Chapter 47 ☆ Cicada Shell (Part 1)

Cheng Yaoyao ran to the door and opened it, pulling out the bolt with great effort. Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind her and steadily took the bolt and placed it against the door.

Cheng Yaoyao didn’t think much and opened the door.

“Sister Yaoyao!” Two little baby voices sounded at the same time, and then they gasped as if frightened, staring at the back of Cheng Yaoyao in horror.

Cheng Yaoyao didn’t think much about it and said with a smile, “Mingming, Goudan, why did you come so early today?”

Mingming’s face turned pale as he stared tremblingly at Xie San, who had a cold expression behind Cheng Yaoyao. She was about to cry, “I…I…”

Xie San: “…”

Cheng Yaoyao turned to Xie San and smiled. “This is Goudan and Mingming. They are helping me collect grass for the pigs.”

“They?” The murderous aura around Xie San faded, and a strange look appeared on his face.

“Yes!” Cheng Yaoyao smiled at Mingming and said, “Goudan, Mingming, this is Brother Xie San, you know him, right?”

Xie San nodded to the two children and turned back to the house. Seeing Xie San’s tall figure disappear through the door, the two children relaxed and said happily to Cheng Yaoyao, “Let’s go to the woods to find cicada shells. There are especially many in the morning! Do you want to come?”

Cheng Yaoyao said, “I have something to do. I’ll come find you guys after lunch.”

“Okay then.” Goudan and Mingming picked up Cheng Yaoyao’s basket and said, “I’ll help you get the pig grass.”

Cheng Yaoyao said, “Wait for me!”

Cheng Yaoyao ran into the kitchen, took out the stir-fried cicada monkeys and dried bayberries that she had made yesterday, and handed them to Goudan. “This is the cicada monkey you caught yesterday. I fried it. You can take it and share it with your friends. This is the dried bayberry.”

“Wow!” Goudan’s eyes lit up as he could smell the aroma of oil through the lunch box.

Mingming was a little embarrassed. “Mom said I can’t eat other people’s food.”

“This is the cicada monkey you caught together. It doesn’t belong to anyone else,” Cheng Yaoyao said with a smile. “You also helped me pick pig grass and cicada shells, right?”

“Sister Yaoyao is right!” Goudan unconditionally supported what Cheng Yaoyao said and pulled Mingming, who couldn’t wait to go eat with everyone, “Sister Yaoyao, let’s go. Come early this afternoon!”

Xie San changed into work clothes and looked at Cheng Yaoyao with a strange expression. “Is this your…subordinate?”

“Yes!” Cheng Yaoyao put her hands on her waist, looking very proud. “They helped me pick grass for pigs, catch cicada shells, and even catch a lot of cicada monkeys!”

Xie San resisted the urge to pinch her cheek and picked up a basket. “Let’s go.”

Cheng Yaoyao was surprised. “Where are you going?”

Xie San grabbed her wrist and pushed the door open without questioning. “To catch cicada shells and pick up cicada monkeys.”

It was still early in the morning, the sun had not yet fully risen, and the mountain air was cool and fragrant. A deep breath was filled with the sweet scent of gardenia ^[1]refers to a type of fragrant flower.. Cheng Yaoyao followed Xie San up the hillside, humming and groaning in displeasure.

Even though he had told Goudan and the others that they would help him with the work, Xie San still insisted on dragging her out.

The two of them walked for a short while before they came to a forest. The trees here were tall and straight, and the forest was extremely cool. The morning light fell into the forest like strands of silk, as moving as a Nordic oil painting ^[2]refers to a style of art depicting northern European landscapes..

“Are there any cicada monkeys here?” Cheng Yaoyao walked under a Pistacia tree ^[3]which is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, known for producing pistachio nuts. and looked carefully. There were a few empty cicada shells stuck to the trunk, but most of them were higher up. “Too high! I can’t reach them!”

Xie San was not in a hurry to pick the cicada shells but took out a roll of tape from the basket and wrapped it around the tree.

Cheng Yaoyao came over curiously. The tape was clearly used, dirty, covered with sawdust, and no longer sticky. Xie San wrapped the tape around the tree trunk more than a meter above the ground and tied a knot.

Cheng Yaoyao asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

Xie San quickly wrapped the trees one by one. “Wrap them with tape so the cicada monkeys can’t climb up. We can just come and pick the cicada shells tomorrow.”

“That’s a good idea!” Cheng Yaoyao looked at Xie San in admiration. “You’re so smart!”

Cheng Yaoyao took the tape and wrapped it around the tree trunks with Xie San. Cicada monkeys usually come out of the ground and climb up the tree trunks at night. When cicada monkeys encounter the smooth tape, they have no choice but to stay below the tape and shed their shells. When they come back the next morning, they only need to pick up the cicada shells.

Otherwise, cicada monkeys will try to climb high up the tree trunks. If children want to pick up the cicada shells, they either have to climb trees or make homemade tools to hook them down. This is time-consuming and laborious, and it is easy to break the shells into pieces, making them difficult to sell at a high price.

Seeing that Xie San was doing it very well, Cheng Yaoyao asked curiously, “Did you always pick up cicada shells and sell them for money before?”

“I’ve done everything to make money,” Xie San answered casually with tape wrapped around his hands.

Xie San answered calmly, but Cheng Yaoyao felt sad. What kind of life did Xie San lead from childhood to adulthood?

Cheng Yaoyao leaned closer to Xie San and whispered, “I picked up a lot of cicada shells. I can sell them for money to buy meat for you.”

Xie San’s cold lips curled into a slight arc, and he said, “Okay. When I come back from driving lessons, I’ll help you pick them up every day.”

After a pause, he added, “I’ll help you with the work too.”

“The children are helping me,” Cheng Yaoyao said as she picked up the cicada shells that were within reach on the tree trunks and placed them carefully in the box.

A gaze that was hard to ignore fell on her face. Cheng Yaoyao looked up and met Xie San’s narrow and dark eyes. Xie San had no expression on his face, but Cheng Yaoyao could tell that he was unhappy.

Cheng Yaoyao deliberately asked, “What? Are you glaring at me?”

“…” Xie San turned around, reached out, picked up the cicada shell high on the tree trunk, and walked to another tree to look for cicada shells.

Cheng Yaoyao bit her lip but couldn’t help laughing after a long while. She scratched her cheek with a slender finger and said, “You are jealous of a child. Shame on you.”

“…” Xie San looked around and saw that there was no one nearby. He suddenly walked over and pulled Cheng Yaoyao into his arms.

He was tall, with strong arms, and he squeezed Cheng Yaoyao’s slender waist so hard that she leaned back softly.

Cheng Yaoyao’s eyes trembled slightly, her cheeks flushed, and she stared at Xie San without saying anything. Xie San looked deeply into her rosy lips and said seriously, “Wait for me. When I come back, I will help you with the work.”

“I will make money and won’t let you suffer at all.”

“I will love you.”

One sentence after another, the voice as loud as a rock became lower and lower, and the last sentence was said close to Cheng Yaoyao’s ear. His breath sprayed hotly on Cheng Yaoyao’s earlobe, and the small earlobe, like white jade, turned pink little by little under his gaze, looking very delicious and making people want to put it in their mouths and taste it.

Cheng Yaoyao’s legs felt a little weak. She grabbed Xie San’s collar and whispered, “They’re just kids…”

“Even children are not allowed,” Xie San said firmly.

Cheng Yaoyao noticed Xie San’s Adam’s apple move, and his breathing quickened.

Little Lotus Leaf started to act up again. Cheng Yaoyao thought, Why else would she want Xie San to kiss her so much?