After arranging everything at home, the man shouldered his pack and set out along the main road toward Suining City.
But to his surprise, the farther he went, the more travelers he encountered instead of fewer. People kept joining the road from the paths on either side.
At a glance, their coarse gray-black clothes were covered in patches. Their fingers were cracked, and their faces and necks were a deep bronze—a clear sign that they spent all year under the blazing sun.
Suppressing his excitement, the man stepped forward and asked, “Brother, where are you headed?”
The brawny man carrying a bamboo basket glanced at him without slowing down.
“I’m going to Suining City to find work.”
The man immediately broke into a smile and quickened his pace to walk beside him. “I’m headed to Suining City too. Why don’t we travel together, brother?”
It was several hundred li away, and having someone for company made the journey less daunting.
The brawny man nodded. “All right. Let’s walk faster, or someone else will get there ahead of us.”
The man looked at the travelers going both ahead and behind them. Most of them were probably heading to Suining City in search of work. His decision had clearly been the right one.
In the Gu residence in Songzhou City, Gu Baozhu stared at the name of the publishing house printed on the back of The Story of the Qin Maiden, feeling a little regretful.
“If only I’d known book publishing could make so much money, I wouldn’t have sold it back then.”
These past few days, The Story of the Qin Maiden had been selling like hotcakes in Songzhou City. Nearly every literate woman from a well-off family owned a copy. The Record of Injustice was also popular with the students at the academies—even Gu Jinghong had bought two copies.
Madam Gu took the storybook and flipped to the page she had reached.
“It’s making money because the story is well written. If you hadn’t sold it, you wouldn’t have made any money at all.”
Gu Baozhu leaned her head back against the soft cushion and gestured with one hand.
“I wonder whether Song Anhao found these two stories himself or whether County Princess Linghui found them for him. When that child came to me back then, I thought he was only fooling around.”
Madam Gu set down the book and sighed with emotion.
“All three of the Song children are so outstanding. Ultimately, it all comes down to County Princess Linghui’s excellent guidance.”
“People say an eldest sister is like a mother, but there are very few people in the world who could do as much as she has. In just a few years, the Song family rose from commoners to an official household.”
Before long, Gu Jinghong came rushing in, his head drenched in sweat. He picked up the teapot from the table and drained it in one gulp. Water dripped down his chin, and he roughly wiped it away with his hand.
Seeing how desperately he was drinking, Madam Gu walked over in concern and wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.
“Slow down. Don’t choke.”
After finishing the last drop, Gu Jinghong set the teapot heavily on the table.
“Lunch was way too salty, and I dropped my water pouch on the road. I was dying of thirst.”
Gu Baozhu gave him a disdainful look. “Couldn’t you buy some water on the way? It’s not as if there aren’t tea stalls along the road.”
Gu Jinghong said, “I wanted to, but my father wouldn’t let me.”
Madam Gu felt sorry for her grandson and immediately began blaming her son.
“Your father really is something. He wouldn’t even let you have a drink of water. Just wait until he comes back—I’ll give him a piece of my mind.”
“I knew Grandmother was the one who truly cared about me.” Gu Jinghong nodded repeatedly in agreement, his words as sweet as honey.
After sitting down, he suddenly remembered something and said to Gu Baozhu with a grin, “Guess what I saw on my way back?”
Gu Baozhu asked indifferently, “What did you see?”
Gu Jinghong leaned his neck forward, raising his brows with an expression that said he alone knew a great secret.
“I saw a lot of commoners carrying bundles on their backs and heading toward Songhe County. When I asked around, I learned they were going to Suining City to look for work. I counted about twenty of them.”
Madam Gu looked at him in surprise. “Why are they going to Suining City to find work? Is there no work here in Songzhou City?”
Gu Jinghong shrugged. “I heard County Princess Linghui’s coal mine is hiring again.”
Gu Baozhu straightened her back.
“If even people from Songzhou City are going there, just how many workers is she hiring?”
Gu Jinghong pressed his lips together and hazarded a guess. “At least a thousand.”
