I started as an exile, and I relied on space to support my family of loyal heroes.

Mrs. Niu pursed her dry lips and squatted silently near the city gate, staring at the people entering and leaving the capital.

Mrs. Niu is having a miserable time, but old Madam Niu is living a very comfortable life.

.........

"Madam, the village chief is here."

Cuixiang pouted and said to Old Madam Niu who was leaning in the yard to enjoy the cool air.

Madam Niu raised her eyelids and glanced at Cuixiang.

"What's the matter? Have you forgotten your manners again? Don't you want to live a good life anymore?"

Luzhu, who was massaging Madam Niu's legs, paused for a moment and glanced quickly at Cuixiang.

Cuixiang pouted and bent her knees slightly, "I understand."

Madam Niu's eyes fell from Cuixiang's face to Luzhu's face, and she said solemnly,

"Remember, you two are now the maids of the old lady of the Ding family, not the concubines of the Niu family. Don't act like a spoiled brat. If someone finds out, we will all be killed..."

Old Madam Niu raised her hand and made a beheading gesture, which frightened the two concubines so much that their faces turned pale instantly.

Old Madam Niu was very brave and took a lot of banknotes and silver from the dead officials.

Relying on the money in her pocket, she changed into an official uniform and touched the official's certificate.

She tricked her two concubines into working as her maids, and then she swaggered into the town, saying that she was sneaking out to play in her son's clothes. She fooled the clothing store owner and bought her some new clothes.

After some thought, Mrs. Niu did not dare to go to the county town, and even did not dare to stay in the town for long.

She used her official credentials to sneak into Chunquan Village near the East City Gate and deceived the villagers, pretending to be an old lady from an official family who had come to the countryside to live in retirement.

The chief of Chunquan Village looked at Madam Niu's demeanor and had no doubts at all. He was very polite to Madam Niu and the other two.

Old Madam Niu gave the village chief a lot of benefits, and the village chief directly gave the best house in the village to Old Madam Niu.

There was plenty of land in the village, and the money given by Old Lady Niu was enough for him to build two more houses like this.

The two concubines were so scared that they nodded repeatedly and became more respectful to Madam Niu.

Cuixiang hurried over, bent over and held Madam Niu's arm.

Luzhu followed behind with a fan in her hand, fanning Old Madam Niu.

If these two young women had not followed Old Madam Niu, who knows how miserable their fate would have been.

Even if they have money, they can easily be targeted by people with bad intentions.

On the contrary, it is safer to follow Madam Niu. The villagers don't know Madam Niu's background and dare not disrespect her.

Madam Niu has not been the head of the household for so many years in vain. When she is serious, she still has the aura of an official’s wife.

When the village chief saw Old Lady Niu, he immediately bowed and greeted her.

"Mrs. Ding, the well diggers will come tomorrow, but..."

"Village chief, just speak frankly." Old Madam Niu raised her eyelids and looked at the village chief.

She told the villagers that her husband's surname was Ding and that her name was Old Lady Ding.

She didn't lie. Her real name was Ding Qunfang. Her last name was indeed Ding, there was nothing wrong with it.

She is not stupid, so she has to hide her identity and keep a low profile to survive.

The village chief smiled flatteringly, "You know, it hasn't rained for more than a month, and many shallow wells are basically dry. If you want to dig a well now, you have to dig very deep to get water."

"Because of the drought, there are a lot of people who want to dig wells recently, so the price is much higher than before..."

The well in his family is the deepest in the village, and it has almost run dry in the past few days.

When the well diggers come tomorrow, he will ask them to help him deepen the well at home for free.

"How much?" Old Madam Niu said lightly.

Ah!

The village chief's appetite is really getting bigger and bigger. In the few days since he came to the village, he has taken more than fifty taels from her openly and secretly.

If she hadn't often mentioned her son who was an official in the capital, there would be countless people in the village who had evil thoughts.

Forget it, spend money to buy peace. Even though she now knows that these people deliberately cheated her of money, she can only pretend that she doesn't know.

Aren’t all the old ladies from official families so otherworldly? She has to pretend to be one.

Of course, she was originally an old lady from an official family, but she was an old lady who climbed up from the mud.

She understands the villagers' twists and turns better than anyone else.

"Thirty taels." The village chief raised three fingers, his expression slightly stiff, staring at Old Madam Niu, watching her reaction.

In fact, the person who dug the well wanted 20 taels of silver. Since he helped to find the well, he should ask for some benefits.

These wives of officials are not short of money, and a little money exposed between their fingers is enough for them to eat for a year.

The weather now looks like it's going to be dry.

The crops in the fields have all dried up. The taxes were paid not long ago, and several families in the village have no food to eat.

In the past, a family could live comfortably with ten taels of silver for a year. Now, you can’t even buy much food, and you’d be lucky if you can last for two months.

Alas, he didn't want to cheat these officials' wives out of their money.

But he couldn't just watch his whole family starve to death.

Besides, this isn't called cheating. At most he's making a profit from the price difference, as long as both parties are willing.

Seeing the village chief's slightly evasive look, Old Lady Niu naturally knew that the price was false.

Even though she knew the price was wrong, she had no choice but to accept it.

There was no way. Her current status did not allow her to come into conflict with the villagers.

"Okay, let them come early tomorrow to dig."

"Okay, come over at dawn tomorrow morning."

The village chief left Mrs. Niu's house with a smile on his face and satisfaction.

Madam Niu's eyes flickered slightly. She looked up at the dazzling sun in the sky and frowned slightly.

"Go, call a carriage, and go to the town now to buy provisions."

The silver in her hand seemed to be a lot, more than 1,500 taels, enough for a normal life in the village.

But it doesn't look like it's going to rain. If there's a famine, this little bit of silver won't be enough.

She needs to stock up more food while the food prices are not too outrageous now.

Cuixiang was stunned for a moment. Seeing the expression of Old Madam Niu that did not allow for any rebuttal, she moved her lips twice, knelt down and saluted,

"Yes, slave, go right away."

Soon, the only carriage in the village came back with Cuixiang.

Old Lady Niu paid the coachman ten copper coins to send him away, and drove the carriage to the town with her concubine.

She must not let the villagers know that she is hoarding food.

............

"Sir, sir, it's me, I..."

Mrs. Niu stopped the spy's horse, looked back at the official at the city gate with a nervous look, and whispered to the spy who was in contact with him,

"It's me, Mrs. Niu, who helped you monitor the Xiao family..."

Mrs. Niu was so excited that she originally thought she would have to wait for several days.

She didn't expect her luck to be so good. Before the city gate closed, she suddenly saw the spy who had contacted her before riding towards the city gate.