Chapter 25: You Did It on Purpose

“Not much? I think it’s quite a lot,” Su Miaomiao said as she dropped her basket to the ground.

It was filled to the brim with herbs—almost overflowing.

The expression on Chen Haoqiang’s face froze instantly. He didn’t know how to respond.

“What’s there to show off about? You went off on your own to dig those herbs anyway! I think you already found a spot rich in herbs and didn’t want us to share in the credit, so you purposely ditched us here!”
Deng Siyue had already been full of resentment, and now she couldn’t hold it in anymore—she shouted outright.

Su Miaomiao finally spared her a glance.

But that look was ice-cold, chilling to the bone.

Deng Siyue instinctively stepped back. Then, remembering that Chen Haoqiang was also there, she figured Su Miaomiao wouldn’t dare do anything and immediately straightened up again.

“Why are you glaring at me? I’m not wrong!”

“Grandpa Zhao told me you two had studied medicine and could identify herbs—that’s the only reason I agreed to take you up the mountain. If I had known you were bluffing, I wouldn’t have wasted my time bringing you along,” Su Miaomiao said slowly and calmly.

Chen Haoqiang immediately broke into a cold sweat upon hearing that.

Harvesting herbs on the mountain was far better than working in the cornfields.

No supervisors, and he could even slack off a bit.

He was planning to come with Su Miaomiao again tomorrow.

But if she went to the village chief and said they weren’t up for the job, he’d be sent back to pluck corn ears in the blazing sun.

“Comrade Su, maybe Grandpa Zhao didn’t explain clearly. We’ve only learned the basics—just a few common herbs. And today was our first time in the mountains, so we’re unfamiliar with the terrain. Give us a few more days and we’ll definitely become more efficient,” Chen Haoqiang said in the gentlest tone he could muster.

Trying his best to portray himself as a hardworking and eager-to-learn young man.

Su Miaomiao didn’t respond. She just gave him a faint glance before picking up her basket and walking down the mountain.

That single glance made Chen Haoqiang feel like she had seen right through him.

Impossible. She’s just a woman—how could she possibly see through me?

“Stop sitting around—get up, we’re heading down,” he snapped at Deng Siyue, now flustered and irritated. Without waiting, he picked up his basket and hurried after Su Miaomiao.

Seeing his attitude, Deng Siyue was so angry she could almost spit blood.

That woman—other than being a little pretty—what else does she have?

Arrogant and rude—why is everyone fawning over her?

Deng Siyue had liked Chen Haoqiang for years. She had helped him both openly and secretly, even secretly given him her own rations.

But he never said a word in return.

Now, seeing how fixated he was on Su Miaomiao, she could barely stop herself from wanting to tear Su Miaomiao’s face off.

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Su Miaomiao was carrying her basket and had just arrived at the entrance to the village when she saw a group of little kids rushing by with buckets in their hands.

But when they passed by her, they all stopped.

“Sister Su, thank you for what you did for Goudan!”
The oldest child among them thanked her sincerely.

“No need to thank me,” Su Miaomiao replied.

She didn’t like scheming adults, but her attitude softened a lot when it came to pure, innocent children.

“We found these loaches in the field earlier—these are for you!”
Huzi offered the bucket in his hands to Su Miaomiao.

Inside were five or six thumb-sized yellow loaches, squirming around.

Su Miaomiao’s eyes lit up—loaches were good stuff.

It’s just that nowadays, people don’t really know how to handle loaches—or rather, it’s not that they can’t, but they’re unwilling to use precious oil and salt, and they can’t afford spices.

Most just boil them in plain water. But that doesn’t remove the earthy, muddy taste, which greatly affects the flavor.

Plus, there isn’t much meat on them, and they’re troublesome to catch. So villagers rarely go out of their way to get them.

Usually, it’s just the kids who catch some and bring them home to make soup.

Even if it doesn’t taste great, at least it gives a hint of something meaty.

But for Su Miaomiao, this wasn’t a problem at all—she had plenty of seasonings in her space.

“Thank you, but I can’t just take your things,” Su Miaomiao said as she set her basket down.

She slipped her hand into her pocket, as if rummaging for something.

In truth, she was pulling out a few White Rabbit milk candies from her storage space.

She held them out to Huzi.
“Let’s trade, okay?”

The moment Huzi and the little kids behind him saw the White Rabbit candies in Su Miaomiao’s hand, their eyes lit up, and they began swallowing hard.

Huzi’s mouth was practically watering, but he pinched his thigh hard and forced himself to look away from the sweet-smelling candies.

“Sister Su, we caught these loaches to thank you. Goudan is our best friend. If I take your candy, it wouldn’t be gratitude anymore.”

Su Miaomiao couldn’t help but laugh when she heard how earnestly he spoke.

What a principled little guy.

He looked no more than six or seven, yet he could resist the temptation of candy?

The kids behind him, who were even younger, weren’t as good at hiding their emotions. They stared at the candy like starving wolves.

But—not a single one of them reached out to ask for it, and none tried to snatch it.

Su Miaomiao crouched down and took the small bucket Huzi handed over.

“I accept your thanks,” she said with a gentle smile.

Huzi grinned widely. His sun-darkened little face looked especially endearing with that pure smile.

“We’ll head off now,” Huzi said. After completing his mission, he turned around, ready to leave with his group of little followers.

They still wanted to dig up more loaches and eels to bring to the county hospital for Goudan.

Goudan had injured his eye trying to hunt birds for them—they couldn’t forget his kindness.

“Wait.”
Just then, Su Miaomiao suddenly called out to them.

“Sister Su, is there something else?” Huzi looked back.

“I might need your help with something this afternoon. These candies are your advance payment,” she said, stuffing the sweets into Huzi’s hands.

“What kind of help do you need?” Huzi, hearing that she had a task for them, thought for a moment and decided not to give the candy back.

“Come find me at the medicine hall after lunch. I’ll explain then,” Su Miaomiao replied.

Huzi thought it over and nodded.
“Okay, we’ll come over later.”

“Great. I’ll head off now then. Don’t forget to come on time,” she said with a wave and turned to leave with her basket.

“Huzi-ge, are these candies really ours now?”
As soon as Su Miaomiao was out of sight, the other kids immediately swarmed around Huzi.

He stuffed all the candies into his pants pocket and put on a stern face.

“No one is allowed to snatch them!”