And honestly, the fact that Yang Huahua had hopped around twice without that little wooden stick falling out was practically a miracle.
“Seventh Girl, that move of yours was really something new! Who did you learn it from?”
“This little girl really refuses to suffer losses. Yang Huahua deserved what happened today. Let’s see if she still dares to act arrogant in the future.”
Everyone was too busy laughing and enjoying the show to pay attention to the wild chicken anymore.
Meanwhile, Zhao Shiyu felt so embarrassed that her toes were practically digging out a three-bedroom apartment underground.
Seeing everyone’s attention fixed on her, she quickly shifted sideways and turned the basket toward Old Madam Zhao.
“Grandma, look! I caught a wild chicken in the mountains today. I originally wanted to bring it home so you and Grandpa could nourish your health, but when the third daughter-in-law of the Yang family saw the chicken, she immediately tried to snatch it. I was afraid she’d steal it, so I had no choice but to call for help.”
Old Madam Zhao finally snapped out of it too, though for a moment she honestly didn’t know what to say.
Although her little granddaughter’s move had prevented her from suffering a loss, she still felt an inexplicable sense of shame.
So she hurriedly covered it up by saying:
“Our Seventh Girl is really capable, actually catching a wild chicken! Let Grandma see—aiyo, not bad at all! The chicken’s still alive! Tonight, we’ll have your two aunts stew it, and the whole family can benefit from Seventh Girl’s good fortune.”
As she spoke, Old Madam Zhao dragged Zhao Shiyu toward home.
Behind them, the crowd of gossip-loving villagers continued whispering among themselves while watching their backs, mixed with occasional bursts of laughter.
Feeling all those burning gazes on her back, Zhao Shiyu could only comfort herself bitterly.
At least this counted as becoming famous in one battle, right?
Old Madam Zhao pulled along this granddaughter who left her feeling indescribably conflicted, and the two finally returned home.
After taking the wild chicken out of the basket, Old Madam Zhao walked a few steps before hesitating and stopping.
Turning back to Zhao Shiyu, she finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Seventh Girl, today… why did you…”
Poke someone in the butt?
In the end, she was too embarrassed to say the second half out loud.
Now that it had been brought up again, Zhao Shiyu also felt awkward, but she still explained herself.
“At the time, I saw her grabbing Grandma’s hair, and I was afraid Grandma would suffer, so I didn’t think too much about it. I’ll pay attention next time.”
“Mmm… what you did today wasn’t wrong. Grandma knows you were protecting me and didn’t want me to suffer, but next time…”
Could you maybe not stab people in the backside?
Old Madam Zhao desperately wanted to say the second half.
But then she thought about how her granddaughter had only done it to keep her from being bullied, and suddenly it didn’t seem appropriate to criticize her.
Still, she really was worried that behavior like this would damage the girl’s reputation and affect her future marriage prospects.
Then again, her granddaughter was only eight years old. Still young.
Maybe after a few years, everyone would forget about this incident.
“Forget it. What you did today was fine enough. But in the future, if you run into Mrs. Zhao Yang again, avoid her if you can. She’s the type to hold grudges. Don’t end up suffering because of her. You’re still just a child—you can’t beat her. And if you really can’t avoid her, then shout for help loudly like you did today.”
“Mhm, I understand, Grandma.”
Only then did Zhao Qianshi carry the chicken toward the kitchen while shouting as she walked:
“Third Daughter-in-law, hurry and boil a pot of hot water! Fourth Daughter-in-law, go slaughter this chicken!”
The moment they heard a chicken was being killed, Madam Fang and Madam Yan came out quickly.
“Mother, where did the chicken come fro—oh! It’s a wild chicken! The feathers are so pretty! Where did it come from?”
“Seventh Girl caught it up in the mountains. Alright, enough talking. Hurry and boil water and slaughter it. Later, add some potatoes and wild vegetables into the stew. Make a huge pot and add extra water. Tonight we won’t need any other dishes.”
“Got it, Mother.”
Madam Fang and Madam Yan answered eagerly, happily taking the wild chicken from their mother-in-law before rushing off to get busy.
Before leaving, Madam Fang even praised Zhao Shiyu:
“Seventh Girl is really amazing, even managing to catch a wild chicken. The whole family’s benefiting from you tonight.”
At noon, Zhao Shiyu had been complained about for gathering too few wild vegetables.
But now, Old Madam Zhao had completely forgotten about that matter.
Even Madam Fang and Madam Yan, who had complained behind her back earlier, now had nothing in their minds except the wild chicken.
The two of them even discussed changing dinner plans. To better match tonight’s meat dish, they decided not to steam coarse buns anymore and instead make pan-fried corn cakes.
After washing her hands and face clean, Zhao Shiyu had just hidden herself back in the room when Madam Jiang returned with her eldest daughter Zhao Yanjin and third daughter Zhao Ningshuang.
Zhao Shiyu could only give up on the idea of entering the Space.
“Little Sister, look what we brought back for you today!”
Zhao Ningshuang happily pulled out a pouch and took out a silk flower ornament.
“Big Sister and I even picked this out specially for you. Hurry and see if you like it!”
A strained smile appeared on Zhao Shiyu’s face as she politely declined.
“I’m still young, so it doesn’t really matter whether I wear it or not. You should keep it for yourself instead, Sister.”
Zhao Yanjin pressed her lips together to hide a laugh.
She had already said Seventh Sister wouldn’t like this color, but Fifth Sister stubbornly refused to believe her.
Just look at the undisguised disgust in Seventh Sister’s eyes—it was practically overflowing out of them.
Zhao Shiyu truly did dislike it.
It wasn’t because the flower shape looked ugly.
It was because the color was a horrifying Barbie pink.
And she was just a village girl who spent nearly every day digging wild vegetables, gathering firewood, and sometimes even helping in the fields.
Although she wasn’t tanned into a little charcoal egg, her complexion was still yellowish with a dark undertone.
That kind of skin tone paired with Barbie pink…
It was rustic, ugly, and made her look even darker.
After refusing another two times, Zhao Ningshuang finally saw that Zhao Shiyu genuinely wouldn’t accept it. Instantly delighted, she said:
“You really don’t want it? Then Big Sister gets lucky instead!”
“Take it, take it, it’s all yours! Sister, you’re at such a flower-like age. It’ll definitely look pretty on you.”
“Then don’t regret it later.”
Zhao Ningshuang happily pinned the pair of silk flowers into her hair.
And well…
It certainly looked unique.
In order to keep those silk flowers from somehow ending up on her own head, Zhao Shiyu even forced herself to offer a few compliments against her conscience.
Dinner that night truly smelled amazing.
Even the pan-fried cakes, one side cooked to a golden brown, no longer tasted so difficult to swallow.
Zhao Shiyu ate one whole cake and also drank a bowl of coarse rice porridge.
Because Zhao Shiyu had caught the wild chicken, and because Old Madam Zhao had witnessed her “filial devotion” today, she unexpectedly received two extra pieces of meat when the portions were divided.
The Old Zhao family rarely ate meat, so whenever they did, the meat was distributed directly into each person’s bowl. Unlike ordinary vegetable dishes that were placed in the middle for everyone to grab themselves.
While eating the rare meat dish, Zhao Shiying secretly glanced toward Zhao Shiyu.
Her gaze was extremely complicated.
Today, she had waited on the hillside for Zhao Shiyu but never saw her return. In the end, when the sky was almost dark, she had no choice but to slowly head back down the mountain herself.
It wasn’t because she was worried about this Seventh Sister’s safety.
After all, Zhao Shiyu was the heroine.
Even if everyone else encountered danger, the heroine wouldn’t. And even if she did run into danger, she would still turn misfortune into fortune.
Maybe she’d even gain another opportunity from it.