Chapter 20 Picking up a pet/Ruining a reputation

Qian Xiaolan followed the sound until she reached a slope. She looked up and saw a cave on the slope, with two dark, furry heads poking out. The two little guys looked like newborn puppies, making soft, adorable sounds. Qian Xiaolan knew that it couldn’t be puppies in the deep mountains, but she was really smitten by their cuteness. Especially since she now had the space to hide in, which gave her a lot of courage. Plus, the two little guys were calling out at the entrance of the cave, which clearly meant their parents weren’t home. Qian Xiaolan only hesitated for a moment before climbing up. The two little things saw her approaching and tilted their heads at her in alert.

 Unfortunately, they were too cute and had no intimidating presence at all. They stared at each other for a while. Seeing that Qian Xiaolan had no ill intentions, they came forward and circled around her. Qian Xiaolan noticed that they were probably hungry, so she took a bowl of mutton soup from the space and placed it on the ground. The two little guys sniffed it with their noses and immediately buried their heads in the food. Seeing them eating seriously, Qian Xiaolan couldn’t help but reach out and touch their little heads. The smooth, soft feeling was simply irresistible.

The bowl of soup was quickly finished. The two little guys at Qian Xiaolan again, so she added half a bowl of soup. After they finished that, she didn’t give them any more. Seeing that it was getting late, she reluctantly looked at the two little guys, got up, and prepared to return. She was already satisfied with the three Ganoderma lucidum she had collected today. She would come back to collect other treasures next time she went into the mountains.

On the way back, Qian Xiaolan didn’t deliberately look for herbs. She just picked up whatever she saw. After returning home, Qian Xiaolan tidied up the herbs a little and took a Ganoderma lucidum with her to the mule shed. Looking at the herbs laid out in front of her, Rongqian was very excited. She asked about their names and effects one by one. Seeing that Qian Xiaolan could answer them all off the top of her head, she was overjoyed. She looked at Qian Xiaolan as if she were a treasure.

“Xiaolan, you really have a talent for medicine. Why don’t you study medicine with me?” Qian Xiaolan thought for a moment before saying, “I’m really interested in herbs, but I like archaeology more.” Rongqian was a little disappointed, but she still said softly, “Why don’t you think about it again? Actually, if you’re not afraid of hardship, you can learn both.”

 That wasn’t impossible, but she really wasn’t sure if she just had a talent for recognizing herbs or if she could also treat people. Seeing the tense atmosphere, Qian Qijin laughed, “Xiaolan, don’t rush. This is about your future. It’s good to think it over slowly. Xiaoqian, don’t get excited just because you see Xiaolan’s talent. Studying medicine requires not only talent but also interest.” Qian Xiaolan nodded in agreement. Seeing Rongqian’s disappointment, she said that she would think about it for a few days and tell her the answer later. When she was about to leave, Rongqian asked her to take the Ganoderma lucidum back, but Qian Xiaolan refused. “

Aunt Rong, I didn’t just pick one Ganoderma lucidum. This one is for you to brew tea with.” She said, and before Rongqian could say anything, she turned and left. Rongqian looked at her back and her eyes gradually reddened. “Dad, how much longer?” Rongqian’s question, though seemingly random, was understood by everyone. Qian Qijin withdrew his gaze from Qian Xiaolan and sighed, “At the earliest, three months. Don’t worry. We’ve been through so many years, what’s a few more months?” Rongqian’s tears immediately flowed down. How could she not be worried? They had been hiding in this village for so many years, enduring all kinds of attacks and insults from everyone, doing work that was dirtier and harder than anyone else’s.

They were almost at their breaking point. Moreover… The more Rongqian thought about it, the sadder she felt. She turned away, covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. … The next day, when they went to work, Qian Xiaolan was still very fast. Last night, she had another dream. This time, she dreamed that the two wolf cubs she had seen yesterday were eaten by a tiger. With this on her mind, she worked with incredible speed and efficiency.

She finished a day’s work in just half a day, which made the female intellectuals assigned to her side suspect that she had been given less work than them. Because of this, Wu Qiulan specifically instigated a stupid and bold female intellectual to go to the village chief and talk about it. The village chief was so angry that he scolded her. Qian Xiaolan didn’t know what happened after she got off work. She was already at the foot of the slope again.

 The cave was still the same cave, but the two little guys were no longer at the entrance. Qian Xiaolan was startled and quickly climbed up. The scene in the cave shocked her. There were signs of a fierce battle everywhere, and blood splattered everywhere. Inside the cave, two wolves lay motionless, covered in blood. Beside them were a few black fur patches. Based on the fur and footprints, she guessed that it was a bear. Qian Xiaolan threw a clod of earth into the cave. When she saw no reaction for a long time, she carefully entered the cave. The two wolves were indeed dead, but it seemed that the big guy who had come to raid their home hadn’t fared well either. In the cave, she also saw many pieces of meat.

 A weak cry came from a corner. Qian Xiaolan turned around and saw one of the little guys calling out to her. She excitedly walked over and picked it up. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find the other one. It seemed to have been eaten by the bear. Worried that the smell of blood would attract other beasts, Qian Xiaolan carried the wolf cub away from the cave and entered the space. She poured some leftover mutton soup for the little guy. After watching it eat its fill, she comforted it before taking it home.

When she got home, she let the wolf cub run around under the table for a while before putting it down and letting it play by itself. However, the wolf cub kept following her, obviously uneasy about the unfamiliar environment. Qian Xiaolan bent down and picked it up, stroking its head, and said softly, “Don’t be afraid, little wolf. This will be your home from now on. Sister will take you to get familiar with each room, okay?” She said, picked up the wolf cub, and started walking around the different rooms. Hu Guifen and Gu Yu Jiao came knocking just as she finished her tour.

 “Xiaolan, we’ll sleep with you from now on.” Hu Guifen said as soon as she came in. Qian Xiaolan saw that their faces were pale and asked curiously, “Aunt, Yu Jiao, what happened?” Hu Guifen gritted her teeth, “That shameless Sun Honghua is spreading rumors in the village, saying that you moved back to make it easier to find men. She also said that your lover must have taken their belongings.” Qian Xiaolan frowned and continued to ask, “Aunt, did anyone else say anything?” If it were just Sun Honghua spreading rumors, Hu Guifen wouldn’t be so angry.

Gu Yu Jiao snorted, “Sister Xiaolan, on my way home from school today, I heard a woman telling Lian Erlai by the haystack to find a chance to sneak into your house at night. Even if he couldn’t do anything, as long as he ruined your reputation, your marriage with my brother wouldn’t happen. Then, you would have to marry Lian Erlai.”