Chapter 35: The Widow’s Group

In the afternoon, Huang Yuanying returned from outside the valley, bringing back two hens for Tian Mi, saying they were laying hens. She needed to eat more eggs to nourish her body while raising her children.

Tian Mi graciously thanked him. Huang Yuanying, 21 years old, was a scholar, humble and gentle, and would surely have a bright future ahead. Such a young man! Tian Mi could sense his intentions.

However, she still had her boundaries; although it was tempting to be kept by a rich and handsome man, she couldn’t take advent age of someone close to her.

It was worth it to have someone to be a lifelong mentor and friend, but she must not complicate the relationship.

Moreover, she had just given birth less than a month ago; was she a qualified mother? How could she be so reckless?

After more than half a month, the little seedlings had grown very lush, bursting with vitality. Tian Mi, Sister Minghui, her second cousin, Xu Feiyan, Chen Miaomiao, and Aunt Feng all carefully transplanted each little seedling into the ground. The soil had been tilled twice, much more delicately than the potato planting, and they even used more fertilizer.

Aunt Feng joked, “If this doesn’t grow gold, it would be a shame for the hard work of the oxen!”

Everyone laughed brightly; they had never cared for seedlings like this before.

During this time, Tian Mi’s courtyard was fragrant every day. She collected a lot of wildflowers, dried them all, and told everyone to continue foraging.

Her maternal grandfather and second aunt were playing with the two little babies in the courtyard. Now the babies had lost the bright red color they had at birth and turned into soft, white, chubby little ones. When they saw Tian Mi, they cried out, showing toothless smiles. Oh my, they were so adorable! It melted everyone’s hearts. Sister Minghui and Xu Feiyan hurried to fight over holding the babies, cherishing them immensely.

Sister Minghui said, “Mi’er, your husband must be very handsome! Just look at these two babies; they’re simply adorable!”

Tian Mi replied, “Of course he is; if he weren’t handsome, he wouldn’t be my husband.”

If he weren’t handsome enough to capture attention, the original owner wouldn’t have done such a thing!

Tian Mi had finished her confinement, and this past month had been quite suffocating for her. Everyone had prevented her from leaving the valley; she had only sneaked out once and returned quickly.

Now, she left the two one-month-old babies with Sister Minghui, and she, along with Xu Feiyan and Chen Miaomiao, set off from the valley with weapons and water bottles.

Now that the fields were planted, the people from the valley went to dig for medicinal herbs and wild vegetables, while the men went hunting.

There wasn’t much food left at home, and Tian Mi hadn’t found an opportunity to go out. If only she could bring back some grains; she still had plenty in her space.

This season, wild vegetables were abundant, and she had eaten quite a bit these days. However, in this era, spices were scarce. Without meat broth as a base, Tian Mi really couldn’t eat much.

At that time, Tian Mi hadn’t planned to look for wild vegetables. Xu Feiyan had seen how much game Tian Mi had caught last year and had been itching to go hunting. Back then, she insisted on going with her every day, but now that things weren’t so busy, they could do whatever they wanted. The three of them went up the mountain to hunt for big meat.

This time, they headed towards the left side of the mountain, where it wasn’t as steep. This season, the mountain was truly comfortable; although it was still a bit cold, the scenery was beautiful, with tender green leaves that were clean and lovely, and the air was filled with the fragrance of wildflowers.

Butterflies danced gracefully, and bees buzzed all around, creating a lively atmosphere.

The three of them climbed the back mountain for almost an hour without encountering any game, but they did come across a loquat grove. The trees were laden with ripe loquats, their yellow color very tempting.

The three of them immediately dropped their weapons and climbed the trees. The trees were so straight that they were easy to climb. Tian Mi, in a fit of energy, pulled a tree up by its roots.

Xu Feiyan laughed so hard she almost lost her breath, saying, “I knew that being with Sister Tian Mi wouldn’t get us bullied. A little loquat tree thinks it can mess with us? Not a chance!”

The three of them sat happily by the fallen tree, eating loquats.

Tian Mi said, “There are so many! With such a large loquat grove, let’s call everyone to come pick them tomorrow and then make loquat syrup to sell when we get back.”

Chen Miaomiao said, “Sure, that damn King Yu doesn’t know when he’ll be finished. Business is tough with all this chaos.”

A few days ago, she heard Zuo Zhengfeng say that the emperor had sent Ding Wang to subdue King Yu. Bai Dongyuan had already arranged the troops to the county seat in front. That place was experiencing severe drought, and many people had moved away. Bai Dongyuan needed to negotiate with the court, but first, he had to have the qualifications to negotiate, which meant he had to defeat the court and possess the ability to contend with them; otherwise, he wouldn’t even have the chance to negotiate.

Tian Mi said, “Let’s not worry about that now; when the time comes, we’ll just take it out to sell!”

It had been a long time since they felt this relaxed. The three of them were exceptionally happy while eating, and in the end, they were full and lay on the ground, watching the white clouds drift across the blue sky.

Xu Feiyan sighed, “What a carefree life! Thankfully, we fled; otherwise, I would have gotten married and wouldn’t be able to enjoy this good life!”

Tian Mi was almost startled by the girl; she shouldn’t be someone from this era!

Tian Mi asked, “You don’t feel at all sorry for your fiancé?”

Xu Feiyan replied, “What’s there to feel sorry about? Sorry for my carefree life?”

Tian Mi asked again, “Then what kind of person do you want to marry?”

Xu Feiyan flipped over, propping her chin on her hands while looking at Tian Mi and said, “I don’t care what kind of person I marry, as long as he’s near Sister Tian Mi. If his family bullies me, we can take an axe and chop them!”

Tian Mi and Chen Miaomiao burst out laughing, almost out of breath.

Xu Feiyan rolled her eyes at them and said, “Do you think I’m joking? When you two got lost, my first reaction was, ‘It’s over, it’s over, my life is over; I won’t dare to speak loudly again.’”

Tian Mi couldn’t stop laughing at her expression; the original owner really did protect her like this.

Tian Mi casually said, “Then why would you want to marry? Just like me, find a rich and handsome man to support you!”

Who would have thought that Xu Feiyan would be so spirited? She sat up and said, “Hey! That’s right! We can form a widow group: Sister Minghui, Sister Beibei, Sister Tian Mi, me, and Miaomiao. None of us will marry outside!”

Tian Mi nearly choked, coughing non-stop. This girl was going to scare her to death. She glanced at Chen Miaomiao, who was laughing uncontrollably; it seemed she was trying to lead her astray.

“When did you and Miaomiao become widows?”

Xu Feiyan said, “You could say that! As long as we don’t get married, it’s fine.”

In this era, widows can either remarry or welcome suitors without marrying.

The more she spoke, the more she thought it was a good idea. She slapped her thigh and said, “It’s settled then! I’ll talk to Sister Minghui and Sister Beibei tonight. From now on, we five will form a widow group.”

Tian Mi, not wanting to be rude, didn’t dare speak up. After all, Aunt Bai and Second Aunt wouldn’t beat her; they only targeted those two.

It wasn’t late, and the three of them lifted their large sabers, slowly heading back. Xu Feiyan was still chattering away, saying, “Once this disaster is over and human trafficking becomes rampant, we can pick the best-looking and most obedient ones. If they dare to be disobedient, we’ll beat them! Or we could wait until we have more money and find a poor student who listens to us to come as a suitor.”

When they reached the cliff, they saw two people ahead — Zhou Er and their second cousin. Zhou Er handed a handful of wildflowers to the second cousin. She blushed and ran away after accepting them, while Zhou Er hurriedly chased after her.

The three of them were dumbfounded. Chen Miaomiao looked at Xu Feiyan with great regret and said, “Oh no, before our widow group even forms, it’s about to break up!”

Xu Feiyan stomped her foot in frustration, saying, “When did they ever get together? I didn’t notice anything! It doesn’t matter; even if one person is missing, the group can still form. Besides, there’s still Sister Minghui!”

Zhou Er was a decent young man; the second cousin got along well with him. Tian Mi secretly laughed, thinking that spring had come—this was the season for love. Only Xu Feiyan, that silly girl, was thinking about becoming a widow.