Chapter 31: Her Father Was Awesome!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
For dinner, there was one piece of sorghum bread and one bowl of porridge for each person, and not a single scrap more.
With Gu Yunshen present, Gu Ruoqing did not dare to say anymore, so she had to let it go!
Gu Qingyao washed the bowls and chopsticks. She placed all the fish, meat, and pheasant in her interspace before she left the kitchen. She did not even leave the fine grain behind.
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In the future, Zhang Xiaohui would not be able to take a single scrap of food from the family. Anyway, she had already told her father the truth. Her father would certainly cover for her.
Gu Qingyao even locked the kitchen door when she left.
It was not yet dark, so she went to the vegetable plot and continued to pick radish sprouts. These could be cooked, salted, then dried to make preserved vegetables. They were eaten as pickles in winter and were quite tasty.
After she had picked two baskets of sprouts, the sky had started to darken and Zhang Xiaohui returned.
They two of them ran into each other as they entered the courtyard.
Zhang Xiaohui’s expression grew ugly when she saw Gu Qingyao. The young 15-year-old girl before her had just begun to develop, and was a real beauty.
Even though she was a peasant girl, she had a lingering charm that Zhang Xiaohui detested. She was uneducated, so she could not describe Gu Qingyao’s air. But as she looked at Gu Qingyao, she sensed that she was like a young girl from the city, and this made Zhang Xiaohui despise her.
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Because Gu Ruoqing did not have this air.
The sky was slowly darkening and the girl was returning from the fields. Sweat was dripping off the tip of her nose, and her little face was flushed. Zhang Xiaohui especially detested her soft, white skin.
When Gu Qingyao saw Zhang Xiaohui, she raised her brows. Zhang Xiaohui had returned just in time for dinner.
Zhang Xiaohui currently looked a little pathetic. Her clothes were creased and she looked exhausted. Gu Qingyao knew without asking that she had gone back to her natal family and done some work for them.
Although she had worked hard all day and brought so much food back, she had not eaten a single mouthful herself. Instead, she had hurried back to the Gu family under the cover of darkness, just in time to eat dinner.
Gu Qingyao inwardly laughed coldly, but did not say anything. Instead, she just carried her baskets and went in.
Zhang Xiaohui was enraged. But she was exhausted and did not want to quibble with the little bitch. She thought she might as well fill her belly and have a good sleep first.
But when she reached the kitchen door, she saw that it was locked.
Zhang Xiaohui was shocked. “Why did you lock the door? Don’t you know I haven’t eaten?”
She glared at Gu Qingyao who was sitting next to the well, her eyes spitting fire.
Gu Qingyao smiled. “Didn’t you go back to your natal home? I thought your mother would certainly give you a warm welcome since you brought so much food back! A filial daughter like you is rare!”
“You…”
Gu Qingyao had hit her where it hurt and Zhang Xiaohui immediately grew angry. “Brat, how dare you talk to me like that?”
Gu Qingyao did not say anything. Gu Yunshen walked out of the house, glanced at Gu Qingyao and said, “Go into the house and rest! Have an early night. I’ll wash these.”
Gu Qingyao glanced at her father and obediently went in.
She could hear her father dealing with Zhang Xiaohui behind her. Gu Qingyao could hear Zhang Xiaohui’s yells from the house. Then her father said a few simple words, and there was silence.
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She held the keys to the kitchen. Silence meant that her father had dealt with Zhang Xiaohui, and she would not be having dinner tonight.
Gu Qingyao was in a good mood. The sky had turned completely dark now. She went to her living interspace to cook, preparing food for herself and Mo Beihan when they go up the mountain the next day.
Chapter 32: Going Up The Mountain To Hunt
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The storeroom of the interspace had plenty of rice, so she just packed some.
Gu Qingyao found two bamboo tubes and packed them with sufficient rice.
Mo Beihan had made these bamboo tubes for her. Mo Beihan had brought her up the mountain before, and had used these bamboo tubes to carry food.
She prepared a portion of chicken with chillies, and a portion of pickled beans, then cooked an egg and vegetable soup.
Actually, she had some ready-made seaweed and egg soup in her interspace, but at this point, it would be too conspicuous to bring out seaweed in the village. Besides, there were plenty of vegetables.
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The chicken with chillies was very spicy. Mo Beihan liked heavily seasoned food and would enjoy eating this with rice. He would also enjoy the pickled beans.
She packed all this into her lunch boxes, then went to prepare a few cloth sacks and a few small tools before she finished for the night.
Early the next morning, Mo Beihan came to get her before the sun had risen.
At this time, her grandparents had already gone to the cowshed and her father was already up. Only Zhang Xiaohui and Gu Ruoqing were still snoring away.
In the kitchen, Gu Qingyao placed the dishes she had prepared the day before into a basket strapped to her back, then gave Gu Yunshen a few meat buns and three salted duck eggs.
“Father, bring these to the cowshed for Grandfather and Grandma. These duck eggs are quite tasty. Don’t be reluctant to eat them, I have some more! Remember to get rid of the eggshells when you’re done.”
Gu Yunshen smiled and patted her head. “I know!”
“I’ve taken all the fish and meat in the kitchen. Just make do with coarse grain for lunch, when I get back tonight…”
“Alright!” Gu Yunshen looked at his daughter with some amusement. “We’ve always eaten coarse grain. How much fine grain do we have anyway? You just keep those things. Are we going to stop eating the coarse grain in the house just because you have better things now?
“Yao Yao, remember, even if you have plenty, we cannot eat it every day, for every meal. If we do that, we will be discovered too easily. Also, keep your interspace a secret from everyone except me. Don’t even tell Beihan. You keep the good things for yourself, and don’t let anyone find out about them. We will carry on with our lives just as we did in the past. Do you hear me?”
Gu Qingyao nodded obediently. “I understand. Don’t worry, Father. I will treasure my life.”
Gu Yunshen let out a breath. If the truth were to be discovered, she would be killed!
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“Good, I’m glad you understand. Get going! I’ll leave with you.”
Gu Yunshen wrapped the duck eggs up, and stuffed them into his shirt, then left with Gu Qingyao.
Mo Beihan was just entering the courtyard as they exited.
“Brother Beihan!”
Mo Beihan had also brought along many things and he greeted Gu Yunshen when he saw him.
Gu Yunshen nodded. “Take care of her. Don’t let her fall.”
Mo Beihan laughed. “Don’t worry, Uncle Gu. I’ll take good care of her.”
Yao Yao was the apple of Gu Yunshen’s eye, as Mo Beihan knew very well.
Gu Yunshen did not say anything else. Anyway, this was not the first time. The two children had grown up together, and Gu Yunshen was used to them.
Gu Yunshen went to the cowshed while Mo Beihan brought Gu Qingyao up the mountain.
Dawn was just breaking. They climbed until they reached the opposite side of the mountain, crossed the small stream at the foot of the mountain, and went up the next mountain. Only then did they begin to see game tracks.
In these times, people were too hungry. Everything in the surrounding mountains had been eaten by the famished people.
If they did not go further out, they would not get anything good.
After all, few people knew how to hunt. The mountains were still dangerous in this era. Few dared to penetrate deep into the mountains under normal circumstances.
But Mo Beihan was different!
Chapter 33: A Thin Strip Of Sky! A Secret Place!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
He had been a soldier for many years. During those years, he had gone deep into the mountains and into many ancient forests on missions. He had encountered numerous dangers, and had frequently gone on trips like these.
The current Mo Beihan was different from his previous self. After his rebirth, he had retained a lifetime of experience from his past life. He was even more skillful and seasoned than his previous self had ever been.
However, he was concerned about Gu Qingyao, so he did not intend to venture too deeply into the mountain in case Yao Yao encountered any dangers.
After crossing this mountain, they walked through the valley for some time before they finally stopped in a meadow.
Mo Beihan found a spot for Gu Qingyao to sit. “Rest here for a while. I’ll set some traps and lead you further on later.”
“I’ll help you! Two people can do it faster!”
“No need!” Mo Beihan rejected her. “You’re tired after such a long walk. You just rest. Or you can look for some wild herbs and mushrooms around here. Few people come here, so you should be able to find many of them.”
Gu Qingyao looked around and said, “Alright!”
This was a small meadow and there was also a small stream that ran through the valley. Many small animals usually frequented the area, so it was natural that Mo Beihan wanted to set some traps when they passed through.
Gu Qingyao took her basket and went to look for wild herbs and mushrooms.
There was a stand of shrubs near the stream, and some mushrooms grew there. Gu Qingyao picked a basket of them, but did not search any further.
There were few mushrooms here, and the wild herbs were old and tough. She did not want them.
But she did see some medicinal herbs, so she picked those instead.
Mo Beihan returned after a while, and the two of them continued on their way. They left the valley and crossed a small hill, made a turn, and walked for another stretch before they entered a bigger valley.
The valley also had several tall peaks.
The peaks were quite small, but rather tall. Mo Beihan’s lips curved in a small smile when he saw this place.
“Come on, let me show you something.”
He led Gu Qingyao towards the peaks. Thorny shrubs gradually appeared in the path ahead of them and Mo Beihan took out his sickle and cut some of them. An entrance rapidly appeared, and they entered to find a creek that looked like a cavern.
This area was surrounded by peaks, but was hollow in the center. They could see the sky about them, but the opening was fairly small. At least, it was smaller than the ground beneath them.
It was approximately four acres in size. On one side was a pool, and on the other side was an open space. The grass grew on level ground and there were several huge rocks next to it.
The pool was fed by a small stream that flowed slowly. Downstream was a fairly deep river that flowed out of the area.
Mo Beihan said, “This place is very safe. There are many fishes in the pool which swam upwards from the river below. This stream is an intersection and there is plenty of food for the fish. The fish have all swum up here to eat the food.”
“I’ll catch some fish later and you can clean them here. I’ll go out to hunt. You stay here. Don’t leave, it’s dangerous out there.”
They were fairly deep in the mountain, but Mo Beihan did not wish to bring Gu Qingyao into the deepest part of the mountain. He had discovered this little place in his previous life. It was very safe, and no one else had discovered it. Wild animals did not come here either.
He had brought Yao Yao here before, in his previous life, but that was to happen many years later.
Gu Qingyao was overjoyed. She had loved this place in her previous life!
“Are we fishing now?” Gu Qingyao’s eyes shone, as if she could not wait.
She knew how big the fishes here were!
Mo Beihan smiled. “Um!”
So they two of them worked together to dam the stream flowing into the pool. Then they set their fishing nets in a narrow area downstream of the pool, and waited for the fish.
They could see the water in the pool dwindling, and the number of fish in their nets was growing.
Chapter 34: A Bountiful Harvest (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When the net was almost filled with fish, Mo Beihan drew it in. He dumped all the fish onto the open space near him, then lowered the net again.
There were about a dozen fish in the open space. A few were rather small, and Gu Qingyao did not want them. She put them back into the water.
She was delighted as she looked at the large fish that remained. They were flapping and floundering about.
Two of them were extremely big, and were approximately six kilograms.
“These two are so big. Their heads will be excellent for making tofu soup,” Gu Qingyao said with a smile.
Mo Beihan glanced at them. “If you like them, you can bring them back. Chop their heads up and use them to make soup. Those grass carps are not bad. Take that wooden bucket and fill it with water to keep them in. I want to bring them back alive.”
Gu Qingyao obediently took the wooden bucket and filled it with water. There were four grass carps, each weighing approximately two kilograms.
Mo Beihan handed Gu Qingyao a small dagger and told her to clean the fish by the water. He let down the net another two times, but there were fewer fish, and he only caught ten slightly larger ones.
They caught twenty-six fish in all, which was pretty good.
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Mo Beihan found some sticks and made a frame. He told Gu Qingyao, “Clean the fish and hang them there. It’s very safe here and we can leave the fish here to dry. We’ll bring some back tonight. It’ll be too conspicuous if we bring too many fish back.”
In these times, people went berserk over food. Fishes were priceless on the black market.
Gu Qingyao nodded, to show that she understood.
They had also done so in their previous lives. She was used to it.
Mo Beihan found some more sticks and sharpened them to make a door. Then he tied them so that the sharp points faced outwards, to prevent wild animals from entering. Then he found some dried grass and laid it at the entrance.
Only then did he say to Gu Qingyao, “I’ll go out for a while. Don’t leave this place. I won’t go far. If anything happens, call for me immediately. If wild animals come, light the fire immediately to frighten them. Do you understand? I’ve set a line of bells outside. If anything comes towards you, the bells will ring.”
Gu Qingyao smiled, but still said obediently, “I know, don’t worry!”
Mo Beihan was afraid that there would not be enough dried grass, so he gathered another bundle of firewood and placed them next to Gu Qingyao before he was satisfied.
He knew that this place was very safe and although they had been here many times in their previous lives, no wild animal had ever come in. However, he would rather be safe than sorry. This girl was the apple of his eye. He could not allow her to be hurt or frightened.
Mo Beihan left while Gu Qingyao remained to clean the fish. After she finished cleaning them, she strung them up with straw ropes, and hung them on the frame.
Besides the six grass carp that Mo Beihan wanted to keep alive, there were only a few fish, so Gu Qingyao finished cleaning them within an hour.
Would she continue to wait here?
Of course not.
She knew very well that there were plenty of good things around. Also, she was now so skilled that she did not worry about encountering any dangers.
Although this was virgin forest, they had not ventured too deeply into it. At worst, she might encounter a wild boar, or a wolf. Anyway, such animals were pitifully few. It was impossible to encounter a tiger.
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Also, she still had her interspace, so there was no need to worry.
She took her basket and her cloth bag, and went out. She covered the opening properly, then went straight into the surrounding forest.
The moment she entered, she saw that the ground was covered with mushrooms.
She had struck it rich!
Chapter 35: A Bountiful Harvest (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It seemed like no one had ever visited this place. After a heavy rain in the past two days, mushrooms had all grown out. The place was not filled with mushrooms.
The number of mushrooms here could allow her to pack for a few sacks.
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She found herself so lucky!
Gu Qingyao was delighted as no one would blame there was too much food. The more the merit!
She took a basket and started picking mushrooms from the side. Since Mo Beihan was not around, she placed a lot of mushrooms into her space. After a period of time, she left some outside and was about to head back.
She had one basket and two sacks of mushrooms and saw more mushrooms down the hill. Gu Qingyao smiled and walked backwards with the mushrooms in her hand. She should come over with Mo Beihan later after he came back.
After she placed all the mushrooms into the cave, Mo Beihan was still not back yet. It was noon and Gu Qingyao did not go out again as Mo Beihan might be worried if he did not see her when he came back.
She was in a good mood and took a fish head and cooked soup.
She used the smaller one as the two of them would not be able to finish the bigger one.
Mo Beihan brought quite a few things, a pottery jar and an aluminium pot. The kind that people used to cook in the countryside. However, the pot was too huge and Gu Qingyao did not use it.
She used the jar to take some water from the spring on top of the puddle to cook her fish soup.
There was no tofu at the moment so she put in some mushrooms and wild vegetables. After adding some seasonings, she waited for the soup to be cooked.
Gu Qingyao smiled as he stared at the things Mo Beihan brought over. He even brought seasonings. This reminded how they cooked in the wild in her previous life.
Mo Beihan came back as the soup was ready.
He carried many things with him.
His hand was holding onto a sack that was about half-filled. What was more important was that there was a wild boar on his shoulder.
Gu Qingyao widened her eyes, “You… you encountered a wild boar?”
Mo Beihan did not address her surprise and smiled, “Yah, I was lucky today. This one is small and alone so I bring it back.”
Gu Qingyao: “…”
She was meant to say that it was dangerous as wild boars always lived in groups.
But he was still smiling and saying how lucky he was.
Indeed, Mo Beihan was very strong. He was lucky to meet an alone one.
Mo Beihan knew that Gu Qingyao went out as he noticed the mushrooms at the side.
“Nothing happened to you, right? Remember not to go too far.”
Gu Qingyao smiled and poured everything out of the sack, “Yes, I won’t…. Woh!”
There were three rabbits, two chickens and a roar deer!
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“My god! Brother Beihan, you’re really my idol. How can you get so many things? You were only out for less than half a day.”
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Mo Beihan was washing his face by the puddle. He turned his head and smiled, “Do you idolize me now?”
Gu Qingyao nodded, “Of course! You’re my idol and the best, Brother Beihan!”
Gu Qingyao did idolize him as she always had the impression that Mo Beihan was the strongest.
He brought her everywhere in the previous life. There was nothing that he was not sure of. He always took good care of her.
Mo Beihan looked at the little girl’s sparkling eyes and smiled, “Do you want to go to the town with me tomorrow? Let’s buy some cloth and make you a few sets of new clothes. It’ll be the new year soon. I’m taking a break now but I will not be able to come back during New Year. Let me take the chance to buy something for you, okay?”
Chapter 36: He Will Take Care of Her in This Life!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Buying things?
‘That is sweet,’ Gu Qingyao thought.
“No… It’s okay. I don’t need anything actually. You must be very tired outside…” she said.
“I’m a man and I should be busy and tired outside. But you’re different. You’re a girl and still young. Of course you deserve better things. I have a lot of coupons and can afford to make you two new sets of clothes. Don’t worry about money, I have.”
Gu Qingyao did not say anything but she was really touched by the words. She lowered her head and blushed.
She knew that Mo Beihan was telling the truth.
The things he got today were worth quite a lot of money if he sold them at the black market.
He had many coupons and could buy many things if he wanted.
Powerful people always ensured that they and the people around them lived good lives no matter how hard the environment they were in was. Mo Beihan was one of those kind of people.
Though they were born in the seventies when there was shortage of food, Mo Beihan took good care of his family.
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His father left home when he was young and never returned. But everyone knew that his father abandoned his wife in the countryside and enjoyed himself in the city.
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His mother Jiang Yingqiu raised two sons alone but Mo Beihan’s elder brother passed away in the army and left his two sons behind. His brother’s wife married someone else in the city and did not care about the two children.
Life was much harder back then. Many people died from starvation.
The Mo family did not have a man to run the family. They managed to survive but were very poor.
However, the situation improved after Mo Beihan grew up. The family was living a much better life when he got a job.
This was a man’s capability. He could always ensure that he would live a better life in all kinds of situations.
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Mo Beihan did not tease the little girl anymore as she was shy. Instead, he washed his hands and asked her to eat.
“You cooked soup? It smells so nice!”
Gu Qingyao brought the food over and said, “Yah, I got many mushrooms over and there’s still a lot left. I was in a good mood so I cooked the fish soup. Have a try.”
The soup was stewed in the jar. There were mushrooms, wild vegetables and two eggs inside.
Mo Beihan was hungry and immediately started eating.
Gu Qingyao passed him a bowl of rice and chicken with chilli. He was slightly shocked and said, “Such good food.”
Gu Qingyao smiled, “I prepared it for you. It must be very tiring for you on the mountain. Eat some good food.”
Mo Beihan smiled and did not object.
The food they were eating was considered a luxury in the seventies. It was something that people who were living in hardship could not afford. However, Mo Beihan did not care. They could eat anything as long as Yao Yao wanted.
Yao Yao suffered from all kinds of rumors and gossip at such a beautiful age in her previous life.
A 15-year-old was living in fear just because her family was landowners. Things got even worse after that incident. Almost everyone was evil to her.
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People rolled their eyes at her, gossiped and even cursed at her. They looked at her in a disgusted way. No one could take that.
His Yao Yao lived in that kind of environment for years. Even when both of them were at middle age and society progressed, she did not get rid of the rumors, till she died.
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Mo Beihan looked at the girl with the beautiful smile as he ate.
‘I will take good care of her in this life!’ he thought.
Chapter 37: Going Home
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was 2 pm in the afternoon and Mo Beihan was hungry after spending the whole morning outside.
Mo Beihan had a big appetite. He finished almost all the food in a short period of time as the delicious food was cooked by Gu Qingyao.
“You should come back early if you are so hungry,” Gu Qingyao said.
Mo Beihan took a sip of the fish soup and smiled, “The food you cook is too delicious. I just can’t stop eating.”
After the meal, Mo Beihan went to peel the skin of the rabbit and the roe deer. Gu Qingyao boiled some water to handle the wild boar.
Mo Beihan did not plan to bring back all the animals he got and instead, settled all of them here.
The wild boar was small and weighed around a hundred kilograms. However, in that age, food was scarce and everyone would definitely envy them if they saw the boar. Unless, they share it with everyone.
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Apparently, Mo Beihan did not have that plan. It was always better to remain a low profile, especially when food was concerned.
Gu Qingyao used some stones to form a circle in the puddle and put the six fish inside. She then used all the pots, jars to boil water.
The boiled water was used to remove hair from the skin. After that, she sliced open the boar and chopped its meat piece by piece. She washed the meat, sprinkled some salt on them and hung them on a rack with rope.
She did not throw away any pork’s blood but instead, put all into the aluminium pot. Now she understood why Mo Beihan brought such a big pot over. He definitely had planned for everything.
She chopped all the bones into smaller pieces so that it was easier to carry.
It was almost sunset after they had settled everything. Gu Qingyao noticed the time and asked, “Should we still go and pick the mushrooms? It’s getting dark soon!”
Mo Beihan took a glimpse at his watch. It was 4:30 pm.
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“Let’s go. We try to pick as many as we can. We should head back late so that no one in the Brigade will see us.”
Gu Qingyao nodded. They did not plan to bring back everything but it would save them from many troubles if they would not meet anyone.
Mo Beihan was shocked after he saw the number of wild mushrooms down the hill.
“There’re so many of them here?”
There were clumps of them scattering around the entire area and every mushroom was as big as a bowl.
Gu Qingyao smiled and said, “We’re lucky today!”
Mo Beihan rubbed her head as he saw the smiles on her face.
“You’re the lucky gem. Come, let’s pick the big ones and leave the smaller ones when we come back after a few days.”
“Mhm!”
It took them only a short while to fill up four sacks of big mushrooms. Mo Beihan brought them back to the cave and dried them on big stones.
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He then took some to bring back.
“Let’s go! It’s getting late. We’ll reach home at night.”
They returned to the cave. Mo Beihan wrapped the bones with brown paper and put them into a sack, together with two pieces of pork hanging on the rack, the pork’s head, mushrooms and wild vegetables.
Gu Qingyao almost filled two sacks. She carried the two sacks on one side of the shoulder pole and dry branches on the other side.
They covered the cave before they left to prevent others from noticing it.
They passed the traps that Mo Beihan set earlier on. There were four rabbits, two chicken and one river deer. Even Mo Beihan laughed at their luck today.
But he did not know that the food he placed into the trap was mixed with spring water by Gu Qingyao secretly. The spring water was from her space, not some elixirs, just more refreshing and cleaner than water outside. She used to make drugs with that.
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All the preys were attracted over by the smell of the food.
Chapter 38: This Guy Is Really Capable!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The sky was completely dark when they reached home.
It was about 9 pm. Mo Beihan sent Gu Qingyao to her home and passed her two fish, the ones she washed earlier.
He also gave her two rabbits and a chicken. He wanted her to take the river deer but Gu Qingyao did not want so much meat. She only needed some to show that they were fruitful.
“I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow morning.”
“Okay!”
They planned to go to the town tomorrow.
Gu Yunshen kept waiting as his daughter was not home yet. He walked out immediately as he heard voices in the yard.
Mo Beihan greeted Gu Yunshen and left.
Gu Yunshen helped Gu Qingyao take everything in. He looked towards the direction where Mo Beihan left and smiled, “This guy is really capable.”
The trip into the mountain must be fruitful.
Gu Qingyao smiled and walked inside with her father.
“I have eaten with Brother Beihan on the mountain. I’ll go back to my room later.”
Gu Yunshen nodded and said, “Okay. There’s hot water in the kitchen. You can take a shower and rest early!”
Zhang Xiaohui and Gu Ruoqing came out of the room and ran over to see what Gu Qingyao brought back.
She went out with Mo Beihan this time. Every time Mo Beihan came back and headed towards the mountain, he would bring many things for the Gu Family. It must be the same for today.
They were delighted as they saw the chicken, rabbit and fish in Gu Qingyao’s hands!
“Woh! There’s meat, Mom! We get to eat fish tomorrow!”
Zhang Xiaohui was in joy as well, “Yes! We’ll have fish tomorrow! It’s been long since we last ate fish. It was so exhausting during the autumn harvest. Time to eat some meat.”
Gu Yunshen and Gu Qingyao did not even bother to talk to them. She passed everything to Gu Yunshen and headed towards her room.
“Wait! Where’s the meat at home? Where did you hide the meat and the flour?” Gu Ruoqing asked.
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Gu Qingyao turned back and twitched her lips as she stared at Gu Ruoqing. Gu Ruoqing was indeed still a child and did not learn from her own mistakes. She had forgotten about the beating yesterday?
“How will I know. They are always at home. Ask your mom why our meat and flour disappeared. Every time when something went missing at home, she was always the one who took them, right?”
Gu Ruoqing was stunned and looked at Zhang Xiaohui.
It made… some sense.
Zhang Xiaohui was enraged, “Stop all the nonsense! When I woke up this morning, there was nothing left in the kitchen. You’re the only one who went out today. Who else would take away those things besides you?”
“Yes. You were the one who locked the kitchen door yesterday. The things went missing this morning. Who else can it be?” Gu Ruoqing tried to advocate for her mother.
Gu Qingyao sneered, “What can you do to me? I just don’t want to tell you. This is my home. I can do whatever I want. Furthermore, even Father did not say anything. So, just shut up!”
“You…”
Zhang Xiaohui totally raged. She didn’t even get to eat the meat at home. She went back to her mother’s place to help with the harvest. She thought that there would be good food waiting for her when she came back but in the end, there was nothing left.
Not only the meat, there was no flour or rice left at all. She starved for the whole day yesterday and today she had to eat the coarse grain that was difficult to swallow even.
“Gu Qingyao, the home does not belong to you only. The meat is for everyone. Why could you take them away? Take them out and cook a few nice dishes for us. Your sister and I almost did not eat anything for the past two days.”
Gu Qingyao scoffed, “You want meat? Sure! Do your job at home and you won’t starve. If you still laze around, there will not even be coarse grain for you! Don’t dream about meat.”
Chapter 39: She Needs to Chase Out the Mother and the Daughter
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Gu Qingyao scoffed. She walked towards her room and did not bother to talk to the two of them.
Zhang Xiaohui and Gu Ruoqing still wanted to say something but they heard the sound of the door closed. They turned around and saw that Gu Yunshen brought everything back to his room and locked the door.
Zhang Xiaohui: “…”
She stared at the door for a while but still did not ask Gu Yunshen to open the door. She went back to Gu Ruoqing’s room and slept together with her.
Gu Qingyao witnessed what was going on outside from her room. She understood that her father was suffering and disgusted by this kind of woman.
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However, he could not just ditch her.
More accurately speaking, her father did not want to take the risk now.
Zhang Xiaohui was just an unreasonable rascal. Her entire family was like that as well.
The Zhang family were all poor farmers but the Gu family were landowners. Their identity was too sensitive in this day and age. Anything happened would be the Gu family’s fault.
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No one would care about a landowner’s thoughts in this age. If her father wanted to divorce with Zhang Xiaohui and she got nowhere to go. She would definitely find more troubles without the good supply from the Gu family.
No one cared about what she was going to do but the Gu family could not bear with that.
Both of her grandparents were old. If anything happened, their lives might even be in danger.
There was no such thing as reasoning in this age.
The Gu family was not short of money as both the Gu family and her grandma’s Wen family had hidden golds as secret savings. If they exchanged the gold for high-priced grain, the whole family would never starve to death at least.
Keeping Zhang Xiaohui in the Gu family just cost the Gu family more money only.
But no matter what was going to happen, they needed to wait until this period passed.
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She understood what was her father’s concerns and she did not want anything to happen to her family. However, she did not want to wait either!
Her grandparents had five children. The oldest and the second oldest both went to the army and had good ranks now. Though they were not able to be promoted further due to the family’s identity, they were able to sustain their lives.
Their children were also in the army and had good achievements at young ages.
The third oldest son settled down in the city with his family.
Her father was the youngest and stayed in the countryside to take care of her grandparents. He helped to farm and feed the livestock. He also picked different herbs everywhere to treat patients.
His whole life was held up after Zhang Xiaohui stuck to him.
Now she was reborn and she had everything in her hands. She would definitely allow her family to live a good life. Zhang Xiaohui and her daughter were too troublesome and they must be chased away.
And there was her aunt. She suffered from many hardships and Gu Qingyao would take care of her so that her grandparents would be relieved.
She stared at Gu Ruoqing’s room and recalled everything they had done in her previous life. Gu Qingyao was determined that she must chase them out as soon as possible.
And of course, chasing them out and ensuring that her own family would be safe.
Gu Qingyao took a basin of hot water that her father boiled. But she did not use the water and instead, put it into her interspace.
She entered her living interspace and had a bath with the hot water before she slept.
Gu Qingyao woke up before the sky even brightened up on the next morning.
She agreed to follow Mo Beihan to the town today. He would definitely leave very early so she needed to get up early as well to prepare.
Chapter 40: Riding A Bicycle Was Like Being In His Arms!
Actually, she did not have much to prepare. She simply tidied herself.
In these times, young girls wore their hair in two plaits. After marriage, they wore it in a single large braid. Gu Qingyao was only 15 years old, so she wore her hair in two braids, plaited at her ears. She carefully combed her hair and braided it.
Then she put on a clean set of clothes, grabbed her coat and a small, olive green bag.
Mo Beihan had given her this bag. If she looked at it with the eyes of her reborn self, it was rather unsophisticated. But now, it was considered to be very fashionable.
Her bag had been the envy of many young girls in the brigade!
Gu Ruoqing, in particular, had been hungrily eyeing this bag for a long time.
Thinking about it made Gu Qingyao want to laugh.
Gu Qingyao left after tidying herself. She noticed that the lights in her grandparent’s room were on. They had already woken up, but Zhang Xiaohui and Gu Ruoqing’s room was still pitch dark.
Gu Qingyao was used to it.
She went to Gu Yunshen’s room. “Father, I’ll be going to town with Brother Beihan later. Here is breakfast for you, Grandfather and Grandma.”
Gu Qingyao took out meat buns and boiled eggs, but Gu Yunshen refused them. “No need. Leave the boiled eggs, but bring the buns with you! Their smell is too strong. Also, we don’t need to eat food like this every day. We still have to eat the coarse grain.”
Gu Qingyao smiled. “Father, I know, but I don’t want to see you suffer! Grandfather and Grandma are so old, but have no better food to eat. You don’t need to worry about that mother and daughter duo finding out. They won’t get up until the sun is high in the sky.”
Gu Yunshen did not say anything.
Gu Qingyao offered the food again. “If there’s good food, why not eat it?”
Gu Yunshen agreed after some thought, so he quickly washed up and returned to eat the food. Then he went to the next room and asked the older folks to quickly brush their teeth and eat.
Mo Beihan arrived and knocked on the door. When Gu Qingyao heard the sound, she left after telling Gu Yunshen.
Mo Beihan was in the courtyard, astride an old-fashioned Phoenix brand bicycle. He wore ordinary black clothes. A basket that was meant to be carried on the back was placed on the back of the bicycle, covered by a cloth. But Gu Qingyao knew that it was full of goods.
When Mo Beihan saw his girl emerge, carrying the bag he had given her, his smile deepened. “Come on! Let’s go! If we leave now, we will reach the town at daybreak.”
Mo Beihan mounted the bicycle and braced it with his legs. “Get up!”
The back of the bicycle was occupied by the basket, so she had no choice but… to sit in front.
This type of bicycle had a front crossbar, and someone could sit in front.
Gu Qingyao glanced at him. There was even a cushion tied to the crossbar, to soften the seat.
She smiled and obediently got on.
Mo Beihan’s heart was filled with tenderness as he pedaled towards the town.
The sun had not yet risen, but the moonlight was very bright. They could see the road as they cycled. Above them was the bright moon and the starry sky. As Mo Beihan cycled along the narrow village tracks, the young girl sitting on the bicycle felt as if she was in his embrace!
In their previous life, they had traveled throughout the country for many years. His deepest desire was for this young girl not to suffer any hurt. But the power of gossip had been unstoppable.
She was a young girl who had grown up under the doting care of her father, and did not have many life experiences. Yet she was suddenly despised by everyone. This, together with the terror that she experienced that night, meant that she would definitely bear internal scars.
It was not that she did not like him, but that she did not have the courage to marry him. She did not have the courage to face the derision and the mocking.
In this life, all this had not happened. The young girl in his arms could grow up in peace. What a wonderful feeling!