The village chief finally turned to Shen Qiyue. “Girl, last time you stole rice from my house, and your stepmother said there was no saving you. You scared me half to death. Looks like you’re fine now.”
Shen Qiyue knelt down gratefully. “Thank you, Village Chief Grandpa, for upholding justice and giving us orphans and widows a way to survive.”
“Get up, girl. I just heard someone wants to report this to the authorities? You’re the victim, so I naturally have to ask for your opinion. Do you really want to report it? If you do, it affects the reputation of our entire Hewan Village. We still have so many unmarried young men in the village, you see…”
“Village Chief Grandpa, aren’t I fine now? Not to mention they’re my own grandmother and eldest uncle—broken bones still connect to sinews. Even considering the kindness you and the villagers have shown us on ordinary days, I can’t be ungrateful and ruin Hewan Village’s reputation.”
The villagers let out sighs of lament. Some people had lived for decades and still didn’t value relationships or understand reason as well as a child of ten or so.
The village chief nodded. The little girl before him was skin and bones, clearly someone who hadn’t had enough to eat for years. There was also a medium-sized wound on her forehead, still oozing beads of blood.
“Good child, you’ve been wronged. If you ever have troubles in the future, come find me. As for today’s matter, let’s end it here. Everyone, disperse.”
At the village chief’s command, the crowd that had surrounded the Shen family’s small courtyard scattered in an instant.
Only Shen Qiyue’s family remained in the yard.
Huzi and Taotao ran over and hugged Shen Qiyue tightly. Shen Qiyue stroked their heads.
“Don’t be afraid. Second Sister will protect you.”
Shen Qiyue escorted the still-shaken Madam Bai back to the main room, then took Huzi and Taotao back to the room where she slept.
“Second Sister, were you faking it just now?” Huzi asked impatiently, then his tone turned worried. “Does your head hurt?”
Shen Qiyue smiled and shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt at all. Now everyone knows how awful they are, and from now on they’ll side with us even more. This hit I took was worth it.”
“Second Sister, let me blow on it. Blowing makes it stop hurting.” Taotao couldn’t understand much else, only that Second Sister was hurt. Usually, Second Sister blew on her wounds like this, so she would blow on Second Sister’s too.
“Good Taotao, there’s a long-leafed herb in the bamboo basket I brought back. Can you and your Third Brother wash it for me and help me apply it to my wound?”
Taotao nodded, and the two of them went out.
She really hadn’t expected that the herbs she’d just picked would make her the first “clinical subject.” Well, if the effect was remarkable, she’d be a living advertisement. If she ever really sold herbs in the future, it would be twice the result with half the effort.
She’d woken up early to begin with, and after all this commotion, Shen Qiyue had barely sat down on the edge of the kang when her eyelids started fighting each other.
She let out a big yawn and closed her eyes, sitting on the edge of the kang.
In her drowsy haze, she felt her body growing lighter and lighter, as if she were flying in the sky.
Her heart tightened. She snapped her eyes open, and the next moment, she was stunned speechless by what she saw.
She was no longer in her room, but in an unknown space surrounded by thick white mist.
In the entire space, the only things clearly visible were a patch of land about twenty-odd square meters in the middle, and a well in the southwest corner.
Even the sky was shrouded in white mist, with no sun in sight.
Shen Qiyue crouched down, pinched up a clump of dark soil, and rubbed it between her fingers.
She discovered with delight that the soil here was similar to the “black soil” of the Northeast in her past life—a type of soil with good properties, high fertility, and very suitable for plant growth.
Her heart stirred. In her past life, the countryside had no entertainment options, and in her spare time, her favorite thing was reading novels.
Could this situation be a space like the ones described in novels?!
And that well?
Oh my god, could that be the legendary Spirit Spring—one brimming with spiritual energy, capable of strengthening the body, cleansing the marrow and meridians, and even shortening crop growth cycles?!
Shen Qiyue’s emotions surged. She inwardly shouted, “Well, well, well—she’d actually transmigrated with a cheat code!”
Jackpot. Total jackpot.
With this Spirit Spring space, how could she ever worry about not getting rich and achieving a comfortable life?
“Second Sister, Second Sister, come out quick! Brother Dayun is here.”
Huzi’s voice suddenly rang out from outside the space. Shen Qiyue panicked, felt a wave of dizziness, and abruptly opened her eyes.
The space from before had vanished. She was still sitting on the cold edge of the kang, and Huzi and Taotao were in the yard, calling out to her.
Shen Qiyue shivered, jumped off the kang, and walked out.
In the yard, Taotao and Huzi were standing by the well pump, with half-washed mushrooms and herbs at their feet.
Across from them stood a young man with a dark complexion but firm, well-defined features.
“Second Sister, Brother Dayun brought us firewood, and also a mountain pheasant. Quick, look.”
Huzi pointed excitedly at a large bundle of dry firewood and a mountain pheasant with an arrow in its neck, still struggling desperately.
“Qiyue, I only got back from town last night. I went up the mountain this morning, and on my way back, I heard the villagers say your grandmother and your eldest uncle came to cause trouble. Are you all alright?”
Shen Qiyun looked at the wound on her temple with a worried expression. “Qiyue, next time something comes up, just have Huzi come find me. This firewood and the chicken—I’ll leave them with you. Let Auntie use them to build up her strength.”
“No, Brother Qiyun. Huzi and I went into the mountains too and picked quite a few mushrooms—enough to last us several days. As for the firewood… Brother Qiyun, I won’t stand on ceremony and will accept it. We’ll return the favor by gathering more for you in a few days. But the chicken, we can’t take it.”
Shen Qiyue shook her head. No family here was well-off, and meat was a rare sight on any table. Even if she didn’t take the chicken to town to sell, it would be enough to satisfy a family’s craving for months.
Besides, she had heard that Shen Qiyun had an elderly grandmother at home.
Although Hewan Village was nestled against Gouyao Mountain, the villagers had never taken advantage of the mountain’s abundant resources, still relying primarily on crop farming.
With a shortage of labor and limited farming tools, the villagers worked hard all year but produced little.
As a result, the entire village was poor, and every household lived hand to mouth.
Shen Qiyun furrowed his brow and scratched his head. “I’m leaving it here, and that’s that. If you don’t want it, then… just throw it away.”
With that, he turned and walked off, giving Shen Qiyue no chance to refuse again.
“Hey, Brother Qiyun! Brother Qiyun!”
Shen Qiyun pretended not to hear her calls from behind and quickly strode out of the Shen family’s small courtyard.
Shen Qiyue gave a wry smile and withdrew her gaze.
She happened to see Huzi and Taotao staring longingly at the pheasant still flapping on the ground.
She glanced at the mushrooms she had been washing halfway. “Huzi, Taotao, do you want to eat chicken stewed with mushrooms?”
Chicken stewed with mushrooms? Huzi and Taotao’s eyes lit up, and they nodded eagerly.
“Then, Taotao, go next door to Aunt Huang’s and borrow a scallion. Huzi, help Second Sister boil some water. At noon, we’re having chicken stewed with mushrooms.”
Huzi and Taotao cheered, and Shen Qiyue quickly shushed them, pointing toward the main room. “Little brother just fell asleep. Second Sister is telling you now—eat your fill at noon, and this afternoon, you’d better put all your strength into helping me work.”
At that moment, all the two little ones could think of was the delicious-sounding “chicken stewed with mushrooms” their Second Sister had mentioned, so naturally, they agreed to whatever she said.
“Then, let’s move!”