Chapter 17 Being Dependence

Qian Xiaolan stepped out of her house and immediately saw Qian Rongsheng lingering nearby. She raised an eyebrow, gestured to him, and walked towards the mountains. Qian Rongsheng’s heart leaped with joy. He looked around, saw that no one was paying attention, and quickly followed Qian Xiaolan into the mountains. Seeing him following, Qian Xiaolan got straight to the point, “Brother Rongsheng, did something happen to you these past two days?” Thinking about what had happened, a look of disgust flashed across Qian Rongsheng’s face.

 He looked at Qian Xiaolan for help, “I finished work late that day, and I didn’t notice a girl at the corner. I accidentally bumped into her and she fell. Now, this girl keeps coming to me, saying I ruined her reputation and that I need to take responsibility. The problem is, I didn’t even touch her. She was carrying a bamboo basket, and I bumped into her basket, causing her to fall. What kind of identity do I have? How could I possibly agree to this?” Qian Rongsheng was about to die of frustration.

He didn’t even dare to tell his grandfather, father-in-law, or mother about this, fearing they would be angry. Qian Xiaolan listened sympathetically, then asked curiously, “You told me this, what do you want me to do?” Qian Rongsheng was silent for a moment before saying, “Can you hide in the shadows and scare her away the next time she asks me out? I know my request is a bit excessive, but I really have no choice. I’ve used up all my excuses, and she just won’t let go.”

 “That’s no problem.” Qian Xiaolan agreed readily. Seeing that she had no objections, Qian Rongsheng’s heart settled. It was embarrassing to admit, but he had big ambitions and couldn’t just marry anyone. Seeing that he had nothing else to say, Qian Xiaolan clapped her hands, “You’re done. Now it’s my turn. I caught a wild mountain goat in my trap today. I need Brother Rongsheng’s help to kill it.” “No problem. Let’s kill it by the creek.” Qian Rongsheng readily agreed and sighed, “Xiaolan has been very lucky these past few days. How heavy is that sheep? Let’s carry it together.” “It’s a male sheep, about a hundred pounds. I can carry it myself.” Qian Xiaolan shook her head and refused with a smile. She turned around and carried the mountain goat back herself.

The two of them squatted by the downstream creek and worked for over half an hour before they managed to slaughter the fat sheep and chop one leg into small pieces. Considering that the mule shed wasn’t convenient for stewing soup, Qian Xiaolan took the mutton and offal back home. After stewing the soup and stir-frying the offal, she filled two enamel mugs with soup and a heaping enamel bowl with offal and sent them to the mule shed. She also asked Rongqian and Xu Wanting for a few medical books and books on archaeology. She couldn’t help it. With such a treasure as the small space, she felt like she was wasting time if she didn’t learn something.

After returning home, she went into the space and completed the transaction with Mr. Gu, who had finally acquired a surname. She also gave him a box of self-heating rice. The rest of the things were her commission. When she came out of the space, she saw two wild rabbits lying in the corner. Thinking of the Gu family, who had always been so kind to her, she took the rabbits to Gu Changshun’s house and gave one to Hu Guifen, asking her to kill it for extra food tomorrow. Seeing everyone’s surprised faces, she told them about setting traps in the mountains. The entire Gu family, young and old, praised her. Qian Xiaolan smiled and said to them, “I’ll trouble one of the Gu brothers to take this rabbit and give it to the village chief.” “Okay, okay, you’re so thoughtful.

Let your third brother send it to his uncle.” Hu Guifen was both happy and heartbroken to see her being so considerate. Before leaving, Qian Xiaolan was given a bunch of fruits and vegetables and a fish. Hu Guifen saw her off at the door and worriedly said, “You’re sleeping alone. Don’t sleep too soundly. You have so much money on you, those people will eventually have bad intentions. Why don’t you let Yu Jiao and me sleep with you? If something happens, we can help.” Qian Xiaolan declined her offer again, “Aunt, there’s no need to bother. I can handle it myself.”

 It wasn’t that she didn’t want to have a peer to play with, but she was actually afraid that someone would break in at night. If something happened to Hu Guifen and her daughter, she would be guilty for the rest of her life. Qian Xiaolan went back home, took a shower, drank a bowl of warm mutton soup, ate a small bowl of stir-fried offal, and then went into the space to read. She first found a herbal atlas from the medical books Rongqian had given her and sat in a chair to flip through it.

 In many of the time-travel novels she had read, the female protagonists either had excellent medical skills or had a lucky charm, and they could find a bunch of precious herbs every time they went into the mountains. However, in her case, let alone medical skills, even if precious herbs were right under her feet, she wouldn’t recognize them. Therefore, in order to not miss out on great wealth, she had to learn to recognize herbs first. As for whether or not she should learn medicine, she didn’t know if she had the talent, so she decided to read a few books first. After reading for over ten hours in the space, only four hours had passed outside.

Qian Xiaolan’s eyes were tired, so she lay down and took a nap. When she woke up, she still had time, so she read for a while before leaving the space to go to work. The morning passed peacefully. When it was time to get off work, Qian Rongsheng appeared not far from her and gestured to her quietly. Qian Xiaolan didn’t say anything and quietly followed him into the small forest. Standing in the small forest was a thin girl wearing a military green polyester shirt and two braids. When she saw Qian Rongsheng arrive, she said unhappily, “Qian Rongsheng, why are you so slow? I have to go back to cook.

 Just say it. Are you going to marry me or not?” “No.” Qian Rongsheng answered decisively. The girl immediately became furious, “Qian Rongsheng, you’re just a guy living in a mule shed. I don’t even mind that, what reason do you have to refuse me?” Qian Rongsheng looked at her deeply, “Then tell me, why don’t you mind my status? Aren’t you afraid that marrying me will cause trouble, like being dragged out and scolded every now and then like before?” The other party fell silent. Qian Xiaolan also fell silent when the girl spoke. She was hiding in a tree some distance away from the two of them. Hearing the girl’s voice, she almost fell out of the tree.

 It was really funny. Wasn’t she still having a wild time with Chen Zhiming in the mountains yesterday? How come she’s suddenly clinging to Qian Rongsheng now?