Knowing her preferences, He Zhuo specifically went to shops selling clay toys and handmade ornaments to pick them up. Pei Yuan, however, smiled and said when Qiu Su couldn't take her eyes off the lucky doll in He Zhuo's hand, "If my wife likes it, she can have one herself later. Aren't we going out of the city to check on the fields? It won't be good if we're too late."
Qiu Su poked it again before reluctantly leaving the shop. He Zhuo glanced at Pei Yuan, paid the money, and followed her out. Pei Yuan stood in front of the counter, looked at the items, and bought a pair of fabric twins holding red carp. He put them in his sleeve pocket before following her out.
There were indeed many people outside the city, and the wheat fields suffered heavy losses. The wheat stalks were already thin and weak, and after such a strong wind, heavy rain, and hail, they seemed to have been chased by rolling stones, lying flat on the ground like a green carpet.
Qiu Su picked an ear of wheat and rubbed it in her palm, only to get her hands covered in green pulp. Frowning, she clapped her hands and picked another ear, plucked a grain, and carefully peeled it open. Inside, there was only a small white dot attached to the wheat flower, barely larger than millet. She sighed heavily. The grain harvest had definitely decreased drastically, and her grain shops, alas, were probably doomed.
Pingcheng is nestled against the mountains, and the land is inherently infertile, with low yields. It's barely enough to feed the farmers, ensuring a year-round supply of coarse grains. This situation is truly threatening famine. Qiu Su's heart ached at the thought of her family's precious flour being carried away in sacks. Alas, not everyone can be so "righteous," and Qiu Su was far from that ideal. Should she try to steal another order from another region?
****************************************************
Qiu Su: To grab or not to grab, that is the question.
Pei Yuan: My wife, are you planning to visit relatives again? You have so many relatives!
Author's Note: It seems the rankings jumped by more than ten points in one issue. *wipes sweat*
Today is Thursday, the next update will be on Saturday!
Whether it's daily or every other day, check your favorites everyone~~ A big kiss to each and every one of you, MU MUA~~ Hugs to all my dears~ Hehe
14
14. A tangled mess...
Magistrate Qin was inspecting the disaster situation not far away, with Qin Qin, dressed in trousers, by his side. Qin Qin had only wanted to go out of town with Magistrate Qin to get some fresh air and hopefully ease the tension that had been weighing on her heart for days because of He Zhuo. However, seeing the constant groans of the people, her attempt to relax backfired, and her mood only grew more depressed.
Qinqin wandered aimlessly along the ridges of the fields. Whether the wheat fell or not seemed to have little to do with her; she simply couldn't equate the now prosperous Pingcheng with the disaster-stricken city littered with starving corpses. Perhaps only when the white steamed buns on her own table turned into yellow steamed buns and then into black cornbread would she understand what this hailstorm truly meant.
Qinqin walked for a while, noticing that her snow-white lantern pants were stained with patches of grass, she pouted and hopped onto a side path, turning to look for Magistrate Qin. Her gaze swept over him, and she saw the person who had threatened her, still standing next to Qiu Su. Qinqin's nose stung with tears, and she stood there, pouting, for a long time before forcing a smile, raising her hand and calling out loudly, "Sister Qiu, you're here too!"
The villagers hadn't noticed Qiu Su and her group at the edge of the field, but Qin Qin's shout made them all turn to look. A woman was the first to react, lifting the hem of her coarse cloth skirt and running along the edge of the field, exclaiming, "Oh my, the living Buddha has arrived! Why is Miss Qiu coming down to the field herself?"
The crowd reacted immediately, moving to the side of the road at varying speeds. A habit formed from years of being a bandit caused Qiu Su to unconsciously shift her feet backward, purse her lips, blink, and turn to walk back.
Being surrounded by so many people calling her a "living Bodhisattva" requires immense self-control. She doesn't want to achieve enlightenment at such a young age; otherwise, wouldn't she have to spend her days fasting and chanting Buddhist scriptures?
"Sister Qiu?"
"Miss Qiu, why are you leaving? We're just having a chat, we won't give you any gifts!"
Still, aren't you going to give a gift? Qiu Su walked even faster.
“Hey! Miss Qiu, we heard you got married and we didn’t even come up the mountain to give you a gift. When you have a child, we’ll definitely make a patchwork garment to protect the baby.”
Pei Yuan glanced at the people gathering behind them, then grabbed Qiu Su and started running. He Zhuo was a step too slow and was grabbed by a plump, dark-skinned woman.
"Oh, He Xiaolong, you've come down the mountain too! Hey, tell your aunt, what kind of wife are you looking for?"
"Why has Autumn run away? Autumn, please slow down!"
"He must not come down the mountain often and has never seen such a scene before."
"Tch, do you think Qingfeng Village has few people? If they all stood up, it would be a dense, black mass."
"Wow, that new son-in-law is really good-looking."
"That's right! Miss Qiu is also very nice. She's beautiful, righteous, and a good girl."
"He Xiaolong, my niece keeps begging me to come up the mountain to find you a matchmaker. Look how busy I am, I don't even have time. Oh, my niece is so beautiful, like a radish flower. Hehe, she looks just like that Qiu girl, but she's two years younger than Qiu girl. Hey hey? What are you trying to do!"
"That's right, He Xiaolong, you should get married by now. My wife said she'd even go up the mountain if she wanted to. She'd even go up the mountain with nothing but rocks, no food, no drink, no silk."
"Who doesn't know that the mountains are a good place? If you marry someone from the mountains, you'll be sitting on a mountain of gold and never be able to eat it all."
"Why did Miss Qiu intercept several young men, but none of them wanted to stay on the mountain? Wasn't she afraid of not having enough to eat?"
"Fool! That's called feigning indifference to lure someone in, it's a scheme! Didn't you see that scholar from the Wang family staring blankly at Qingyuan Mountain every day, regretting his insistence on going down the mountain? Who knew that Miss Qiu would send him down without a word? Now he can't go back up even if he wants to. Sigh, what's the point of 'feigning indifference'? A good thing that you couldn't even catch, you 'feigned indifference' and it's all gone. The ancients' schemes can really kill a person."
He Zhuo, his face pale from being surrounded and clamored by a group of women, was feeling increasingly unfriendly. Just as he was getting worried sick, he saw Qin Qin shoveling left and right, managing to carry away the plump, dark-skinned woman who was clinging to his arm with her small frame. As the only daughter of the county magistrate, everyone naturally treated her with the same respect and devotion they would show to the magistrate himself. Seeing her shield He Zhuo with her small arm, no one dared to pull on either side anymore.
"Oh, could it be that Miss Qin has also taken a fancy to He Xiaolong?"
Qinqin raised her chin and said, "My dad has something important to discuss with him!" With that, she pulled the person out of the crowd.
Not far from where they walked, He Zhuo shook off her small hand that was still on his arm. Qin Qin lowered her head with a stiff face and said, "I didn't mean that."
"There is no best." He Zhuo replied coldly and walked forward.
Qinqin burst into tears instantly, ran over, grabbed his clothes, and lowered her head, saying, "I was wrong last time, isn't it okay if I apologize?"
"Are we that close?" He Zhuo looked down at the top of his head, his gaze calm, but his tone was hurtful and cold.
"I'm leaving, let go."
"I don't."
He Zhuo frowned. "Let go."
"I don't!"
He Zhuo stared at the whorl of hair on the top of Qin Qin's black hair and shut his mouth, but his hands used force to break off Qin Qin's fingers one by one.
"He Zhuo, I like you! Waaah, I like you! I've liked you for two years, but you never even look at me properly, yet I still like you."
He Zhuo pursed his lips, broke off her last finger, and said indifferently, "I'm not worth this. What you want, I can't give you."
He Zhuo turned and walked into the city, leaving Qin Qin alone, crying like a child, unable to speak.