Widow Xie's expression remained unchanged as she shot back, "Then you'd better keep a close eye on your man. Watch out he doesn't break a leg climbing my wall next time!"
"Pah!" Gou Sheng's wife was livid. "You should take a look in the mirror! Who'd be interested in climbing your wall? My husband wouldn't give a second glance to a shameless slut like you!"
"Why would I need a mirror? Weren't you the one who just said half the men in the village..."
Ji Huan pressed a hand to her forehead. 'It seems Widow Xie is at least half to blame for her own bad reputation.'
This "if it's already broken, might as well smash it" attitude might feel satisfying in the moment, but it was a classic case of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. It was like someone had slung mud at her, and she'd just outlined the stain in black ink.
Ji Huan cut Widow Xie off and turned to Gou Sheng's wife.
"Aunt Gou, you said you saw people climbing the wall at night. Did you see this with your own eyes?"
Gou Sheng's wife tossed her head back. "Of course! I saw it as clear as day, and there were quite a few of them!"
"Oh? If I recall, your home isn't very close to the Hu Family's place. So instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, you specifically ran over there to see if anyone was climbing the wall?"
"I..." Gou Sheng's wife was at a loss for words.
Ji Huan shook her head, her face a mask of disapproval.
"Aunt Gou, that's not a good look for you. Let's not even mention how immodest it is for a woman to be out so late. If someone saw you, and they didn't know any better, they might think you went out there specifically to watch a group of men..."
"HAHAHAHA!" This time, the guffaws came from the men. Of course, the gossips were also snickering behind their hands.
Gou Sheng's wife's face went pale with fury. "You! For someone so young, you have such a wicked tongue..."
"I was merely trying to remind you of something, Aunt Gou," Ji Huan said, smiling at her. "Sometimes, even what you see with your own eyes isn't the truth, to say nothing of baseless, filthy rumors. You know how unpleasant it is to be branded as an immodest woman. If you don't want others to retaliate in kind, you'd best watch your words. After all, anyone can make up a story, right?"
Gou Sheng's wife felt a tightness in her chest. Afraid they would actually start spreading rumors about her sneaking out at night to watch men, she turned away with an angry huff and fell silent.
The other gossips, also fearing they'd become the subject of a story, exchanged glances and stiffly changed the topic to children and crops.
Soon they reached the memorial arch at the town's entrance. After they got off the cart, Widow Xie pulled Ji Huan aside.
"Don't get involved in things like this next time. I can handle it myself. Those women are bad news; who knows what kind of stories they'll spin about you behind your back."
A widow's life is full of gossip. When she first heard those vile rumors, she'd anxiously try to explain, argue, and even get into physical fights. She'd lost count of the nights she'd cried her pillow wet.
But she had to raise several children, so she couldn't afford to be a shut-in. And since she couldn't find any respectable work, her only choice was to dig mud, haul logs, and break rocks alongside a group of men, which only fueled the ugly talk.
After a while, though, she learned to ignore it. She simply didn't have the time to argue with them. She'd rather use that energy to earn a few more coins.
"I just treat their words like they're passing wind!"
Ji Huan admired her attitude. In an age where women spent their entire lives tied to the kitchen stove, unable to survive if they were divorced or widowed, Widow Xie—though scorned for working in public—was using her own two hands to build a world for her children.
"Aunt Xie, it's good that you think that way, but as for your methods..."
Ji Huan had no intention of lecturing her. Instead, she went straight for the heart of what mattered most to the widow.
"You don't have to defend yourself, and you can choose not to care what the villagers say about you. But what about Ximei and Dacheng? They're growing up fast. And Liangzi, he's almost old enough to marry... You have to think about them."
Widow Xie's expression faltered, and just as expected, she began to hesitate.
"Then what am I supposed to do? Go shouting through the village? It's useless. They won't believe me..."
"You don't have to do that." Ji Huan didn't want her to overcorrect. "Just keep doing what you're doing. But the next time someone tries to sling mud at you, you... you grab the bucket and sling it right back at them. The key is to make sure you don't get any on yourself. Otherwise, you'll argue all day only to play right into their hands, and it'll all be for nothing, won't it?"
Ji Huan's explanation was simple and vivid, and Widow Xie understood immediately. "You mean, like what you just did?"
Thinking of the thwarted look on Gou Sheng's wife's face, she had to admit, it was far more effective than her usual shouting matches that left her red in the face.
Seeing that she'd gotten the point, Ji Huan didn't press the matter further.
'It might be true that "those who believe in you will believe you, and explanations are useless to those who don't," but when you're being slandered, you still have to make your stance clear.'
'At the very least, you have to make them understand that there are consequences for spreading lies.'
The two of them entered the town as they spoke.
Due to its proximity to the border between Zhou and Liang, Juyong Town was considered a strategically important settlement.
The area had originally been quite desolate. Later, the court dispatched troops for long-term garrison. While strengthening the border defenses, the court also relocated many displaced people from across the country. In addition, many criminals sentenced to exile were sent here. Gradually, a population began to form.
In times of peace, this expanded population farmed the land. But once war broke out, they became the perfect "reserve pool of talent." Soldiers transferred or conscripted from elsewhere were like distant water, useless for putting out a nearby fire.
For this very reason, despite being a major town, Juyong Town was far from prosperous.
The people here couldn't leave; their household registrations tied them to this land for generations. Without power or influence, moving was an impossibility. And outsiders were unwilling to move in, lest they live in constant fear that the men in their families would be sent to the battlefield at a moment's notice.
Even the more timid traveling merchants, who roamed far and wide, were reluctant to venture this far north. War could erupt without warning, and losing one's merchandise would be a small matter compared to losing one's life.
Today happened to be market day, and the streets were bustling with people, packed shoulder to shoulder.
Widow Xie headed straight for South Town, explaining she had to deliver a message for a fellow villager. She told Ji Huan to wait for her at the north end of town once she was finished with her own errands.
Ji Huan wandered aimlessly along the main north-south thoroughfare. She noticed that most of the goods for sale were daily necessities like grains, vegetables, furs, and wild game. Flashy, impractical "luxury shops" were nowhere to be found.
She would occasionally stop at a stall to ask about prices. From the information she gathered, she deduced that the cost of living in this era was similar to that of the Ming Dynasty she knew.
'Generally, the purchasing power of silver throughout history was calculated based on the price of grain.'
'However, with times of peace and chaos, and years of feast and famine, grain prices varied, and the value of silver naturally fluctuated along with them.'
'In the peaceful years just a while ago, for instance, one tael of silver could buy two *shi* of rice. By my calculations, that means the purchasing power of one tael of silver was about five to six hundred yuan.'
'But with the war starting in the last two years, one *shi* of rice now sold for eight maces of silver. With inflation, the purchasing power of a single tael had dropped to just over three hundred yuan.'
Ji Huan, however, breathed a sigh of relief. 'Things might not be as good as in peacetime, but at least they aren't completely outrageous yet.'