into something else for me.”

Gu Yean looked at her, confused. “Hmm?”

Rong Yinshuang gestured for him to come closer and said softly, “Please find out how many businesses the Mei family owns and their locations. It would be great if you could also uncover the profit and loss for each store, the personalities of the owners, and any weaknesses they might have. Once you have that information, let me know, okay?”

Gu Yean nodded, then hesitated and shook his head. “What do you plan to do with that?”

Rong Yinshuang shot him a cold glance and replied half-heartedly, “I want to… take control of the family assets.”

“…”

*****

The next morning, Rong Yinshuang woke up early and whipped up some pancakes for the kids. She was about to set them on the table to call her children for breakfast when she heard the courtyard door creak open. She quickly wiped her hands and opened the door, only to find Yan Fangfei, the female manager of the silk shop, standing there.

“Shopkeeper Yan?”

Rong Yinshuang exclaimed in surprise.

Yan Fangfei was dressed in simple yet elegant attire, standing gracefully at the door.

Rong Yinshuang tucked her messy hair behind her ears and gestured for her to enter.

“It must be quite inconvenient for you and your sons to stay in this Taoist temple.”

Rong Yinshuang invited the woman to sit at the stone table and continued, “When disaster strikes, it’s nice to have a place to escape the wind and rain. I’m curious about what brings Manager Yan here today…”

Yan Fangfei smiled at her, pulled out a handkerchief from her lapel, and said, “I came to give you the payment for the last batch of goods you provided.”

As she spoke, she retrieved a brocade bag from her bosom, opened it, and revealed two gleaming silver ingots inside.

Rong Yinshuang was taken aback and said, “Ah? But that batch of goods isn’t… Your manor won’t accept it, right?”

Shopkeeper Yan smiled calmly and said, “I didn’t intend to accept it at first, but these handkerchiefs you embroidered are selling very well in the hands of Persian merchants. They appreciate this kind of composition and pattern, and they immediately placed an order for more than 300 pieces from me.”

Seeing that Rong Yinshuang still didn’t understand, Shopkeeper Yan didn’t keep her in suspense and said to her directly, “You are the only one who has embroidered this kind of pattern, so it seems you know the needlework best. I have twenty embroiderers under me. If you are willing to teach them the skills, I will not treat you unfairly.”

Rong Yinshuang looked at the gentle face of Manager Yan and felt a faint black air between her brows. She licked her dry lips and said, “It’s not about teaching anyone. If Manager Yan needs me, I will go and communicate with the embroiderers myself, and I don’t need any wages. But if the person in Mei Mansion knows that you asked me to help, I’m afraid it will cause trouble for you.”

Shopkeeper Yan let out a sigh and remarked, “Trouble is bound to happen, even if you don’t bring it on yourself. I hesitated to take your goods earlier because you were just an embroiderer back then. But after you helped me with a few handkerchiefs, I figured it was better to minimise trouble. This time, though, things are different. You are the master I invited back. No matter how overbearing the Mei family is, they can’t truly cut off my finances.”

Noticing that Rong Yinshuang was still unsure, Shopkeeper Yan continued, “What do you think, Madam Mei? Are you willing to help me with this?”

Rong Yinshuang smiled at her and nodded. “As long as Manager Yan isn’t worried about trouble, I’m on board.”

Once Rong Yinshuang gave her confirmation, Manager Yan quickly stood up and said to her, “Now that we have an agreement, I’ll send someone to bring you over when the embroidery room is ready. I’ll set up a room for you, and you can bring the two young masters along.”

After Rong Yinshuang expressed her gratitude, Manager Yan prepared to leave, but Rong Yinshuang called out to her and hurried after him.

Looking at Rong Yinshuang with a puzzled expression, Manager Yan heard those words.

“Shopkeeper, please try to stay out of the city for the next couple of days. If you must go out, avoid the south. There’s trouble brewing down there, and it could be risky.”

“…”

Shopkeeper Yan was taken aback by Rong Yinshuang’s unexpected warning and just stared at her in confusion.

Rong Yinshuang didn’t mind if the woman believed it or not. It was better to give these warnings. She didn’t reveal the whole truth.

After all, she wasn’t even sure about the truth of what she was saying, so how could she expect others to take her seriously?

End of chapter 20

Have a nice day!