Chapter 212: Don’t Be Like Me

Gu Fei fell silent. She knew what Xing’er said was true; this era was just that harsh on women.

She stood up. "I’m leaving. You should eat something, or you’ll have nothing left to throw up."

Xing’er managed a weak smile from her pillow. "You’re truly a kind soul."

"I was never particularly nice to you in the past, yet you still came to see me."

Her voice was tinged with tears. "Little Fei, let me just give you one piece of advice. In the future, you must never end up like me."

"If a young woman doesn’t respect herself, people will feel they can mistreat you however they please."

"Men... none of them are any good. They just lust after your body—" As Xing’er spoke, her voice grew quieter and quieter.

Gu Fei sighed and walked out.

Shanzimama was standing outside the door. She gave Gu Fei an ingratiating smile. "Little Fei, Auntie has a favor to ask. When you have time, come and persuade her a bit more. She’s already in this state; she has to marry him whether she wants to or not. Reassure her. It’s my Shanzi who has wronged her. From now on, I’ll be good to her."

Gu Fei gave a noncommittal "Mm" and walked away quickly.

’That damn Shanzi, he’s a real piece of trash!’

Gu Qing was waiting outside the estate. Once Gu Fei was in the cart, he drove the mule cart toward the city.

When they reached Furong Street, Mr. Huang was sitting by the door in his usual manner. Seeing Gu Fei get out of the cart, he scrambled up from the ground. "Young lady, you’re here bright and early. Have you made up your mind? You really want to rent my shop?"

Gu Fei nodded. "I’ll rent it. I came specifically to sign the contract today."

Old Huang quickly found a broker. The two of them signed the contract, and the broker took it to the government office to be stamped.

Gu Fei then asked the broker to find her a tiler, a painter, and a carpenter to renovate the building. They agreed that the broker would bring the men over the next morning.

Old Huang gave Gu Fei two keys and kept one for himself, saying with a cheerful laugh, "Once you’ve fixed up the place, you can change the lock. For now, just make do with this one."

Gu Fei thanked Old Huang, found an empty room, and closed the door. She took out a pen and paper from her space and began to write a list of things she needed to buy: tables and chairs, bowls and chopsticks, quilts, bedsheets, duvet covers, and a bed.

As she wrote, Gu Fei’s head began to ache. ’I have to buy so many things, and there’s the renovation too. I only have one hundred and forty taels of silver left. It’s definitely not enough.’

Whenever she was short on money, Gu Fei would think of her precious little space. She would rummage around inside. ’Maybe I can find something else valuable in here.’

Gu Fei sank her consciousness into her space and found a jewelry box. Inside were some trinkets she had bought in college: a pair of cheap earrings, a slightly more expensive necklace, and—purchased online—two inexpensive pink crystal bracelets and one green obsidian bracelet that had cost a fair bit more. They were all advertised as natural crystal when she bought them, but she had no idea if that was true.

Crystal was something that had been mined and used for a thousand years before this era. Lan Zhi once had a crystal hairpin, so she could openly take out the crystal bracelets to exchange for silver.

She took out the crystal bracelets, cut the elastic cords, and put the beads in a small pouch. Only then did Gu Fei emerge from the room, holding the pouch.

When she went downstairs, she saw her big brother sweeping the courtyard. He had already cleaned half of it. Gu Fei froze for a moment, her eyes growing a little moist. She stood there for a while before calling out, "Big Brother, I’m going to the pawnshop. I’ll be right back."

Gu Qing put down the broom. "I’ll go with you."

Gu Fei didn’t refuse. Lian’er hadn’t come today; there was no way her brother would be at ease letting her go alone.

To the left of the exit was an alley, and just past the alley was a pawnshop.

Just as Gu Fei stepped through the door, she came face-to-face with a fair-skinned, slender young man walking out. The young man looked at her in surprise. "Huh? Isn’t this Miss Gu? What brings you here?"