As for the wild chicken that had already died, Gu Shiyi decided to stew it for soup tomorrow.
For the one that was still alive, she had other plans.
She decided to raise it and let it lay eggs, so she would have eggs to eat in the future.
In this era of scarce resources, eggs were a rare and valuable source of nutrition.
That night, Gu Shiyi let the live chicken stay in the space first.
After running such a long distance that day, her body was already exhausted.
She found a bamboo mat in the room, spread it on the ground inside the space, then brought in two thick quilts and laid them out.
Once everything was ready, Gu Shiyi lay down on the soft bedding with relief. She closed her eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
However, while Gu Shiyi was fast asleep, a very different scene was unfolding in Dahe Village at the foot of the mountain.
As night fell, the village chief led a group of anxious villagers, holding torches, searching everywhere for Gu Shiyi.
When Cui Shi, Gu Shiyi’s stepmother, still hadn’t seen her return home after dark, she began to feel uneasy.
However, her worry was not out of genuine concern for her stepdaughter, but because she had already accepted twenty taels of silver as a deposit from Steward Liu’s family.
Now that her stepdaughter was missing, if Gu Shiyi did not return safely, the Liu family would definitely come to demand the money back. What should she do then?
Wouldn’t that silver she had already received just go to waste?
Although Cui Shi had a small amount of savings, it was far from enough.
After all, her son was studying in the county, preparing for the imperial examinations—to become a xiucai, then a juren, and eventually a jinshi.
All of that required a huge amount of money, and what she had on hand was nowhere near enough.
Fortunately, fate had given her an opportunity. Not long ago, Cui Shi had managed to establish some connections in town and learned that Steward Liu was willing to pay a large sum to marry a young maiden as his second wife.
When she heard this news, she was overjoyed.
She immediately thought of her stepdaughter—wasn’t she exactly a young, unmarried girl?
Moreover, her stepdaughter was exceptionally beautiful, truly as lovely as a fairy.
This wasn’t just her exaggeration—within miles around, her stepdaughter’s beauty was unmatched.
When Gu Shiyi’s father was still alive, he had always feared that others might covet his daughter’s looks. He would make her smear soot on her face before going out.
Not only that, but he also made her mess up her hair and wear plain, shabby clothes so that she looked unattractive.
When Cui Shi saw that Gu Shiyi still hadn’t returned, she waited and waited, but there was no sign of her. Finally, she couldn’t hold back any longer and hurried to the village chief’s house.
As soon as she entered, she burst into loud sobs, her cries echoing as if they could pierce through the roof.
“Village Chief! My poor daughter!” Cui Shi wailed, her voice filled with despair and helplessness. “She went up the mountain this afternoon to cut grass, and she still hasn’t come back! What should I do?”
She cried as she spoke, tears streaming down like a broken dam.
Every word was filled with deep worry and fear for her daughter, moving everyone who heard her.
Her performance perfectly portrayed the image of a loving mother, making it seem as if she cared deeply for her child.
She emphasized how important her daughter was to her and even mentioned her deceased husband, saying that he had only left behind this one daughter. If anything happened to her, she wouldn’t know how to face him in the afterlife.
Her crying attracted many villagers, who were deeply moved by her sorrow.
Several women even shed tears of sympathy and stepped forward to comfort her.
The village chief’s wife, Madam Hu, helped Cui Shi up from the ground and gently comforted her, “Sister-in-law, don’t cry anymore. Get up, and let’s think of a solution together.”
Village Chief Gu Chang’an also felt deeply anxious upon seeing this scene. After all, his “brother” was gone, and only this one daughter remained.
Although Gu Shiguang was also registered under Gu Shiyi’s father’s name, he was not his biological child, and the difference was obvious.
For clarity, Gu Shiguang was the so-called “adopted younger brother” of Gu Shiyi.
“Don’t worry for now,” Gu Chang’an said decisively. “I’ll organize people to search the mountains immediately. Shiyi is a sensible child—nothing should happen to her.”
He promptly struck a gong, gathering the men of the village at the entrance, preparing to lead a search party into the mountains.
Dahe Village had over a hundred households and nearly two thousand people.
Most of them shared the surname Gu, and many were related to each other in one way or another.
There were also a few families with other surnames, such as Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang, Shen, Han, Yang, He, Lü, Shi, and Zhang.
Despite the different surnames, they had lived together in the village for many years and were as close as one big family.
By seniority, Gu Chang’an and Gu Shiyi’s father could be considered brothers, though in reality, they did not share direct blood relations.
Clearing his throat, Gu Chang’an addressed the villagers, “Everyone, Shiyi is missing. We must go into the mountains and look for her. We are all from the same village, connected one way or another. Now that she’s in trouble, we can’t just stand by.”
The villagers nodded in agreement, all willing to help search for Gu Shiyi.
After all, when Gu Shiyi’s father was alive, he had been an honest and kind man, well-liked by everyone in the village.
Upon hearing that his daughter had gone missing, the villagers didn’t hesitate. They quickly gathered in groups, lit torches, and hurried into the nearby mountains to search.
Unfortunately, despite searching all night and even combing through the entire back mountain, they still could not find any trace of Gu Shiyi.
After a whole night of searching, the villagers were utterly exhausted.
In the end, they had no choice but to give up and return to the village.
Seeing that no one had been found, Cui Shi began to scheme again. The twenty taels of silver from Steward Liu must not be returned. Since the girl couldn’t be found, she would have to think of another plan.
With her mind made up, Cui Shi immediately began to take action.