Chapter 121: Not as Important as Your Wife
The old woman glared at her grandson and then looked at her son.
"Listen to me carefully. Keep an eye on him. Everyone in our village is united. We cannot drag everyone down because of our family.
"When Xing'er insisted on leaving, I told her that she could if she wanted to, but she could not come back because of the epidemic.
"I am serious about this. If any of you dare to meet Xing'er behind my back, don't blame the Chief for being heartless when he chases us out of the village!"
"I know, Mother." Her son nodded.
She sighed softly in response.
They were a little more heartless. However, besides being heartless, what other choices did they have? Let Wang Xing'er bring her family into the village and spread the disease to the villagers?
That Wang Xing'er is really something! She knows that her family contracted the epidemic disease, but she still dared to bring them to the village!
"Grandmother, I… I… I want to see Xing'er…"
The old woman looked at her grandson and raised an eyebrow. "You still want to see her?"
"I won't stop you if you really want to go and see her. Go on. I'll go to the Chief and the Junior Officer and explain things. You will no longer be part of our village.
"Let everyone see you and chase you out of the village immediately. How about that?"
"Grandmother, I'm your biological grandson!"
The young man was shocked. His eyes widened as he looked at his grandmother, unable to believe what he had just heard.
"You're wrong."
The old woman shook her head sadly, her aged eyes glaring fiercely at him with all their might.
"Your family is outside this village. And there is only Wang Xing'er. But from me, the oldest here, to the two youngest ones—none of us have anything to do with you. Our lives are not as important as your wife's.
"You can go to your wife's family and live with them in the future!"
She pointed to the door.
"I…" The man lowered his head in shame and stopped talking.
She was right. What would they do if he really went to see Wang Xing'er and spread the epidemic disease to the village?
"Since Xing'er decided to bring her parents here, could it be that her father only has an ordinary illness and not the epidemic disease?" he guessed.
"You—"
The old woman almost died of anger.
Can you rely on guesses at a time like this?
"It doesn't matter. So what if he might not have the epidemic disease? We don't know if Wang Xing'er is trying to seek refuge with you because her father contracted the disease. Have you ever thought about how ruthless she is?
"She wouldn't have done such a thing if she was more considerate towards you!"
"Grandmother…"
"Enough, I can't be bothered to talk to you anymore. From today onwards, you don't have to go out. The crops in the fields have been planted anyway. Stay at home. If I catch you going out, you don't have to come back."
The old woman spoke straightforwardly when she saw that her grandson was still weak-willed.
She said to her son, "Go to my room and bring me that lock. Lock this unfilial thing in his room. Also, seal his window. I want to see how he'll get out to meet Wang Xing'er!"
Chapter 122: No Way She Would Believe Her
"Grandmother!"
The young man was shocked and looked at his grandmother in disbelief.
Are they going to lock me up to prevent me from leaving? How am I going to meet Xing'er secretly?
However, his family, especially his grandmother, knew him well. How could they let him have his way?
Hence, he did not have to go out anymore from now on.
…
On the mountain…
Springwater flowed down the cliff continuously, gathering in a large pool.
It was afternoon, and the place was quiet. Not many people came to fetch water at the spring.
Suddenly, a woman emerged, panting. She placed her bag on a rock and took out all the clothes inside.
"Hmph! I want to see if you can survive after drinking the water that my father's clothes have soaked in! So you want the entire village to be well? Dream on!"
She snorted coldly and was about to throw the clothes she had into the spring.
However, she was kicked aside before she could do so.
"Ah!" she screamed and fell onto a pile of rocks, clutching her father's clothes tightly.
"What are you trying to do?"
Qian Yiyun was here to fetch water. She had noticed that there was not much water left in the kitchen and scooped all the water into the cooking pot. She wanted to collect water to save her brother some trouble.
She did not expect to witness a woman about to throw her clothes into the spring from afar.
This spring water is our drinking water. The entire village at the foot of the mountain also drinks this water. How can she wash her clothes here? How disgusting is that?
Wang Xing'er did not expect to meet someone here. She gulped in fear. "I… I…"
She had seen her before. She was rescued by An Jiuyue from the flood. She had even watched her skin animals ruthlessly.
She… Didn't she already leave? Why is she still here?
"No, nothing. My… my clothes are dirty. I came to wash them," she said guiltily.
"Wash your clothes?"
There was no way Qian Yiyun would believe her!
Wang Xing'er knew that the water here was for drinking, but she still came to wash her clothes. She was also stammering. It was clear—something was wrong.
"I know you. You're from the village. You must know that the water here is for drinking. Tell me, what are you trying to do?"
Qian Yiyun had interacted with the village women for many days at her sister-in-law's place and had memorized their appearances. She remembered that this woman often ordered her mother-in-law about.
She had never seen such a daughter-in-law! She had even complained to her brother about her.
"I'm not trying to do anything. I'm just washing my clothes. If you don't want me to wash them, so be it. I… I'm going back."
Wang Xing'er felt that she could not allow herself to be exposed here. She had to leave this place first. She also could not let the villagers discover her. Otherwise, they would definitely beat her to death.
Hence, she stood up with the clothes in her hands, packed her bags, and prepared to leave.
However, Qian Yiyun would not let her have her way. She grabbed a rod and knocked her out with a single strike, causing her to fall onto the pile of rocks.
Then, she waited by the side.
Although it was already afternoon, some villagers would still come to fetch water.
Chapter 123: Soak in the Spring
She would find out what the woman was up to if she waited for a villager to come and ask them about the situation.
Don't think I'm ignorant. I know that the laundry must first be placed in wooden basins or bamboo baskets and then brought to the river for washing. I've washed my brother and sister-in-law's clothes a few times, okay?
After waiting for about 15 minutes, a young man with two empty wooden buckets arrived.
"Hey, isn't this Wang Xing'er? Why is she here?"
The man was shocked to see a woman lying beside the spring. However, he was even more surprised when he saw who it was.
Didn't we chase this woman away? Why is she here?
Qian Yiyun walked out from the side and asked the man, "Hey, you know her? Who is she?"
"You…!"
The man was shocked by Qian Yiyun's sudden appearance and took a step back.
"Don't be afraid. I knocked her out, but I didn't do anything bad. I just want to know what this woman was trying to do," Qian Yiyun quickly explained when she saw that the man's face had turned pale.
She really did not do anything bad. No matter what that woman was up to, Qian Yiyun decided she should knock her out first and inquire about it later.
If it was a misunderstanding, she could just apologize to the woman.
"She… Miss Qian, why did you knock her out? How did she… get here?" the man swallowed and asked carefully.
Compared to finding Wang Xing'er on the ground, he was more curious about how she got here.
"You'll have to ask her." Qian Yiyun shrugged and looked at the unconscious Wang Xing'er.
"Everyone knows that the water here is for drinking, but she brought many clothes here to wash. That's outrageous! Who else should I hit if not her?"
She reached out to open Wang Xing'er's bag, but a hand grabbed her wrist.
"Miss Qian, don't touch those. You must not touch them."
The man broke out in a cold sweat when he saw that she was about to touch Wang Xing'er's belongings. He quickly grabbed her, not caring that physical contact between a man and woman should be limited.
"Why?" Qian Yiyun was surprised.
So this woman is not a good person. Does she have evil intentions?
The man explained, "This woman is Wang Xing'er. She's from our village, but she returned to her parents' home a few days ago. She brought her family here today to seek refuge with her in-laws.
"But her father seems to have contracted the epidemic disease. We chased her out of the village not long ago. At noon."
Qian Yiyun was shocked and quickly retracted her hand. "What?!"
She saw that Wang Xing'er was about to put a few pieces of clothing into the spring. Judging from the style and color of the clothes, they should belong to a man—an older man.
Do those clothes belong to Wang Xing'er's ill father?
"What a vicious woman! She wanted to soak her father's clothes in the spring!"
She looked at Wang Xing'er. If she had a knife in her hand, she would definitely stab her ruthlessly. Wang Xing'er wanted to harm the entire village and implicate her sister-in-law!
Chapter 124: He Had to Dote on Her
The man was frightened by Qian Yiyun's words and stammered, "Wh-what? She… She… She actually dared to do that? Miss Qian, she… has she…"
"Of course not." Qian Yiyun raised her chin proudly. "I noticed it in time and kicked her away."
Honestly, she simply did not want to bring home the water someone else had used for laundry washing. She was unaware that her sister-in-law always collected water flowing along the rock cliff.
"I… Miss Qian, please wait. I… I'll go find the Chief."
The man realized that the matter was serious and he could not be the one to decide what to do. He could only invite the Chief or the Junior Officer over.
…
Soon, the Chief, the Junior Officer, and many others gathered around the spring.
Wang Xing'er's husband was also brought over by his grandmother and parents. The entire family looked at Wang Xing'er, who had yet to regain consciousness, with hatred.
"Look carefully, Grandson. Is such a woman really worth falling head over heels for? She's a ruthless woman!"
The old woman looked at Wang Xing'er hatefully and slapped the man beside him on his head, trying to wake him up.
"Grandmother, I know I was wrong."
The man lowered his head and did not dare to say a word. However, his eyes were filled with disappointment towards Wang Xing'er.
When he was locked up by his parents and grandmother, he was still contemplating an escape plan to share in his wife's suffering. After all, she was his wife. He had to dote on her.
However, he did not expect Wang Xing'er to do this in such a short time!
She brought the clothes her father had worn to put them into the spring where all the villagers collected their water. This was no different from poisoning!
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"I'll ask the Chief to write a divorce letter. I'll divorce this vicious woman!"
The old woman nodded in satisfaction. "Good, good."
One should marry a virtuous person. Physical appearances should not matter as much. It was more important to have a heart that did not desire to cause harm to others.
"Chief, Junior Officer, we should send people from the village to guard this place every day. We can't let those with ill intentions threaten our water source again," someone suggested.
This was the water they used to cook and drink. They could not be careless.
"That's a feasible idea." Looking at the Chief, the Junior Officer nodded in agreement.
It was a coincidence that Qian Yiyun, who lived in An Jiuyue's house, came to fetch water and discovered Wang Xing'er's evil intentions. They might not be so lucky in the future.
"Let's discuss this later. We can't let these people destroy our only water source," the Chief added.
"What about Wang Xing'er? Should we throw her out of the village?" someone asked.
"Well…" The Chief hesitated when he saw Wang Xing'er.
"Chief, you can't let her off so easily. This woman is too vicious!"
"That's right! This woman dared to poison us today. She may do other heartless things tomorrow. We can't let her off so easily!"
Everyone chimed in when they saw the Chief's hesitation.
The Chief was silent. He wanted to punish Wang Xing'er too.
Chapter 125: Truly Shameless
However, he could not possibly ask the villagers to kill Wang Xing'er, right? He also could not escort Wang Xing'er to the county to be arrested and brought to justice.
"Folks, folks, calm down and listen to me."
The Junior Officer spoke up quickly when he saw that everyone was unhappy with Wang Xing'er and also increasingly unhappy with the Chief.
"We can't leave the village now, and we also can't kill Wang Xing'er. We can only chase her away first. The Chief hesitated because he was thinking about how to deal with Wang Xing'er.
"Her father has contracted the epidemic disease, so we should not touch her. We can only chase her out of the village and make sure she never returns."
"That will be letting her off too easily!" someone said indignantly when they heard the Junior Officer's words.
However, they also understood him. Wang Xing'er was now a hot potato. They had to throw her out quickly!
"I really want to throw her into a fire and burn her to death. This woman is a poisonous snake!"
Although some people said these things, they did not dare to kill. They were just empty words.
Wang Xing'er woke up slowly amidst everyone's curses. She was shocked when she saw the crowd surrounding her.
"What… what are you trying to do?"
She sat up, shivering, and looked fearfully at the men with sticks.
"What are we trying to do? We should be asking what are you trying to do?"
Wang Xing'er's husband walked out of the crowd and looked at his wife in disappointment.
"I really didn't expect you to be so vicious as to wash your clothes in the spring. Do you know that your son and daughter drink the water here every day? What if they contract the epidemic disease?
"Can you really bear to watch them die with you?"
"I…" Wang Xing'er looked around with her large eyes.
I can't admit what I was trying to do. I'll be dead meat if I do!
"I didn't do anything. I don't have anything. I just wanted to wash a few clothes. What's wrong with that? This spring doesn't belong to anyone. I can wash my clothes and even shower here. It has nothing to do with you all!"
"You—" The man almost died from anger.
Spouting whatever she wants… She's truly shameless!
He exhaled heavily and stared intently into Wang Xing'er's eyes.
"Wang Xing'er, just you wait! I'm going to divorce you, you vicious woman!"
"Don't you dare!"
Wang Xing'er gasped and jumped up, glaring at her husband.
The man spat fiercely, "Why not? You did this and tried to kill everyone in our village today. It's only right for me to divorce you! The two children will have nothing to do with you in the future. They don't have a vicious mother like you!"
"You… you…" Wang Xing'er's pale lips trembled as she looked at her husband in disbelief.
She dared to do this because she knew her husband would support her and stand by her side no matter what.
But now he wants to divorce me over such a small matter!
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"I was just washing my clothes. What's wrong with that? How is that heinous? Don't you all wash your clothes? Or do you just keep your clothes on and let them stink?"
Chapter 126: You Want Revenge
She flung her hands up and questioned them with reddened eyes.
Her words left everyone around speechless.
Even if they were washing clothes, they would collect some water and wash their clothes with the collected water at the foot of the mountain.
No one ever washed their clothes near the spring out of convenience. They were afraid that they would dirty the water and cause everyone to fall sick.
"This woman is crazy. She only cares about herself. Let's chase her out," someone said.
The others agreed with him. "Just chase her out. Don't let her come to our village again. It's too scary."
"What's going on?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard.
Everyone turned around and saw An Jiuyue walking over with Lu'er in her arms.
"Sister Jiuyue."
When Qian Yiyun saw her, she hurried over and took Lu'er into her arms.
"What's going on? Why are there so many people here?" An Jiuyue asked.
She had come to take a look after she noticed that Qian Yiyun had been gone for so long. She did not expect to see so many people standing there, and they seemed to be judging someone.
Qian Yiyun briefly explained her discovery of Wang Xing'er to An Jiuyue. "So this happened…"
An Jiuyue narrowed her beautiful eyes and glanced dangerously at Wang Xing'er before walking toward her slowly.
"I didn't think our village would have such a person. Heh." She looked at Wang Xing'er and smiled.
"Master, I'm sensing infinite hatred and killing intent. That woman wants to kill you!" Wei Na immediately noticed Wang Xing'er's hatred and quickly informed An Jiuyue.
Oh? Didn't Master rescue Wang Xing'er during the flood? It had to be her to repay kindness with ingratitude?
"Nonsense. Do you think I can't feel anything?" An Jiuyue snapped at Wei Na and continued to look at Wang Xing'er.
"You want to take revenge on me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Although she phrased her words as a question, they confirmed that the woman wanted revenge.
"Huh? Sister Jiuyue, what are you talking about?" Qian Yiyun asked as she carried Lu'er over.
Everyone looked at An Jiuyue in confusion.
Is Wang Xing'er doing this to take revenge on An Jiuyue? What is this? Why can't we understand?
Wang Xing'er took a step back guiltily and denied it stubbornly, "You… What nonsense are you spouting? I… I don't even know you well!"
She wanted to take revenge on An Jiuyue for suggesting ways to prevent outsiders from entering the village. Her family could not enter because of that.
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She had to stay in the straw shed filled with ill people. Otherwise, she would not have food to eat.
However, she could not admit that. The people in the village treated An Jiuyue as their savior and worshiped her like a deity.
She would definitely die miserably if she said she wanted to go against An Jiuyue now.
"You want revenge," An Jiuyue did not waste her breath and said unwaveringly.
"My house is very close to the spring. Although it's not a matter of who falls sick first, everyone will definitely suspect me if something happens to the spring.
"That's because my house is the closest. By then, everyone would have contracted the epidemic disease, and I'm no exception."
Chapter 127: This Is Repaying Kindness With Ingratitude
She continued her train of thought as she spoke, her gaze fixed on Wang Xing'er.
"Many villagers know that the Qian siblings and the three children I found are living in my house. You should know about this too.
"If there is an outbreak here, everyone could blame me for having outsiders. They could claim they have the epidemic disease and spread it to the villagers via this rock spring."
As expected, Wang Xing'er's eyes darted around guiltily. She even took a step back and gulped as her expression became even more nervous.
"Nonsense! I… I didn't!" Wang Xing'er denied it.
I'll never admit that I wanted to sabotage An Jiuyue, that detestable woman.
"You didn't?" An Jiuyue looked at her and asked.
"Didn't you hate me? Didn't you think I shouldn't have suggested to the Chief to guard the village? That I'm the one who stopped you from bringing your parents in?
"Or did you think I'm the one who forced you out of the village to suffer with your parents and brothers? So now you might even die from the epidemic?"
"No… No, I… I didn't." Wang Xing'er shook her head in denial.
However, her guilty and fearful eyes had already betrayed her. Anyone could tell what she was thinking.
A man in the crowd glared at Wang Xing'er and asked, "We all know! You were warning Jiuyue to watch out just now! Did you think we didn't hear you?"
They had heard everything she said when they chased her and her family away.
However, they never expected Wang Xing'er to be so vicious as to target the spring.
Everyone started taking turns scolding Wang Xing'er.
"I didn't expect Wang Xing'er to be so vicious and ungrateful."
"If I remember correctly, Jiuyue was the one who pulled her out of the floodwaters. She was almost swept away by the flood. Jiuyue was almost swept away too when she tried to rescue her."
"This is repaying kindness with ingratitude. Jiuyue shouldn't have saved her back then. She should have allowed her to be swept away by the flood. This wouldn't have happened then!"
"That damned vicious woman not only wants to kill us but also her benefactor. Isn't she afraid she'll be struck by lightning?"
Wang Xing'er took a step back and shook her head vigorously. "It's not like that. It's not like that."
I didn't even plan to come here at first. These people were too selfish and didn't let me bring my parents into the village.
It's okay if they don't let my parents in, but they even chased me away. Why?
"I just want to enter the village. It's okay if they don't let my parents in, but I'm from this village! Why should they chase me out?
"It's all because of you that they chased me out of the village so mercilessly. It's all An Jiuyue's fault!"
She raised her finger and pointed at An Jiuyue, looking as if she was ready to bite off a piece of An Jiuyue's flesh. Her hatred was indescribable.
"An Jiuyue, who asked you to save me? I didn't ask you to do that! Now I have to live in the straw shed with my parents. It's filled with people infected with the disease. If I had known this would happen, I would have just died in the floodwaters!"
Chapter 128: This Is the Only Way
"Isn't this all your fault? Without you, the Chief and the others wouldn't have stopped me from entering the village!"
"F*ck!"
Qian Yiyun grew angry as she listened to Wang Xing'er, from her soft murmurs in the beginning to her yells targeting An Jiuyue. She almost let a string of curses slip.
Is it wrong for Sister Jiuyue to save her? She's even blamed for saving someone? What kind of world is this?
"You're taking her kindness for granted! Go and die if you really think Sister Jiuyue made a mistake in saving you. The Cascade River is so deep. You can jump into it. Go!"
"You… you're so vicious!" Wang Xing'er paled.
I'm living well now. I don't want to die. I just want the village to take me in again. What's wrong with that?
Will they only be happy if I die? As expected, there are no good people in the An Clan Village!
Qian Yiyun was amused. "Am I as vicious as you? You wanted to kill everyone in the village, yet you still have the cheek to call me vicious?"
What kind of person is she? Does she think that everyone else is wrong except her? That's ridiculous.
"In my opinion, we shouldn't waste our breath on her. We can just chase her away."
"Yes, Miss Qian is right."
No one was in the mood to argue with Wang Xing'er anymore. They started chasing her away with their clubs.
Wang Xing'er did not want to leave at first, but everyone could no longer suppress their anger. They swung their clubs at her, causing her to scream.
In the end, she had no choice but to leave.
Qian Yiyun looked at the bag Wang Xing'er had left behind and asked, "Sister Jiuyue, what about this bag?"
An Jiuyue looked at the bag and then the Chief and the Junior Officer.
"Chief, Junior Officer, please carry this bag elsewhere with a stick and burn it. As for this place… I'll bring some lime later and sprinkle it here.
"Everyone should collect the water flowing down the rocks instead from tomorrow onwards. Although it'll be a little slower, it's still a precaution. We'll do this for a few days and wait until the water flows through after a week."
"Okay," the Junior Officer replied and looked at the Chief.
The Chief sighed and shook his head helplessly. "This is the only way."
After everyone left, An Jiuyue took Lu'er back into her arms and coaxed him for a while.
"Come, Lu'er, let's go home."
Lu'er looked at An Jiuyue and stammered, "Mother, bunny, bunny."
"Bunny?" An Jiuyue's eyes lit up.
Is this little guy missing his little brother, Xiao Xing?
Bunny was the nickname she had given An Yixing. However, no one in the family addressed him with that nickname. They only called him Xiao Xing'er.
"Your brother, Xiao Xing, isn't here. We'll see him when we get home. There's Xiao Zhou too. They're all waiting for you at home."
Although he was already old enough to learn how to speak, he did not know many words. She assumed that his family did not know how to teach him.
He was a pitiful child. She would have to teach him more in the future.
Chapter 129: Can You Sell the Seeds?
"Bunny, bunny, catch."
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Lu'er's eyes reddened when he saw that she was ignoring him.
"Catch?"
An Jiuyue was stunned. She turned and looked around, spotting something white amongst the grass.
"A white rabbit? Alright, I'll catch one for you."
Qian Yiyun had placed her two wooden buckets under the rocks to collect the water flowing from them when she heard that her sister-in-law was going to catch a rabbit.
She hurried over. "Sister Jiuyue, let me carry Xiao Lu'er."
…
"Uncle, are you growing flowers here? Not vegetables? I think it's better to grow vegetables. We can eat them when they grow up. Mother won't have to go to the mountains to gather wild vegetables then."
Qian Jiyun had completed building the fence.
He even turned over the soil within and around the fence to plant vegetable seeds.
The ring of soil within the fence would be used to plant vegetables and fruits. Meanwhile, the ring outside would be used to plant flowers, according to his wife's wishes.
"Your mother wants to plant sunflowers, instead of vegetables, outside," Qian Jiyun explained as he picked up Zheng'er and Rong'er.
"What's a sunflower?" Zheng'er asked.
They had never heard of it.
What's a sunflower? Is it pretty?
"A sunflower is… a very beautiful flower. They're very big and beautiful. When the flowers wither in the autumn, there will be sunflower seeds. Have you eaten sunflower seeds?" Qian Jiyun asked.
They thought for a moment, then shook their heads. "No."
Qian Jiyun chuckled. He forgot that the two little ones were still young. They would definitely choke on seeds and nuts.
"Then you'll be able to eat it in the future. Are you happy about that?" he asked.
"I'm happy." Zheng'er nodded and clapped.
"Can you sell the seeds?" Rong'er asked.
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Qian Jiyun turned around silently and looked at Rong'er. He could tell that Rong'er would grow up prudent with money.
He did not even think about eating the sunflower seeds—he was thinking about how to earn money off them!
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Moreover, they had yet to plant the seeds.
"We can. But there won't be many since I can only plant them outside the fence. I'll have to plant a lot more if you want to sell them for money," he said.
We have to nurture his talents well. He'll definitely be able to enter the Ministry of Revenue in the future, right?
"I see."
When Rong'er heard that there were too few melon seeds to be sold, he immediately wilted visibly.
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"Little rabbit, little rabbit, Mother." Zheng'er jerked in Qian Jiyun's arms suddenly, excitement written all over his face.
Qian Jiyun turned around and saw An Jiuyue carrying Lu'er, who held a snow-white rabbit in his arms.
"Be careful. I'll let you down. You can go and find Xiao Lu'er yourself."
He squatted down and put them down, following behind as they ran over.
"You were there for so long just to catch rabbits?" he asked.
"Mhm," An Jiuyue replied softly and placed Lu'er down so that he could walk on his own.
He was now walking steadily after a few days of practice. He could catch up to Zheng'er and Rong'er as long as they did not run too quickly.
"Rabbits with white fur are rare on this mountain. It'll be great if we can catch a few more. I'll try my luck in the deep mountains tomorrow and make you a shawl," Qian Jiyun said.
Chapter 130: Definitely Unfilial
An Jiuyue glanced at the three children playing around the rabbit happily and pouted.
"Do you think they'll let you make a shawl?"
She was sure that Zheng'er and the others would cry if he dared to do anything to this rabbit. In fact, they would never acknowledge him as their biological father.
Qian Jiyun looked at them and smiled.
That's right. How can these three little boys bear to turn this rabbit into dinner?
"That's true. I'll hunt some red foxes for you the next time I go to Snow Beauty Mountain. Their fur will look good too."
"Big Brother, I caught a woman who wanted to spread the epidemic disease through the rock spring. She's too scary," Qian Yiyun said straightforwardly.
She was carrying the buckets of water and did not hear what her brother was saying.
"What happened?" Qian Jiyun turned to look at An Jiuyue.
Why didn't she mention this to me? This is not a small matter. The entire village will suffer if things go wrong.
An Jiuyue shrugged and said, "It's a small matter. She's just a crazy woman."
There would always be self-righteous people who believed that everything should revolve around them. Wang Xing'er was a person like that.
Perhaps she had too much of a free and easy life at her parents' and in-laws' house.
She never had to worry about anything. Her parents and husband doted on her. They made her feel that she was the most powerful and that everyone should treat her well.
When someone went against her wishes, she would think that it was their fault. Then, she would think of harming and killing them.
She was just a selfish and timid person.
It was no big deal.
"However… we shouldn't collect our water from the rock spring anymore. We have to go somewhere else."
She realized that the spring was dangerous. People in the other villages might become jealous that nobody in their village had contracted the disease and make an issue out of their water.
They could be just like Wang Xing'er, who had sinister motives after the villagers chased her away.
Her husband and mother-in-law said they had repeatedly begged her to stay before she left. They even told her that she could not return after leaving the village.
However, Wang Xing'er refused to listen to them and insisted on leaving.
"I don't even know if she's filial or unfilial," she remarked, shaking her head.
"Sister Jiuyue, are you talking about Wang Xing'er?" Qian Yiyun walked over and asked.
"Mhm," An Jiuyue responded.
Wang Xing'er could be considered filial as she disregarded her own safety to find her parents.
However, it was also unfilial of her to heartlessly bring her parents, who had contracted the epidemic disease, to her in-laws' house.
She was sentencing her in-laws, husband and children to their deaths.
"Isn't that obvious? She's definitely unfilial!" Qian Yiyun said with certainty.
"You probably don't know about this, Sister Jiuyue. I listened to Wang Xing'er sit here and brag about her family with my own ears. She said that her mother picked up a bracelet which could be sold for more than a hundred taels of silver.
"I think she went to her parents' house for the bracelet her mother found. It was not because she was worried about them."
An Jiuyue was astonished. "Such a thing happened?"
It seemed like Wang Xing'er could not be simply described as vicious. She was totally crazy.
Chapter 131: Feels Safer
"Let's not talk about her. Jiyun, do you have any news? Is my prescription useful?"
It was not the time to care about Wang Xing'er now. An Jiuyue was most concerned about whether her prescription would help mitigate the epidemic.
"I ordered someone to pass the prescription to an imperial physician I'm familiar with. He wants me to ask you what you want in exchange for the prescription," Qian Jiyun replied.
An Jiuyue was stunned by his question. "Huh?"
What conditions? What does he mean?
"What do I want in exchange? What do you mean?" she asked.
Qian Yiyun explained, "Sister Jiuyue, your prescription is valuable. How can you give it away so casually? He's saying that the imperial physician asked if there is anything you want in exchange for this prescription. He'll do whatever you say."
An Jiuyue finally understood what he meant. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"It's just a prescription. Is there a need for this?"
She did not offer this prescription to seek something in return. She only hoped to cure this epidemic disease as soon as possible.
She looked at Qian Jiyun and said earnestly, "But if I must say something I want, I hope that imperial physician can teach his revised prescription to the doctors amongst the commoners. They can then treat patients with the epidemic disease at any time.
"I don't need to receive any benefits. I just hope that we can quickly suppress this epidemic."
Qian Jiyun looked at her and smiled.
He knew that his wife was broad-minded. She was not attracted to all those benefits.
"Then I'll do as you say and send someone to deliver the message," he said.
"Don't mind me."
Qian Jiyun heard his sister chime in.
"Big Brother, even if Sister-in-law doesn't want any benefits, we should at least get her some herbs in exchange. Someone tried to sabotage our water source today. Who knows what will happen in the future?
"Even if nothing happens, it feels safer to have some medicine at home. Don't you agree, Sister-in-law?"
Qian Yiyun raised her eyebrows and asked An Jiuyue.
How can she not receive what she deserves? The Emperor would reward any minister handsomely. She has to take what she deserves.
An Jiuyue was silent for a moment before agreeing. "Mhm."
It had not been long after the flood, but there were epidemics everywhere. If this continued, everyone would be panicked. It would be good to have some medicine at home.
"Let's do as Xiao Yiyun says."
"Okay," Qian Jiyun replied.
…
The villagers grew even more worried because of Wang Xing'er. They recruited a few more men to guard the village and the spring.
No one dared to gather water from the river to drink anymore.
However, it was not enough. Even if they had water, they had to have food.
Not many families saved up money. Besides whether they were even willing to use their money to buy food for other villagers, the rice and grain sold in town were increasingly expensive.
It had only been a few days, but prices had increased so much that the people could not afford them.
Early the next day, An Jiuyue brought Qian Jiyun to another place to fetch water. She witnessed some villagers carrying bags of grain up the mountain secretly.
Chapter 132: Coming Close to Cannibalizing
"Brother Gousheng, what's going on here? The sky has cleared up. Why are you carrying food up the mountain?" An Jiuyue asked one of them when she saw them carry food up the mountain.
"Hi, Jiuyue."
An Gousheng was nervous when he heard a voice. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was An Jiuyue.
He glanced at the people carrying the food and replied, "These grains were taken out secretly by the Junior Officer from his and some of our households. They will ensure our survival."
They trusted An Jiuyue. Everyone in the village would have suffered terribly if not for her. Yet, they now had to go through so much trouble to hide the food.
An Jiuyue was puzzled. "Are you hiding the food?"
She had not descended the mountain since her last trip to town, where she found An Yilu and caught a female goat on the mountain.
She did not know what was going on below the mountain.
"That's right. If we don't hide the food, it might be gone soon."
Before An Gousheng could say anything, another man carrying grain on his back replied to An Jiuyue and sighed.
"What do you mean? Are there people stealing the grain?" An Jiuyue asked.
"Yes." An Gousheng nodded.
"You don't know about this, Jiuyue. I heard that besides our village, many other villages have been robbed of their food. Anyone who has a bite to eat will be robbed now. The food in town is more expensive than gold."
He sighed too.
"You left the village?" An Jiuyue asked in surprise.
Didn't I tell them not to leave the village? The epidemic is raging outside.
"No, no." An Gousheng shook his head hastily.
It was not like he was tired of living. He would not dare to leave the village at a time like this.
"An outsider came to the village last night to steal our food. He was caught by our people on patrol. We heard from him that things are very chaotic outside. They're coming close to cannibalizing one another."
An Jiuyue was silent.
Coming close to cannibalizing one another?
Although An Jiuyue was from the modern times, she knew a little about this.
During the Great Famine, some people cooked the dead and ate them to stay alive. She did not expect to hear about this by chance.
Her expression turned grim immediately.
Qian Jiyun saw that she did not look well and handed her the water bottle at his waist. "Have some water."
"I'm fine." An Jiuyue glanced at him and shook her head.
Suppressed the disgust she felt, she looked at An Gousheng again. "How is the village?"
An Gousheng replied, "It's not too bad. At least we still have some plain porridge and wild vegetables to tide us over.
"The Junior Officer is afraid that those people from the other villages will rush over to rob our food when they find out that we still have some. They will really snatch everything away."
An Jiuyue's expression darkened.
Robbing their food was not too bad—running the risk that the outsiders might spread the epidemic disease to their village while robbing was a greater worry. There would be unimaginable consequences.
"Jiuyue, if there's nothing else you need from us, we'll go on carrying the food first."
"Oh, go ahead, Brother Gousheng." An Jiuyue nodded.
Chapter 133: I'll Do What I Can
"Ji Yun, does the Imperial Court not care about this?" An Jiuyue stood on the spot and asked Qian Jiyun after An Gousheng left.
Are the officials just going to watch the commoners starve to death? Or do they simply not care about the lives of the commoners from small regions? Perhaps that's really the case.
Qian Jiyun replied, "The Imperial Court will not fret about floods in a small city. However, since there is an epidemic happening here, they will intervene now. Their disaster response will still vary greatly from their responses to other disasters though."
"You mean—"
An Jiuyue was a little stunned. Although she understood him, she was in disbelief.
Would the powerful Imperial Court really deem the lives of commoners worthless?
However, she had to admit that it was possible. The lives of these people were nothing to those in power. Their suffering was invisible to them.
They only had eyes for the luxury before them.
"Even so, the Imperial Court should distribute some food, right? What about the local officials? What are they doing? Or is this huge epidemic nothing to them?"
"You still don't understand, Jiuyue. Even if the local officials want to serve the people, everything depends on how much taxes were paid last year and how much food is required to support the people," Qian Jiyun reasoned.
An Jiuyue chuckled. "I think we should just let everyone hide and live in the mountains."
The Imperial Court had a rule stating that the people did not have to pay taxes for reclaimed wastelands on the mountains for the first five years. They only had to pay a head tax.
However, these lands were barren before they were reclaimed and would result in average agricultural yields. Irrigating these lands would also be very inconvenient. There would be no harvest if there was a drought.
Nobody would be willing to go to the mountain and reclaim wastelands unless they had no other means to survive.
However, the Imperial Court had done nothing for years. The commoners were struggling to survive, but they were still concerned about whether the high taxes were enough to cover the expenses.
"Don't say that." Qian Jiyun took a deep breath and looked at An Jiuyue seriously. "There are some things that the Emperor is unable to achieve."
The commoners would not be in this situation if the Emperor had the final say in court.
However, the Imperial Court was…
He did not want to talk about this anymore. Things would not change no matter what he said now. He could only wait for their little emperor to grow up slowly. Perhaps things would improve in the future.
1
"I've already sent someone over. I believe there will be good news soon."
An Jiuyue was stunned.
A general like Qian Jiyun should not be responsible for the flood. However, things were difficult for him now because she was here, and he also found himself in the middle of this situation.
"I'll do what I can, but we don't have the capacity to help everything," she said faintly.
1
I'm not someone who will cause trouble for my people for the sake of others. Qian Jiyun is the biological father of my two adorable children. I don't want to make things difficult for him by saying too much.
To put it bluntly, why should he care if the Emperor doesn't?
Chapter 134: Are You Really Going to Do Nothing?
"Okay." Qian Jiyun smiled.
That's right. We don't have the capacity to do everything. Why should we care so much? We'll do what we can and leave the rest to others who can do something about it.
"Let's go up the mountain again tomorrow. We have nothing else to do anyway."
An Jiuyue was stunned for a long time before nodding. "Alright."
Can he read my mind? I was about to say that I'll go into the mountains alone since there are people at home now, but he took the initiative to bring it up first. He's really taking away all my personal space!
Of course, she hoped that Qian Jiyun would stay at home to take care of the children so that she could enter the mountains alone.
But was that possible? Absolutely not. Qian Jiyun would not let her enter the mountains alone.
However, even if Qian Jiyun and Qian Yiyun left… She would probably not enter the mountains often either. After all, there were five children at home. She had to be careful.
Later, An Jiuyue handed the children to Qian Jiyun and Qian Yiyun's care. She returned to her room under the pretense that she wanted to rest.
Instead of entering her microcosmic space directly, she laid on the bed and immersed her consciousness in it.
"Master, are you really going to do nothing about the flood?" Wei Na could not resist asking. An Jiuyue had benefited a lot from this flood, after all.
"We should still do something, right? After all, we can earn points! Didn't you give them the prescription? We can definitely save many people, right?"
An Jiuyue rolled her eyes. "So you know about the prescription!"
Her prescription and Qian Jiyun's arrangements could decrease the number of people dying from the disease.
However, it was not her place to get involved in the food shortage problems. It was not like she could do anything.
"We're just ordinary commoners. Why do we have to care so much? We just have to take care of ourselves," she snapped.
I can't even manage my own land. Do I still have the time to care about others?
Moreover, she believed that the Imperial Court would not really ignore this.
They might abandon them if the epidemic could not be cured. After all, epidemics raged fiercely like tigers, and the Imperial Court's involvement might implicate even more people.
However, they would still distribute food if food shortage was the only concern.
The amount of time needed to distribute food would then depend on the capability of the ministers. That was not something she could control.
She was also not stupid enough to let Qian Jiyun get too involved. Qian Jiyun's assets would belong to Zheng'er and Rong'er in the future. She could not give that away to outsiders freely, right?
Wei Na was speechless.
As expected of my master! She's so thorough!
"Then why are you going into the mountains with him? Shouldn't you go alone? You have to gather more herbs, right?"
"Yeah, I thought so too." An Jiuyue flashed Wei Na a fake smile and nodded.
"Do you think so too, Master? That's great! Why don't—"
"Why don't you discuss this with Qian Jiyun and tell him not to follow me into the mountains?"
"Huh?!"
An Jiuyue interrupted Wei Na's nagging successfully with words so curt they almost caused Wei Na to sulk in a corner again.
Chapter 135: You're Still Reclaiming?!
"Forget it. I can't do that."
"It's good that you know. Cut the crap then!" An Jiuyue snapped again.
She wanted to enter the mountains alone too. However, she did not have the right to say that, nor the guts to do so now.
She was sure that Qian Jiyun would follow closely behind her if she entered the mountains alone.
In fact, he would follow her secretly. The secret of her microcosmic space might be exposed!
"Master, I have your best interest at heart. I don't mean to say this on purpose," Wei Na explained awkwardly.
"I just think that we planted too many mushrooms in the space. We can use half of that land to grow wild vegetables. Then, we can grow medicinal herbs in the other wild vegetable field. We can better utilise the land in the space that way."
"I know."
Of course, An Jiuyue knew that.
She could not go to town these days. And with all the people infected with diseases outside, she might not be able to return home if she left.
The mushrooms in her space almost piled up into a mountain. She could not even dry them even if she wanted to because Qian Jiyun and Qian Yiyun were around.
Although she could fool Zheng'er and Rong'er by explaining that she gathered the mushrooms on the mountain, how would she be able to fool Qian Jiyun and his sister?
She was even more troubled at the thought of their prolonged stay because the epidemic going on below the mountain would not be over so quickly. The mushrooms in her space would really pile up into several hills by then!
"We can still gather some herbs when we enter the mountains tomorrow. I can plant them inside the space secretly," she said.
She had to do something. She could not continue growing mushrooms like this. However, she had to admit that it had its benefits. Half a piece of land should still be reserved for the mushrooms.
"I'll sell all the mushrooms in my space to the Points Mall later and see if I can get more points. After that, I'll reclaim—"
"Master, you're still reclaiming?!" Wei Na was shocked.
They had already reclaimed five plots of land and would need 4,500 points for the next.
They could reclaim more land if they had more points. However, they had too few now. An Jiuyue had to ramble on for half a day over exchanging the points for milk powder.
"I'm not reclaiming land." An Jiuyue was startled by its exclamation.
"Are you excavating ponds?" Wei Na asked.
Wei Na felt that one pond was enough for the time being. Fattening up the fishes in the pond, eating some water chestnut, and watching the lotus flowers bloom were great.
Most importantly, excavating a second pond required 2,500 points. They could not afford that.
"I want to reclaim a pasture," An Jiuyue said seriously.
She had fenced up all the chickens, ducks, and rabbits that she raised in her microcosmic space by herself. No matter how well she raised them, her points would be halved.
If she unlocked a pasture, she would put more poultry in it and accumulate more points for future reclamation.
"A pasture? That's more like it." Wei Na was satisfied.
As an inhabitant of this microcosmic space, it knew that a pasture was necessary. It was essential to raise poultry.
They could also grow herbage and bring in some insects to raise them. They would be able to survive without constantly feeding them.
Chapter 136: 15,000 Points Is A Lot!
The pasture was an independent entity. Herbage and insects in it could not invade other areas or leave.
There was no need to worry that other crops and poultry might be destroyed.
Wei Na suddenly thought of something and asked, "Master, how many points does the first pasture cost?"
1
"Not much, Just 15,000 points," An Jiuyue replied calmly.
"Wh—!" Wei Na almost collapsed to the ground.
15,000 points? How did Master talk about this so casually? Is she trying to scare me to death?
"Master, if you scare me to death, no one will help you take care of your Microcosm in the future," Wei Na said with a soft cry, "Master, 15,000 points is a lot!"
"15,000 points is a lot?" An Jiuyue retorted.
She honestly did not think that it was much. After all, one pasture was equivalent to 10 plots of land. Having one pasture was more cost-effective, right?
Wei Na genuinely felt that it was a lot and stuttered, "No, not at all."
We don't have many points anyway. She can go ahead and dream.
"Master, we don't have that many points. Even if you make a few more trips into the deep mountains, your man will be following you. It's inconvenient for you to do anything. What can you get?
"Are you going to rely on the mushrooms we planted? Ten mushrooms can only be exchanged for one point in the Points Mall!
"Don't be fooled by the fact that we have so many mushrooms piled up like a small mountain. We can only exchange them for so many points. I'm not pouring cold water on you, Master. It's really not worthwhile!" it advised earnestly.
"It's not a matter of whether it's worthwhile."
An Jiuyue did not mind. The mushrooms were there anyway. Even if they planted mushrooms on half a piece of land, they could produce a lot of mushrooms every day as they grow very quickly.
She could not sell them for money during these difficult times or give them away to the people below the mountain for food.
Although they would be grateful to her, she could not earn any points for it. She was unwilling to do such a meritless task. It was not like they were on the brink of starvation either—they could look for food on their own.
It was also not good to allow the mushrooms to pile up.
"I can't sell them. I can only exchange them for points," she said.
"Even if we exchange them for points, we won't get 15,000 points." Wei Na was trying to dissuade her.
Although the mushrooms occupied some space, they had plenty of undeveloped jade land because they did not have enough points to reclaim much. There was a lot of empty space inside the Microcosm.
"What? Do you want me to listen to everything you say regarding the microcosmic space?" An Jiuyue retorted.
1
I just wanted to exchange the mushrooms for points. Must it make it seem like I'm about to do something evil?
Mushrooms grow so quickly. There will be a lot of them in a few days. Is Wei Na afraid that I won't have enough mushrooms to sell in the future? Does it think I'm poor?
"Uh…" Wei Na was stunned.
Alright, everything in the space is up to her. I can only give my opinions. It's also up to her if she wants to listen to me.
"Master, I'm not…"
Chapter 137: Far From It
"That's enough. Stop talking." An Jiuyue interrupted Wei Na.
"You don't need to eat or drink, so why are you so concerned with me earning money? Are you earning it, or am I? I'm starting to suspect that you want to break free from the space and escape."
Wei Na was shocked. To be honest, it never contemplated escaping.
It guaranteed hurriedly, "Master, I don't have such thoughts. Absolutely not!"
I'm an inhabitant of the microcosmic space! Can I even survive outside if I escaped? Why would I run out if I'm doing fine inside?
I will not say anything about the Points Mall anymore, okay? Master can exchange the points for whatever she wants. I will not breathe a word about it.
"Can't hear you," An Jiuyue replied indifferently.
Of course, she knew that Wei Na objected to exchanging the mushrooms for points because it wanted her to sell them for money—it was for her own good.
However, money was not what she needed the most now. She needed more utilizable lands inside the space.
Wei Na thought for a moment before saying, "Master, I've done some rough calculations. We can exchange that pile of mushrooms for about 5,000 points. However, we'll still be far from having enough to reclaim the first pasture."
An Jiuyue fell silent.
That's right. Even if I exchange all the mushrooms for points, there won't be enough points for even half a pasture. This is the main problem.
"It's okay. I'll start teaching Zheng'er and Rong'er from tomorrow onwards. They're at the age where they should receive some rudimentary education. They can earn points too. We'll take it slow and earn the other points. We'll be able to reclaim the first piece of pasture somehow."
She was not in a hurry. Everything required time.
…
Several pale-faced men and women coughed continuously in a newly built straw shed. They were sick and had been chased out by the villagers to live in this straw shed.
There were also some men and women who appeared better. They were the family members of the sick and were also chased out to live here.
Regardless of whether they were infected or not, everyone looked sallow. Some had cried for a few days as they could not take it anymore.
One of the women wore a worried expression.
She wiped her tears secretly as she asked faintly, "What should we do? Are we really going to die here?"
Many people in their village had already contracted the disease. People were chased out to live in the straw shed almost every day.
A woman walked in with a bowl of muddy-looking soup.
"Hmph!" she snorted loudly when she saw the other woman crying again and looked at the bowl of soup in her hand in disdain.
It was not medicine but a bowl of wild vegetable soup. However, there were very few wild vegetables in it. She could only vaguely see a few vegetables floating on top.
She wanted to eat her fill, but she had no other options. It was already good enough to have a bowl of wild vegetable soup here.
"If you weren't useless, I would've brought you all to live in the An Clan Village long ago! We would be living a good life now instead of being here with an old thing who's half dead!"
Chapter 138: I Must Escape
"You—" The woman looked up and glared at her.
Is this my daughter, whom I taught was filial?
Wang Xing'er had been sour-faced ever since she found out that her father really contracted the epidemic disease.
Her attitude worsened after her family repeatedly persuaded her not to return to the An Clan Village and cause trouble for her husband.
"Xing'er, this is for your own good. How will you be able to return to your in-laws' house in the future if you cause trouble there now? How will your husband think of you?" the woman shook her head and coaxed her daughter.
Everything they said was for her sake. They hoped she could continue living a comfortable life and be pampered by her husband.
However, little did she know that Wang Xing'er had ruined it herself. She had even received the divorce letter.
That was why Wang Xing'er hated her parents and An Jiuyue for suggesting those measures to the An Clan Village!
She felt that she could have brought her parents to live in her in-laws' house if An Jiuyue had not given those suggestions. They could have been served good food and drinks, and she would not have to live in this straw shed.
And to think her father really contracted the disease! She was so terrified when she found out that she wanted to escape.
However, she had nowhere to escape. Several young, strong men guarded the straw sheds. They would capture anyone escaping immediately.
Being caught was not the worst—she could even be beaten to death by the villagers.
The officials would not even probe if that happened. They would say that the people beaten to death were at fault as they should not have escaped.
She could only stay in the straw shed and hide from the infected carefully.
However, she was certain she would be infected sooner or later as she lived with them every day. Hence, she knew she could not stay here any longer.
I must escape! I must leave this godforsaken place!
Why do I have to live in fear here while An Jiuyue can live on the mountain unaffected by the epidemic?
This is unfair! I want An Jiuyue to have a taste of what it feels like to be infected by the disease!
"I can't be bothered to talk to you. I won't stay here no matter what," she sneered.
Neither her parents nor her siblings believed her. After all, there were people standing guard outside. Where could a woman like Wang Xing'er go?
Wang Xing'er's sister-in-law walked into the straw shed with a bowl of wild vegetable soup.
"Mother, I brought you some wild vegetable soup. Hurry up and drink it. Ah Gen and I will go to Father—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the older woman stood up in a panic.
"No, no! I'll go to him. Neither of you is allowed to go. Do you hear me?!" she instructed her daughter-in-law as she took the wild vegetable soup from her and went to another straw shed to feed her husband.
It was not that she did this out of an overabundance of kindness. She simply felt that given their current situation, it did not matter if a woman over 50 years old like her died from the disease.
Her son and daughter-in-law were young and had children. Who would take care of her grandchildren if they contracted the disease?
Hence, she had to be the one to serve her husband.
Chapter 139: Will You Live on the Mountain Forever?
Wang Xing'er sneered when she saw her mother's consideration towards her sister-in-law.
If my mother-in-law had sided with me like that, I would have treated her well too. But how unfortunate! She seemed like someone I could manipulate, but she abandoned me at the most critical moment.
Wang Xing'er was very jealous of her sister-in-law as her biological mother shielded her.
She only received complaints from her mother about how she was insensible and should not have gone to the An Clan Village to make things difficult for her in-laws.
"Xing'er, why aren't you sitting down?" her sister-in-law asked after her mother left.
"Pretentious!"
Wang Xing'er glared at her hatefully.
"Don't think I don't know you. You just want to take advantage of my parents! Hmph! As long as I'm around, don't even think about it. Everything my parents have will be mine. No matter how well you treat them, you won't have a share of anything!" she warned her sister-in-law before returning to her seat.
Her sister-in-law was speechless. She did not know what she did to offend her.
Pretentious? Is it wrong to be good to your parents-in-law? Am I supposed to glare at them with anger?
She shook her head. Her in-laws were good people, and her husband was an honest man. She could not understand why her sister-in-law was so overbearing.
She did not have the energy to coax her sister-in-law now. She decided to scoop herself a bowl of wild vegetable soup and fill her stomach first.
With that, she left the shed again.
Wang Xing'er looked around and bit her lower lip as she thought about how to escape this place and return to the An Clan Village.
Since I suffered, I'll make everybody in the An Clan Village, especially An Jiuyue, suffer too!
And I'll take everything valuable with me when I leave! I'll make sure nothing will be left for my weak and useless sister-in-law!
…
An Jiuyue handed the children to Qian Yiyun's care and entered the mountains early in the morning.
She was in a good mood, but it did not last long when she looked at Qian Jiyun, who was following her.
It would be great if she could go into the mountains alone!
Soon after they set off, Qian Jiyun asked cautiously as he walked beside her, "Jiuyue, will you live on the mountain forever?"
An Jiuyue was silent.
What kind of question is that? What's wrong with living on the mountain?
Of course, she knew that living on the mountain had its cons. She would not be able to enter the mountains without Qian Yiyun around. After all, she had a few children at home. How could she leave them alone?
She had been conflicted over the past few days, wondering if she should build a house in the An Clan Village. She could leave the children in the care of the villagers temporarily and go into the mountains to gather her goods.
"Why? Do you have any good suggestions?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Qian Jiyun thought for a while and replied, "It's fine if you don't like living in the village, but the treehouse is a little small."
Chapter 140: You Won't Agree to It
He knew that it would be impossible to ask An Jiuyue to live in the village. Although they had only interacted for a few days, he could tell that she did not like socializing.
Living on the mountain also had its benefits.
A flood might occur by the Cascade River whenever it rained heavily. The mountain was safer than the village.
"Maybe you can build a bigger house next to the treehouse and buy two servants from the brokerage to watch after Zheng'er and the others. Then you'll have some free time to do your own things. Will that be better?"
An Jiuyue was surprised. She stopped in her tracks suddenly and looked at Qian Jiyun, who stopped too.
"Will that be better for you?" she asked unhappily.
All the talk about building a house on the mountain is so that he can come and stay for a few days whenever he wants, right?
Does he think I'm a young lady who can't figure out his hidden agenda?
Qian Jiyun lowered his head and chuckled.
"It will." He did not deny it.
With An Jiuyue living in the treehouse and five children constantly around, he found it impossible to grow closer to her.
An Yilu and the other two were fine—they were too young to understand adult relationships. However, Zheng'er and Rong'er were older. They would catch on to them if something happened.
He also wanted her to buy a few servants to watch over the children as he did not want her to busy herself with them every day.
Of course, he would make arrangements for her servants instead of letting her go to the brokerage to buy some unreliable ones. It would be bad if they caused trouble for her.
"But Jiuyue, you can't deny that there are many children now, right? I won't have to suggest this if you only have Zheng'er and Rong'er.
"The children will grow up in a few years. Even if we don't do anything now, they will need a bigger house in a few years.
"Of course, we can live in town or the county if you'd like. It'll be easier for me to take care of you. However, I know you won't agree to it, so I won't mention it.
1
"I just hope you and the children can live in a more spacious house. What do you think?"
1
An Jiuyue took a deep breath after listening to him. She did not nod or shake her head.
"Let me think about it again."
"Okay."
Qian Jiyun was relieved that she did not immediately reject his suggestion.
He was afraid she would object to it and even more afraid she would dislike him because of it. He would not know what to do if that happened.
Fortunately, the young lady did not dislike him.
1
"Let's go deeper into the mountains today. How about that?"
"Sure." An Jiuyue nodded. She wanted to see if there was anything she could gather too.
She had to go deeper into the mountains for that. A lot of villagers had been coming here recently. Almost everything that could be found around the mountain had been brought into the village.
There was a continuous mountain range near An Yue Town. With so many mountains, not many people would starve to death even if a flood occurred.
It was easy finding something on the mountain to sustain a family for a couple of days. If any family starved to death, the fault would lie in their laziness!