Ruan Qiaoqiao ran over excitedly and stuffed the rabbit-catching net into Fu Wenzhou’s hands like she was presenting treasure. Then she pulled eighty yuan out of her pocket and waved it proudly.
“Two rabbits! I caught them using the traps I set in the woods. And I even tricked those four beasts into giving me eighty yuan. I bought so many things with it too!”
Fu Wenzhou took the rabbits from her hands and quietly listened as she spoke animatedly, not interrupting her once.
Meanwhile, An’an stood to the side with a disapproving expression.
He knew his stepmother had cheated someone out of money, yet his father didn’t even scold her. In his eyes, his father was becoming less and less principled.
Her brother was a thief, and now she was no better.
“Money gained by cheating isn’t clean money. Who would even want it? Your family’s values are terrible. Your character is awful too!”
The moment those words fell, Fu Wenzhou’s expression turned stern as he looked down at An’an.
“Fu Heng’an! Who taught you to speak to elders like that?”
An’an pouted in grievance. He didn’t think he had said anything wrong.
But instead of getting angry, Ruan Qiaoqiao lightly flicked his forehead.
“When those people were beating up your father, they weren’t acting like gentlemen. So why should we?”
She crouched slightly to look at him seriously.
“Being kind is good, but being kind to bad people only encourages evil. That’s foolishness.”
“You should remember this: if someone devours my flesh and blood, then I’ll crush their bones in return. To put it simply—if someone punches me once, I’ll kick them back. That’s called returning courtesy properly. Understand?”
“You’re still young. Don’t become so rigid and naive.”
An’an looked confused.
This was completely different from everything he had been taught growing up.
He instinctively looked toward Fu Wenzhou, waiting for his father to refute this ridiculous logic.
But Fu Wenzhou simply replied calmly:
“Just listen to your stepmother.”
Then, clearly unwilling to let the topic continue, he turned to Ruan Qiaoqiao.
“When did you set the trap? And where?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao instantly froze.
Why was he suddenly asking that?
Panic rose immediately.
“Uh… yesterday, when I went up the mountain looking for you. I casually set it around the middle of the mountain.”
Afraid he might connect it to what happened last night, she quickly pointed westward.
“Over there. On the western side.”
The place where Fu Wenzhou had beaten that man was on the eastern side. She absolutely had to avoid that topic.
Seeing her obvious attempt to cover things up, Fu Wenzhou’s handsome face curved into a teasing smile. Leaning close to her ear, he spoke lazily:
“Oh? You went east to look for me, but set traps in the west?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao nervously swallowed.
What was he trying to say now?
Was he testing her again?
“Seems like you had pretty good foresight. You already knew there were rabbits there.”
Ruan Qiaoqiao finally breathed out in relief.
This man seriously had issues. Why did he always pause dramatically when talking?
“I already told you,” she said quickly, “I used to go into the mountains often with my grandfather and father to gather herbs, so I naturally pay attention to animal tracks.”
Then she hurriedly changed the topic.
“Let’s stew one rabbit for lunch today.”
Fu Wenzhou didn’t object.
An’an remained indifferent, but Kangkang’s eyes were full of anticipation.
Seeing all three males staring at her, Fu Wenzhou casually pushed the rabbit toward her.
Ruan Qiaoqiao’s eyes widened.
Wait.
Did he expect her to kill it?
She immediately looked at him.
“I can’t kill rabbits!”
“Aren’t you studying medicine?”
“I study traditional medicine!”
Fu Wenzhou narrowed his peach blossom eyes and spoke with fake innocence.
“But I can’t kill it either.”
Ruan Qiaoqiao: “…”
Bullshit.
Fu Wenzhou completely ignored the glare she shot him and continued lazily:
“I’m naturally soft-hearted. I can’t handle bloody things like this. So what should we do? Maybe we just shouldn’t eat the rabbit.”
Listen to him.
Was this even human speech?
Then who exactly was the person she saw last night punching someone’s face bloody in the woods?
A ghost?
Fuming, she snatched the rabbit net back from him.
Fine.
You’re delicate and precious, aren’t you? Then I’ll do it myself.
She walked over to a nearby stone and stared at the rabbit for nearly half a minute before finally hardening her heart, squeezing her eyes shut, and doing it.
Since all the kitchen seasonings had already been bought, the rabbit stew turned out incredibly fragrant.
The one big and two small men all ate enthusiastically, which filled Ruan Qiaoqiao with a great sense of accomplishment.
After lunch, she rested briefly before thinking seriously about their future.
A family with no work points couldn’t survive forever on compensation money alone.
She still had to keep up the act of making a living through gathering herbs.
So she carried her basket and shovel back into the mountains to try her luck again.
As expected, fortune favored her once more.
After walking barely a hundred meters into the deeper woods, she spotted a patch of plants that looked suspiciously like polygonatum.
“Oh wow… these are actually Solomon’s seal roots!”
The heavens really were showering her with treasures.
Grinning widely, she grabbed her little shovel and began digging enthusiastically across the mountain.
But the mountain soil was hard. By the time she finished digging more than a dozen roots, her arms were sore.
No matter what, she had to visit the county tomorrow.
She needed to sell the ginseng and this basket of herbs quickly and turn them into cash.
She deliberately waited until before sunset and followed the workers heading home down the mountain.
Naturally, the sight of her harvesting so many good things attracted more envy from everyone around.
When she got home, Fu Wenzhou had already reheated the leftover rabbit stew and steamed a small pot of rice.
Ruan Qiaoqiao happily shared the results of her afternoon’s labor with them.
Just as the family of four was about to eat, a cautious female voice came from outside the door.
“Excuse me… is this Ruan Qiaoqiao’s home?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ruan Qiaoqiao’s eyes lit up. She immediately put down her chopsticks and rushed to open the door.
Standing outside was An Ruyi, wearing a white dress, carrying a fashionable black handbag, and holding a small cloth bag.
“Ruyi? Why are you here at this hour?”
Seeing Ruan Qiaoqiao, An Ruyi suppressed the heartache she felt upon seeing the shabby straw house and greeted her with a smile.
“I came after work specifically to bring you good news.”
“Your enrollment in the training class has been approved. I already signed you up at the hospital, but tomorrow you’ll need to go there yourself for an interview. Four days after the interview there’ll be a written exam. If you pass both, you can officially start training on the first of next month.”
Ruan Qiaoqiao’s face instantly brightened with joy.
“That’s amazing news!”
As she spoke, the door behind her opened and Fu Wenzhou stepped out of the house.
An Ruyi had been about to continue speaking, but the moment she saw his face, her eyes nearly popped out.
Good heavens.
How could there actually be a man this handsome in the world?!