Wolf-Raised Cub with a Space: Surviving the Disaster Years

A Village Chief, while not as prestigious as a County Lord or Commandery Princess, was still a ranked position officially recognized by the court.

From the corner of his eye, Mr. Quan watched the soldiers in silver armor astride their brown horses. Each one was imposing and disciplined, their gazes fixed straight ahead.

Then there were the rewards of gold, silver, and jewels. A single item from the collection was worth a hundred taels.

This only solidified his decision. ’I can’t get a refund for Xiangyun Village’s sugar!’

For a small-time merchant like him, building a good relationship with a Village Chief was an opportunity he could boast about for years to come. It would be an honor great enough to make his ancestors proud.

’Besides, as long as a Village Chief doesn’t do anything wrong, she’ll quickly become a County Lord, and then a Commandery Princess...’

As Mr. Quan thought this, he was on the verge of kneeling before Shen Ningning.

But the little one shook her head, her tone resolute. "When I reached the village entrance just now, you distinctly said that our village swindled you out of your silver."

"If we don’t refund this money today, people will accuse us of using our influence to extort them."

The old Village Chief nodded in agreement. "Refund it. We must refund it!"

Mr. Quan was sweating anxiously. "Village Chief, I was only deceived! That’s what led to this misunderstanding."

Shen Ningning’s eyes curved into a smile. "You’re always getting deceived? That gives me even more reason to refund your money."

Sister-in-law Liu chimed in, "Exactly. We can’t be doing business with a fool." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The old Village Chief shoved the silver directly into Mr. Quan’s palm.

He thrust it at him as if it were a hot potato.

Mr. Quan cried out in distress, "I..."

Shen Ningning had no intention of listening to his excuses and cut him off. "Brother Jiang, have your men move these chests into my house."

The villagers crowded around Shen Ningning, talking and laughing as they walked with her toward the center of the village.

Mr. Quan called out "Village Chief!" several times, but no one paid him any mind.

In the end, he could only storm off in a fury, clutching the silver.

’That damn Ba Deshun! He left out the important details and totally screwed me over!’

After Mr. Quan was gone, Shen Ningning and the villagers peeked out from behind a door, looking toward the village entrance.

"Is he gone?"

Jiang Zhi went out to check and nodded. "He’s finally gone!"

The old Village Chief let out a sigh of relief. He held Shen Ningning’s small hand, his gratitude palpable.

"Ningning, we owe this all to you. If you hadn’t been here, who knows how that Mr. Quan would have mocked us."

"That’s right," Aunt Liu added, filled with righteous indignation. "He was just bullying us because our village is small and poor, wasn’t he? Well, if he ever wants to buy from us again, it’s absolutely out of the question!"

The old Village Chief took out a pouch of broken silver.

"Ningning, here are twenty taels. You paid fifty taels on our behalf. Just give us a few more days for the rest, and we promise we’ll pay you back in full."

The little one blinked. "Pay me back? There’s no need for that, Grandpa Village Chief. I’d like something else."

The old Village Chief asked quickly, "What would that be?"

"The bag of loquat candy that Mr. Quan didn’t want—I’ll take it. I’ll pay you the market price for it," Shen Ningning said in her soft, sweet voice, surprising the old Village Chief.

"What do you need the candy for, Ningning?"

The little one gave a sweet smile. "I have my uses for it, of course."

The old Village Chief saw she wasn’t joking and thought for a moment.

"You’re one of us. You’ve been helping Xiangyun Village for so long. How about this? For the fifty taels, you can have it all—all thirty jin of loquat candy!"

Shen Ningning’s little mouth formed a small ’o’. Now it was her turn to be surprised. "That much? How about this—I’ll just take fifteen jin, and Grandpa Village Chief can give the rest to the other villagers."

Uncle Liu immediately spoke up in a deep voice. "Ningning, there’s no need to be so formal with us. You’ve helped us so much; you deserve anything you want."

"That’s right," Granny Chen chimed in with a nod. "If it weren’t for Ningning, our village wouldn’t be seeing these better days."

Seeing how enthusiastic the villagers were, Shen Ningning didn’t refuse any longer.

After she settled things with the old Village Chief, the burlap sack containing thirty jin of loquat candy was delivered to her house in the village.

Once the villagers had dispersed, Shen Ningning asked Jiang Zhi, "Sister Jiang, they didn’t give you a hard time at the General Zhen Nan Mansion, did they?"

In truth, the chests of jewels and the troop of soldiers had all been borrowed. The little one had sent Jiang Zhi to ask Chen Shaobei for them.

It was all to intimidate Mr. Quan and make him fearful and regretful. Everything would have to be returned shortly.

But considering the history between Jiang Zhi and Chen Shaobei, Shen Ningning still asked out of concern.

Jiang Zhi snorted at the thought of Chen Shaobei.

"Would he dare give me a hard time? I said it was for you, so he agreed to help without a second thought. He didn’t waste his breath on me."

With that, Jiang Zhi took a sip of water. "I’ll take these jewels back to him now."

Shen Ningning glanced at the sky and tugged on her sleeve. "Let Brother Chen go. You should get some rest."

Then, the little one called over Chen Ye and had him accompany the soldiers back to the General Mansion, asking him to pass on her thanks as well.

Jiang Zhi wiped a bead of sweat from her chin, her gaze falling on Shen Ningning with a wounded expression.

’Why would Ningning arrange things like this?’

’Is she worried that I have sticky fingers? That I might steal these treasures?’

「The next day.」

Shen Ningning rode the Black Wolf King, with the wolf pack in tow.

She had Jiang Zhi and Chen Ye drive a horse-drawn carriage loaded with barrels of chilled Spiritual Spring Water, the loquat honey Grandma Qin had prepared the previous night, and hundreds of meat buns. They headed straight for the Capital City.

The little one hadn’t forgotten the poor refugees.

Although Wu Zuchang’s case was closed, these people were still suffering. She resolved to help in any way she could.

Jiang Zhi was rather quiet on the journey, seeming to have something on her mind. Shen Ningning tried to speak with her a few times, but she remained looking downcast.

Upon arriving outside the Capital City,

The crowd of refugees had thinned out a bit.

Word was that Shen Ningning’s previous actions had caught the attention of the city’s officials. Fearing the Emperor would investigate and punish them, they had the bodies of the dead dragged away and buried.

The guards on the city wall were utterly astonished.

’That Little Wolf Girl from Xiangyun Village... why is she back again?’

’Setting up a relief stall day after day... no matter how much silver she has, she can’t afford to waste it like this!’

The refugees watched as Chen Ye set up an awning for shade while Jiang Zhi, just like before, began laying out trays of food.

For the first time, even the familiar silhouette of the wolf pack felt comforting to them!

"Look, our benefactress! She’s here again!" they exclaimed, overjoyed, and rushed forward.

But they hadn’t forgotten the rules entirely and obediently formed a line.

Shen Ningning stood behind a table, her voice soft and sweet. "Please, don’t rush. There’s enough for everyone to eat their fill."

They each received two palm-sized meat buns and a bowl of chilled loquat honey.

Grandma Qin had made the honey by simmering the loquat candy.

Crushed ice floated on the surface. A layer of sweet loquat honey was drizzled over it, followed by pieces of chopped peach.

With a gentle stir, the ice cubes clinked against the white porcelain bowl, a delightful chill rising from it under the scorching sun.

A single sip was pure bliss!

Shen Ningning watched as the refugees ate with gusto, crying out in delight as they drank.

She scanned the crowd but couldn’t find the poor little boy who had lost his mother last time.

’Where could he have gone?’

Shen Ningning insisted on helping with everything herself. She stood on her tiptoes, refilling the loquat honey drink for the refugees who came back for more.

When Jiang Zhi offered to help, the little one simply told her to rest.

Finally, Jiang Zhi couldn’t bear it any longer. "Ningning," she said, her tone icy, "what exactly did I do wrong? Why are you constantly on guard against me?"