But now, wearing his old clothes as he sweated in the fields, aside from his decent-looking face, there was nothing distinguishing him from anyone else.
While everyone was working in the fields, Su Qingran walking along the path was particularly eye-catching.
“Mom, little sister has brought mung bean soup,” Su Yuanfeng called out to Zhao Lanzhi. They had still been at home earlier when Su Qingran was preparing the mung bean soup.
Zhao Lanzhi was also extremely hot. She wiped her sweat and said, “Alright, let’s take a break and go have some mung bean soup.”
Huang Cuicui swallowed hard at the thought of the chilled mung bean soup…
With Second Brother absent, Su Qingran had only brought five bowls. The mung bean soup poured from the thermos still emitted a cool vapor. Just looking at it made Su Hongshan feel refreshed. He gulped down the entire bowl in two big swallows.
“Dad, would you like some more? There’s plenty left.”
“Ranran, have you had any yet?”
“I’ve already had some.”
“Good, then give me a bit more.” Su Hongshan smacked his lips appreciatively. The sweetened mung bean soup was definitely better than the unsweetened version.
Nearby, Lu Yunxi watched with envious eyes, feeling somewhat hopeful. Su Qingran had brought water for the Su family before, and since their families’ plots were basically adjacent, she and Li Lan had occasionally gotten to drink some too.
But seeing Su Hongshan drink a second bowl, followed by Zhao Lanzhi and Huang Cuicui pouring themselves second servings, she began to grow anxious. What if they finished all the mung bean soup?
“Brother…”
Lu Jingxuan gazed intently at Su Qingran. He was still angry about the manure incident at the Su family home, but he remained convinced that Su Qingran wouldn’t give up on their marriage arrangement. After all, besides him, she couldn’t possibly find a better man than him in Su Family Village.
And since Su Qingran was the type who coveted vanity, how could she possibly let him go?
So he had decided to give her the cold shoulder, never expecting that she wouldn’t come looking for him at all.
A faint, almost imperceptible unease stirred in Lu Jingxuan’s heart—the disquiet of things not unfolding as expected, of losing control.
Su Qingran couldn’t even be bothered to glance at Lu Jingxuan and continued pouring a second bowl of mung bean soup for her eldest brother.
Lu Yunxi grew completely frantic. Setting aside her pride, she hurried over to the path and asked with an ingratiating smile, “Sister Qingran, I’m really thirsty too. Do you have any extra water left?”
“No.”
Lu Yunxi grew desperate. “But I saw there’s still some in the thermos…”
“I said no, so it’s no. Can’t you understand plain speech?”
“It’s just a little mung bean soup. Do you have to be like this?” Lu Jingxuan had approached without her noticing. He stared at Su Qingran, his tone displeased.
With Su Junze absent, Huang Cuicui was the most outspoken among the Su family. Having just enjoyed her sister-in-law’s sweetened mung bean soup, she naturally stepped up to defend her.
“Hey, ‘just a little mung bean soup’? Then why is your sister shamelessly eyeing someone else’s mung bean soup? No one’s food comes from thin air! We already said there’s none left, yet you still trail behind begging for it. In all my years, I’ve never seen anyone with such thick skin!”
Lu Yunxi’s face flushed with humiliation, shifting between pale and red. She looked pitifully at Su Qingran. “Sister Qingran, are you just going to stand by while your sister-in-law insults me like this? We used to be so close…”
Su Qingran smiled, “I used to be nice to you because your brother and I were discussing marriage. Now that our engagement is off, it’s only proper to keep our distance. Otherwise, wouldn’t your future sister-in-law be upset if she knew we remained so close?”
“It wouldn’t do to cause arguments between your brother and his wife later.”
Lu Jingxuan, however, misinterpreted Su Qingran’s words as jealousy, thinking she still cared for him. Feeling somewhat reassured, he no longer minded about the Mung Bean Soup. “Yunxi, be good. Your sister Qingran doesn’t have enough Mung Bean Soup left. We’ll have some when we get home.”
“There’s plenty left! I saw there’s still some in her thermos! She just doesn’t want to give me any! How stingy!” Lu Yunxi felt terribly wronged. How could her brother take Su Qingran’s side?
“Yunxi!” Lu Jingxuan frowned, looking at her with displeasure. “Aren’t you going to apologize to your sister Qingran?”
She would never apologize! It wasn’t her fault!
Lu Yunxi snorted and stalked off to the fields without looking back.
“Sorry, Qingran. Yunxi is still immature. Please don’t hold it against her.”
“There is still Mung Bean Soup in my thermos. I just don’t want to give her any.”
“You…” Lu Jingxuan’s face stiffened.
“We’re no longer involved. Could you please stop talking to me from now on? And that goes for your sister too.”
“…” Lu Jingxuan had nothing to say. He left with a grim expression.
“Some people, huh? All those things we gave them before might as well have been fed to dogs,” Zhao Lanzhi remarked after finishing her Mung Bean Soup. “Qingran, you should keep your distance from that Lu Yunxi from now on.”
“Yes, I know.”
Li Lan felt embarrassed by her daughter’s behavior, but she resented Su Qingran even more for humiliating her daughter in front of so many people. Couldn’t she see everyone was watching and laughing at them?
But she didn’t dare say it aloud. She didn’t want to offend the Su family, so she could only shoot her daughter an annoyed look. “Why are you so greedy? If she doesn’t want to give you any, why insist? Aren’t you ashamed? Hurry up and get back to work!”
Lu Yunxi, burning with humiliation, crouched down and buried her head in the field, yanking out weeds and throwing them violently onto the ground.
The onlookers had their own thoughts. It didn’t seem like Su Qingran was the one clinging to the Lu boy—rather, it appeared he still wanted to marry her?
Could what their grandsons said be true?
“Lanzhi, your Qingran is so filial, bringing you Mung Bean Soup. Not like my Xia Huai, lazing around at home all day.”
Zhao Lanzhi beamed, unable to hide her delight. “My Ran Ran is nowhere near as good as your Xia Huai. I heard she’s pregnant?”
“Yes, she’s resting at her in-laws’. They spoil her too much—only three months along and they won’t let her do any work? Xia Huai’s husband won’t even let her wash clothes, can you believe it…”
Though she said this, Zhao Lanzhi knew full well the woman was boasting, so she played along. “Your Xia Huai is truly blessed to have married such a good man…”
“…”
“Ran Ran, it’s hot here. You should head home first.” Su Hongshan wiped his sweat.
“Yes, little sister, we’ve had enough.” Liu Xiaoyan placed her bowl in the basket.
Su Qingran poured the last bit of mung bean soup for Su Yuanfeng. Being large-built, he suffered most from the heat. After he downed it in one gulp, she said, “I’ll head back first then.”
“Mm, take your time on the road. Don’t trip and fall.”
Hearing her father’s reminder, Su Qingran couldn’t help but laugh. Did he think she was a three-year-old?
After leaving the sweet potato field, she didn’t return home. Instead, she found a secluded spot to store the thermos and basket in her Space. She still wanted to make a trip to Crouching Chicken Mountain.
It was currently August, and the wild chestnuts, hazelnuts, and pine nuts on the mountain were ripe. She wanted to venture deeper to gather more to plant in her Space.
Besides, hadn’t her second brother said her luck had returned after breaking off the engagement with Lu Jingxuan?
This was the perfect opportunity to test that theory. If her family started believing she was just naturally lucky, it would draw less attention when she produced unusual items in the future.
Familiarity bred efficiency. She followed the same path she’d taken that morning, moving much faster this time. However, Crouching Chicken Mountain was vast, and she eventually lost track of her morning route, simply taking whatever path she encountered.
This aimless wandering had its benefits though. She gradually discovered several types of wild berries, and on a small slope, found a tall wild chestnut tree. The area appeared untouched, so Su Qingran confidently stored the entire tree in her Space.
The temperature dropped noticeably as she climbed higher. If not for the mountain’s dangers, she would have loved to bring her family here to escape the summer heat.
Eventually, the path disappeared entirely, forcing her to break off a tree branch to clear the way.
“Oh! Wild blueberries!”
Su Qingran’s eyes lit up. Parting a thick shrub with her branch, she discovered clusters of purplish-black berries nestled among green leaves. Perhaps shielded by the foliage and vines, birds had missed them, with only a few berries showing signs of insect damage.