Chapter 393
**Chapter 391: Escape**
A crowd had gathered, blocking the door tightly.
Shen Wei frowned secretly.
The old woman was the village matchmaker, often arranging marriages for the local girls. With a beaming smile, she called out to Shen Wei, “What are you standing there for? Come in and pour us some water.”
Yuan Fu wouldn’t open the door.
Shen Wei replied, “I’m not ready to get married yet, so please don’t linger at my door.”
The old woman pointed at Shen Wei and said to a middle-aged man, “Look, this girl is just shy. It’s normal for a girl to be bashful before marriage.”
The middle-aged man, known as Lao Huang, was from the same village.
Lao Huang’s shifty eyes roamed over Shen Wei, filled with a glimmer of desire.
Two years ago, he had married a wife who died during childbirth due to complications. The family had chosen to save the baby, resulting in the mother’s death and leaving him with two frail sons.
Suddenly blessed with two precious boys, Lao Huang felt a surge of pride, thinking he was quite the catch in the village.
But soon, he realized that without a wife, the two infants could only be cared for by elderly relatives. He returned home from fishing to find no warm meals waiting, and his children were growing thin.
In his forties, with both elderly parents and young children to support, no girl dared to marry him.
He quickly set his sights on Yuan Xi’er, an orphan with only a younger brother at home. She was beautiful, making her the perfect candidate for a wife—someone he could control without fear of retaliation, given her lack of family support.
Lao Huang slipped some money to the village matchmaker.
And so today, a group of them came marching to propose.
“He’s nearly fifty! How can he marry my sister?” Yuan Fu’s face flushed with anger.
The old woman chuckled, “Older men are better; they know how to cherish people.”
Yuan Fu retorted, “Then why don’t you marry him and let him cherish you?”
The old woman shot Yuan Fu a glare. “You’re just a child, what do you know? I’m here to matchmake for your sister. Now hurry inside and bring out some stools, and boil a pot of water.”
Just as she finished speaking, another group arrived at the village entrance.
It was another bachelor from the village, bringing his family to propose as well.
The two groups clashed, unable to stand the sight of each other, and began shouting insults.
“Xi’er is mine! You can’t just take her!”
“I brought the matchmaker today; I got here first!”
“Look at you, half a foot in the grave! Why don’t you take a good look at yourself?”
Yuan Family Fishing Village was small, and the commotion at Shen Wei’s door quickly attracted the attention of the entire village. Many bachelors who had their eyes on Shen Wei rushed over to join the fray.
In this fishing village, where male offspring were favored, baby girls were often discarded into the sea while baby boys were nurtured. Over the years, this had resulted in a surplus of aging bachelors.
Other fishing girls turned their noses up at them, so they set their sights on Yuan Xi’er. Now, these bachelors and widowers crowded in front of Shen Wei’s house, escalating their shouting into a brawl over who would claim Yuan Xi’er.
Amid the chaos, Shen Wei and Yuan Fu shut the door and braced it with a wooden stick.
“Sister, how can they do this? You’re a person, not a fish!” Yuan Fu cried, wiping his tears in frustration.
Shen Wei sighed inwardly.
Human nature is indeed base.
Her original plan was to recuperate in the fishing village and then gather seafood with her brother to trade for money. Once she had enough silver, she would head to Qingguo.
She couldn’t wait for Li Yuanjing to rescue her.
Relying on others is never as reliable as relying on oneself.
But Shen Wei had seriously underestimated the nature of the villagers. No matter how clever she was, living among a pack of wolves made it impossible to survive unscathed.
She needed to leave the fishing village as soon as possible—preferably tonight.
“Brother, how much money do we have left?” Shen Wei pulled Yuan Fu back into the house, and they spoke in hushed tones.
Yuan Fu dragged out a wooden box from under the bed and counted the copper coins inside. “Including the money from selling clams today, we have three hundred copper coins. We spent quite a bit when you were sick.”
The prices in Donglin Country differed from those in Qingguo; copper coins were not worth much there, with one tael of silver equaling a hundred copper coins.
Shen Wei calculated the value of three hundred copper coins in her mind. It wouldn’t be enough to get to Qingguo. But she was determined; she had to leave this wretched fishing village. She could go to the imperial capital of Donglin, where she had a branch of her shop.
Over the years, with no wars between the countries, Shen Wei’s business had flourished across the continent. In the imperial capital of Donglin, she also had a store.
As long as she could contact her branch, there would be a chance to return to Qingguo.
“Pack your things, bring some food, and we’ll leave after dark,” Shen Wei instructed Yuan Fu.
Yuan Fu’s face turned pale, but after realizing his sister’s intentions, he nodded vigorously after a moment. “Wherever you go, I’ll go too.”
By now, the noise outside had quieted down considerably. The fishermen’s brawl had drawn the attention of the village’s respected elder. The elder stepped in to put an end to the ruckus.
Of course, he wasn’t there to help Shen Wei.
The elder gathered the bachelors and had them sit down to discuss who would marry Yuan Xi’er.
After shouting for a long time, they reached no conclusion.
Everyone wanted to claim Yuan Xi’er for themselves.
After much deliberation, someone couldn’t help but suggest, “How about we each marry her for a year? This year she stays with me, next year with Lao Huang, and we’ll all have a fat baby. After all, she has no parents; we’re just being kind by taking her in.”
At this suggestion, the room fell silent.
The elder, puffing on his pipe, rolled his eyes around, surprisingly not refuting the idea.
The golden sun sank slowly into the sea, and darkness began to envelop the sky.
...
After dark, Shen Wei certainly wouldn’t just take her brother and run. That would be too risky and easily noticed.
So, she instructed Yuan Fu to pretend to go to the beach to catch night clams, acting as if he had found a large conch.
Yuan Fu, with a heavy pack on his back, deliberately shouted at the door, “Sister! I found a huge conch! We can sell it for a lot of money!”
Shen Wei opened the door, feigning delight. “Really? Let’s go sell it in the county right away!”
Yuan Fu pretended to hesitate, “Shouldn’t we wait until tomorrow to go to the county?”
Shen Wei replied, “No way! What if it dies tonight? We won’t get a good price. Come on, let’s go to the night market in the county now.”
The siblings spoke loudly enough for the neighbors to hear. Next door, a fishing girl named Qiao Jie impatiently opened her window and sarcastically said, “You found a broken conch? What’s the big deal? Keep it down; you’re waking me up.”
Yuan Fu scratched his head, looking foolish. “Oh, I’ll be quieter—Qiao Jie, you go to sleep first. My sister and I are going to the night market to sell the conch.”
With their bags packed, Shen Wei and Yuan Fu slipped into the night.
Qiao Jie rolled her eyes, muttering “junk” under her breath before shutting her window.
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