As dawn broke, Tian Jing set off.
For breakfast, she not only had a bowl of thick millet porridge but also packed two hard-boiled eggs and two wowo tou, saying they were for the long journey.
Carrying two bundles, old and new, Tian Jing followed Ding Aihua out of the Tian family's house in the dark.
They walked for a long time before the sky began to lighten. Tian Jing cheerfully surveyed the surroundings, with mountains to her left and a stream to her right. The scenery was quite nice, if only the path beneath her feet wasn't solid packed earth. It felt like an autumn outing.
Seeing Tian Jing's leisurely demeanor, Ding Aihua dared not relax her vigilance. She had come to understand these past two days that this girl had become cunning. She wouldn't feel at ease until she personally handed the girl over to the Li family.
Even the most beautiful scenery can become tiresome after a while. Tian Jing lost interest in sightseeing and focused on the road ahead.
Ding Aihua's nerves became even more taut, as she worried about the girl running away.
Being stared at so intently by Ding Aihua, how could Tian Jing not notice? She turned her head to look at her, "I won't run. I don't have a letter of introduction, nor can I take my household registration with me. Where would I go?"
Her words hit home, and Ding Aihua gave an embarrassed smile, "No, I don't. I was just wondering why you've changed so much."
"Heh," Tian Jing chuckled lightly, "Imagine you suddenly discover you're just a servant for your entire family, the kind who should only work and not eat."
"Then, before you even have time to figure out why you're treated this way, someone tells you that you were sent to be fostered by your relatives, and those relatives gave this family quite a bit of money. Money that this family could live off for generations without working."
"And this family not only mistreats you but also wants to arrange a marriage exchange for you. The conditions of the family you're to be exchanged with are beyond description. Comrade Ding, what would you do?"
What would she do? She wished she could drink the blood and eat the flesh of this family.
Yet, she was a member of this family. Ding Aihua regretted using this excuse to mask her earlier thoughts.
Seeing Ding Aihua's silence, Tian Jing didn't press for an answer.
After a period of silence, Ding Aihua couldn't contain her curiosity and asked, "Can that money really allow them to live for generations without working?"
Tian Jing smiled. She had fallen for it after all. "The current price of gold is about 5 yuan per gram. Those two gold bars weighed ten taels each. One tael is 50 grams. Comrade Ding, calculate how much one gold bar is worth."
One tael is 50 grams, so ten taels is 500 grams. At 5 yuan per gram, that's a lot of money.
Ding Aihua gasped involuntarily. She couldn't calculate such large sums, but she knew it was a significant amount. "How much is that?"
Ding Aihua's sharp intake of breath was clearly audible to Tian Jing on the quiet, deserted country road.
She kindly provided the answer, "One bar is twenty-five hundred yuan, so two bars are five thousand yuan."
Five thousand yuan?
Ding Aihua's heart pounded. In her entire life, she hadn't even saved fifty yuan. What did five thousand yuan represent?
Tian Jing watched with a smile as Ding Aihua stood frozen in shock. "Don't forget, Old Master Tian had a whole jar of gold bars, all gone due to Tian Ping's selfishness."
That's right. Ding Aihua felt a pang of pain.
A jar of gold bars. She didn't know how big the jar was, but even the smallest jar could hold ten or so gold bars. That would be ten times five thousand yuan. How could Tian Ping be so cruel?
She colluded with outsiders to steal the Tian family's money, and she deserved to be muted! Yet, they were still trying to find her a husband?
In her opinion, Tian Ping should have been sold into the mountains, to toil day and night without even being fed.
Thinking of this, she then thought of Tian Jing beside her, who was about to be sent into the mountains for a marriage exchange. It was pitiful that this girl, despite her relatives giving the Old Tian family so much money, was still being sent away.
As for the treacherous Tian Ping, although she found a widower, the widower's family was in decent condition. It might not be easy for her to eat well, but eating her fill should be possible.
She couldn't help but feel sorry for Tian Jing. No wonder her demeanor had changed so drastically. Just thinking about Tian Ping and Lü Jianjun stealing the Tian family's gold made her want to tear them to pieces. How much more so for Tian Jing, who had suffered all sorts of unfair treatment?
"Jing, my child, your eldest aunt has wronged you."
The marriage exchange was something she had facilitated. On the day of the arranged meeting, Li Fu took an instant liking to Li Min and insisted on marrying her, unconcerned about her family being far away. He even said it was better if her family was far away, so she wouldn't move good things back to her maternal home.
Once he took a liking to her, Li Min brought up her elder brother and suggested a marriage exchange.
She herself thought a marriage exchange was a good idea, so she spoke favorably to Old Mrs. Tian on Li Fu's behalf.
Oh, so her conscience had awoken? Tian Jing thought to herself with a chuckle. It was probably due to the so-called immense wealth, and finding a common enemy, that she had a flicker of conscience?
"Comrade Ding, I am no longer related to the Old Tian family. The title of eldest aunt is no longer fitting. Moreover, what's done is done. What good is your apology now? Trying to get the best of both worlds is disgusting."
"You?" Ding Aihua's face was filled with shame, anger, and indignation. This hateful girl deserved to be sent into the mountains.
"Heh." Tian Jing provocatively chuckled twice and turned to continue forward.
This time, the two walked in silence.
The sun was already quite high. Tian Jing thought about taking out an egg to replenish her energy, but Ding Aihua spoke up, "Let's walk a bit further. We're almost at the Five Mile Slope bend. Li Zhengguo said he'll meet you there. Once you get there, you can rest, and I can head back directly."
"Alright," Tian Jing replied indifferently and continued walking.
In her mind, she recalled the original owner's past life. In her previous life, the original owner was directly sent to the Li family by Tian Lifu. Now, not only had the person escorting her changed, but there was also someone waiting to meet her. Were the wings of her transmigration this powerful?
Soon, a steep uphill slope appeared ahead. At the top of the slope was a hairpin turn with an almost 50-degree angle.
Tian Jing knew that this was the first bend of the Five Mile Slope bend, known as the "Death Corner" on this country road.
At the bottom of the slope, Ding Aihua scanned upwards. Upon seeing a figure under the only large tree at the top of the slope, she smiled.
"Hurry up. The figure under the tree at the top should be Li Zhengguo."
Hearing this, Tian Jing also looked up. There was indeed a figure under the large tree. Vaguely, she sensed a hint of nervousness in that figure.
What was he nervous about? Was he worried she might run away? Was he worried his sister wouldn't be able to leave the mountains as planned?
Tian Jing felt a sense of disdain for this Li Zhengguo. No matter how much he might have loved the original owner, the initial purpose of the marriage exchange was to secure a way out for his sister, without regard for whether the other family's daughter would survive in the mountains.
Ding Aihua looked at Tian Jing suspiciously. Why was she suddenly angry? Although she had disliked the marriage exchange before, her behavior along the way had been quite calm, even showing a hint of cheerful joy. What was going on?
Then, she thought that none of this concerned her. She just needed to hand the girl over to the Li family.