Chapter 58

Qiu Yurou decided to tell Su Yunting her own secret. The first thing she did was go to the front gate and check whether the doors were properly secured.

After confirming that the entire residence only had the two of them inside, she pulled Su Yunting into the main hall.

Qiu Yurou asked him to sit down first, and she prepared to sit across from him. Unfortunately, Su Yunting refused to let go of her hand.

Qiu Yurou said, “I have something important to tell you.”

Su Yunting still didn’t let go. “Then sit here and say it. I’m listening.”

Although she felt in her heart that he wouldn’t mind her experiences, Qiu Yurou was still worried about the chance, however small, that he might mind it. She knew she could not bear it if he were to look at her with eyes full of fear and avoidance.

Just imagining that possibility, her heart was already enveloped by bitterness. She avoided his gaze and instead used her free hand to pry open his fingers one by one. “I’d rather sit opposite you to say this as it feels more solemn that way.”

Qiu Yurou pried his fingers apart and turned to walk to the other side. But Su Yunting suddenly pulled her into his arms from behind.

How could he not sense her unease? Even if he didn’t know everything about her secret, he had already guessed the general truth.

At the very moment she left his side, he rose, embraced her, and murmured, “Don’t be afraid. No matter what memories or experiences you’ve had, I’ll be at your side always.”

Qiu Yurou’s heart trembled. “What have you guessed?”

Su Yunting tightened his arms around her, pressing her fully into his chest. “I’m not some pedantic bookworm. Many miscellaneous records and strange anecdotes mention it that some people are born different, some undergo unusual encounters after certain upheavals.”

“Yurou, don’t be afraid. Whatever kind of strange encounter you’ve had, whether you tell me or not, it doesn’t matter. Nothing will ever change my love for you.”

His steady embrace, his sincere words, soothed away her inner worries and doubts.

She relaxed her body and slowly began telling him about her past life and present life.

When Su Yunting finished listening, he sighed in amazement. “No wonder my girl is so different from others; it turns out you come from a Datong world.”

Although Qiu Yurou had once dreamed day after day of returning to modern times, she had never held such a rosy filter about it.

She quickly shook her head in denial. “No, no, it’s still far from Datong.”

Su Yunting said, “To write equality for all people into the laws, for the elderly to never worry about having no support, for children without parents to still have food and clothing, if that’s not a Datong world, then what is?”

Qiu Yurou replied, “…Our education did teach us this way. Compared to the era we’re living in now, it is indeed more advanced.”

Su Yunting said, “More than a little advanced! Just the fact that girls can study and work like boys means it’s more than just one step ahead.”

Qiu Yurou hadn’t thought of her past life in a long while. But today, speaking of it again, she couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.

Those once-ordinary days and nights now all seemed beautiful when she recalled them. Even the endless piles of test papers in her third year of high school seemed softened in memory by a gentle glow.

When living in modern society, she had always accumulated countless complaints about family, about school, even about the society she had yet to step into.

But after transmigrating into this ancient era, even without mentioning the times in the Qiu household when she could hardly taste meat in a whole year and even now, though food and clothing had improved, the inconveniences compared with modern life were truly innumerable.

When she fell silent, he was struck by a sudden panic. He loosened his arms slightly, stepped in front of her, lowered his head, and said, “As long as I’m here, I won’t let you be lonely again.”

His words pulled Qiu Yurou back from her longing into reality.

In his eyes, she actually saw a trace of unease.

She proactively hugged his waist, giving him security through action. “All of that is already past. From now on, as long as we’re together, neither of us will ever feel lonely again.”

Her voluntary embrace wiped away the unease in Su Yunting’s heart. “Good. With each other’s company, we’ll never feel lonely again.”

The two of them hugged for a long time before holding hands and going to look over the rear courtyard once more.

The rear courtyard had four main rooms. The original owners had made two into sitting rooms and two into bedrooms.

After they moved in, she and Su Yunting would each take two rooms as their bedrooms.

Su Yunting didn’t object to his wife’s arrangement.

In his previous life, he had lived ascetically his whole life. In this life, he had repeatedly almost lost control of himself. Putting aside the fact that he was still in mourning for his parent, and in her past life, his wife had only been considered an adult at eighteen.

Having received more than ten years of systematic education, in her heart, Qiu Yurou still leaned toward the idea that adulthood began at eighteen.

Seeing that he didn’t object, Qiu Yurou’s joy shone directly on her face.

No matter how many sweet words he said, none moved her more than the respect he expressed through his actions.

They divided the main hall into two rooms each: Su Yunting to the east, Qiu Yurou to the west. The three west wing rooms would be for her two sisters, one each and the extra one set up as a guest room.

(To make it clear, she considers her sister-in-law (Su Yunting’s sisters) as sisters hence to avoid confusion I kept it as her sisters)

Naturally, Yunche would live in an eastern wing room. Of the two remaining rooms, one would house the kitchen maid and the future maidservant, and the other would serve as the kitchen.

Once the room assignments were settled, the next step was to workshop for furniture.

Buying the house was something the two of them could decide entirely on their own, but for the furniture, Qiu Yurou felt it was better for each person to choose what suited them.

……

For the rest of the summer, the people of Sujia Village noticed that Su Yunting and Qiu Yurou, the young couple, had been frequently going to the county town. Sometimes it was just the two of them, sometimes with their apprentices, and sometimes with the younger siblings.

Upon closer inquiry, they learned that Su Yunting had already bought a residence in the county town and the money for the purchase had been provided by the county magistrate himself! Their whole family was about to move into town!

The moment this news spread, the entire Sujia Village was in an uproar.

Buying a residence in town was already a big topic of conversation. But what people really marveled at was that the money had been given to him by the magistrate.

How much must the county magistrate value Su Yunting to fund his house purchase!

Even the slowest of minds now understood that Su Yunting was destined for great fortune in the future.

As soon as word spread, more and more people started coming to their house.

Whenever villagers came by, Qiu Yurou received them warmly. She even told them the location of their residence in the county town and invited them to visit whenever they came into town.

After dinner that evening, Qiu Yurou called her younger brother and sisters to stay behind, and also asked the two apprentices to remain a while longer as she had something to say to them.

The matters she wanted to tell these children, she had already discussed with Su Yunting during the day. Now she wanted to teach them directly, and Su Yunting didn’t leave either.

The whole family, including the two apprentices, sat down properly. Knowing that their sister-in-law and “master” had something important to instruct, they didn’t joke around like before but sat quietly, waiting for her to speak.

Qiu Yurou looked at her increasingly radiant second sister, her lively younger sister, and the three boys who had already grown taller than she was. Her heart swelled with a deep sense of accomplishment at their growth.

It was good for their bodies to grow well, but their thinking must not fall behind.

Qiu Yurou first said to the children, “The furniture we ordered has already been made. It will be aired in the carpenter’s shop for a while longer, and then we can move it into the house.”

When the children heard this, they were excited. They had seen the prosperity of the county town when they went to pick out the furniture. Knowing that they would soon be moving there, every day back in the village they had been waiting eagerly for the furniture to be ready, because only once it was in place could they finally move into town.

Looking at their eager little faces, Qiu Yurou continued, “Moving into the county town is only the first step for our family leaving Sujia Village. In the future, we may move to the prefectural city, perhaps even to the capital.”

Moving to the county town had already been something they never dared to dream of. Now their sister-in-law and “master” was saying they might one day move to the prefectural city or even the capital! The children were so excited they could hardly control their expressions.

Qiu Yurou let them enjoy their excitement for a moment, then her tone turned serious, “Before we move out of Sujia Village, I want you to remember: no matter how high we rise in the future, you must remain humble and always be grateful to those who once helped us.

“Don’t ever look down on people who used to be of the same status as you, just because your own status has changed.”

After hearing this, the children all stood up, their expressions turning solemn. Together they said to Qiu Yurou, “We understand, Sister-in-law ‘Master’.”

Qiu Yurou had never been a teacher before, nor raised children. She worried that simply telling them might not be enough. They said they understood now, but once their environment changed, whether they could truly keep their hearts unchanged was still uncertain.

She said, “At this time last year, our family was in its hardest days. I was setting up a little food stall at the village entrance and was just a barely grown girl and a small child. Did any of you ever wonder why such an easy target for bullying could remain there peacefully without trouble?”

The children glanced at each other, and then Yunche said, “Because we were setting up our stall at our own village entrance. The villagers stood behind us, so outsiders didn’t dare to bully us.”

Qiu Yurou nodded and went on, “Last year, we were weak. It was by relying on the village that we earned enough money to treat your eldest brother. Our family is moving to the county town now only because his illness was cured. Only then will we have the chance to move to the prefectural city or even the capital in the future.

“I don’t demand that you repay every little kindness with a great debt. But in the future, when villagers or those who once helped us come seeking our aid; as long as it doesn’t harm us, lend them a hand whenever you can.”

Yunche and his sisters had lived through their family’s hardest times. Although before their sister-in-law married in, aside from a few households, most villagers hadn’t helped much, after she came, their family had indeed received the village’s protection.

In Ping’an’s heart, after his grandmother passed away, the most important person in the world to him was his master. Now, if his master believed the villagers had once helped her, then he would remember that gratitude.

Since it was what Master wished, Ping’an engraved it in his heart.

As for the second apprentice, Su Chao, among the children he was the one who had suffered the least hardship. But his parents were righteous and had raised him well, so from the bottom of his heart he agreed with Qiu Yurou’s teaching.

Whatever their reasons, all the children answered solemnly once again, “We’ll remember.”

Seeing that they truly seemed to take it to heart this time, Qiu Yurou felt relieved. She then looked toward Su Yunting, silently asking him with her eyes to add a few words.

Unexpectedly, Su Yunting only said to the children, “Remember the promise you made today.”

The children answered, “We’ll remember!”

Su Yunting said, “Since you remember, then go rest.”

Qiu Yurou: …

Once the children left, she asked him, “Why didn’t you say anything else?”

Su Yunting looked at her with a smile. “Your teaching was already very good. The words I want to say aren’t suitable for them to hear.”

Qiu Yurou: ?

Su Yunting stood, pulled her into his arms, and lowered his head to whisper, “I only want to tell you that my beloved is the best girl in the world.”