Chapter 17: Zhao Sisters’ Scheme

As she walked up the mountain, she noticed many wild vegetables sprouting. Previously, the Captain’s wife, Qiao Lanlan, had taught her a lot, and combined with her own memories, Luo Qiao had spent a lot of time digging wild vegetables in the fields recently.

Whenever she came across ones she liked, she dug them up and threw them into her basket, planning to make wild vegetable dumplings to give to Lu Yichen as a thank-you for the basket she received today, after bothering him for several days.

She also picked a few unusual wild vegetables from the fields and stored them in her space, thinking it would be convenient to have some in the valley for future use.

After wandering around the mountain for half a day without finding anything good, she found some common ^[1]Bupleurum is a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine, primarily for its liver-supporting and anti-inflammatory properties. It helps with liver health, detoxification, fever, flu, inflammation, … Continue readingbupleurum and dandelions. The original owner had learned a lot of traditional Chinese medicine knowledge from Grandpa Yang on the farm.

Knowing the efficacy of these herbs, she gathered some for later use. These ordinary medicinal herbs were not planted in her space, so she casually threw one or two plants into it, as it wouldn’t take up much space.

There were many dry tree branches in front of her, so Luo Qiao found a sickle in her space, gathered all the dry branches together, and confirmed their safety before storing them in her space.

Seeing that it was getting late, she tied a small bundle of firewood with rattan and put it in her basket, and walked down the mountain.

As she passed by a patch of weeds, she heard some movement inside. Carefully parting the grass, she discovered a nest of eggs. The sound she had heard earlier was probably from wild chickens startled and running away. What a pity.

But at least the dumpling filling for tonight was settled. Haha!

Returning home and arranging everything neatly, she noticed it was already past nine. Quickly washing up and changing into the least patched clothes she had, she slung the basket over her back and headed towards the commune.

Qingshan Village wasn’t too far from the commune, just about half an hour on foot. It was only an hour’s drive from the city and even farther from the county town. Therefore, when people here needed to buy things, they usually went to the city with a letter of introduction.

Luo Qiao walked faster than most people. These days, she hasn’t exercised in vain in her space. Just as she was about to leave the village, she ran into Zhao Xiaoxing, the third child of the Zhao family, and Zhao Xiaocao, the fifth.

Zhao Xiaoxing caught up with Luo Qiao in a few quick steps and asked loudly, “Luo Qiao, where are you going?”

Seeing a few older women looking over, Luo Qiao quickly thought and replied, “I picked some herbs on the mountain and want to see if the commune will buy them. There’s hardly anything to eat at home, so I can’t let myself starve to death.”

Zhao Xiaocao might not look impressive, but her mind works faster than Zhao Xiaoxing’s. She said, “These past few days, we’ve been trying to persuade you to come home with us, so why do you keep refusing?

Don’t bother going to the commune. Come home with us. As long as the Zhao family has food, we won’t let you go hungry.”

Her mother’s plan was clear to her. As long as this Luo Qiao went home with them, their family would gain an additional source of income.

Luo Qiao replied, “We’re not relatives, so I can’t trouble you. Besides, Aunt Zhao and I signed an agreement. Now you and your sister keep coming over to persuade me to return to the Zhao family. What does this mean?

Are you worried that the Luo family will accuse you of taking the 200 yuan for nothing? Other than that, I don’t see why you’d go to such lengths to invite me back unless you have some ulterior motive.”

When Zhao Xiaoxing heard this, she got worried that gossipers might spread unfavorable rumors and disrupt her mother’s plan. She quickly said, “Luo Qiao, what nonsense are you talking about?

We were just worried you’d starve, so we kindly wanted you to come back with us. Don’t mistake our good intentions. Hmph!”