Yu Dong asked a few people about the price of the goats they were selling but the price that she received as response was sky high , Yu Dong was surprised, just for two goats she had to pay twelve taels ? That was equivalent to giving away the entire money that she earned from hunting the game and selling its meat !
Maybe Yu Dong had used up all her luck because she couldn't find a single seller who was ready to sell their goats at a reasonable price , the more she looked around , the more unreasonable the price became , the price seemed to be getting higher and higher by each second .
" Sister , sister – there let's go there " Yu Mai was bored at first when his sister took him in her arms and started looking around , Yu Mai was very happy . Being in his sister's arms was a novel experience for him but after all Yu Mai was a kid , he soon got bored of looking around and ruefully leaned his head on the crook of his sister's neck , he had been hoping for something interesting to watch thus when he saw that there was a mob of people bustling on their left , he immediately shouted at Yu Dong .
Yu Dong felt her ears buzz because of Yu Mai 's shout but didn't had the heart to scold him when he was grinning like that , so she could only sigh and walk in the direction where the crowd was gathered around , whatever it looks like she won't be able to buy a goat today , so she might as well look around .
Yu Dong squeezed through the crowd and saw that there was a mer in clothing that was even more tattered than hers , next to him were three goats , that were so thin that only skin and bones were left , the three of them were lying on the ground without even moving the slightest inch , if not for their moving abdomen , Yu Dong would have thought that goats were long dead . The mer seemed to be begging to the shrewd looking woman in front of him , he cut a sorry figure in comparison to the woman who was wearing resplendent robes " please , please , my wife – she , she is waiting for me . Please do buy these goats for six – no five taels from me , I promise I will agree to anything just let me save my wife , she is really important to me "
The woman who was standing in front of the mer frowned " its not like I don't want to buy but boy I'm doing a business here as well , you tell me who will buy these almost dead goats ?"
" but … but my wife is dying , the doctor said that without medicine prescribed by her – my wife will die in three days !" The mer cried out pitifully , his eyes turning red as he sobbed " I have a daughter and a mer to take care of , if my wife died where will I go ? Who will give me job ? What will happen to my kids – please I beg you just five taels !"
The mer was in so much emotional pain that he didn't even flinch as he kowtowed on the ground , however the woman in front of him didn't even bothered to look at him properly , she waved her hand impatiently" you want me to pay five taels for these sick goats ? A single healthy goat costs four taels together the three will amount to twelve taels , and that's when the goats are healthy , with these goats that are nothing but skin and bones , you won't even earn a single tael if you sell them to the butcher ! Five tales is too much , you better agree with my offer of two hundred cents and be happy !"
The mer shook his head , in dejection and stood up , if his house had any other valuables he would have agreed to this offer but all the valuables had been sold because he wanted to find a doctor for his wife , now he was penniless . If he sold these goats for two hundred cents then he might as well buy poison and die together with his kids and wife .
When the woman saw that the mer was leaving she spat on the ground and shouted " useless thing ! Do you really think some one would pay five taels for those sick goats ?"
The crowd also agreed with the woman they too nodded and exclamations could be heard "that's right five taels , a person can buy a good healthy goat in four taels what is he thinking ?"
" but two hundred is too little , even if the goats are dying they can are still alive – the shopkeeper should have given at least one tael ,to the poor mer -"
" the shopkeeper is here to earn not to run a charity , if she gives money to others just like that , then her shop might go bankrupt in just a few days !"
Yu Dong took a look at the three goats and her mind buzzer she immediately rushed after the mer carrying Yu Mai in her arms , once the two of them were out of the animal market , Yu Dong looked around and shouted " hey fellow brother , do you mind selling your goats to me ? I will pay five taels ?"
Yu Dong had a sympathetic attitude towards these mers who were treated like trash by the people in this world . She had three mers in her house as well and all three of them were so scared of her , that is to say the original owner , she could more or less understand there situation and couldn't help but pity them all the same . But the reason she was buying these goats wasn't because she pitied the mer , but because she knew that she could actually treat these goats with her spiritual energy and make them healthy again .
Which was why her heart felt a little guilty when the mer looked at her like she was his knight in shining armour " you – you will buy these goats from me ? " but then the mer looked at Yu Dong's tattered clothing and the thin and sickly looking Yu Mai and his eyes dimmed " you better not buy these , they are indeed really sick my brother in- someone fed them something wrong and they ended up getting diarrhoea"
Because of the slip of tongue Yu Dong understood the mer 's situation and knew that his luck was more or less similar to the original owner and her husbands "don't worry , I'm a hunter and I can treat animals as well as hunt them , you can sell them to me " though Yu Dong was talking to the mer she was channeling her spiritual energy to the goats that were being carried by the mer .
When she felt their pulse strengthen she sighed in relief good these goats can still be saved .
" alright " once the mer agreed , Yu Dong handed him five taels , took the three goats and picked one in her basket while Yu Mai and her picked up a goat each in their arms . The mer who had sold all of these sick goats that were closed to dying for five taels was shocked he gripped the silver taels in his hands and felt his eyes burn , true enough humanity wasn't dead .
Yu Dong saw the mer standing foolishly then she whispered " go didn't you say you have a sick wife to tend to ? "
" yes …yes thank you thank you so much " the mer made a big bow and thanked Yu Dong again and again " Sister I will remember this kindness , if we ever meet again , I promise I will make it up to you "
Yu Dong smiled and replied " what kindness ? You sold and I brought these goats what kindness ? You can go back and buy the medicine for your wife " with that she asked Yu Mai to start walking in front of her and left the mer behind , not knowing that one day she in the coming year this mer will become her future in law .
After purchasing the three goats Yu dong left with Yu Mai.
The three goats were very sick the one who has given them something unhealthy to eat really wanted them to die . Yu Dong couldn't help but sigh , people can be really greedy and selfish not only didn't the person who did this to these goats wanted the mer 's wife to die they even wanted to kill off the three goat's so that there will be no option left for the mer to save her wife .
And from what the mer just told her it was clear that the person who fed these goats poison was actually his brother in law ! .
Yu Dong couldn't help but ponder what grievances could possible be there between the brother in law and the wife of the mer but then Yu Dong thought about the original owner .
Even though the original owner was a good for nothing her mother still acted as the back bone of the Yu household but instead of raising the original owner after her parents died! The Yu family actually kicked the original owner out of the family with her husbands and an unborn child without even a care of the world .The original owner 's family members were so cruel to the original owner despite snatching the house that belonged to her that they didn't even care how the original owner and her husbands might survive alone in this world with nothing but a measly sum of twenty taels .
They didn't even remember that if not for original owner's mother they wouldn't have even have a roof over their heads! however Yu Dong couldn't possible do anything to provide justice to the original owner . She could only pray that those evil Yu family members get their retribution
Yu Dong then stopped thinking about such depressing thoughts and then started taking care of her brother Yu mai who was excitedly waving his hands at the stand that was selling candied hawthorns !
Yu Dong who had hundreds of taels in her pocket did not act thrifty at all , she took out 20 cents out of her pouch and went to the stand and brought four candied hawthorns for her husbands and Yu mai ! Then she handed one hawthorn to Yu MI and kept her other three candid hawthorn in her baskets.
After purchasing the candied hawthorns she walked around for a while before she took a sharp left – according to the original owner's memory this street was the one where the poor people generally brought their clothes .
She had seen that except the original owner no one owned quilt in the house, even though Chen Mi was pregnant he only had a thin sheet of patchwork of old clothes , there wasn't even a mattress on his bad except a thin bedding made from the old clothes , mattresses might really be pricy because the original owner didn't have one either ! However , This couldn't go any longer , even though the original owner treated the three mers like slaves , Yu Dong couldn't bring herself to ignore their sufferings , so she had decided to buy some quilts , mattresses and clothes for Yu Mai and her husbands .
She looked around for quite some time but neither of the shops sold the type of the quilt she wanted to buy .
Even though it was autumn now in just a few months winter will arrive and then with her house condition it would be really very difficult for her husbands to survive this year winter without a decent quilt over their bodies .
And there was also the matter of no mattresses at home even though Yu Dong was use to harsh conditions this body that her soul was occupying was raised in a rather pampered manner so without a mattress Yu Dong would wake up with a backache ache every morning .
And She couldn't help but pity the three mers who were living like this for months even with her spiritual energy she still felt her back aching every morning .She didn't even want to imagine how difficult it would have been for three mers who were weaker in comparison to her .
After walking for quite some time Yu Dong finally arrived at a run down shop , it was quite ordinary looking in comparison to the shop that were aligned next to it .
However Yu Dong could see that the quilt and mattress in the shop were much more fluffy and thick in comparison to the other shops .
Yu Dong at once knew that this shop was much better to the other shops that she has seen !
She entered the shop and just as she entered , immediately a girl came running in her direction .
The girl beamed at Yu Dong smiling so brightly that Yu Dong felt her heart go mushy .
" are you here a to buy quilt older sister " asked the young girl.
Yu Dong put the goat that she was carrying in her arms inside the basket that had another goat inside it already , she wanted to take the goat that was in Yu Mai 's arm and keep it inside the basket as well but Yu Mai refused hugging the small goat in his arms , Yu Dong didn't stop him instead she let him do what he wanted and placed the basket that she was carrying on her back on to the shop 's floor , the goats have been treated with her spiritual energy for quite sometime and now all of the were breathing with ease , their abdomens rise and fell together in sync without any difficulties .
Yu Dong looked at the little girl and smiled " that right I am here to buy some quilts and mattresses for my family can you help me to select five mattresses and three quilts for grown up and one for this " pointing at Yu Mai, Yu Dong added " for my little brother "
The girl looked at Yu Mai who was caressing the goat in his arms and smiling foolishly , she pondered for a bit then looked at the red lotus glimmering at the centre of his forehead , surprised she couldn't help but gasp thinking how good this young mer 's life was , his sister was actually buying him a quilt ! Ah , what a great luck !
However , this boy wasn't her family's mer and she couldn't say anything regarding this in the end , she returned to look at Yu Dong with a smile and said " sister , young mers goes through a growth spurt when they are ten , why don't you buy an adult size quilt instead of a smaller one ? With younger brother 's built , its clear he will get his growth spurt in one or two years why waste a good quilt by buying a smaller one ?"
I have a wrist injury so I'm taking time off
Yu Dong was surprised that the mers in the world also went through growth spurt. However, she soon realised that the mers here were similar to the man in the her world no matter how different they were!
Yu Dong nodded understandably , then looked at the little girl and said " all right i understand please show me some good quilt for him as well "
The girl was very happy from the past few weeks she and her granddad had not sold any good quilt, her granddad was getting worried about how they will be able to get past this incoming winter now with four quilts and five mattress getting sold the little girl was feeling very comfortable .
She knew her granddad's embroidery skills was quite good and she was quite sure that with her granddad's embroidery skills she will be able to sell it all ten taels !
The girl could finally sigh in relief this winter might be her most comfortable winter , she immediately smiled until her eyes become tiny crescents and said " right away come with me "
She took Yu Dong inside the shop where the the most fluffy and warm quilts were kept and pointed at the pile " these are the most comfortable and warm quilts in our shop! my granddad especially made them for winter , we sold five of them and I can assure you this quilt made our customer leave in satisfaction ! big sister you can touch and see them they are very soft to touch, your family will be surely happy about getting this quilt ! "
Yu Dong stretched her hand to the touch quilt even though the quilt was not as soft as the one in the modern world they were still comfortable to touch she nodded in appreciation then turned to look at the little girl " you are right this quilt is indeed really soft you can pack four for me "
The little girl immediately perked up and started to take out four quilts from the pile her movements were not silent at all thus the old mer who was sleeping inside the room finally woke up and walked out of the room only to see the mess that his little granddaughter was making in the store for a second he was speechless he looked at the three quilt that were already on the floor and then at his granddaughter who was tugging on the fourth blanket most probably trying to take it out from the pile and dump it on ground as well .
The old mer looked at hid granddaughter and immediately felt speechless , though he just woke up from a nap , he could already feel a headache coming " Mei , what in the world are you trying to do ?" The old mer asked somewhat exasperatedly .
Mei stopped her adventure of taking out the quilt and dumping it in the floor , turning to look at her granddad , she smiled revealing her pearly whites " Granddad this big sister came to purchase , four quilts and five mattresses from our shop , so I'm taking quilts out for her to buy "
Only then the old mer looked at Yu Dong who was too was looking at the mess , she originally wanted to stop the girl named Mei but then she remembered that elders shouldn't stop children when they are doing something out of their own will instead they should encourage them , and since the floor was fairly clean of dust , Yu Dong didn't mind it much .
The old mer looked at Yu Dong then immediately wished to slap his granddaughter , such a big customer ! His granddaughter should have called him instead of doing everything on her own but then he realised that Mei must have done it because she didn't want to disturb his nap – so , all the anger that the old mer had vanished in a puff , yet he still knocked on his granddaughter 's head lightly and chided her in a soft voice "You stupid girl , how will the older sister purchase these quilts if you dirty them by throwing them on the ground ?"
Mei was instantly unhappy , she worked so hard so that she and her granddad wouldn't have a harsh winter together but her granddad still scolded her , humph, picky old man – Mei poked out her tongue and complained " isn't it because of me that we can sell these quilts and mattresses ? Ask the elder sister , she founded me too cute and immediately ordered everything , isn't that right sister ?"
Yu Dong couldn't bring herself to refuse , so she happily smiled and willingly indulged little Mei " that's right , its because of your granddaughter that I'm buying so much "
Little Mei instantly beamed turning to look at her granddad with a superior smug look " see , I told you ! The older sister will definitely like the quilts that I chose !"
The old mer was both amused and angry still he didn't chid his granddaughter anymore , instead he pinched her cheek and dotingly spoke "Alright my little ancestor , why don't you go and eat your snacks ? I will take care of your elder sister from here "
Little Mei wanted to accompany Yu Dong in shopping a bit more but in the end the lure of snacks won " Elder sister , Remember to come back again !"
Little Mei knew that it might take her a bit longer to finish her snacks and by that time Yu Dong would be long gone , so decided to say her goodbye greeting beforehand , after saying goodbye Little Mei rushed back inside to eat her snacks .
" sorry about that , my granddaughter is a bit naughty " the old mer doted on his granddaughter a lot , so he didn't scold her but still he needed to give an explanation to Yu Dong who came to purchase the quilts from his shop " please give me a moment , I will chose four new quilts for you "
The old mer thought that Yu Dong wouldn't like buying quilts that were currently lying on the floor , however Yu Dong didn't minded it that much , so she waved her hand in an attempt to wave of the old mer 's apology " its alright , I will take these " but when the old mer continued to look a bit awkward , she smiled and added " if mister doesn't mind, you can give me a discount.. After all I am buying so many quilts and mattresses from your shop."
The old mer heard Yu Dong words and found it a bit reasonable. Yu Dong was indeed buying a lot of quilts and mattresses, so giving her a discount was something he ought to do.
The old mer nodded his head and picked up the three quilts that his granddaughter had thrown onto the ground "Al right I heard that you wanted to buy five mattresses and four quilts the total cost of these will amount you a total of 12 taels, I will round it off to eleven. I hope that you will be fine with that."
The old mer though asleep, he could still hear what Yu Dong and little Mei were talking about in his unsound slumber , because the order was too big he thought he was dreaming but now that he knew that Yu Dong was buying such a big order he found that knocking off a tail wasn't unreasonable. The winters were harsh but he was certain that if he and his granddaughter lived a bit thriftily and only spend their money on reasonable expenses then their winter will pass comfortably.
Yu Dong found the offer quite enticing . Twelve taels was not a small amount, in this period twelve taels was equivalent to a family annual income. And she was spending such a big amount in a single purchase, she was worried that if her husbands found out that she spent such a big amount in buying only quilts and mattresses they might kick her out of the house and demand a divorce !
Thus, if she could save a single tael she might find it useful in buying clothes for her husbands and little brother.
"Ok ! sir , please pack these four quilts and five mattresses, please make sure that the mattresses are comfortable because one of my husband just gave birth. He is still weak and I want his post birth rest as comfortable as possible."
The old mer was surprised upon hearing that Yu Dong was buying these quilts and mattresses for her mer husbands, when had he ever seen a woman treating a mer so well, their kind was treated with so much scorn that forget about a proper post maternity rest , their wife didn't even give them a full meal to eat.
The mers were treated as wild weeds if a mer was to die his wife would rather use the money in her house to buy a new mer instead of saving the life of the dying mer. When the old mer heard that Yu Dong was buying so many quilts and mattresses he thought that a family might have young men who were treated like rare gems because of their small population, he never thought nor did he imagined in his wildest dreams that one day a woman will come asking for purchasing good quilts for her mer husbands.
The old mer picked up four quilts from the pile of quilts and placed them all on the counter of his shop then he turned on his heels and walked towards the direction of the room where he stored good mattresses. However, he stopped after ten steps and looked at Yu Dong over his shoulder " Are you sure young girl , that you want to purchase five good quality mattresses for your mer husbands ?" Then he pointed at a stack of thin mattresses and added " These quilts good as well, usually the woman purchase these when they want to buy new mattresses for there mers, they are comfortable to and most importantly they are not expensive."
Yu Dong turned her head in the direction where the old mer was pointing at and took a look of the mattresses that were only half of finger thick ." No I wish to make my husbands as comfortable as possible these quilts are good but they are not soft enough I don't think that they will be any good."
Actually Yu Dong had a selfish motive for insisting upon a soft mattresses, the body in which her soul was inhabiting was a soft pampered little princess , her back would ache every morning because the mattress at home wasn't soft enough. Having fought zombies in her past life Yu Dong wished to live a comfortable life now. Thus, instead of forcing her body to get used to those harsh mattress at home Yu Dong wanted to buy a soft one and enjoy the feeling of living a comfy life. However, if she was to buy a soft, pricey mattress for herself and these cheap ones for her husbands and little brother, Yu Dong would feel really very guilty ! Therefore she wanted to buy the soft mattresses for everyone.
The old mere didn't refute her again, his job was to sell his mattresses and quilts, he could of course give suggestions and advices to his customers, his rights were limited to this alone. If the customer was inclined to buy soft and good quality mattresses there was nothing he could do !
Soon the five mattresses and quilts were wrapped up and Yu Dong found a new predicament facing her. These quilts and mattresses were just too heavy and big to carry. With this she was sure that Yu Mai would be of no help to her.
Yu Dong released a heavy sigh. She wanted to live an easy going life but it looks the road to an easy and comfortable life will one that was full of hardships. Yu Dong wished that she could keep all the mattresses and quilts in her inner world however she was accompanied by Yu Mai if she was to keep all these mattresses and quilts in her inner world she was, sure that Yu Mai who was just a child might blabber and slip out her secret thus, Yu Dong had no option but to carry these mattresses and quilts back home.
She hoped that this time she might be lucky enough to catch a ride on old Wang Shi's ox cart.
She picked up the quilts and mattresses, stuffed some in her basket that she was carrying on her back while she used her other hand to pick up the goats that she has took out of her basket and settled them on the quilts that she just kept at the bottom of her basket.. Yu Dong hoped that these goats kept a firm control over there bladder and don't pee and poop on her newly purchased quilts.
Yu Dong picked up her basket and hoisted it up on her back once she was done with it , she turned to the old mer and asked "I want to buy some clothes for my husbands so can you tell me where can I buy cheap and comfortable clothes for them . I also want to buy some comfortable clothes for the new born."
The old mere realised that even though Yu Dong purchased quilts and mattresses that cost her twelve taels she wasn't really rich so he couldn't helped but sympathised with her "Young girl you don't need to buy ready made clothes if you are looking for cheap and comfortable clothes then you should purchase the raw material and ask a tailor to sew new clothes for you and your husbands."
Yu Dong found this suggestion a little budget friendly, even though she sold animal pelts for one hundred and twenty taels it was important for her to keep a little savings in case something unlucky happened. Her family was poor as she was the only one who can earn, thus it wasn't foolish of her to act thriftily to keep a little savings.
"Thank you old sir I will just that can you please recommend a shop where I can purchase goods clothes."
"I have a good friend who sells clothes for at a reasonable price, you can purchase the clothes from his shop." Then the old mere pointed in the direction of the shop. Yu Dong thanked him for his help and gave eleven taels for the quilts and mattresses.
She went to the shop to which the old mere gave direction of, after purchasing the clothes material that looked satisfactory to her then Yu Dong walked outof the narrow alley.
Then she strode to the main street because she afraid that she will lose sight of Yu Mai she asked him to walk-in fornt of her. Yu Dong made a quick stop at the store which was selling seeds of different crops , there with the help of her spiritual energy she identified the best quality seeds of strawberry and leafy vegetables including other fruits such as watermelon , she didn't think of buying the grape seeds as growing grapes from seeds was considerably difficult , luckily she had some cross cutting of grapes and elderberries in her spiritual world because they grew faster in her inner world , Yu Dong had the habit of nursing these softwood cutting in her inner world .
Once she was certain that she brought all the necessary stuffs she walked towards Wang Shi's ox cart, seeing Yu Dong come with so many things in her hand Weng Shi exclaimed "Yu Dong did you win a lottery or what !" Then her gaze dropped to Yu Mai who was happily pattinb the goat in his arm "And you also brought little Mai back, where did you get money from ? Don't tell me you borrowed the money from loan sharks !"
Yu Dong knew the fame of the previous owner of the body thus she wasn't surprised at Wang Shi's analysis of her situation "No aunt Wang I haunted a tiger in the forest this morning so I was a little lucky as I sold it for good sum of money."
Wang Shi naturally didn't asked how much Yu Dong earned after selling the tiger pelt. The villagers who were sitting on her cart weren't necessarily gossipers but she couldn't be sure if someone were to lacked the old Yu family know that Yu Dong earned a decent amount by selling the tiger who knows how the Old Yu family might react?
However , the women who were sitting on the ox cart looked at Yu Dong's bulging bags , basket and Yu Mai and couldn't help but envy Yu Dong's luck – a tiger ah ! If only they were lucky enough to hunt a tiger then they too would shop around like this .
The women naturally thought that Yu Dong shopped for herself but what they didn't know that except that one mattress for herself Yu Dong didn't even brought a single thread for herself . Yu Dong could feel the heated gaze of the women who were riding the ox cart with her and her lips twitched in helplessness , really – if she was a good for nothing these women were quick to scorn her and now that she was doing well , they were being envious of her ?
Yu Dong was the last passenger of Wang Shi 's ox cart thus once she settled Yu Mai on the cart and sat down , Wang Shu whipped the ox and the cart started to move in the direction of their village at once .
Just like the last journey , Yu Dong went a sickly white pallor and with an exhilarating leap she hopped down the cart , her energy returning the second she got down . Unlike Yu Dong who was having a hard time on the cart , Yu Mai was clearing having the time of his life , he kept ohhing and ahhing through out the entire cart ride and it was with a heavy , upsetting pout that he got down from the cart .
" You can keep sitting – I can take you guys home " seeing that Yu Mai was unhappy , Wang shi felt her heart go mushy , thus she couldn't help but stretch the invitation .
Yu Dong's lips twitched once again when Yu Mai looked at her with anticipation ' little boy , you might love this ride but your elder sister's butt is on fire ah ! '
Yu Dong didn't really want to be strict on Yu Mai considering what the previous owner had done to him but honestly if she really keep sitting on the cart , her butt might really get sore next morning , she just couldn't do it – Sorry Mai , sister will do some another sort of redemption .
" No its alright " ignoring Yu Mai's unhappy and dejected look , Yu Dong refused Wang Shi 's kind offer " if you do that people might say that you are biased "
Wang Shi snorted " so what ? This is my cart I can do anything with it , who are they to talk about it "
" Yeah but it is bad for business " Yu Dong tried to put a final fight – the result she lost . Under Wang Shi 's strong persuasion and Yu Mai 's teary ' pretty please elder sister ' – Oh her butt , the things she have to do as her penance !
When she drove her ox cart to Yu Dong's house, just like before Yu Dong felt the cart jostling around and her backside throbbed even more, Yu Dong had tears in her eyes but she couldn't cry Ah ! She really missed the soft cushion seats of the car, this ride was really too painful to bear.
Luckily, her house wasn't far from the village and entrance therefore, the cart soon arrived in front of her house and Yu Dong jumped off the cart at once. It really hurts she cried inwardly.
Compared to Yu Dong, Yu Mai much more happy, he jumped of the cart excitedly because his movements were rough so , the little goat in his arms bleated moanfully.
"Oh I am so sorry, Mr. goat I promise I will not hurt you again." Yu Mai was a slow child but he understood that these goat that his eldest sister brought were sick therefore he need to take special care of these little goats "Elder sister, can I go inside the house and settle Mr. goat in our backyard."
Yu Dong nodded her head now that they were back in the village she didn't need to worry about Yu Mai he can go where ever he pleases. Yu Mai saw his concede he happily ran inside the house but then the goat bleated again letting Yu Mai know of his opposition at once , Yu Mai slowed his movement. He looked extremely adorable walking so carefully with a cute little goat in his arms. Yu Dong watched him go inside the house before she turned to Wang Shi and took seven taels form her inner world and handed all including six cents to Wang Shi.
Wang Shi was surprised to see that Yu Dong returned her debt so quickly, actually when she cleared off Yu Dong's dept at the tavern she had completely lost any hope of getting the money back. Yu Dong wasn't a hard working fellow and she was kicked out by her family as well , thus Yu Dong was one of the most poorest in the village.
But now that Yu Dong had returned the money all at once !
Wang Shi was struck dumb " Aiya ! Dong Dong how much money did you exactly made in the town. How come you returned seven taels all at once ? Tell aunt Wang the truth, you don't have to hurry and return the money so soon, I don't want to add burden on your family. Little Cai is not going to start school until the next three months you don't need to be in a hurry to return the money."
Yu Dong have never felt an elder's concern ever before in her life. When she was fighting the zombies in the apocalypse she hardly ever met with her parents who were researchers and spent most of their time in their research lab. Now that Wang Shi was showing her concern towards her , Yu Dong couldn't stop the warm feeling from spreading all over her heart.
She glanced around and then she leaned forward and whispered in Wang Shi's " Aunt Wang don't worry I sold the tiger pelt for a good sum of money with my savings and returning my debt I still have ninety teals left."
Wang Shi felt her eyebrows rise up all the way to the sky ! Ninety taels ! That was equivalent to three families earning, Wang Shi never thought that the people in town would waste so much in buying the fur of a dead animal. But then she thought about how difficult it was to hunt an animal that might fetch a good amount of money, Wang Shi was sure that this sum ninety taels will end up being used soon. With a new born baby in the house You Dong's savings was not enough after all the child was a mer , Yu Dong have to save a decent amount for that child's dowry and including the expenses that came with a new born baby's arrival, ninety taels wasn't a lot.
However, she knew that Yu Dong would get angry if she refused to take the money , thus , in the end Wang Shi could only put the money in a pouch of her outer robe "Alright, Yu Dong I will keep the money but in case if you and your family require financial help you don't need to hesitate with me at all, remember to came at my door if you face any problem."
Yu Dong thanked Wang Shi and started to put down her luggage from the cart, on the other hand Yu Mai had already rushed inside the house, he opened one room then another and kept opening them until he reached Chen Mi 's room and pushed open the door with the little goat still in his arm. Currently Chen Mi was playing with little bun, in this world it was a tradition that required the family to give a stupid name to the baby. It was said that the stupid name would take away all the bad luck from the child's life and when they give the baby a proper name -his life would be full of happiness.
That is why Chen Mi together with Ye Liu and Shel Li gave the baby the name Xiao Bo that meant little bun. The three mer 's were happily playing with little bun when the door of the room opened they thought that it was Yu Dong who returned however instead of Yu Dong tall figure gaze landed on a small cute figure that was carrying a goat in his arms. Mers liked cute things thus when they saw Yu Mai they were first shocked at his cuteness than his return.
It was after a very long pause that Shen Li broke the silence he stared at the little figure with both of Awe and shock "Yu Mai you are back ?"
Only then Chen Mi and Ye Liu came out of their reverie, both of them were even more shocked to see Yu Mai. It wasn't that they have forgotten Yu Mai , it was just that Yu Mai have gone some drastic changes because the last time they saw him Yu Mai was as chubby as a dumpling because their father in law doted on Yu Mai a little too much because the little boy was a special child however after six Yu Mai's cheeks have sunk and he looked in an under nourished !
Yu Mai hurriedly turned to Shen Li and Shen Li walked ahead to pick him up but before Shen Li could pick him up Yu Mai carefully settled the little goat on the floor of the room.
Shen Li picked up Yu Mai and hugged him tightly , when Shen Li married Yu Dong , Yu MI was still a young baby and Shen Li used to take care of him because his father in law had a sickly body thus Shen Li was very close to Yu Mai.
The last time when Yu Dong wanted to sell Yu Mai , Shen Li didn't agree and because of that Yu Dong and Shen Li fought for first time!
Of course Shen Li wasn't a match for Yu Dong and he was locked up in a room while Yu Dong snatched Yu Mai from Ye Liu and sold the little boy!
Now that Shen Li was seen Yu Mai after a long time he couldn't believe his eyes " Yu Mai , how come you are back ? did your boss lady let you go ? "
Yu Mai shook his head and looked at Shen Li
" no how can that be ? the boss lady was very fond of me how can she let go of me ? I am a very hard working child of course she wanted to keep me it was my sister who brought me back "
Shen Li and the others were shocked they didn't know what to think about Yu Mai's proclamation however Yu Mai didn't give them chance to reel in what he just said.
Yu Mai's attention was soon attracted by the wriggling baby that was lying next to Chen Mi "Third Brother in law is this my young nephew ?"
Since Yu Mai was carrying a little goat in his arm and haven't washed his hands yet so Shen Li didn't dare to take Yu Mai close to little bun he only moved a little closer to little bun so that Yu Mai could get a clear view of little bun. Yu Mai leaned forward in Shen Li's arms so that he could get a better view of little bun but the second his eyes fell on the wrinkly baby Yu Mai's brows scrunched and he immediately frowned "Brother in law this baby does not look like my third brother in law at all. He is just so ugly like my eldest sister."
The ugly eldest sister named Yu Dong walked in the room just in time to hear her little brother calling her ugly. Yu Dong felt like she was shot in the heart while playing dead "You stinky boy what are you saying ? All the babies look like this when they just born. How dare you call your eldest sister ugly ?"
If this was before Shen Li and his brothers would have hid Yu Mai behind their back however the three of them could tell that Yu Dong was joking around with Yu Mai so neither of them said anything.
Yu Mai who has never seen a baby before believed that Yu Dong was lying to him "Eldest sister don't worry so what if you are ugly didn't you get married and had your own kid? Little bun will find someone too !"
Yu Dong didn't know what to say, she felt that she wanted to cry but lacked tears. Her expression was so colourful that Shen Li and others were amused as well however they feared that if they pushed Yu Dong a little too much she might loose her temper on them therefore Chen Mi hurriedly interrupted Yu Mai "Yu Mai your sister is right. Xiao Bo is only a day old that is why he looks like this just wait for few days, then you will see how beautiful your little nephew really looks."
Yu Mai didn't want to believe after all how can something so ugly become beautiful in just a few days ? However because this was his kind third brother in law after all therefore he reluctantly believed on his third brother in law.
Everyone was amused by Yu Mai's torn expressions however Shen Li who was carrying Yu Mai his arms straightened up and his gaze fell on the things that Yu Dong was carrying. Frowning Shen Li couldn't help but ask "Wife, where did you get so much things from ?"
Only then Yu Dong remembered that she was carrying a bunch of things and the villagers saw her bringing all of this stuff in her house she was worried that someone from the old Yu family therefore she placed the blankets and the quilts down on the floor and then looked that Shen Li "Shen Li go and please close the front door because I was carrying so many things I couldn't close the door."
Shen Li was four year older than Yu Dong therefore he understood what she was trying to say thus he passed Yu Mai to Ye Liu to and walked passed Yu Dong to shut close the house front door. Yu Dong crouched on the floor and took the two goats out of the basket and placed them near the other goat that Yu Mai has placed on the floor .
Once the other two goats were placed next to the sick goat and the three of them started bleating. Fortunately Yu Dong's spiritual energy has healed the three goats and they were healed significantly therefore neither of the two goats dirtied the mattresses in the basket.
Yu Dong took out a mattress then turned to Ye Liu "Ye Liu put Yu Mai down and help Chen Mi and the little baby to the chair next to the bed."
Both Ye Liu and Chen Mi were shocked upon seeing the fluffy cotton mattress and Chen Mi who was the most timid of the three hurriedly spoke up "Wife there is no need to waste such a good mattresses over me. I and Xiao Bo are fine with this mattress that we are sleeping."
Yu Fong took a look at a frayed mattress that barely had any cotton in it and snorted "What do you mean by wasting ? I have brought quilt and mattresses for everyone and the shopkeeper will certainly not return the money if I were to to take these quilts and mattresses back so you might as well use these."
Chen Mi and Ye Liu had no other option left they could only do as Yu Dong has asked them to do. Ye Liu helped Chen Mi to the chair next to bed and removed the old mattress from Chen Mi's bed.. Once Ye Liu had removed the mattress Yu Dong cleaned Chen Mi's bed and placed the new mattress and quilt on it " Now you can rest on this."
Chen Mi with the help of Ye Liu sat down on the new mattress , the second he sat down on the mattress he felt as if he was sitting on a fluffy cotton cloud. It was so soft and comfortable that Chen Mi thought he was dreaming, ever since he was a child no one in his family cared about him. His daddy and mother both only cared about his eldest sisters they even sold him of because there family was in need of money.
He had never been treated so gently before, Chen Mi touched the soft mattress with his trembling hand, he was so overwhelmed that he couldn't even form any words to thank Yu Dong for her hard work and gentle care.
Ye Liu settled Xiao Bo next to Chen Mi on mattress, Xiao Bo who laid down on the mattress also liked the soft and comfortable mattress. He happily wriggled his body on the mattress and flapped his limbs patting the mattress and making loud thump thump sounds. Yu Dong watched the little baby happily playing on the mattress and thought that the purchase of mattress and quilts was really a good call.
She handed the rest of the quilts and mattresses to Ye Liu and said "Here take these with you and change the mattress and quilts in every room. There is no need to change the quilt in my room it is still good and can be used for another few years."
Ye Liu wanted to say something to Yu Dong he didn't like the idea of using new quilts while Yu Dong used her old one. However Yu Dong didn't give him a chance to say any thing, she hurriedly picked two goats that were lying on the floor after she passed the quilts and mattresses to Ye Liu then she turned to look at Yu Mai and said "C'mon Mai help me take these goats to the backyard they are still sick I am afraid that if I leave them here they might dirty Chen Mi's room. So come with me and we will tether these goats in a backyard." After saying this much Yu Dong turned around and left Chen Mi's room behind her Yu Mai picked the only goat that was left and rust after his elder sister leaving Ye Liu and Chen Mi alone in the room.
Ye Liu turned his head and looked at Chen Mi over his shoulder he hesitated for a bit then spoke up " What do you think should do do as she said ?"
Chen Mi starred at the new mattress and quilts on his bed and nodded "I think you should do as she asked you to do we don't know how she might react in any case you should do what asked you to do. She is our wife and we should follow what she asked us to do."
"What have asked you to do ?" Shen Lin who have gone to close the front door returned back to Chen Mi's room after a few minutes and the second he entered he heard the conversation that was going on between Ye Liu and Chen Mi.
He didn't know what Yu Dong asked Ye Liu to do but upon seeing the quilts and mattresses Ye Liu's hands he understood what work Yu Dong has left with Ye Liu "Dod she ask you to change the bedding in the room ?" Ye Liu nodded his head and told him that Yu Dong has indeed asked him to change the bedroom of the house.
Shen Li frowned but he nodded his head understanding what Ye Liu was saying "I got it, here let me help you." He took the rest of the quilt from Ye Liu's and walked out of the room. Now that Chen Mi had agreed to change the quilts and mattresses Ye Liu had no opinion of his own he followed after Shen Li like a good little guard dog.
On the other Yu Dong had left Yu Mai to busy himself with the tethered goats and was taking out the cutting grapes from her inner world while Yu Mai had his back turned to her.
Even though the grape cuttings might grow well in her inner world, Yu Dong couldn't take out the grown and sweetened grapes from her spiritual world without any alibi therefore she needed to grow some grapes in this small field of her house in case anyone came and asked from where she was getting the stock of fresh grapes. Yu Dong took out the cuttings from her inner world one by one and planted them all in the field that she had plowed the day before.
She continued to plant the various grape cuttings into the farming field and then finished off her work by sprinkling the seeds of the berries in the field and covering them with
soil.
Yu Dong was happy with her hard work and stood up after what seemed like a very long time . Now that she was done sowing the seeds , it was time to water them with her special spiritual energy infused water . Thus , she strode towards the well that was located at the very end of the house and started to pull the bucket of water after filling it up .
Yu Dong had nearly pulled the bucket full of water and was just taking it out of the mouth of the well , when a deep and calm voice came from behind her " you are not her , are you ?"
She was so startled in her fear and surprise that Yu Dong let go of the bucket and let it fall back in the well with a huge ' splash ' , she turned on her heels and found herself face to face with the always calm and gentle , Shen Li.
Uh oh – how did he find out ? where did she go wrong ?
" are you alright ?" seeing that Yu Dong waa startled because of his sudden appearance , Shen Li was worried that he might have scared Yu Dong . Though he should have been the one who should be scared of her but seeing the pale expression of Yu Dong he couldn't bring himself to be scared of her .
This Yu Dong looked much more lively and energetic . And she no longer had that gloomy aura around her body anymore , before whenever he wanted to talk to her , Yu Dong would look at him as if he had committed a grave mistake and she would ignore him without even bothering to answer his question . When have she shown such cute expression in front of him ?
Yu Dong who was suddenly asked such a scary question , pursed her lips and suppressed her anxiety . Now that the cat was out of the bag , she couldn't think of any excuse to divert Shen Li's doubts. If this was Chen Mi or Ye Liu she might have been able to get away after lying to them but Shen Li struck as more intelligent to her , that's why she knew that even if she lied to him now he wouldn't believe it . In fact he might even doubt her intentions even more , she looked at Shen Li then decided to come out clean " how did you find out ? I don't think I have done anything suspicious to make you doubt me , right ?"
Shen Li smiled in mockery , how did he find out ? He had married Yu Dong when she was twelve and he was sixteen , he was four years older than her . Because he didn't look like a gentle and beautiful mer , no one was willing to marry him – in the end he grew older and older , and his family sold him off to a human trader from where Mother Yu brought him to marry to Yu Dong .
Being the older one in their relationship , Shen Li of course watched Yu Dong grow up . He had known all about her selfishness and her arrogant and princess like attitude – he had also seen how lusty and lose her character was , not even a day went by after Yu Dong learned about the things between mer and women , that she didn't get physical with him .
Even when he was tired , upset or depressed – Yu Dong would always drag him to their bedroom and force herself on him . Shen Li was forced by Yu Dong so many times that he developed a trauma regarding sexual relationship. After a few years no matter what Yu Dong did to him , his body wouldn't react and he would remain as cold as a block of ice .
Even his thing down there wouldn't react and he soon became nothing but a block of wood . Yu Dong who was in her puberty and liked having her sexual desires fulfilled found him nothing but a useless tool – not to mention he was never able to get pregnant even after Yu Dong made multiple sexual relationship with him in the course of two years .
It was inevitable that Yu Dong would go bored of him soon , with his block of wood like body and no child in belly -thus after two years of their marriage Mother Yu brought Ye Liu and an year later Chen Mi .
Compared to him Ye Liu and Chen Mi married Yu Dong after she became an adult and didn't know much about her . But Shen Li had been married to Yu Dong for four years , how will he not know about her personality ?
The previous Yu Dong was selfish and eccentric . She thought that the entire world owed her something that's why she would always pull a long face in front of anyone or everyone . She was also lazy to bones and disliked working , and she never went to forest with his mother in law , not once he saw her following her mother after he got married to her .
So how come she become a wonderful huntress so quickly ?
The present Yu Dong was both hardworking and caring , she didn't even got upset when Chen Mi gave birth to a mer . Chen Mi and Ye Liu were only married to Yu Dong for a few years so they didn't know how deep Yu Dong 's resentment went regarding Mers , there was
no way she would actually be happy about the birth of a mer and even spoil him .
And most importantly , She wasn't forcing herself on them yet she wasn't visiting the brothel either . Even if Yu Dong somehow became hard working , there was no way she would became upright in just a few days time right ?
" I have been married to her for four years" answered Shen Li " it would be surprising that I wouldn't be able to find out the changes in my wife "
Yu Dong frowned , she had an idea about how severe the previous owner was with Shen Li and the others but she never thought that the reason she would be exposed was because she became nice to them all of a sudden . She sighed rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably – how was she supposed to tell Shen Li that Yu Dong his real wife passed away ?
Shen Li must have noticed her hesitation as well because he smiled and said " Don't worry I won't tell anyone about this matter , I just – as her husband I want to know what happened to her , its just that . Even though she wasn't a good wife , she was still my wife if she really – " he paused then with a little difficulty continued on " If she really passed on then as her husband its my duty to pray for her departed soul "
Yu Dong couldn't lie hearing the sincerity in Shen Li's voice then sighed " She overdosed on happy powder and passed away . I – I don't know how I came here , I was dead to you know . So , When I got a second chance to live a happy life , I took it – believe me I have no bad intentions regarding you three , I only want to live a peaceful life , and because I took over this body you three are now my responsibility so I will try my best to give you a better life , than before . I'm really sorry about your wife though "She told him trying to sound like she was genuinely upset about Yu Dong 's death however – the previous Yu Dong was such a scum bag , That she wasn't able to summon much emotions for her .
Shen Li took the news of Yu Dong passing away quiet normally in fact , his nonchalance could be taken as if he was only grieving a stranger . And maybe he was grieving a stranger because apart from sharing their bodies , the two really didn't talk much about each other . Though he was upset about becoming a widower at such a young age , somewhere he was relieved too – at least now he won't have to live in fear anymore . But what surprised him was Yu Dong 's latter half of the speech " you – you want to take care of us ? Why ? You didn't marry us , did you ? We are not your responsibility , you can always leave us or sell us – mers , they aren't worthy of anything . I know you are a kind soul and probably a nice person but I can't take advantage of you by asking you to take care of us , that will be too much – after all you only took over the body of my wife nothing more , there is no need for you to burden yourself with our responsibilities "
Yu Dong shook her head , she didn't agree with Shen Li or this world's view regarding Mers at all ,she smiled then kicked herself off the well that she was leaning against and started pulling the bucket up again " I come from a very developed place , and every gender is treated with equality there . To me everyone is the same whether men , women or mer – you all are human too aren't you ? Your life matters just as much as mine does " once she got her bucket that was full of water , she walked over the field where she had just planted grape vines and then turned to look at Shen Li over her shoulder " And if I sell you guys what will happen to you ? At least with me here you will be able to eat and drink with ease and with my strength I will be able to protect you three , if you leave who will take care of you ? . Don't worry I won't try anything else on you three , I am not a pervert like your original wife , if that's what you are worried about "after saying this much she turned her back to Shen Li and carried the water bucket to the field .
Under the golden glow of the setting sun , the figure of the young woman carrying a water of bucket was fairly common and there was nothing magical about it . But to Shen Li who was staring at Yu Dong 's thin waist that was swaying around with her movements – this scene was just taken out of a beautiful fairy tale .
For the first time in his life , He felt his heart beat for a women .. And on the evening of one autumn day , the flowers of Shen Li 's prolonged and delayed spring time finally blossomed into a tiny bud which will one day bloom in beautiful flowers.
That night neither Shen Li nor Yu Dong had no further conversation regarding the previous Yu Dong. Shen Li of course had numerous questions that he wanted to ask from Yu Dong but he didn't know where to start, after all even though he had asked Yu Dong about his doubts and have received a positive answer regarding his suspicions .
Shen Li had no idea what to say or think about it. Who will believe him if he were to say that his wife's body was being occupied by someone else's soul ? even he couldn't believe in such a thing.
However the truth was that the Yu Dong he knew was no more. Shen Li had many questions but he knew that right now wasn't the time to ask about his questions , as Yu Dong's husband it was his duty to burn some joss paper and incense sticks for his wife's departed soul.
The evening was declining in a rather fast forward manner as if someone have clicked a magical button to make it vanish even faster in the boiling pot of ink.
Soon the entire sky was covered with twinkling stars and floating clouds, only when the moon appeared high in the sky and night reached its peak did Shen Li returned with a couple of joss paper and incense sticks.
Yu Dong was had just finished cooking the stir fried pork when Shen Li entered the kitchen with the joss paper and burning sticks. Yu Dong noticed the things that he was holding in his hands but didn't say anything after all the dead indeed deserved the respect of the living, even though the previous Yu Dong was nothing but a living, breathing example of modern scumbag, she was still a human and was the wife of Shen Li and the others.
If Shen Li wanted to pay his respect to Yu Dong 's soul there was nothing she could say and she had no right to say anything either . In this family she was nothing but a stranger who arrived out of nowhere and was now taking care of this family in place of the person whose body she was now occupying.
"Do you want me to keep a separate share of this stir fried pork in a clean bowl for offering ?"she asked knowing that generally while paying respect to the dead , people offered something edible to eat with the joss money .
Shen Li paused in his steps, even though he knew that the person in front of him was much more kind than the previous Yu Dong, he was still founding the entire situation a lot surreal – he couldn't believe that something like this really happened.
Compared to the previous Yu Dong he found it rather awkward to have a conversation with the current Yu Dong because no matter how kind she was to him and the others- she was indeed a stranger to then and despite all her gentleness and care , he knew nothing about her .
Shen Li also felt a bit awkward because unlike the previous Yu Dong he wasn't as unbothered in front the current Yu Dong. Her kindness was something really precious to him , after being treated with nothing but scorn all his life – all of a sudden he was being treated so nicely . If Yu Dong acted unconcerned towards him , Shen Li wouldn't have minded it but – she was actually being so nice to him , that he was feeling something for her despite knowing and understanding that she was someone he couldn't afford to like .
He was Yu Dong 's widower, and his body wasn't clean either – faced with such a situation , Shen Li thought he was indeed not worthy of the Yu Dong who was standing in front of him .
Why will a stranger accept him ? She had already told him that she had no designs regarding them and was only taking on their responsibilities because she took over Yu Dong 's soul. It was her kindness that she was not kicking them out – so how could he take advantage of her ?
Shen Li also knew that he wasn't no where as beautiful as the other mers and he was also old now . His cinnabar mole wasn't as bright as others and he couldn't get pregnant easily either , with so many flaws- how can someone like him ?
But he knew that Yu Dong was asking him out of kindness and it would be rude of him ignore her goodwill. Therefore Shen Li nodded and said "I do want to offer some food after paying my respect to her. And meat was her favourite if possible please add a fat chunky piece of pork in the offering, she might be happy if I offer her something that she liked."
It was really weird that he was actually paying respect to his wife's soul when her body was moving perfectly fine in front of him.
Shen Li even thought that he was being insensitive by paying respect to the previous Yu Dong while the current Yu Dong the one he felt something for , was right in front of him.
But Shen Li had only thought about the matter a lot more seriously than Yu Dong. She didn't find anything wrong with Shen Li paying his respect to the original host after all she was the one who married him not her. And because she was oblivious over the fact that her kindness had ignited some sort of feelings in his heart , Yu Dong didn't feel weird at all .
"Alright I will do that. And you should also go ahead and wash your hands because its time to eat, Ye Liu and Chen Mi have been waiting for you to comeback home. Its already past nine and we all are getting hungry."
Actually Yu Dong had explained the situation in a rather light manner but the truth was Ye Liu and Chen Mi were so hungry that they made several round in the kitchen( Ye Liu was either helping Chen Mi go to the bath house or he was taking him out for a walk because Chen Mi was bored after being confined to his room for so long , that was what they said but their eyes were firmly locked on the pot she was stirring ) .
Even Yu Mai who had taken pride over the fact that he was a very good child – he too was so hungry that he actually forgot about being a good child and has been tailing Yu Dong like a little puppy who was salivating over a juicy bone that he could only see but couldn't eat.
Yu Mai actually wanted to go ahead and find Shen Li and bring him back home for half an hour ago. However the little boy didn't know where Shen Li actually went, so even if Yu Mai knew about each and every villager he couldn't just go ahead and check each house could he.
Therefore Yu Mai could only stay at home and walk in and out of the kitchen clutching his hungry tummy and trying his best to melt Yu Dong with his best puppy dog face.
But Yu Dong knew that if she gave Yu Mai something to eat the young boy's tummy would soon fill up with this or that type of small snacks and he wouldn't be able to eat his dinner properly thus she didn't give him anything which was why Yu Mai was lying angrily on Chen Mi's bed face down with a prominent pout.