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“Mother, you should tidy up the things and rest for a while. I’ll fetch the water later.”
After saying this, Chu Yue quickly turned around and pushed the cart back.
When she returned to the old house, Yun Cuihe was already starting a fire to boil water.
Chu Yue frowned. “Mother, didn’t I tell you not to fetch water? Your body is still weak. What would happen if you suddenly get dizzy again? Especially near the well, it’s too dangerous.”
She felt she had to emphasize the seriousness of the matter to make her mother pay attention to it.
Yun Cuihe smiled and placed a stick of firewood into the stove. “Don’t worry, Xinghe fetched the water, and I know my own body.”
With the recent nourishment and the strange exercises Chu Yue had taught her, her body had become a lot more agile, and she had more strength.
Chu Yue sighed with relief. Once the water boiled, she ladled it out and let it cool down, and then she and Lu Yufang carried it to the new house.
……
In less than half a day, news spread through Banpo Village that two taels of silver had been stolen from Lu Xinghe’s house, and that Lu Shanshan was the prime suspect. Almost everyone in the village, whether openly or secretly, had heard the news.
Yesterday, Lu Shanshan had returned home crying, which had distressed Chen Shufen. However, since the issue was caused by her own daughter’s mistake, she couldn’t go to the other’s house to cause trouble. She thought that the men in the family wouldn’t agree either.
Today, after hearing some sarcastic remarks about Lu Shanshan from her sisters-in-law, she finally couldn’t hold back anymore. After the others left, she exploded, clutching her waist and cursing.
“That Yun woman! My Shanshan is about to get married, and she goes and deliberately ruins Shanshan’s reputation. Does she think I’m easy to bully? I’ll make sure to turn her family upside down!”
With that, she rolled up her sleeves and was about to head out, but she was interrupted by the sound of Lu Jianqi tapping his dry tobacco pipe impatiently.
“What’s all this noise about? Isn’t it because you didn’t watch your daughter properly and let her run off and make a fool of herself? If she hadn’t gone to their house and caused trouble, would they have suspected her?”
Chen Shufen was already upset, and now that Lu Jianqi scolded her like this, her anger flared even more.
“What do you mean by that, Lu Jianqi? The outsiders are bullying us, and you’re still taking their side? Can’t you see that our daughter can’t even show her face anymore? And you’re sitting there smoking your tobacco pipe as if nothing happened? You should just go die!”
Lu Jianqi suddenly stood up. Chen Shufen thought he was going to lash out at her, so she quickly stepped back.
But the next moment, he spoke.
“You’re talking nonsense! Who doesn’t care for their own daughter? Do you think that making a scene at their place will help? The people have openly accused our daughter of stealing! Do you want me to go and join you in bullying a widow and her child? I can’t bear that shame.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Shufen’s attitude softened immediately.
“Then what should we do?”
Lu Jianqi looked troubled. “What can we do? Of course, we need to catch the thief and clear our daughter’s name. Two taels of silver isn’t a small amount; we can’t let our daughter carry this accusation for the rest of her life.”
Chen Shufen spat angrily. “They’ve framed us, and now we have to help them find the thief, but they’ll take all the benefits for themselves. We do all the work and get nothing in return. The Yun family really is bad luck! Thankfully, our Shanshan didn’t marry Lu Xinghe; they probably wouldn’t have gotten along. Bah!”
Lu Jianqi impatiently waved his hand.
“Alright, enough with the complaints. I’ll go and ask Shanshan about the situation.”
With that, he turned and walked to his daughter’s room.
……
Chu Yue and Lu Yufang delivered the water to the new house, then picked up a basket and went into the forest, hoping to find some wild vegetables.
Since Fourth Aunt had been helping out at home, it would be good if they could find some wild vegetables to improve their meals.
“Hey, Yueyue, come look here. Can this be eaten?”
Chu Yue glanced over at the spot where Lu Yufang was squatting. There was a bunch of leaves shaped like little flower buds, with small green fruits on them. Unsure, she shook her head.
“I don’t know. It’s better not to pick it.”
If something grows in such an obvious place and hasn’t been picked, it’s either inedible or poisonous. If it’s toxic, it could make them sick.
Lu Yufang smiled at her. “I didn’t expect you wouldn’t recognize this plant.”
Chu Yue shrugged and looked around. “I don’t know everything, but since I don’t recognize it, let’s not pick it.”
Lu Yufang, unwilling to give up, plucked a leaf, put it in her mouth, and immediately spat it out.
“Really bitter, disgusting.”
Chu Yue covered her mouth and smiled. “I told you not to pick random plants.”
Lu Yufang, frowning and spitting, stood up. “Let’s go look elsewhere.”
Chu Yue nodded, leading her further into the mountains.
The two walked for quite a while but found nothing. By now, it was autumn, and even the tender leaves that had been edible before had become tough and unpalatable.
Lu Yufang sighed. “We’ve been coming to the mountains every day, but it’s been so many days since we found any wild vegetables.”
Chu Yue looked up at the sky.
“It’s getting late. Since we can’t find any wild vegetables, let’s head back.”
Just as they were about to return, they suddenly heard a “cooing” sound coming from a nearby bunch of reed grass.
Lu Yufang, who was more timid, jumped behind Chu Yue in fright.
Chu Yue placed the basket in Lu Yufang’s hand and whispered, “Wait here for me, I’ll go take a look.”
Lu Yufang grabbed Chu Yue’s arm, “Are you crazy? What if there’s something poisonous?”
Snakes in autumn can be very poisonous.
Chu Yue pulled her arm away.
“Don’t worry, I’ll just take a look from afar. If it’s poisonous, I’ll run away.”
Lu Yufang couldn’t persuade Chu Yue and could only stand there anxiously with the basket.
Yueyue looked delicate and fragile, how could she be so bold?
Chu Yue carefully moved forward a few steps. When she vaguely saw some brownish-black fur with spots peeking through the half-green, half-yellow reed grass ahead, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Her guess was correct—the sound they had heard earlier was indeed a wild chicken.
When she was only two meters away from the patch of reed grass, Chu Yue stopped and crouched down slowly. Then, with a quick lunge, she reached out and grabbed the feathers on the wild chicken’s wing just as it tried to escape.
“Yufang, come quickly with the basket! There are so many wild chicken eggs here!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a snake suddenly leapt out from the grass, its mouth wide open, aiming to bite her. Frightened, Chu Yue immediately turned around and ran, shouting as she went, “Yufang, don’t come over! Run!”