The landlady took her upstairs and opened a small room at the top of the stairs. There was only a bed and a set of table and chairs inside, but it was quite spacious and worth the price.
Li Mingwei walked into the room and waited for the landlady to bring hot water before closing the door and taking off her outer clothes to put them aside. She used a towel to wipe her body and hair.
It had been half a month since she last washed her hair. Her hair strands were tangled together. By the time she finished tidying up, the sky was already dark and she didn't dare to go out. She could only endure the hunger and go to bed first.
Fortunately, the inn's quilt was very soft. She wrapped herself up like a worm, which gave her a greater sense of security.
Before falling asleep, she was still scheming and wanted to find a slightly bigger and more prosperous town. She had already discovered that in towns and villages that were too small, people were too sensitive towards strangers. Whenever she appeared, she could attract many eyes.
"I'll leave this place tomorrow first and go to the county to exchange some money."
After making the decision, she closed her eyes until the rooster's cry woke her up in the small shop.
She quickly tidied up her luggage. With her last three coins, she bought two buns, intending to go to the county. But the strap of her bundle broke and her clothes spilled out.
She bit the bun, unable to make a sound. Fortunately, there were not many people on the street in the early morning. She hastily wrapped everything up and tidied it in a quiet alley.
She folded her clothes and held the gold hairpin, wondering whether to exchange it for silver notes or take it apart to sell the pearls.
Just as she was thinking about it, there were footsteps. She quickly hid the gold hairpin and looked towards the alley entrance. Three or four youths were converging on her.
One youth walking in front leered at her, "Don't hide it. I've already seen it."
"Heh. Didn't expect you to have something so nice looking like this!"
"Who knows where she got it from?"
"Who cares? Anyway it's ours now."
As they spoke, they had already come close. Li Mingwei retreated step by step until her back touched the wall and there was nowhere to go.
"Go away!"
"Help! They're robbing!"
She used the bundle to hit them and shouted loudly for help. One person immediately came up to cover her mouth, snatched away the bundle and handed it back for the others to search.
The youth was very strong. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free. She watched helplessly as they took her gold hairpin.
"Nice stuff. Gold!"
"Must be worth a lot?"
"Where do you think she got it? Does she have anything else on her?"
The others understood instantly. They reached out and started frisking her body. Li Mingwei felt somewhat desperate. She had thought nothing would happen to her like this.
"What are you guys doing!"
A loud shout rang out. The four youths turned around at the same time, looking a little panicked. They clearly recognized the burly man in front of them and were somewhat timid, shaking their heads repeatedly.
"Nothing, nothing!"
Li Mingwei took the opportunity to break free from their grasp and shouted loudly, "They robbed my stuff!"
When the man heard this, he cracked his knuckles, strode forward and said, "Give it back to her!"
Unwilling to let go of the good stuff they just got, the four looked at each other and rushed forward together to fight with the man.
In no time at all, they were beaten down to the ground by the man.
"Where's the stuff?"
Li Mingwei pointed to the one who took her gold hairpin, "On him."
The man fished out the gold hairpin and returned it to her, then gave each of them a kick and let them go.
"Aren't you reporting them to the authorities?"
"Report? What's the use? These kinds of petty thieves get locked up for a few days then let out again. When they come back they'll definitely take revenge on you. Since I’m letting them go now, they won't hold a grudge."
Li Mingwei noticed the familiarity between them and didn’t say much. She thanked the man for his help.
The man helped Li Mingwei tidy the bundle and warned again, "Don’t flaunt your wealth. As a woman, it's best you’re more careful."
"Thank you brother."
Hearing her accent, the man asked, “You’re not originally from here. What are you doing here?”
Li Mingwei hesitated and sorted out her thoughts: "I have nowhere else to go."
The man looked surprised and glanced at her dirty clothes, "How come?"
"After three years of marriage with no children, my husband divorced me so I left. I don't know where else to go. Brother, do you know anywhere around here I can go?"
"This..."
The man hesitated for a while: "Forget it, just come with me for now. My wife should know, you can ask her later on."
The man before her hadn't shown a trace of greed at her gold hairpin and he also saved her life. Li Mingwei decided to trust him and follow him back home.
On the way, the man briefly introduced himself. His name was Dong Shan and he was a hunter in Qingshi Town. His wife was named Wang Chunhua from Xinghua Village nearby. They had a son and a daughter. Their son was now six years old and going to school. Their daughter still couldn’t walk.
Li Mingwei faithfully memorized everything.
The Dong family lived in town, so they didn't walk long before arriving. Dong Shan pushed open the door and went in. A slightly plump woman poked her head out of the room.
"You just left. Why are you back already?"
Dong Shan invited Li Mingwei in. Li Mingwei stood nervously in the courtyard, accepting the woman’s back and forth glances.
"Who is this?"
Dong Shan explained: "Just now after I went out, I saw Wu Dong and them robbing her stuff, so I helped her fight them off. She is divorced from her husband’s family and had nowhere else to go. I was thinking of bringing her back for you to see if there is any work that can be found for her."
Wang Chunhua nodded and walked up to Li Mingwei with a hint of suspicion on her face: "Why did you divorce your husband's family?"
"Three years of marriage without children."
There was nothing more unfilial than lacking in progeny. Divorcing after three childless years was normal. She asked again: "How did you end up here?"
"I only remember my family is in the north. I asked for directions northwards and walked for months, but never found it. I have no money left now."
"No money? What did Wu Dong and them rob from you?"
Rob a woman in such ragged state? She didn't look the type.
"A hairpin. It was the last of my dowry."
Dong Shan agreed with a nod: "A gold hairpin."
Wang Chunhua looked at Li Mingwei’s honesty and frailty, and believed her story somewhat. She let her into the room to sit down and ladled her some watery rice porridge.
Li Mingwei put down her bowl and chopsticks and thought for a moment: "I know how to embroider flowers and make pastries."
Wang Chunhua looked at her appraisingly: "Embroidery, that's good. Let me boil some water for you. Clean up, I’ll bring you to the embroidery workshop later. Looking like this, no one will hire you."
Li Mingwei hesitated but nodded when she met Wang Chunhua’s expectant gaze.
Wang Chunhua and Dong Shan looked at each other in disbelief when they saw the transformed Li Mingwei.
The girl looked eighteen at most. Her skin was white, her face exquisite like a painting, her cherry lips naturally red without rouge. Her waist was slender yet full of curves. She was delicate and beautiful as a flower.
