221 Not Return
Yang Liang tried to calm himself down. "My sister married your family and you need to help her do something on the return-day. But you are bullying us by not letting her return."
Ms. Fang frowned. "I saw them off this morning, which was also seen by the neighbors! I did not stop them. Third, Ms. Yang, explain it to them!"
Shao Sanlang was about to speak when Yang Xiaoni pinched him, and said with pursed lips, "Mom, we did return, but I went to my parents' grave to pay tribute. Can't that be counted as a return?"
Yang Liang got furious. "Damn girl, what are you talking about?"
Yang Xiaoni looked at them. Her eyes were sparkling, but she turned pale.
Yang Xiaoni said to Yang Liang, "I don't have a home without my parents! You know pretty well how you have treated me during the past years! You asked for 20 liang as the wedding gifts, but I have no dowry. Even my wedding gown was given by my mother-in-law! How can I be grateful to you, when you have treated me like this?"
"I can't do the return-day ceremony with you!"
"I was ordered to do the seedling work in the field, chopping wood, carrying water, laundry and all kinds of labor work, but I was never fed well. I owe you nothing!"
"Since you are here, I want to let you know that I am not going to have any relationship with you from this moment on. You have sold me for 20 liang already. How I spend my days at my mother-in-law's home has nothing to do with you!"
"You…" Yang Liang turned pale.
Many people present understood clearly how Yang Xiaoni lived her life before she got married. They sighed and discussed the matter among themselves.
Yang Xiaoni had such a terrible life but for her luck she married Shao Sanlang, her future would have been much worse.
How shameless Yang Liang and his wife were and even dared to cause a fuss till date!
Still, some people talked from the point of morality.
"He is your brother! Brother and sister should not hate each other. Moreover, you are married now, how much hatred can there be?"
"Yes, they are still relatives, why be so ruthless!"
"Your brother and sister-in-law have brought you up. You should be kind to them!"
"Just calm down, you are a family and you should be in harmony!"
Yang Xiaoni screamed in anger. "It didn't happen to you, so you will never know what it feels like! Anyone who says so should get relatives like this, and experience it personally!"
Some people became anxious and snapped.
"What are you talking about? Why are you cursing us?"
"You are so immature!"
Yang Xiaoni snapped and sneered. "You know this is a curse, right! Since you don't want anyone like this in your family, why are you forcing me? Why do I deserve to have such a hard life?"
Ms. Fang said coldly, "All you outsiders, stop interfering! We will solve the matter ourselves, you both can also leave now."
Ms. Tian glared at Yang Xiaoni and felt very unconvinced.
Yang Liang was very embarrassed and left with Ms. Tian in a hurry.
Ms. Fang sneered behind them. "It doesn't look good to make a fuss like this! The Yang Family's reputation is ruined by you. We should all be sensible!"
Yang Liang staggered for a moment and then hurried away.
222 Bad Luck
Seeing the show was over and Ms. Fang was driving people away, the audience left.
Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma, who believed that they were part of the family, remained and continued to giggle. They were trying to convince Yang Xiaoni not to throw a tantrum and that she had only one brother whom she should cherish, or she would regret it in future.
They both sounded as if they were very concerned about her.
Yang Xiaoni was really annoyed, but Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma were seniors of the family and she could not counter them.
Ms. Fang got impatient and said, "You two, stop talking about those scumbags! Honestly, those shameless people who keep taking advantage of their family with the excuse of family relations should never exist. Anyone who has such relatives is just pure unlucky!"
The faces of Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma sank. These words sounded very piercing!
"Mom is right!" Shao Sanlang glanced at them and said to Ms. Niu happily, "Second Aunt, do you think that the couple is nice? They have two sons, and if you think that they are nice, you can become in-laws with them and spend the rest of your lives together!"
Before Shao Sanlang finished the words, Ms. Niu shouted and was about to hit Shao Sanlang. "What are you talking about?"
Shao Sanlang dodged and smiled. "Second Aunt, you keep speaking highly of them. I am only trying to come up with some ideas for you. Why are you hitting me rather than thanking me? How ungrateful!"
Yang Xiaoni laughed.
Seeing his wife smirk, Shao Sanlang teased even more loudly.
Ms. Niu got annoyed and said, "Eldest Sister-in-law, look at your third son! He has no rules!"
Ms. Fang glanced at her and replied calmly. "He is simply following your words, why is he unruly? You can get close to the couple if you don't think that the couple is annoying."
"Just stop it!"
Eldest Uncle, who had been hiding in the room, stepped forward and glared at Shao Sanlang.
When Ms. Tian and Yang Liang were making a fuss a while ago, Eldest Uncle got so anxious that he had no idea what to do. So, he just hid himself in the room and pretended as if he was not at home.
Ms. Fang also wished that he did not show up, otherwise her husband might have said something that put her own family in the disadvantageous place.
She could handle the couple when her sons and daughter-in-laws were together.
Eldest Uncle only showed up now…
And this was the scene he ran into.
Shao Sanlang sneered. "Dad, it is the Second Aunt who started it!"
Ms. Niu snapped. "Why don't you talk about your Third Aunt? Why just me alone?"
Ms. Ma was displeased as she threw a look at her. "Second Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? Why am I involved in this?"
Qiao Xuan laughed. These two were just great together!
Once they started to argue, Ms. Fang got impatient. "Go to your home and fight with each other! You have no right to talk about our family. Also, if you spread any rumors about today, just wait and see what I will do!"
223 Venting Anger
Interrupted, Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma could not continue with the previous topic any longer. They mumbled curses among themselves and left.
Ms. Fang glared at Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni. "You two, a word!"
Ms. Fang did not blame them for what happened today. On the contrary, she even believed that they were not wrong, though what they did was a bit shocking.
She agreed with them that it was much better to get rid of the relatives who annoyed them.
Therefore, she felt a bit happy to see Yang Xiaoni doing this.
It was a kind of anger venting!
However, these two children were just too bold! They did such a thing in secret and even hid it from her! Good that they were lucky enough to have the whole family at home. Moreover, Ms. Tian as well as Yang Liang did not have anyone supporting them, so they were easily controlled and revenge was easily extracted.
If it had been someone with some support who caused a big fuss and accused them, then they would have been on the backfoot.
They needed to be disciplined in case they did the same thing again!
After being disciplined by Ms. Fang, both Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni felt distressed.
But Ms. Fang only taught them a lesson rather than give them a hard time. She did not make Yang Xiaoni suffer because of this.
When it was dinner time, Qiao Xuan made some good dishes and Yang Xiaomi became cheerful again after eating the food.
Ms. Fang had been watching the couple, who shared the same personality. Their eyes sparkled as soon as they saw good food and forgot everything else. Ms. Fang was speechless. They deserved each other!
When the work in the fields was done, Qiao Xuan asked Ms. Xu and Yang Xiaoni as well as some family members to help her out in the floral field.
They would be paid 30 yuan a day.
Yang Xiaoni was as surprised as Ms. Xu had been at the beginning. At 30 wen a day which included 10 wen for the shared savings (Ms. Fang changed the rules about shared savings), she could save 20 wen for herself, with which she could travel into the town and buy a lot of good food to eat.
She could buy sugar pastry, dried plums, melon seeds, peanuts and meat slice noodles, etc. She was going to eat everything with her husband!
Qiao Xuan also gave away one set of lipsticks to Yang Xiaoni.
Yang Xiaoni was so thankful and glad to receive the lipsticks that she wanted to give Qiao Xuan a tight hug to express her gratitude.
Women could never turn down cosmetics!
Yang Xiaoni started to put it on, unlike Ms. Xu, who did not use it immediately. She even put on a blusher which Shao Sanlang bought for her. She was in a good mood after she got married. Her mother-in-law's family was great. She could eat good food, and she was becoming prettier than before.
She looked so attractive that Shao Sanlang adored her even more! The couple wanted to stick with each other from morning to the evening and kept smiling at each other and working together too. Ms. Xu rolled her eyes at their behavior, and Qiao Xuan felt shy about the scene. She had been overly-fed by their sweet and sticky behavior.
It was soon the time to plant mushrooms.
Qiao Xuan asked Shao Dalang and Shao Sanlang to chop some trees for the materials.
It was not very easy to chop trees, and carry them back to the yard.
So, Qiao Xuan paid them 60 yuan a day for the task.
224 No More Trouble
Actually, labor work only cost 20 wen in the market, and lunch was not provided. The workers were under strict watch all the time and had no spare moment to slow down. But even if that was the case, there were still many people who would want to work there.
Qiao Xuan could not be so particular towards her own family.
Labor work was very tiring and she needed to make sure that she paid well.
Shao Sanlang and Shao Dalang were not enough. So Qiao Xuan asked Shao Dalang to ask their cousins for help.
Qiao Xuan stressed repeatedly this time. "If someone asks about this, just say that you are paid 20 wen a day, understand?"
20 wen was a normal and slightly high price. 60 wen would draw too much attention from the villagers.
Qiao Xuan wanted to keep a low profile. She just did not want to be the center of the attention, in case she exposed herself easily.
She did not want Qiao Wei to do anything crazy to her again.
Shao Dalang nodded and turned to look for his cousins.
Shao Dali and his brother were so glad that they nodded immediately, swearing not to spread the truth.
60 wen a day, they had never been paid so much! They could buy more than 5 kgs of lower quality rice with just one day's payment.
Moreover, the Shao Family offered lunch as well.
Qiao Xuan, together with Shao Taotao, Shao Xiaoqi, Ms. Xu and Yang Xiaoni, was working on the lipsticks in the floral field.
They would look to find the fungus when they had the materials ready.
Qiao Xuan felt that her superpower had been expanded to another hundreds of meters, and it was not very difficult to find what she needed in the mountains.
There were definitely shiitakes and wooden ears, but snow fungus should be easily found as well.
Qiao Xuan asked Shao Yunduan to buy some meat for home, as well as some ducks and chicken.
It was summer time, and the meat could not be preserved for too long. They could keep the chicken and ducks alive until they felt like using them for food.
They had more than 30 chickens with different sizes, but they were used to lay eggs, and the ducks had not grown big enough yet…
They almost ran out of the fish in the jar, and in the afternoon, Qiao Xuan, Shao Taotao, and Shao Dali went to catch the fish and shrimps in the river, taking a break from their heavy work.
But she paid them the salary anyway.
Feeling bored, Yang Xiaoni followed them to the riverside as well.
Qiao Xuan thought for a while and asked Liu Yan to tag along. She could help them carry the bucket or the basket.
Liu Yan was already quite tamed, yet Qiao Xuan still could not trust her, so she never allowed her to walk in the yard or the floral field.
That she was planting fruit trees, medical herbs and making lipsticks in the floral field was a secret to be kept only among the family, and was never mentioned to Liu Yan.
Liu Yan also knew that the Shao Family had some secret, or more like Second Miss who had a secret. She would have tried to dig it out in the beginning, but after all this time, she did not dare to.
She had to pretend as if she knew nothing.
Second Miss was in charge of her, and what she needed was to live in peace and spend the remaining days well so as to return to the Qiao Mansion safe and sound.
She truly did not dare to cause any more trouble.
She was wrong, so were Elder Miss, Madame Qiao and Old Master. Second Miss was not timid or cowardly. On the contrary, she was smart, bold and far more tricky than any of them could have expected.
To control her, all Second Miss needed to do was to throw her into the second section of the family and make her suffer.
225 Incomplete Awareness About Second Miss
Liu Yan understood clearly what she ought to do – obey Qiao Xuan's order. For example, right now, when Qiao Xuan ordered her to carry the basket and bucket to the riverside, she should follow it quietly.
Was she without help? No, she was just trained to carry a bucket!
The group came to the riverside where the water grass was flourishing and the surface was broad. They started to work proficiently.
With her superpower, Qiao Xuan could see big fish swimming across the grass freely, and she really wanted to help.
It was time for her to get a fish net and learn to fish!
Shao Xiaoqi was fishing when Yang Xiaoni offered a hand. She had the basket around her waist, and went into the river to scoop up the shrimps.
Shao Taotao and Qiao Xuan dug some pawns from under the stone somewhere where the water was not so deep.
Liu Yan did not have the intention of going into the water, nor did Qiao Xuan ask her to. She was ordered to watch over the things on the bank.
She spent so many years inside the mansion, and she would have never learned how to get into water. She might even scare the fish and shrimps away after being slow-handed.
Liu Yan was shocked.
She knew that the Second Miss had changed. But what she had not expected was that she never knew Second Miss well enough.
How did Second Miss learn to do this?
Qiao Xuan flipped the stone and caught a shrimp at each attempt. Fish and shrimp were different. They were never fast enough to escape the siege.
They were slow enough to be caught, even when they ran from one rock to the other.
Shao Taotao and Qiao Xuan were excited and soon they had more than twenty and thirty shrimps in the basket.
Yang Xiaoni did not spend much effort to scoop the shrimps, which were of different sizes, some were really small.
Sometimes they would find a couple of loaches, some large fish or eels.
Crabs were available too, but she tossed them back into the river.
Shao Xiaoqi was watching over the fishing poles. The fish here were never caught, so they were easily hooked.
He kept getting the fish from the river one after another.
Liu Yan went to help put the fish into the bucket.
Seeing the fish in the bucket, Liu Yan could not help but feel happy, thinking that it was a fun activity.
After a while, they all went home with the harvest.
They had a heavy basket of small river prawns and small fish, a large basket of prawns, and two buckets filled with fish. There were mandarin fish, yellowhead catfish, carp, crucian carp, shrimp loach, catfish, as well as two black fish and a grouper.
Back at home, they put the hopping fish into the jar, and Qiao Xuan poured some superpower into the water, because of which the watergrass grew so that the fish started to look energetic.
They kept the shrimps in the basin for dinner.
Qiao Xuan planned to boil the prawns in boiling water, mix it with soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and ginger to dip them in water, peel off the shells of the prawns and eat them directly.
That was the best way to eat fresh shrimp.
Then they poured the small shrimps and fish into the basin and scooped out the small fish.
The small shrimps were baked in the pot, so were the fish, which had very soft and thin bones. They needed to be carefully flipped and baked separately with the shrimps, since they cracked easily.
226 The Whole Family
The shrimps were so fresh and tasty, and they were all satisfied by what they had just eaten.
They were worried that the shrimp would have a weird taste, but after they had a bite, everyone found it so fresh, especially Shao Junyan and Shao Qing who loved it deeply.
Qiao Xuan started to miss the dish made of tomato with shrimps.
Her tomatoes were already growing so tall. She decided to make them bloom in a couple of days.
The roses were not growing so much, but pomegranate flowers would bloom too, since the buds were ready.
Qiao Xuan made a count of the lipsticks. The number had already reached to 1,000. They had booked the tubes, so they could slow down at this stage.
They were waiting for Yuezheng Xiao to fetch the goods, and the tubes to arrive, before starting to work on it again.
She used her superpower to make the pomegranate flowers bloom slower than expected.
It was summertime, and the weeds were growing crazily.
Especially when the barren mountains were surrounding the floral field, and the grass seeds were everywhere in the field. They were burnt first, but the weeds just would not go away.
So, Qiao Xuan hired Ms. Xu and Yang Xiaoni to help remove the weed, and she paid them accordingly.
She decided to let Shao Xiaoqi and Taotao go for a walk in the mountains.
Shao Xiaoqi had not hunted for a long time in the mountains, and he felt itchy to go there.
Shao Yunduan decided to take a break too, after studying hard for so long. So the four of them went into the mountains together.
Qiao Xuan had the intention of visiting the place where they had never visited before. Shao Yunduan as well as the other two agreed readily.
When Daddy Zhao was still alive, he had once taken Shao Xiaoqi into deep mountains that were deep. So, Shao Xiaoqi was used to this kind of environment, and he was never afraid.
But deep mountains were, after all, dangerous as they went in.
It was summer time, and the bugs, mosquitoes, snakes and all were quite active. They really needed to watch out for the poisonous ones.
227 Into The Mountains Again
When Shao Xiaoqi spoke of this, Qiao Xuan was reminded as well. So, she went into town to buy some medicine first, and was fully-prepared before heading to the mountains.
The mountain was very far, so the four of them started before the sun rose.
The air was very cool at that moment.
Shao Xiaoqi was quite energetic. He became more active as he walked into the mountains. He had a lot of fun going along with Shao Taotao.
Shao Yunduan was walking next to Qiao Xuan, reminding her what she should watch out for, like the branches, which he kicked away for her sake.
Qiao Xuan did not need his help. She could see everything, and as long as she wanted to, she could use her superpower to move the veins away.
But Qiao Xuan felt sweet in heart, seeing her husband care for her in this way. She was not going to give this man to anyone else!
The four of them did not intend to head into very deep mountains, since they needed to factor in the return time. Seeing the surroundings getting stranger, they slowed down.
Shao Xiaoqi's plan was to hunt and take some animals home.
He intended to get some rare prey, because roosters and rabbits were too commonplace for him, especially since he took such a long and difficult trip here.
They talked and walked, as they observed the surroundings.
There were many kinds of bamboo in the mountains, and the bamboo shoots were seen everywhere too.
From the time of the solar term of insect awakening all the way to the end of July, there were a lot of fresh bamboo shoots growing . As they were walking in the deep mountains, they would every now and then run into small patches of bamboo shoots.
There were many mushrooms too.
Wild berries were looking ripe as well.
However, they were too far away from the village, so they dropped the idea of bringing those home.
They needed to work on more precious things, with the limited energy they had.
They only paused to pick the rarely-seen and delicious mushrooms like Porcini mushrooms, Hericium erinaceus, wild red mushrooms, and small flower mushrooms.
Especially Hericium erinaceus, which was rarely-seen. They were lucky enough to get many on this trip.
They even found a bunch of snow fungus, which were picked when ripe, weighing around 2 or 2.5 kgs.
Qiao Xuan bore this place in mind. She would come to pick the mushrooms when they had the materials ready.
Shao Yunduan understood that the snow fungus were valuable, but he had never seen them before. When Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao heard from Qiao Xuan that snow fungus could be more valuable than gastrodia when sundried, they put them away carefully, fearing that they would break them.
Shao Taotao's eyes were sparkling, as she smiled. "Fifth Sister-in-law, are you going to plant this in our yard too? That would be great!"
Shao Xiaoqi struck his head and smiled. "Yes, no wonder it sounds so familiar! Let's bear this place in mind and we can come back to fetch the seeds next time!"
Seeing that they were not greedy but working for her devotedly, Qiao Xuan felt warmth inside her heart, nodding and smiling. "Yes. But it is not very easy to find it in the mountains, and we need to work on it. We are going to make a lot of money if we manage to plant them well."
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were the biggest helpers when Qiao Xuan was starting her business. So, Qiao Xuan decided to pay them a salary and give them shares too.
When her business became bigger, their share would be so much that they would never need to worry about money for the rest of their lives.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao did not think that far. They were just very happy that their Fifth Sister-in-law had never been stingy towards them and they did not need to worry about anything.
228 Deep Mountain
Apart from snow fungus and some precious things from the mountains, Qiao Xuan, with her superpower, saw some ganodermic, few of which were too small and difficult to find, or just too far from them. So, she gave up mentioning them.
They only 'ran into' two pieces which were of beautiful colors and in the size of an adult's hand.
She did not manage to hide the Ganodermas when she was picking them, so she decided to sun dry them to stew chicken and ducks as supplementary ingredients.
She had plenty of money right now, and she did not want to head to the town just to run this errand.
In a moist forest with rotten leaves, Qiao Xuan picked several orchid trees.
She did not recognize the species, but she went with her intuition. She believed that they were rare things. So, when no one was watching, she put a couple of pieces into the space, which did not turn her down and accepted them all.
These newly arrived orchids were obediently planted on the edge of the other kinds, slowly taking root in the soil. The branches and leaves stretched, and the space was instantly filled with a touch of greenery and vitality.
They ate some food in the mountains and walked for one more hour, before Shao Yunduan said, "It is getting late, let's head home."
It would take them a lot of time to arrive home.
Shao Xiaoqi let out a small cry and scratched his head in distress. "We didn't have much luck today, we haven't seen any big things. Let me atleast take some small ones home!"
Shao Taotao smiled. "Seventh Brother, it would be too scary if we really run into some big things! I think roosters and rabbits are enough! Also, the Fifth Sister-in-law has found so many snow fungus, which should be better than those big things!"
The three of them laughed, so did Shao Xiaoqi. "That is true!"
Shao Xiaoqi concentrated on looking for other prey. They were deep in the mountains with hardly any people and excellent ecology. As a result, there were many prey to be hunted.
Qiao Xuan helped along. She led the way and soon, Shao Xiaoqi got three roosters and two rabbits.
They could have run into wild boars and tigers, but Qiao Xuan foresaw those animals and guided them away.
Soon the four of them headed home.
They picked some wild bamboo shoots on the way home again.
There were normally two kinds of wild bamboo shoots available in this season of the year, the sweet and the bitter, both of which were of a small size and turned out to be just slightly bigger than a coin after being peeled.
Sweet bamboo shoots did not need to be blanched. They could be cut into thin slices and put directly into the pot. They could be fried or made into soup. It would taste very sweet and fresh with no need to add meat. The original taste of fresh bamboo shoots would be retained in the dish.
Bitter bamboo shoots needed to be blanched so the bitterness could be removed. It could be cooked with meat and chilies.
When she got home, Qiao Xuan placed those white fungus in a dustpan and put them in the garden to expose them to the sun. The two ganoderma lucidum were also dried together.
There were a lot of porcini mushrooms, Hericium erinaceus, and red mushrooms that were picked this time. Such mountain goods were too precious, and they needed to be kept and eaten slowly. Qiao Xuan also dried some of them.
The remaining would be used for chicken stew at dinner.
The orchids were planted in the corner of the yard rather than in the pot. Qiao Xuan planned to take care of them with her superpower and see if they could grow well.
In the evening, Ms. Xu and Yang Xiaoni came home.
There were many weeds growing in the floral field, and the roots were stubborn in the first year. Therefore, cutting weeds became a very difficult job.
Ms. Xu had some plans of her own. She could be calculative, but she never idled around, whilst Yang Xiaoni decided to start fresh, so she worked very hard as well.
229 Show
The two of them removed the weeds cleanly and the roots were all dug out. They were sun dried and then would be buried later on.
Ms. Xu was worried that Qiao Xuan would call them lazy, so she explained to her that the reason why the weeds were not thoroughly cleaned was because the job was very difficult to do, and that they were not lazy.
Qiao Xuan never thought of her in this way, so she did not understand why Ms. Xu would explain this to her. When she understood what Ms. Xu intended to tell her, she consoled her instead.
That was when Ms. Xu became assured.
During dinner, Qiao Xuan cooked again. She planned to use Hericium erinaceus and menu included stewed chicken, fried rabbit with spices, braised rabbit pork belly, sweet bamboo shoots with clear soup, as well as some seasonal vegetables.
She had not eaten rabbit for a while and she was greedy for it.
When it was time to cook, Qiao Xuan suddenly saw someone passing by the yard. It was Ms. Fang, who was playing with her granddaughter. She exchanged a few words with the neighbor who went away soon after.
Excited, Ms. Fang handed her granddaughter to Ms. Xu. "Something is going on. I will go and check it out!"
Then she headed away.
Yang Xiaoni loved gossip too, so she wanted to follow along, so did Qiao Xuan, who asked Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao to join them as well.
They lived in a very small village, and they should care about each other. If something was happening, they would definitely go and watch it.
Ms. Fang was excited as she ran ahead. She looked so obvious that she was looking forward to watching a big show.
Qiao Xuan understood the whole story. Fifth Grandma Ding and Fifth Grandpa Ding had problems with their in-laws, and they heard that their granddaughter Ding Xiang of the second section of the family was making a big fuss. Hence, they suddenly got very interested.
At this moment, Fifth Grandpa Ding was already surrounded by numerous villagers, who were all whispering to each other.
A young girl was seated on the ground, as she said furiously, "…we are all grandchildren, how can we be treated so differently? You favor the other sections of the family so much, and you call me immoral? You deserve to be punished!"
Fifth Grandma Ding got so angry that she leaned backwards, shouting at Ding Xiang. "How dare you accuse me! I am your grandma! I will beat you to death, no need to keep you alive, bitch!"
Ding Xiang snapped and sneered with her head raised. "I am your grandchild. How noble are you, when you call me a bitch? We, from the second section of the family, work all the time, and we are never fed well. My mom is too sick to get up right now but you still think that she is lazy. You give food to my cousins but you never give me and my brother anything. How can you be treated as the senior members of the family? You can be a senior member to anyone who wants you. How dare you lecture me? What right do you have?"
The villagers all burst into laughter.
Some also felt sorry for them.
"Fifth Sister-in-law Ding is too prejudiced. Ding Erzhu and his wife are just way too obedient!"
"True, every family has its problems. Parents can't always balance the relationship, but they can't be too biased as well!"
"Ding Xiang used to look so obedient and silent, but look at her right now!"
"She has been bullied and can't stand it any more!"
"Honestly, they could all sit down and talk about this. It is not proper to speak with senior members in this way!"
"Yea, she has no rules! No one would stand this kind of arguing."
230 Fifth Grandpa Ding's Granddaughter
Fifth Grandma Ding got so annoyed by what Ding Xiang said that she went up to kick her and shouted. "I will beat you to death, you bitch!"
Ding Xiang could not stand it. So, she got up and ran away.
"You are the senior member but you don't act like one. The only thing you can do is to put on the seniority hat! Bah, I can't stand that any more, I want to separate the family!"
"Ah! I am dying, I am dying!" Fifth Grandma Ding shouted.
Instead of running after Ding Xiang, she screamed at Ding Xiang's father. "You immoral man, how can you allow your daughter to bully me? Maybe you and your wife have instructed her to do so? What sins have I done so that I have to go through this trouble!"
Fifth Grandpa Ding's face changed as he snapped. "She has no rules and she dares to say such terrible things. Catch the damned girl!"
Ding Erzhu turned pale out of fright and kept apologizing to Fifth Grandma Ding, swearing to God that he and his wife did not order their child to do so and that he would never do anything like this.
Ms. Zhou kept sobbing in silence.
Ding Xiang's heart cooled. She shouted even more loudly at Fifth Grandma Ding and Fifth Grandpa Ding for being prejudiced, as well as the exaggerating and annoying things the first and the third section of the family did. She insisted vehemently that she wanted to leave the family.
The first and the third section of the family, who were watching the show, got annoyed too. They rushed forward with the cousins and caught Ding Xiang without much effort.
Ding Xiang cursed inwardly. "You ruthless family, stingy and evil, you are nothing! My parents will be killed by you one day, just wait and see! If my parents die some day, it will be your fault! You black-hearted people, you will be condemned by god!"
"Shut up now!" Fifth Grandpa Ding got so angry that he shivered. "What are you talking about, you damned girl! Can't you talk properly? How dare you curse your own family! You are mental and talking nonsense! Second Son, what are you doing being her parents? You should teach her well!"
Fifth Grandma Ding slapped right on Ding Xiang's face, shouting. "This damned girl is crazy! No one with the right brain will talk like this. You are immoral, immoral!"
Ding Xiang's face turned swollen. But she continued. "This is all your fault! I am mental because you made me so! I want to live separately, will you agree? Of course not! You will have no servant to order around! No one will help you who are lazy, mean and evil!"
"Ahhh!" Fifth Grandma Ding got so angry that she almost fainted. She raised her hand and was about to slap Ding Xiang again. "I will kill you now!"
Ms. Zhou suddenly rushed forward with her son in her arms. She shielded Ding Xiang as she kneeled down, begging. "Mom, she is too young to understand what is going on, please, forgive her, please!"
"Shut up! Bitch, you have taught her all of this! How dare you ask for forgiveness!"
Fifth Grandma Ding kicked Ms. Zhou, who fell backwards. Her son was less than three years old, and he was crying loudly as he called out to his mother.
With her son in her arms, Ms. Zhou felt so desperate that she cried.
Those bystanders did not think that this should go on like this. They went up to get Fifth Grandma Ding, telling her to calm down and helped Ms. Zhou and her son get up. Some people tried to tell Ding Xiang not to talk any more and apologize to her grandparents.
231 Wrap Up The Matter
Fifth Grandpa Ding glared at Fifth Grandma Ding too. It was his wife who was too prejudiced, and had been treating the second section of the family badly. The second section of the family were too obedient to say anything, and he never took their attitudes as important. But Ding Xiang, the damned girl bore the grudge in heart.
This damned girl behaved openly like this and his second son and his wife might have held the same grudge too.
They had made the whole family into a joke in front of the village!
Fifth Grandpa Ding was very unhappy about Fifth Grandma Ding, and was also upset about the second section of the family.
Why could they not point out their grudge privately rather than make a scene here? Did the second section of the family think that it was a good thing to be the joke of the village?
Fifth Grandpa Ding decided to wrap up the matter properly.
He had to do so!
Otherwise the rumor would only get bigger!
His grandchildren were getting older every single day, and they should get married when it was time. His family could not be humiliated at this juncture!
"Just stop it!" Fifth Grandpa Ding glanced at Fifth Grandma Ding and his children as he looked at Ding Erzhu. "Erzhu, just tell everyone if your parents have treated you badly?"
Frightened, Ding Erzhu shook his head subconsciously. "No, of course not…"
Fifth Grandpa Ding snorted. "Have you ever thought about leaving the family?"
"No, I never think about this! My parents are so good… how can I leave you!"
"You really never thought about this?"
"Never, Dad!"
"Good. I knew that I would never have raised an evil son!" Fifth Grandpa Ding calmed himself down and turned to Ding Xiang. "Girl, are you jinxed that you have spoken such impolite words? Just say sorry to your grandma, and we will drop the matter! After all, you are simply being impulsive at this moment, but we can forget about it!"
Fifth Grandma Ding glared at Ding Xiang and sneered. "Are you confused as to have said something like that?"
With a swollen face, Ding Xiang looked at Fifth Grandpa Ding with widened eyes. "Grandpa, why can't we live separately? We can still treat you well when we live separately! I don't want my parents to live a tired life. Moreover, neither of the uncles ever work well! Why can't we just live separately, why not? Many people in our village live separately!"
"Just shut up! They live separately for some reason, but many are living together! You should get out of our family if you want to live separately. I will see if you can survive!"
Fifth Grandpa Ding's face sank. "Girl, you are definitely jinxed! You are talking nonsense! You were not like this before.! How can you speak with me in such an impolite way? You are not being polite towards us!"
Ding Xiang said, "What I want is just to live separately!"
Fifth Grandma Ding sneered. "Why should we listen to you? You are nothing!"
"I am nothing, then you can separate us!"
"You!"
"Shut up!" Fifth Grandpa Ding snapped as he said with a sunk face. "Girl, if you are jinxed, I will let you stay in the ancestral hall for a couple of days, and the gods will drive away the evil air on you."
It was a naked threat.
The ancestral hall was damp and dark, where the ancestral tablets were placed. People could feel cold and dank air in that place. It was always dark even in the daytime, let alone deep at night.
232 Rights Of Discourse
It was not easy to stay there for a couple of days.
At least for a teenage girl, it would be very scary.
Ding Xiang looked up and said, "I can stay there, but are we living separately afterwards?"
Fifth Grandpa Ding's face sank utterly after that question. "Second Son, do you want to live separately?"
"No, no, of course not…" Ding Erzhu was dumbfounded, wondering what made his girl say so.
Fifth Grandpa Ding sneered. "It seems that you have not taught her well. Hence, the girl is totally jinxed!"
Ding Erzhu panicked. "Dad, she is just confused!"
Ms. Zhou was terrified too. "Ding Xiang, just stop talking! Apologize to your grandma and your grandpa, we are not going to live separately okay. Don't talk like this!"
Ding Xiang glanced at her parents. She looked desperate and distressed.
She had no rights of discourse.
She could not change a thing.
She tried her best to shout out what she was thinking, but everyone called her confused, jinxed. She was denied…
She could do nothing when she was under someone else's mercy!
She was capable of doing nothing!
What a goddamned world!
She just could not stand that any more!
No wonder… the original host died…
She looked around and felt exhausted. Ding Xiang suddenly felt a bit desperate.
Anyway…
She was not going to tender any apologies because she never made any mistake. That was the bottomline she had. They could do whatever they wanted to her.
She could not ride over them!
Fifth Grandpa Ding forced her. "Girl, just say sorry, we can drop it as long as you apologise! We are a family and we will live happily forever!"
Ding Xiang sneered. This pretentious tone made her feel so disgusted.
What were you pretending to be? You were not at all noble!
She was not gullible! She knew that they were just trying to save their face. She was being forced to repent so that their reputation could be saved.
She had thought that as long as she could draw the attention of the villagers, she could force the whole family to yield. But she was wrong! Nothing happened so easily!
She was alone, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not get out of this mud!
Seeing Ding Xiang staying silent, Fifth Grandpa Ding got angry and said coldly, "You are definitely jinxed, so you talk nonsense! Elder, Second and Third son, just take her to the ancestral hall so she can reflect herself in front of the ancestors!"
"No, please, Dad. Ding Xiang, just apologize, now!"
"Dad, she is confused, I can discipline her later, but please, forgive her!"
Ding Erzhu and Ms. Zhou turned pale as they begged for forgiveness. Ms. Zhou cried so hard that she almost collapsed, but for her sister-in-laws who supported her.
The ancestral hall was very scary, but a maiden who was 15 years old, who could have a good marriage, would have her name ruined if she was ordered to stay in the ancestral hall.
They would never find any good suitors for her.
What was she going to do? Her life was ruined!
Ding Xiang closed her eyes.
"She is jinxed, definitely yes! No normal girls would be like this!"
Fifth Grandpa Ding almost cried. "What are you standing here for! Get her to the ancestral hall. What a shameless thing, our family is doomed!"
233 Qiao Xuan's Vision
No matter how much Ms. Zhou cried, Ding Xiang was still driven to the ancestral hall.
The villagers exchanged murmurs among themselves.
Some were talking about Fifth Grandma Ding, some were showing compassion to Ding Erzhu and Ms. Zhou, and some even believed that Ding Xiang had been really jinxed.
"True, she must be under influence, how else can a girl behave like this?"
"Yea, did you see her eyes? They look weird."
"She is a grandchild, and she needs to behave like one. How could she talk to her grandparents like this?"
"She is jinxed, and she is confused. I wonder if she will get better soon."
"Not sure!"
"…"
After the show, they all went back to their own homes.
Ms. Fang felt a bit interested and sneered. "That old woman is such an evil person! How could she force her own son and granddaughter to be like this? She will have to pay for her actions."
Ms. Fang was gossiping when she saw Qiao Xuan, who seemed to be totally transfixed. She tugged at her arm and said, "Let's go home, you got frightened?"
Ms. Fang showed her concern.
She was thinking that Qiao Xuan grew up in the mansion instead of a village and she might have gotten scared after she saw what happened.
Qiao Xuan brought herself back and smiled. "I am fine, Mom. I just didn't expect such a thing to happen…"
"No one did!" Ms. Fang sighed. "That grandma is too cold-hearted."
Ms. Fang was complaining to Yang Xiaoni on the way home, but Qiao Xuan was thinking about something else.
She had gotten dizzy and just like how she ran into the man whom she and Shao Yunduan saved last time, she witnessed numerous images in her head again.
Ding Xiang was in those images.
She was going to have a very bright future!
Qiao Xuan made up her mind to help Ding Xiang out.
She would lose nothing, if that vision did not come true, but if she was right… then she would have saved an important figure.
When she made up her mind, she started to think about how to do it.
She decided to do it alone, in secret.
After all, she had no rights to get involved with other people's family affairs, and if she offered to help Ding Xiang, her family would not approve of it.
They might call her evil too. It would be a tough thing to explain.
If the rumor arose about her, she would be driven mad!
The whole family finished dinner, and Qiao Xuan drove Shao Yunduan back to the room, and then left home with an excuse that she needed to check out the tomato buds.
She found out where the ancestral hall was. It was located in the west side of the village. It was big and isolated.
That was a good thing.
A tree was next to the ancestral hall, and Qiao Xuan used her superpower, so that the branches bent down for her to climb up. Then the branches took her to the wall and bent down for her to go inside the wall.
Qiao Xuan hopped down and started to walk in, within a safe distance.
The ancestral hall was a very scary place, and it was even more scary at night.
But Qiao Xuan was feeling very calm. After all, she had time-traveled and got superpower with her. What was she afraid of anyway?
Ding Xiang was locked in the left wing-room of the ancestral hall, and when Qiao Xuan found her, she was sitting with arms around her knees, looking cold.
234 Starvation
Both of them froze as their eyes met.
Ding Xiang did not expect that someone would be here at night. Qiao Xuan realised that Ding Xiang was not looking scared.
This girl was indeed strong-minded.
Ding Xiang glanced at the basket in Qiao Xuan's hands. She seemed to have smelled something. She swallowed her saliva, and her eyes started sparkling.
"Have you got any food?" Ding Xiang licked her lips and asked in a hoarse voice.
She was really famished.
She was never fed at her home, and no one gave her food after she was locked in the ancestral hall.
When she heard the sound of footsteps, she thought that it was her mother. But it was not.
She felt a bit disappointed, but not that disappointed.
Ms. Zhou was too weak to fight against her grandma, who would definitely stop Ms. Zhou from giving her any food. Ms. Zhou could do nothing but cry.
She was her mother but she could not even defend her child who was tormented by her own family. She felt let down as she thought about this.
She was so hungry that she did not even bother to ask why this woman was in front of her . All she needed was food.
Qiao Xuan smiled and let out a sigh of relief.
She had been thinking how to explain to Ding Xiang when they met, but she turned out to be so straightforward.
This was a personality she liked.
When she thought of how she fought against Fifth Grandpa Ding and the whole family and she sighed – what a special girl!
She was really different from ordinary farmers.
"Oh yes, but drink some water first, I have added some honey in it…"
Qiao Xuan nodded and went to her. She squatted and took out the food and water for Ding Xiang.
Ding Xiang took the kettle and poured the water into an empty bowl with shivering hands, then she finished it directly, letting out a sigh of relief and saying emotionally, "It is so sweet!"
She could not wait any longer and started to eat.
Qiao Xuan had expected that she would not have been given any food by the family, so she only got one bowl of rice, one dish of bamboo shoots, and several pieces of mushrooms for her to eat.
But Ding Xiang did not think too much, and she started to eat everything immediately.
When the food was done, Ding Xiang wiped her mouth and put down the chopsticks and bowls.
She almost cried.
How could she have time-traveled to this goddamn place? She could not even get to eat one bowl of rice! How happy it was to be able to finally eat!
"Oh yes." Ding Xiang pressed down her tears and smiled. "You are the Second Miss from the Qiao Family right? Why did you give me food? Anyway, thanks!"
Qiao Xuan had already understood that she was different, so it was normal that she could guess who she was – she was different from the villagers here.
"You are right." Qiao Xuan smiled and added. "I don't approve of what Fifth Grandpa Ding did, so no need to thank me!"
Ding Xiang grinned. "So you felt sorry for me? Anyway, thanks!"
235 A Pure-Minded Girl
It was a great comfort, if you could have someone who felt sorry for you.
Ding Xiang sighed inwardly. She was a lady born in a big family, and yet she had such a simple mind.
Fearing that she would not believe her, Qiao Xuan said in a small voice, "Let me tell you something but please don't tell anyone else. My lineal mother is not kind either and I felt really sorry for you when I saw you being treated like that."
This lady was so simple-minded!
Ding Xiang replied involuntarily. "Lucky that you ran into me, but let me tell you, poor people are never kind! Those farmers are too poor to think about justice and fairness. They are just greedy and private, so never be too kind or feel sorry for others, otherwise you will get yourself in a lot of trouble, alright?"
Qiao Xuan was startled. "…"
What was she talking about? Did she think that she was an innocent, pure-minded rich girl?
Qiao Xuan chuckled in her heart. She was not pure-minded! She could be quite ruthless!
But she found Ding Xiang getting more and more interesting!
Seeing Qiao Xuan's seemingly surprised look, Ding Xiang explained little by little. "Look at what you did tonight… I am locked here because I have been punished. You delivered food to me and if you don't help me do what I ask of you, I may threaten you about telling everyone else about your deeds. As a result, you will land into trouble for saving me here!"
Qiao Xuan. "…"
"I understand what you mean. But I know you won't! Don't worry, I am not that gullible, and I never show kindness to others easily!"
Ding Xiang smiled. "How do you know I won't!"
Qiao Xuan was speechless. She could not explain it.
"Just a feeling. My sixth sense is always right!"
"What feeling?"
"Just an intuition!"
"…"
Anyway, they needed to drop the topic.
"You should never be this nosy any more, got it?"
"Oh…"
"Oh yes," Qiao Xuan switched to the embarrassing topic, "What are your plans for the future?"
Future?
Ding Xiang sneered. At this juncture, she wasn't even sure whether she would have a future!
She had understood clearly that she alone could not fight against a family, especially since she was born in this era.
She was called jinxed by her family and was even considered as immoral. Now, she was starving in the locked ancestral hall.
Maybe she would be forced into marriage and the only thing she could do to fight against that was to die.
Qiao Xuan thought for a while and tried to persuade her. "I believe that if you want to achieve something, you should not lunge at it. You can try to take a roundabout. For example, you embarrassed your grandparents today, that would irritate them more. You will end up being in trouble again and again if you fail to bring them to your side…"
Qiao Xuan was really curious whether this stubborn personality girl would have a flourishing future like she had foreseen?
But she had developed some feelings towards this girl and would like to give her a hand.
Moreover, when she heard some details about Fifth Grandma Ding from Ms. Fang, Qiao Xuan believed that Ding Xiang was really unlucky to have been born in a family like that.
236 Where
Ding Xiang smiled and nodded. "You are right…"
But what she was thinking inwardly was that this noble lady simply knew nothing.
Retreating and playing along? She would very much like to do so, but the problem was that it would not work out for her.
Her parents had already been under the charge of her grandma, and neither of them would take her side. She was alone, and there was nothing she could do. She had softened her stance before, but that did not work.
Her parents had been frightened and they could not change themselves. They were used to being like that, and she could not change them at all.
Also, her grandma was a very tricky person, and when she sensed that she had instigated her parents to rebel, she would be doomed!
There was nothing she could do, except to throw herself out to get them all condemned.
But the result was that she lost the game completely…
Honestly, the reason why her grandma treated her father like that was because her father was down-to-earth and the second son, who could accept his mother's bad temper. He was never treated well, but he never complained. That was why he ended up being like this.
Obedient people always get bullied!
"Just go home, don't come back tomorrow." Ding Xiang said to Qiao Xuan.
Qiao Xuan nodded, and gave four eggs wrapped in yellow paper as well as a small water bottle as well as a tiny porcelain bottle with honey to Ding Xiang. "You can eat them tomorrow."
She could not come to this place during the daytime.
If she was spotted, she would be in trouble, just as Ding Xiang said.
Ding Xiang got startled all of a sudden.
She looked deep into Qiao Xuan's eyes and said lightly as she took over the things, "Thanks!"
Qiao Xuan waved her hands, smiling. "I am leaving now!"
"Okay!"
The moment Qiao Xuan walked out of the door, Ding Xiang called out and stopped her.
She raised her hands to sort out the hair on her head, saying to Qiao Xuan seriously, "If there is any chance in the future, I will repay you, definitely! Thanks!"
This was the only kindness she had received after she came to this world. She would always bear this gesture in her heart.
After all, her parents were kneeling down to her grandparents and had decided to leave her alone!
How ridiculous! If they really loved her as their daughter, they would have done whatever they could to fight against her grandparents!
At that time, her grandparents would not be able to do anything – they could not possibly kill them, right?
The fundamental point was that she was not that important in their hearts.
Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile, after she was taken aback for a moment. "Okay, I will bear this in mind! Haha!"
Qiao Xuan was very happy. This was exactly what she had come for! It was great that Ding Xiang had the same idea.
Ding Xiang smiled and could not help but get emotional. The Second Miss of the Qiao Family was indeed so pure in mind.
Qiao Xuan answered too straightforwardly to let Ding Xiang feel that she was just teasing her, rather than take her words seriously.
But Ding Xiang was not joking.
Qiao Xuan left the ancestral hall in the same way as she came in. She needed to head home fast.
She felt glad inside her heart and felt that she had fulfilled her mission!
But the moment she walked into the room, she ran into Shao Yunduan, who asked her. "Where have you been?"
"Oh well…" Qiao Xuan normally returned to the room with Shao Yunduan, but it was very late for her to show up. So, Shao Yunduan asked her curiously.
She thought for a while. "I… I just suddenly thought of the medical herbs in the yard. I just went to check them. After all, I hadn't seen them in a while."
237 Blank In Mind
"Is that really the case?" Shao Yunduan looked at the clothes around her waist.
Qiao Xuan looked down subconsciously and saw that her clothes had some strings stuck on them.
She would not have such a thing attached to her, if she had been in the yard for medical herbs.
"I…" Qiao Xuan snapped at herself inwardly.
Her husband must have become suspicious. She should have found a better excuse.
She could have used this excuse to get herself out of the suspicion of the others in the family, but her husband was smart enough not to believe her words…
"Oh well.." Qiao Xuan smiled and confessed, as she came to Shao Yunduan. "Well, don't get mad if I tell you. I visited Ding Xiang at the ancestral hall, and I brought her some food."
"What?"
"Hush!" Qiao Xuan covered Shao Yunduan's lips. "Keep your voice down!"
As the gentle and soft hand covered his mouth, he could feel softness spreading across his body so he was dumbfounded, not daring to move.
He was about to talk when he realized that his lips would rub across her hand. He stiffened even more, and did not dare to move at all. His ears were totally red and he got so nervous that he started to breathe heavily.
Qiao Xuan was so anxious that she did not realize what she had done. She blinked as she turned to him, looking pitiful. "I can explain it to you…"
The two of them were standing very close to each other, and she looked so beautiful. She seemed to have a stimulating fragrance that went in from the tip of his nose, making him feel excited.
With his eyes staring at her, he felt his mind turn blank.
As she felt some warmth on her hand, Qiao Xuan suddenly realized what she had done. She had her palm over his mouth. This was very embarrassing!
Qiao Xuan let out a small, low cry and blushed. She calmed down after a moment and withdrew her hand, repeating her words just to drive away the embarrassing moment. "I can explain to you…"
As the soft feeling on his lips went away, Shao Yunduan let out a secret sigh of relief.
But at the same time, he wished that the palm could have stayed on for a bit longer.
"You can explain now…"
His head had turned messy, and he spoke up randomly.
Qiao Xuan coughed and composed herself. She started speaking in a small voice. "I am telling you the truth. It is just… I found Ding Xiang very pitiful to have a family like that. No one would help her, so I gave her some food to eat. You won't think I'm nosy, right? I just… I was reminded of how I was treated at the Qiao Family…"
"I am not blaming you." Shao Yunduan's heart softened, as he heard her mentioning the Qiao Family. He asked her gently. "You were not noticed, right?"
Qiao Xuan had not expected that her explanation would work so well. She felt a bit guilty but smiled. "I was careful!"
"You should discuss such matters with me in the future, okay?"
"Okay!"
"I will keep this a secret for you. Don't mention it to anyone else."
"Of course, you are the only person I told this to!"
Shao Yunduan smiled and felt much better. He reminded her again. "Don't tell Mom about this either, it is never good to tell one more person about it."
Actually, he was worried that his mother would blame her if she knew about it.
238 Good Thing
Qiao Xuan did not give her too many things, nor did she want to tell anyone about it. But for Shao Yunduan who suspected her, she would not have disclosed it to Shao Yunduan. So, she just nodded and agreed.
Unassured, Shao Yunduan stressed some more and then finally stopped.
Qiao Xuan let out a sigh of relief.
The following day, Qiao Xuan, Shao Yunduan, Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao went into the mountains for a walk.
They did not find any major things the day before, and Shao Xiaoqi wasn't very satisfied with the result. He was motivated to find some bigger prey.
Feeling bored, Qiao Xuan decided to tag along.
When she proposed it, Shao Yunduan suggested following her into the mountains as well, at the premise that he had not affected his study plan. He could make up for it later.
The four of them went into the area they had never been to before.
The green hills were quiet, the ancient trees were towering, and the thick fallen leaves were rustling. The temperature in the mountains was much lower than outside, and it was cool to walk in it.
From time to time, the crisp and pleasant sound of birds chirping could be heard, and the echo reverberated through the valley, sounding quite melodious.
With her superpower, Qiao Xuan could see all the good mountain stuff.
But they were only here to pick some precious mushrooms.
Shao Xiaoqi found some Bamboo partridges in the forest, and hunted them successfully.
Bamboo Partridge were as big as piegones, and the flesh could be very tasty, different from ordinary roosters.
They were just walking, when Qiao Xuan saw something with her superpower.
She saw that there was a patch of tea woods standing out on the valley in the southeast direction.
Two of the tea trees were strong and the leaves were both dark green, looking quite tempting.
Qiao Xuan did not have much knowledge of tea. She had once seen many wild-growing tea trees here, which did not draw her attention. But this patch of tea trees gave her a very strange, different feeling.
Her sense told her that these were wonderful things!
Motivated, Qiao Xuan believed that their trip could be rewarding with this. The two old tea trees were ancient, and the leaves were tender. They could be obtained and taken for tea at home.
Therefore, Qiao Xuan secretly took the other three members of their team in that direction.
As they came to the feet of the mountains, she pointed at the patch of tea trees on the valley within their sights. "Look, that is a cluster of tea trees. The leaves are so tender and we can take some home. The tea made out of it should be very tasty!"
Shao Yunduan spotted them too. He had more knowledge of tea than Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao. He added with a smile after seeing the patch. "The leaves look very good. Let's get going!"
"Okay, Fifth Brother, and Fifth Sister-in-law!"
Qi and Taotao would never object to the suggestion made by them. Both of them were very interested in food and drinks.
Shao Xiaoqi asked. "Fifth Sister-in-law, apart from making tea, can the tea leaves be used for anything else?"
Shao Taotao's eyes sparkled and she looked excited.
Qiao Xuan nodded and smiled. "Of course, they can be used to fry with shrimps, eggs, and make pancakes. We can use tea water to stew chicken and bones, and we can even add the leaves to braised dishes, or stir-fry… anyway, let's take them home!"
239 Flourishing
"Okay!" Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao laughed and looked excited and hopeful. "Let's go and pick the tea leaves!"
The patch of tea trees was located a bit over halfway of the mountains, and the team, who was used to walking in the mountains, reached the place almost an hour later, since the mountain was so large.
Qiao Xuan had already sensed the scent of tea when they were very far away. She felt even more motivated.
Equipped with the superpower, she was well connected with plants in this world, and she was even more sensitive towards things which were extraordinary.
As they went closer to the tea woods, Shao Yunduan could smell the scent of tea as well.
"It smells so good!"
"Yeah, it is so good!"
Before Qiao Xuan could say anything, everyone else already understood that it was a good thing in front of them.
Apart from the two ancient, large tea trees, there were some middle-sized ones as well as small sprouts everywhere on the ground.
Both Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were good at climbing trees, and they prepared to go up.
"Fifth Sister-in-law, are there any rules to pick the tea leaves? Just the tip will do, right?"
Qiao Xuan nodded. "Yes, don't get too much of the stem. Two tender leaves should be enough."
The two of them nodded and went to the top of the trees.
Qiao Xuan smiled at Shao Yunduan. "Let's go and get them!"
Shao Yunduan nodded.
They had some rug bags with them as they went into the mountains, and they came handy now.
The leaves were not very heavy, and those two large bags should be enough.
Back-facing the others, Qiao Xuan pinched a small tea tree sprout and tried to stuff it into the space.
"…" Qiao Xuan's eyes sparkled as she realized what happened.
It went in!
It seemed that the tea trees which she could not name were really precious things!
Qiao Xuan brought some more trees to space.
The spring became increasingly flourishing.
They started to head home after getting two bags full of tea leaves.
The tea leaves seemed like precious things, so the trip was worth it, though they never got any prey.
Qiao Xuan got them to dig some more arm-sized tea tree sprouts and tied them together, so they could take them home.
Soon, they ran into another patch of small tea woods.
The tea wood was much smaller than the first one they saw, and apart from one ancient tree, there were some other mid-sized ones. The sprouts were everywhere, growing in the shadow.
The trees probably could not grow well due to the lack of sun then oxygen.
The tree looked quite special too. The trunk and twigs were purple whilst the leaves were dark green, and the new sprouts were tenderly red.
They could smell the scent of roses as well as herbs.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao, who had no idea about tea, could not help but praise. "It smells so good!"
They did not want to leave like this. So they paused and started to pick some more.
Qiao Xuan delivered some more tree sprouts into the space, which accepted them as well.
She got seven or eight pieces into space, and suddenly, she could tell that her superpower had been expanded. More importantly, the mist around the small wooden house was diminished to some degree.
Surprised, Qiao Xuan glanced about and without letting Shao Yunduan see her, she pushed some more tree sprouts into the space.
240 Escape
However, the space did not undergo any major changes, apart from becoming more flourishing.
Qiao Xuan finally came to the conclusion after many times of experience that she needed to get many precious plants into space, so that the amount could lead to major changes.
Qiao Xuan got a large bag of purple-colored tea leaves, as well as some tea tree sprouts. They tied them up together and started to head home.
It was a good harvest.
As they went back home, Qiao Xuan asked Taotao for help. They planted the tea trees in the yard and at the corners of the floral field.
Then, they started to process the fresh tea leaves.
No one had any idea how to process it in a complicated way, but the villagers usually fried them and got the water out, so the tea leaves would be in the best condition for storage.
This time, they did the same.
The tea leaves relieved the thirst, so villagers loved to have some planted next to their yards. In this way, they could pick some and fry them for daily tea drinking.
These tea trees were not precious ones, but ordinary ones.
So they did not need to be taken well care of, nor did they need to be chopped or trimmed.
The trees they brought home today were apparently different from the ones they drank at home.
Qiao Xuan was thinking about taking some twigs and leaves for Manager Qin to take a look.
If it was a precious kind, she would turn the field she bought from the Zhang Village into a tea garden.
Qiao Xuan used some fresh tea leaves to make the dishes for dinner.
These two kinds of tea leaves became increasingly fragrant, and the scent made people feel fresh in their minds.
Ms. Fang praised it highly and smiled. "I never expected that there would be such fabulous things in the mountains. These leaves seem to taste different from what we drink every day!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "There are many precious things in the mountains. Qi is familiar with the paths, so he takes us to these places! He knows far more than others!"
Ms. Fang laughed. "He hunts, but he doesn't know about tea. It is you and Duan who helped!"
Ms. Fang and Qiao Xuan exchanged a few words and said suddenly, "Remember Ding Xiang who was trapped in the ancestral hall? When Ms. Zhou brought her food at lunchtime, she was gone! Ms. Zhou and Ding Erzhu are so anxious and are looking around for her everywhere. The girl is so bold as to escape!"
Qiao Xuan was shocked and her face changed. "She… escaped?!"
"Yeah!" Ms. Fang kept the gossip flowing. "I never expected that this girl could be so stubborn! I thought she was a quiet one. But why did she run away when she was in the ancestral hall? Where can she go? Will she come back? She would receive even worse punishment when she returns because her grandparents are so angry now!"
Qiao Xuan panicked. She did not give any response as her mind got confused.
She had a feeling that Ding Xiang did not run out of the ancestral hall out of anger. More importantly, she felt that the girl was not going to come back.