First Bucket of Gold

While the Liu family was fuming with anger, Liu Xiaolan had no knowledge of it at all. And even if she did know it, she would probably be on the verge of tears, either from anger or from laughing to much…

Anyway, right now Liu Xiaolan had a bigger problem to deal with.

She had no idea what to use the money for… Yes, it's correct. She truly couldn't choose what to buy. Ideally, she'd want to use all of her money to contract land and finally sometime in the future become a big landlord.

Having her own business is also on agenda. Even in the ancient times, it's not like she can just continue selling things found on the mountain without any other plans. Even if most of the plantation would grow away, who knows if nobody would follow her steps and try imitate her way of picking things?

So, starting a business is a must. But even for a roadside stall, she would still need to invest some money, let alone if she wanted to get a decent shop inside the city.

Liu Xiaolan thought a bit and decided that in the end, everything can wait and for now she should just focus on improving the quality of her life.

Buying some land and building a new house is a must. Before that, it's not bad to buy some basic home utilities, like a new bed or at least some beddings, some pots and other kitchen tools to cook with, and most importantly, buy some food.

Just thinking about eating raw mushrooms again made her feel sick.

Well, at least now she had a way towards having a better life. Earning her first bucket of gold still felt pretty good.

With no time to lose, she quickly made her way to the shops along the streets. Zou Xinghe only gave her 3 hours to deal with her things and then they need to go back. If she was late even a minute, Liu Xiaolan had a feeling that Zou Xinghe would just leave her behind.

"Oh, you're back girl Liu. I almost thought you weren't coming back with me. Did I give you not enough time to deal with your things?" Zou Xinghe asked with a slight smile.

Liu Xiaolan looked at him and almost wanted to kick him to his knees. Keeping her emotions on check, she smiled slightly and answered, "Not at all, Uncle Zou. It was just enough…"

Looking at the sacks near Liu Xiaolan's legs, Zou Xinghe just said, "Alright, let's get them to the cart quickly and we should leave or it will get dark."

Working together, they put the 2 sacks on the cart and started their journey back.

Liu Xiaolan looked at her 2 bags and shook her head a little. After going back and forth, that's all that she managed to gather before running out of time. Without any form of public communication, and with no maps of this place whatsoever, it took a large amount of time to find the places she needed.

In the end, she only managed to buy a small pot that the blacksmith had lying down, with some blankets that she will need to use as a bed and a few rough clothes. While they aren't too comfortable, at least they're better than what she was wearing before.

Oh, she also bought some rice with her. Considering that she is alone, it should be enough for her to eat for a long time.

Now thinking about it, Liu Xiaolan couldn't help but grit her teeth. One of the important things she wanted to do, was to buy some baskets or at least materials to make bigger baskets. If she could only carry her small baskets going into the mountains, it would be to wasteful. Unfortunately, she run out of time before she could find anyone selling them…

At least she had 2 big sacks now. They're made from a pretty strong fabric, so even if she loads them full they shouldn't tear. It should be enough for her, at least for now.

A few hours later, Zou Xinghe and Liu Xiaolan finally made their way back into the village. They've made it just on time, since it was already getting dark and soon night would befall, and while in modern time that wouldn't be a problem, in the ancient times darkness means danger.

And even ignoring that, if it was too dark, they wouldn't know which way to follow to get to the village.

Liu Xiaolan slightly bowed herself forward. "Thank you for your help, Uncle Zou."

"No need to thank me, I just helped you as a fellow villager."

Liu Xiaolan looked at him with gratitude and soon started dragging her sacks toward her own home. Her body is still in a weak state, after being malnourished since her birth, so it took her quite a long time to get back to her house.

Inside the house, she picked up the straw lying on the floor and replaced it with the newly bought beddings. She couldn't help but feel a little bitter, thinking that she had to sleep on the floor, but she soon let it go and started taking care of other things she bought.

In one of the sacks, she left the rice she bought and put it in a corner, before covering it with the rest of the straw she had. In the other one, she picked out her pot and other clothes she buyed, before picking up the last item, an axe.

While she did want to simply buy some firewood itself, she would have a better chance of getting it inside her village than in the city itself. Not to mention that it's weight would be too big and she wouldn't be able to carry it back. The only choice she had was to buy an axe and hope for the best. After all, in these times nobody would care if someone cut down some trees in the forest.