"Mother, what’s wrong? Did something happen?" Fang Rui asked hurriedly.

"They took her! A woman was taken away!" Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family said agitatedly, her face pale.

After Fang Rui questioned her in detail, he finally understood. It turned out that when Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family had gone to buy grain, she had witnessed a fairly attractive woman being noticed by some burly gang members and abducted right there on the street.

"It happened right near me... Thank goodness you’ve had me disguise myself as ugly these past few days, Brother Rui. Otherwise, I’m afraid..."

Even now, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family was filled with lingering fear as she recalled the incident.

’That was really... a close call!’ Fang Rui’s heart was also filled with lingering fear.

If Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family had really been taken, the consequences... He didn’t even dare to imagine!

For ordinary people like them, there was nowhere to turn for help when something like that happened. Even if he had a special advantage, he didn’t have the power to reverse such a situation before he had become strong enough.

If he had arrived too late and the unspeakable had occurred, Fang Rui... would likely have a complete mental breakdown and be driven to darkness.

"The woman was screaming when they grabbed her, but no one in the crowd dared to do anything... Her honor is probably..." Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family rambled on, venting her own terror, her voice filled with sympathy.

"Mother,"

Fang Rui shook his head and said comfortingly, "I feel sorry for her too, but there’s nothing we can do about things like this... We can only be thankful it didn’t happen to our family..."

"Sigh, the world is in chaos," he lamented.

In his memories, before the great drought, while there had been instances of bullying and abuse in the county town, it was never this brazen or done in broad daylight.

Now, if even the county town was like this, one could only imagine how much social order had collapsed in the villages below.

"Yes, the world is in chaos. Even rebels from the Taiping Sect have appeared. Otherwise, your father wouldn’t have been conscripted..." Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family said, her expression turning sorrowful.

"Mother, let’s not talk about this."

Worried that Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family would become overwhelmed with fear and anxiety, Fang Rui quickly changed the subject. "So, Mother, my skills at making you look ugly aren’t half bad, are they?"

To be frank, if Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family were to remove the fake pimples and freckles, she was a solid seven or eight out of ten in the looks department.

Combined with her voluptuous figure, she could easily be called a great beauty.

When Fang Rui first transmigrated here and came to understand what kind of world this was, he felt an overwhelming lack of security.

That was why he had coaxed Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family into disguising herself.

However.

Fang Rui hadn’t been reckless about it. Instead of making Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family so ugly that even the neighbors wouldn’t recognize her, he had done it gradually.

On days she didn’t leave the house, he would add two pimples one day, two freckles the next, making the change subtle. When she needed to go out, she could add a few ’cold sores’ all at once. If anyone asked, she could just say she was ’feeling rundown.’

Now, thanks to Fang Rui’s meticulous efforts, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family’s true looks were hidden, and the neighbors had gradually accepted her changed appearance.

But even so, Fang Rui still wasn’t completely at ease. To guard against certain weirdos with peculiar tastes—the ’they’re all the same with the lights off’ type—he also had Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family pad her clothes with cloth scraps to make her figure seem bulky whenever she went out.

"Very good. Brother Rui, you’ve really grown up."

Hearing this, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family was successfully distracted, a proud smile appearing on her face. "From now on, I’ll listen to you on all family matters. You can be the one to make the decisions."

Clearly, with this incident, Fang Rui’s caution had successfully averted a disaster, winning him the complete trust of Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family.

As Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family was speaking, she turned and suddenly noticed her daughter, Fang Ling. The girl had her bottom stuck in the air as she leaned over the table, rummaging through the basket and peering inside.

"You little rascal!"

She grabbed Fang Ling by the ear. "What are you looking for? I didn’t bring any snacks for you today!"

"Oh!"

Fang Ling pursed her lips, looking aggrieved as she was pulled to one side.

"Alright, Mother!"

Fang Rui played the peacemaker, rescuing his little sister from the clutches of Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family.

He knew that Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family seemed strict but actually had a sharp tongue and a soft heart. In the past, whenever she went out to buy groceries or sell grain, she would often bring back snacks for the two of them, like malt candy or chestnuts.

The only reason she hadn’t this time was because of how difficult things had become.

And Fang Ling’s ’basket-rummaging’ had no ill intent; it couldn’t help but remind Fang Rui of his sister from his past life, who would go through his school bag after he came home.

A faint warmth spread through his heart as he watched the scene.

"Times are getting tougher and tougher."

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family sighed. "The taxes have gone up! The price of grain has gone up! This time I couldn’t even buy cornmeal; I had to get cheaper Sorghum Flour instead."

"You don’t know the cost of living until you’re the one managing the household. Your mother here wishes she could split a single large coin in two."

"Oh, and Brother Rui,"

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family asked for his opinion. "Given the way things are going, the price of grain is bound to keep rising. Why don’t we use our savings to buy up as much grain as we can? As the saying goes, ’With grain in your hands, your heart will be at ease.’"

"Stocking up on grain is a good idea, but Mother, you’re forgetting: the Government Office is rationing grain now. You can only buy a set amount per household registration."

Fang Rui frowned. "Let me think of a way."

Actually, he did have one idea: the Black Market.

However, being cautious, he didn’t dare go while he was still weak. He planned to wait until his strength had increased.

’My golden finger has almost finished accumulating power,’ Fang Rui thought to himself. ’It’ll be ready soon, in a day or two!’

GRUMBLE!

Just then, his stomach suddenly rumbled.

"Brother Rui, you must be hungry. I’ll go make dinner."

"I’ll help with the fire, Mother. Ling’Er, you can prepare the vegetables!"

"Okay!"