Chapter 35: The Jade Bracelet 3

I squatted in the courtyard washing vegetables, glaring at her. “You’re so old, can you stop talking nonsense! Wen Ye said jade suits me, something about nourishing yin and clearing heat, maintaining health… Never mind, just give me one.”

Great-Granny squinted and chuckled, “Alright, I’ll give you one since you’re treating patients for me.”

“I want the most expensive one! Don’t try to fool me with a glass bead!”

She snorted, “Any random one is more valuable than you, you little brat.”

I clicked my tongue, regretting it inwardly. “If I had known your jade was so valuable, I should have stolen one and sold it back then. I wouldn’t have had such a miserable life in college, and I wouldn’t have chosen such a lousy major.”

“Even with a mountain of wealth, you can’t just sit around and do nothing… Hmph, if you hadn’t gone through that, how could you have met that little fox so quickly?”

I looked up at her, amused. “You don’t mind that he’s a demon?”

“Who said I don’t?” She took a puff of her pipe, leisurely rocking in her bamboo rattan rocking chair.

Hmph, such a hypocritical old woman.

“Where did Wen Ye go?” He disappeared as soon as he got back.

Great-Granny closed her eyes to rest. “The back mountain.”

What did he go to the back mountain for…

——————

In the summer, Great-Granny and I always ate in the courtyard. There was shade from the jujube tree, and a large locust tree in front, so it wasn’t stuffy at all. We just had to put up a big parasol to keep the leaves, fruit, and insects from the jujube tree from falling down.

The coolness of the quadrangle courtyard in summer wasn’t just because of the trees; it was mainly because of the spiritual yin energy of the Jiao Spirit.

The Jiao Spirit came from the Great Wilderness Realm. Great-Granny said it was a spiritual being between heaven and earth. Its spiritual yin energy wouldn’t affect living beings, but it would slow down the growth rate of living things.

Therefore, the plants in the quadrangle courtyard and on the back mountain sprouted, bloomed, and bore fruit later than in other places.

Locust flowers usually finished blooming in early May, but the locust flowers in front of my house didn’t finish falling until mid-June.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but now I knew the reason.

Since yin spirit energy can delay the growth rate of plants, it should also be able to delay aging. In a sense, it’s a form of longevity.

I served Great-Granny a bowl of noodles with a huge portion of lobster meat. She took the chopsticks and said leisurely, “That’s why this old woman isn’t going anywhere. Just bury me on the back mountain when I die.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Tsk, you can’t stop talking about death, but you can’t bear to leave this immortality cave. Just be an old hag.”

I served myself another bowl, especially adding a lot of abalone and clams, neatly arranged, and placed it in front of Wen Ye.

Who knew this guy would cross his arms, turn his face away, and look towards the corridor of the main hall.

“I don’t want to eat noodles; I want to drink congee.”

My heart filled with anger. “You clearly said you wanted to eat it at noon, but now you want to drink congee? Wen Ye, why are you like this!”

“I’m just like this. I wanted to eat it at noon, but you didn’t make it, insisting that I drink congee. Now I don’t want to eat noodles; I want to drink congee.” He turned his head, looked down at me, acting like there was nothing I could do about it.

I was so angry that my hands were shaking. I slammed the chopsticks down. “Eat it or don’t!”

It was one thing for him to bully me at his home, but now he was throwing his weight around in my territory!

I had someone to back me up now, so why should I be afraid of him!

Great-Granny ate with gusto, not paying any attention to us. I winked and made faces at her, trying to get her to say something on my behalf, but—

“Neither of you is eating lobster, right? Xiaomai, put the shrimp here with Great-Granny; it’s hard for me to pick it up.”

I took a few deep breaths, carried the half-meter-long lobster over to her, and glared at her.

She chuckled, “This old woman has one less meal for every meal I eat, and one extra day for every day I live. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll kick the bucket and won’t be able to eat this anymore.”

“I’m still benefiting from Gong Fan’s favor, Xiaomai, when did you start buying lobster for Great-Granny to eat every day?”

I picked up my chopsticks and ate, ignoring Wen Ye, and chatting with Great-Granny. “I’m not spending a penny; I’m saving all the money to buy lobster for you, okay? Eat it quickly; it’ll get cold in a bit.”

She ate and sighed, hinting at something, “In the three realms and ten directions, birth and death happen all the time. Today we can sit together, but who knows when we’ll never see each other again? Thinking back, it’s all regret and remorse. Why bother?”

I glanced at Wen Ye faintly. He didn’t say a word, still stubbornly not touching his chopsticks.

Fine, don’t eat then!

After clearing away the dishes, I originally wanted to ask him to go to the middle-aged woman’s house with me, but seeing his sour face and unwillingness to talk to me, the anger in my chest was hard to suppress.

Why did I always have to lower myself and apologize? Just because I was taking a salary didn’t mean I should be bullied like this.

I wasn’t wrong, and this time I definitely wouldn’t take the initiative to talk to him!

I put the talisman paper and bracelet in my bag, and also brought a needle to prick my finger at any time. With triple protection, I felt a little more at ease.

If I couldn’t resolve the matter at the middle-aged woman’s house, I would at least save my own life and let them find someone else.

When I arrived at the middle-aged woman’s house again, they had already eaten. Seeing me come over, the middle-aged woman welcomed me into the living room, picking her teeth and wondering, “Didn’t your friend come with you?”

I shook my head with a smile. “He had something to do, so I came alone.”

“Auntie, what’s the deal with the jade bracelet on Grandma’s hand? Did Uncle buy it for her?”

The couple was stunned, and a look of panic flashed across the middle-aged woman’s face. She handed me an orange and laughed, “Of course your uncle bought it for her! Last year, she kept clamoring for a jade bracelet for her birthday, and your uncle is known throughout the village for his filial piety. Without saying a word, he went to the city and spent eight thousand yuan to buy her one! Eight thousand! He’s never been willing to buy me something so expensive!”

I chuckled awkwardly. It seemed that there really was something fishy about this bracelet. It definitely wasn’t bought by this couple; who knew where they stole it from.

The middle-aged uncle probed, “What’s wrong, Xiaomai? Is there a problem with the bracelet?”

I peeled the orange and shook my head. “It’s nothing; I just thought it was pretty. I thought it was a family heirloom.”

“It’s not just a family heirloom; it’s also a talisman! Last year, my mother-in-law fell from a place three meters high. If she had landed on her head, she definitely would have been done for on the spot, but she only broke her hip! Didn’t that protect her from disaster?”

“If she recovers well, she’ll definitely be able to stand up, but my mother-in-law is just lazy and doesn’t want to move. I can only take care of her like this.” The middle-aged woman boasted about herself, trying hard to appear filial.

“Her being alive is better than anything else; taking care of her is just me doing my duty as a daughter-in-law.”

The middle-aged uncle nodded slightly, deeply agreeing. “Every family has an elderly person; taking care of them is what we should do.”

“Xiaomai, what do you think is wrong with my mom? She used to be able to eat and drink, but now she’s always saying her body aches. Is there something dirty* her?”

At that moment, a painful murmur came from the west side room: “It hurts… My head hurts… Stop tormenting me… It hurts so much…”

The middle-aged uncle stood up and ran to the west side room, turning on the dim incandescent light, concerned. “Mom, where does it hurt? I’ll rub it for you.”

I followed behind. As soon as I lifted the curtain, the old woman lying on the pillow seemed like she had changed into a different person, sucking in her cheeks and smiling evilly: “Everything hurts… You rub, rub, ah…”