Chapter 115 Su Zi

The woods to the east are not far from Jingchuan County town. The terrain here is high and there are not many traces of the flood.

"Sister, come and see! Is this it?"

Not long after entering the woods, Fan found a konjac plant.

"That's right! This is it!" Fan Xiaoxiao was also very happy. This thing is very filling and can be used to fill an empty stomach in times of emergency!

"Don't go too far, be careful of snakes and insects around here," Master Lu warned the two of them before starting his own business a short distance away.

"Yes!" Fan Xiaoxiao and Fan Shi responded, and then began to search for konjac in the woods.

The sparse trees in this forest were perfect for konjac to grow. And because the locals only considered it an ornamental plant, Fan Xiaoxiao and her friends managed to snag some.

Before long, Fan Xiaoxiao and her companions had found a basketful of konjac jelly. However, by the time they looked up, they were already deep in the forest.

Fan Xiaoxiao stopped and looked at the basket, which already contained quite a few konjacs, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"That should be about it. Let's head back now. Don't go any further in, or Master Lu will get worried."

Madam Fan nodded, and the two of them shouldered their baskets and headed out. As they passed a patch of bushes, Madam Fan suddenly stopped.

"Sister, can you smell anything?" She looked around and took a deep sniff of the air.

Fan Xiaoxiao sniffed, and could faintly smell a slightly pungent, spicy aroma.

"It's this!" Fan Shi exclaimed, squatting down in front of a patch of plants. Fan Xiaoxiao quickly leaned over to look.

Su Zi!

It's perilla seeds! Fan Xiaoxiao's face showed a mixture of surprise and delight. This is a very good spice! If it's ground into powder and added to barbecue seasoning, it can enhance the aroma and flavor!

Honestly, although yesterday's barbecue was delicious, she still felt it lacked something compared to what she had now. If she could find those spices now, wouldn't she be able to taste that familiar flavor again?

Thinking of this, Fan Xiaoxiao felt a surge of excitement. She glanced at the perilla leaves and saw that they had indeed formed seeds beneath the leaves.

"Sister! This can be used in cooking! Let's pick more and take them home!"

"Huh? This can work too?" Fan looked at the short plant with some surprise.

Fan Xiaoxiao nodded and quickly started tearing.

After pulling out a bunch of stuff, the gaps between the two people's baskets were completely filled.

Fan Xiaoxiao glanced at the still-plenty of Su Zi, and then at the early hour of the day, feeling somewhat unwilling to go back just like that.

Hmm? She seemed to remember that Master Lu had brought an extra cloth bag!

"Sister, I remember when Master Lu went out, he seemed to have a cloth bag in his basket. Why don't we borrow that from him?"

Madam Fan glanced outside the woods; it seemed that Master Lu was chopping something over there. The two sides weren't very far apart, so a round trip shouldn't take much time.

So she nodded and instructed Fan Xiaoxiao, "Okay, I'll be right back. Don't go any further inside."

"I understand." Fan Xiaoxiao continued to tug at Su Zi without looking up. Seeing that she had taken her words to heart, Madam Fan quickly got up and ran towards Master Lu.

A moment later, there was a slight noise behind Fan Xiaoxiao. Thinking it was Madam Fan returning, Fan Xiaoxiao didn't look up, but continued to tug at Su Zi, asking, "Sister, did you catch the cloth bag?"

Strangely, the person behind her did not answer her question.

Fan Xiaoxiao frowned, feeling something was off. Just as she was about to turn around, a large hand covered her mouth tightly from behind.

Fan Xiaoxiao was startled, and the perilla leaves in her hand scattered all over the ground. Just as she was about to struggle, the person behind her forcefully dragged her into the depths of the woods.

No!!! Sister!!!

"Ugh!! Ugh!!!"

"Hehe! Little lady! Weren't you quite sharp-tongued yesterday? Let's see what you have to say now! Let me tell you! It's your good fortune that I've taken a liking to you!"

"Let's see what you can do now, putting on airs! Those old geezers protect you, bullying me in my house! In the end, they'll all benefit my family! I advise you to stop wasting your energy and just obediently submit to me! That way, you'll suffer less!"

As the man spoke, he continued to drag Fan Xiaoxiao into the woods, pulling her along with him. Fan Xiaoxiao was both shocked and furious! She hadn't expected that the person who followed her was none other than Li Er, whom she had just passed by!

Before she could even process what he meant by "making a wedding dress for her family," the sweat on his palms made her feel nauseous. Seeing that they were getting further and further away from where they had been, she steeled herself, steadied herself, and stomped hard on Li Er's foot.

"hiss!"

Li Er cried out in pain, and his grip loosened. Fan Xiaoxiao seized the opportunity and suddenly grabbed his little finger and twisted it backward.

At the same time, he opened his throat and shouted loudly towards the outside of the forest.

"Sister!!!! Save me!!"

...

In the courtyard of the house where everyone stayed in Jingchuan County.

Li repeated Aunt Wang's words with a displeased expression: "Sister, are you saying that none of the things here belong to you?"

The things she was referring to were, of course, the salt, oil, soy sauce, rice, and medicinal herbs in the several baskets in the corner.

“They all belong to the Fan family girls, sister-in-law, why are you asking this?” Aunt Wang gave Li a cold look. Ever since she entered the house, this woman had been constantly scrutinizing everything in the courtyard.

They didn't look like they were there to help her move things at all; they looked more like they were there to see what good things they could take.

She almost took Fan Yatou's oil and salt basket just now, but luckily Xiao Bao saw it and stopped her in time.

“Aunt, Mother was afraid of forgetting something for you! Besides, it's just some oil and salt. Even if you made a mistake, given your relationship with those two ladies, they won't say anything.”

Li San was young, and after he finished speaking, he added a sentence with a nonchalant expression.

"Besides, Aunt, didn't you say yesterday that they were neighbors before? Two women and a child, they usually rely on you and Uncle for care. I think this little bit of oil and salt is their due reward."

These words made Aunt Wang and Uncle Wang's faces turn completely dark. Before they could even speak, Li Shi nudged her husband and coughed.

"Oh? Oh! By the way, sister, there's something else I wanted to say today that we came here with..."

Li Da's words were hesitant, and Aunt Wang had a feeling they weren't good things to say, but considering that he was her blood relative, she suppressed her temper.

"you say."

Li Da glanced at his wife beside him, who gave him a sidelong look and said irritably, "Why are you looking at me like that! Just say what you want to say!"

"Oh...oh! Yes, it's like this, sister. You and brother-in-law were going to move back home, so we're adding a room for you. But...but we only had this much money originally planned...now...now it's a bit short, I don't know..."

Although he spoke haltingly, he expressed his meaning very clearly.

Seeing the other person's wandering gaze, Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang exchanged a glance. Then Aunt Wang spoke, her face cold.

"I have no money."

(End of this chapter)