After returning home, Song Zhaoxi tied the roe deer to a post.
She then took out the bamboo she had cut and chopped it into several sections before splitting them evenly.
Because she had been busy making clothes these past few days, the silk she had bought had been left untouched.
The meat and eggs in the kitchen had already been eaten up, and Song Zhaoxi didn’t want to keep living off her savings. She planned to make some small but exquisite items and take them to the county town to sell.
She decided to make two round silk fans first. The bamboo she had cut today was Xiangfei bamboo, the perfect material for fan ribs and handles.
Splitting bamboo wasn’t difficult for Song Zhaoxi, but shaping it into fan ribs of uniform length, width, and thickness was quite laborious. Before she knew it, the sun had already set.
When the Ji family returned home, Changlan and Changan saw Song Zhaoxi working on the bamboo and immediately gathered around her.
The two little ones stared at her with admiration.
“Sister-in-law, what are you making this time? Is there anything we can help with?”
This kind of delicate work wasn’t something Song Zhaoxi trusted others to do, so she smiled and shook her head.
The two children looked disappointed but obediently went to play with the roe deer.
“Sister-in-law, what’s this silly-looking roe deer’s name?”
“I don’t know. Let’s just call it Silly.”
Song Zhaoxi answered casually, making the two children burst into laughter.
Li Shi, who had entered right behind them, saw the warm and cheerful scene and tossed the sled she was carrying aside. Rolling her eyes, she scolded,
“You two little brats! You slack off and avoid work in the fields, yet you’re so eager to fawn over an outsider.”
“Sister-in-law isn’t an outsider!”
Ji Changlan retorted angrily. Though she was young, she could still tell right from wrong. In just a few short days, Song Zhaoxi had already become closer to her heart than Old Madam Ji or anyone from the first and second branches of the family.
“Heh, she will be once your eldest brother comes back. She’s just some worthless trash nobody wants, and yet you treat her like a treasure.”
“Are you talking about Ji Pingping?”
Song Zhaoxi looked up at Li Shi coldly.
Because of her unattractive appearance and nasty temper inherited from Old Madam Ji, Ji Pingping was famously unwanted in the village.
The remark struck Li Shi right where it hurt. Only then did she realize that Ji Pingping still hadn’t come home.
Looking at the increasingly beautiful Song Zhaoxi, Li Shi remembered Old Madam Ji’s plan and gritted her teeth.
“You little bitch, just you wait!”
As it grew dark and Ji Pingping still hadn’t returned, Li Shi and her husband became anxious.
Old Madam Ji, exhausted after a full day’s work, was furious, but she still went around asking the neighbors to help look for her.
After all, Ji Pingping was an unmarried young woman. For her to still be out so late was truly worrying.
Li Shi had a gut feeling that this matter had something to do with Song Zhaoxi.
At this moment, the eldest branch had already finished dinner. Song Zhaoxi was tidying up the leftover bamboo in the courtyard when Li Shi approached with a dark expression.
“Where’s Pingping?”
“I don’t know.”
“Stop pretending to be innocent.”
Li Shi said anxiously,
“My daughter isn’t married yet. If something happened to her, you won’t be able to bear the consequences!”
“Don’t worry. Your daughter is very safe-looking.”
“You fart!”
Li Shi was so angry that her lungs nearly exploded. She raised her hand, ready to slap Song Zhaoxi.
Before her hand could come down, a man’s voice sounded from the doorway.
“Auntie Ji, your daughter Ji Pingping fainted at the foot of the mountain. I’ve brought her back.”
The speaker was a young man named Zhou Feng.
And in his arms was none other than Ji Pingping, who had fainted from fright.
Ji Pingping had been missing all day and was now being carried home by a man. For an unmarried girl, this was definitely not a good thing.
Li Shi’s eyes darted around, and an idea suddenly occurred to her. She quickly took Ji Pingping from him and, repaying kindness with malice, said,
“Young man from the Zhou family, you’ve carried my daughter all the way home. I’m afraid you’ve ruined her reputation.”
Zhou Feng’s face instantly turned red.
“I-I just saw that she had fainted. I didn’t think about anything else…”
Li Shi waved her hand, putting on an exceedingly generous expression.
“Don’t worry. Our family isn’t unreasonable. Since my daughter isn’t married yet, and although your Zhou family is a bit poor, we don’t mind. We’ll just marry Pingping to you.”
At the mention of marriage, Ji Pingping, who had already fainted, slowly opened her eyes.
The next second—
She was dropped onto the ground by a terrified Zhou Feng.
“I-I was just helping out! It has nothing to do with me! Ahhh!”
Afraid that Li Shi would really force Ji Pingping onto him, Zhou Feng turned and ran off like a gust of wind.
Song Zhaoxi could no longer hold it in.
“Pfft!”
She burst out laughing.
Ji Pingping rolled her eyes—
and fainted again from anger.