After walking out of the street, Ran used her power to check the surroundings. She didn't sense anyone following her, so she relaxed and turned into an alley. She took out ten taels of silver from her bundle and put the rest into her storage space.
A cold wind blew by. Ran instinctively pulled her clothes tighter. Ever since she awakened her wood-type ability, she had become very sensitive to cold.
She guessed it was related to the nature of plants. Luckily, she wore a thin, warm down jacket under her clothes. Although she still felt a bit cold, it was much better than before.
When she reached the entrance of the village, she took the bundle out from her storage space. The silver was stored away, and only the writing tools Uncle Wang had given her were still in the bundle.
"Yo! Ran, where have you been?"
It was already late. This was the time when villagers gathered for dinner. Many men who had been busy all day were now chatting in small groups.
They talked about which household paid more, which ones were stingy, and where to find new work. When they saw Ran walking over with a bundle, they all looked at her curiously.
"I went to town to buy some things." Ran replied politely.
"I heard from Brother Wang that you're planning to hire his youngest to teach you how to read?" A man around the same age as Uncle Wang came over and asked curiously.
"Really?" Many people turned their heads in disbelief. "Of course it's true. Brother Wang told me himself!" That man quickly added, "Ran, is that right?"
"It's true." Ran didn't plan to hide it. After all, once she started learning, they would find out soon enough. Since they were going to know sooner or later, why bother hiding it?
"So it really is true! Ran, what are you thinking? You're already grown up. Why not focus on earning money, saving for a dowry, and finding a wife? What's the point of learning how to read?"
"Exactly! That costs quite a bit!" "You should save that money. Getting a good wife is more important than anything!"
All the uncles and older brothers shook their heads in disapproval. In their eyes, Ran looked decent, just a bit short. If she saved money and built some wealth, she would definitely be able to find a wife.
Even being a concubine was better than working and living alone. If she worked harder and served her wife well, maybe she could even be left with a child. That would make her life complete.
"Tch. Even if he earns a lot of money, what's the point? He's still going to end up alone."
Just as everyone was advising Ran to save money, a voice interrupted from behind. Evan and his group appeared behind the crowd, their faces gloomy. The one who had spoken stood at the front. He was a young man with a handsome face.
"Fred, what do you mean by that?" an uncle asked, looking at the young man in confusion.
"Nothing." The young man walked up to Ran with a nasty smile on his face. He spoke harshly. "I happened to see something interesting while I was working in town..."
"Fred!" Caleb shouted loudly, cutting him off.
Looking at their expressions, Ran understood immediately. It seemed that the news about her in the city was already known by them.
But she was not worried. After all, she was not really a cripple. Besides, she had come through worse times. Rumors like this could not hurt her.
She did not expect Caleb to be the first one to defend her.
"What is wrong with saying it!" Fred looked at Caleb angrily but laughed without care. "Now, who in the whole Suzhou city does not know? Our village's Ran rejected Lady Bao's kindness! The reason is that he is a cripple!" He spoke the last words clearly and loudly, making sure everyone heard.
"Fred!" This time, not only Caleb but even Logan and the others disapproved and stared at Fred.
As men, they understood how hard the situation was for a cripple. They all knew that no one would choose to be hated unless they really could not survive otherwise.
They still remembered clearly when Ran arrived more than a month ago. She was thin, her cheeks sunken, and she was injured. She looked like a wounded little beast, watching everyone with caution.
Although she was already in a bad state, no one thought she was a cripple.
Hearing this news now, the crowd looked at her with pity, sympathy, disdain, and disgust.
This was how people really were.
"What? I did not say anything wrong!" Fred sneered after being shouted at by Caleb. "Everyone in Suzhou knows that Ran, with her dirty crippled body, bumped into noble Lady Bao and made her unhappy!"
After he said this, many who had felt pity for Ran looked at her with unfriendly eyes. It was as if she had committed a terrible crime.
Ran, who had been standing quietly by the side, became cold the moment she heard this. Her fingers at her side moved slightly. The nearest thorn vine's spikes grew bigger. While Fred kept talking, the vine suddenly stabbed his arm and calf!
"Ah!"
Fred shouted in pain as the sharp thorns pierced him. He jumped back reflexively. The vine seemed to move on its own and quickly pulled back, hiding itself.
"What is this?" Seeing Fred's bleeding arm and leg, everyone was surprised.
Earlier, everyone was gossiping about Ran and had not noticed the thorn vine. Seeing this now, many could not help but react.
"What... what happened?"
"No idea! It was fine just now!"
"Did Fred provoke something? Why is only he hurt?"
"Yeah! There are so many people here, but only Fred got hurt. That's scary!"
"I will take Fred to Uncle Wang for bandaging. It is getting late. Everyone, go ahead!" Though Caleb disliked Fred, he still helped him walk to the village's only barefoot doctor.
Before leaving, Caleb comforted Ran, "Ran, don't worry about today! I will come find you later to drink!"