Chapter 26 Encounter with Qi Aixiu

Qi Erwa, who had received the padded jacket, also studied it carefully but couldn’t find anything wrong. After thinking for a while, he decided that getting his older brother a wife was more important, and he had plenty of time to deal with the padded jacket later. In the following days, Qi Erwa noticed that Yu Chunxiang and Li Yao were inseparable, making it impossible for him to make a move. Unable to make progress there, Qi Erwa started to keep an eye on Ye Nanyi. He had his sights set on her and decided to make a plan.

 Ye Nanyi also felt Qi Erwa’s gaze and was relieved. At least he was making a move; she was worried that he wouldn’t do anything and she would be constantly on edge. Before Qi Erwa could act, the team leader announced that they were going to deliver grain to the town. Ye Nanyi joined the team and went to town, as she wanted to send some chestnuts to Qin Yue.

“Ye Zhiqing, what’s in your basket? You’re so small and thin, but you’re so strong!” Ye Nanyi glanced at the woman who was speaking and realized that she didn’t mean anything by it. “Auntie, I’m sending some chestnuts I found in the mountains to my family.” The woman became interested. “Ye Zhiqing, just call me Auntie Wang. Would you be willing to trade some chestnuts with me?” Ye Nanyi was surprised. Since chestnuts were readily available in the mountains, she didn’t think anyone would want to trade for them. Everyone knew that you should rely on the mountains for food if you lived near them. “Auntie Wang, that’s fine. Where do you live? I’ll deliver them to you.” Ye Nanyi wasn’t being coy. She would be staying here for several more years, and it was impossible to avoid interacting with people. “Okay, I’ll let you try some of my sugar-coated chestnuts. My house is next door to the team leader’s.” Ye Nanyi’s eyes lit up at the mention of sugar-coated chestnuts. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, and she had stumbled upon it without even trying.

“Auntie, could you make some for me too?” Auntie Wang readily agreed. The two of them chatted happily along the way. “We’re here. Anyone who needs to buy something, hurry up and come back!” Qi Daoye parked the oxcart and shouted. Everyone understood the rules and quickly went about their business. After sending her package at the post office, Ye Nanyi received a letter. She saw that it was from Qin Yue and was puzzled. It hadn’t been long since she received the last letter, so why was there another one? Had something happened?

“Nanyi, Wang Xiangdong’s parents are trying to get him to return to the city, but he doesn’t seem to want to come back. Do you want to come back? Mom has come up with a plan. If you want to, send her a telegram.” Ye Nanyi was shocked to learn that Wang Xiangdong was going to return to the city. How could that be? He had hurt the original owner so badly.

If he just went back like that, it would be like letting him get away with it. Besides, if she hadn’t come here and taken the initiative, she might have ended up like the original owner. Now that they had delivered the grain, there wasn’t much to do, and she had time to cause some trouble.

“Ye Zhiqing, what are you doing? Why are you standing there in a daze?” Ye Nanyi looked up and saw that it was Yu Chunxiang and Li Yao. She felt a headache as she saw them holding hands so openly. The two of them saw Ye Nanyi’s gaze and quickly let go of each other’s hands. “Yu Zhiqing, if you care about Li Zhiqing, don’t be so blatant. I’ll tell you the truth: Qi Erwa will make his move within a month. His target is no longer you; he’s planning to marry Li Zhiqing to Qi Daowa.” Ye Nanyi’s words shocked Li Yao, and her face turned pale.

“How do you know this?” Yu Chunxiang asked in a trembling voice. She didn’t care what happened to her, as long as Yao Yao was okay. “Don’t worry about how I know. Don’t you want to keep this secret from Qi Erwa? Once he knows, with his cunning, Li Zhiqing will definitely give in.” Ye Nanyi’s concern was not unfounded. In the original owner’s memories, it was Yu Chunxiang who ended up marrying Qi Daowa. However, now that Qi Daowa was stupid, things had changed. “Okay, since we’ve already delivered the grain, we’ll just go to the mountains to gather firewood from now on.

We can go with everyone else.” Ye Nanyi was relieved to see that Yu Chunxiang was listening to her. As the saying goes, it’s not the formidable opponent you should fear, but the foolish teammate. “Good, you know what to do. I have something to do. You two should hurry up and buy what you need and get back on the oxcart.” Ye Nanyi had something else to do today and didn’t want to talk to Yu Chunxiang anymore.

Before Ye Nanyi could find the entrance to the black market she had felt before, she heard arguing coming from an alleyway. “Zhu Aiguo, are you even human? You don’t bring home a penny of the money you earn. Look at how thin your three daughters are.” “Aiguo, is this your yellow-faced hag? You only had three daughters for her, and she’s not as good as someone who can give you a son.” Ye Nanyi almost vomited up her breakfast when she heard these pretentious words. What kind of creature was this? “Zhu Aiguo, are you letting people humiliate your children like this?” Ye Nanyi sighed. This woman was really stubborn. This man was letting his mistress talk to him like that, so how could he possibly help her? The arguing continued in the alleyway.

“Qi Aixiu, I remember your sister and brother haven’t gotten married yet. If you keep making a fuss, I’ll divorce you. See who dares to marry into your family.” After those words, Ye Nanyi couldn’t hear anything else, only the woman’s muffled sobs. Ye Nanyi didn’t want to get involved, but she secretly glanced at the woman and saw that she was as thin as a piece of paper. She wondered if she even had enough to eat every day. “Sister, get up. The ground is cold.” Ye Nanyi reached out to help the woman up. As she expected, she was very light. Qi Aixiu wiped her tears with her sleeve, her eyes filled with resentment. Then, more unpleasant sounds came from inside the house. “Aiguo, you’re so amazing. You subdued this yellow-faced hag in one move.”

 “Of course. Women are afraid of this, and they’re also afraid of those three little girls. When those three little girls grow up a bit, I’ll sell them and then marry you. You have to give me a big, fat son.” Ye Nanyi quickly reached out to support Qi Aixiu, who was about to faint, and slowly led her to the next alleyway. If she stayed there any longer, she didn’t know what else those people in the house would say. “Sister, thank you. Don’t worry about me. I’ll rest for a while and then go back.” Ye Nanyi had been looking for the black market for a long time and hadn’t found it. An idea came to her. “Sister, do you know where the black market is nearby?”

 Qi Aixiu was startled and quickly said, “I don’t know, little sister. You can’t go there. If you get caught, it’s not a joke.” Ye Nanyi didn’t say anything. She saw a stone bench nearby and picked it up. “Sister, they won’t catch me. I just want to buy some things to supplement my diet. I don’t have any tickets for the supply and marketing cooperative, so I can only go to the black market to see if I can find anything.” Qi Aixiu didn’t want to say anything, but Ye Nanyi had just helped her, so she gritted her teeth and told her.