In the past, during the famine years, everyone ran up the mountain to avoid starving to death. More than twenty young men went up, but only six came out in the end. Two of them had their arms and legs broken. It was said that they encountered a group of tigers and were all killed. Since then, the people of Lijiaping have not dared to go up the mountain. They only dare to pick some wild vegetables or make some traps in the mountains.

Decades later, everyone saw that Su Yan had gone into the mountains several times unharmed and even found all kinds of meat. Greed immediately surged up. Li Zhongnan was present at the time and heard the stern criticism and warnings given to the people of Lijiaping. Everyone responded on the surface, but how many of them actually took it to heart?

Su Yan frowned and said in a deep voice, "If they let them into the mountains because of me, what if something happens and they end up blaming me?"

She had seen far too many wicked people.

Especially in this feudal era, even if she didn't instigate them to go, if something happened to the people who went into the mountains, their families would definitely pin the blame on her.

Sure enough, Li Juan's smile vanished immediately upon hearing this, clearly indicating that she shared the same opinion.

After all, this is how people in the village have always been: blaming others for their own mistakes. If someone actually gets into trouble, even if they are innocent, most people will never condemn the poor party when it comes to a life.

"Then... what should we do?" Li Juan asked in a panic.

She couldn't say that her daughter was protected by a mountain god; feudal superstition was unacceptable.

"Why are you panicking?" Granny Li rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Do you think Ayan will suffer in silence? You're all old, why do you panic so easily?"

Her deceased son was most like her; he was shrewd and calculating. Only her daughter resembled her father; they were both straightforward and could not be changed no matter how many times they were scolded.

Li Juan blushed and stammered, "Mom, I was just worried."

There's no one in the family who can fight. Her father is quite old, and her daughter is still so young. If they can't reason with each other and a fight breaks out, how can she and her daughter withstand it?

Su Yan smiled and said, "Mother, do you believe they will come to our house to look for me before they go into the mountains?"

Li Juan was a little confused. "What does that mean?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of sparse footsteps came from outside the door.

Looking over, Li Juan was stunned. Amazing! It was those men who wanted to go into the mountains.

There were six people in total, forming a large and impressive group.

Three of them were married with children, while the rest were young men in their early twenties.

Su Yan raised her fair face and looked at them. Her clear yet resolute almond-shaped eyes immediately made the unmarried young men blush.

They all scratched their heads sheepishly and then looked away.

"Is there anything you need?" Su Yan asked as she shook the water off her hands.

“Su Yan, a few of us are planning to go into the mountains early tomorrow morning. We wanted to ask you where you found the wild game so we can bring some back to help support our families.”

The speaker was the eldest son of the brigade leader.

Su Yan had heard her mother mention that the brigade leader had three sons, but the eldest son, Li Dajun, was a traitor who had long since broken ties with the brigade leader. After the brigade leader helped him get married, they stopped having any contact.

“I didn’t go into the mountains to hunt, but to collect herbs to sell in town.” She calmly distanced herself. “I can tell you where it is, but you have to write a guarantee that if anything happens to you after you go into the mountains, you can’t blame me. I didn’t take you there by force.”

Li Dajun laughed and said dismissively, "If a little girl like you can go in and nothing happens, what could possibly happen to us grown men? Alright, just write it, stop dawdling."

"Who told you I was fine?"

Su Yan looked at him coldly and said in a deep voice, "I went in three times, and I encountered tigers twice. If I hadn't run fast, I would have died there."

"What?!"

Li Juan screamed, stood up, grabbed her daughter, and said in fear, "Why didn't you tell me about something so serious? Why did you have to go into the mountains?"

Su Yan said with a headache, "Mother, I don't want the family to worry, and I also want to sell more medicinal herbs to earn money. I promise you, I will avoid going up the mountain as much as possible in the future, okay?"

Li Juan looked pale. Although her daughter was unharmed, she was still terrified!

When Li Dajun and his group heard about the tiger, their expressions changed, and they all hesitated.

"I've said everything I needed to say. Believe it or not, it's up to you. If you insist on going, then sign a guarantee. Otherwise... what if you try to pin it on me later?"

Otherwise what? Of course, an accident might happen.

Li Dajun gritted his teeth: "Sign it then!"

He refused to believe that if Su Yan, a woman, could escape, he couldn't!

"Uncle Dajun, Jiezi and I think we'd better not go." One of the unmarried young men said with a gloomy face, "We haven't gotten married yet, I'm scared."

Li Dajun, "You good-for-nothing!"

The two young men didn't dare say anything after being scolded, and slunk away from Su Yan's house.

Li Dajun and the remaining three people signed a guarantee, learned their location, and then left.

Su Yan looked on with satisfaction, but Li Juan was still worried: "Does this thing really work?"

"It doesn't work for legal professionals, but it works very well in rural areas."

Thinking of something, Li Juan said seriously, "Also, you are not allowed to go up the mountain anymore. I will work hard to sell braised food to support your studies. Don't sell herbs anymore. Nothing is more important than your life."

Su Yan nodded vaguely in agreement.

But before going to school, she still had to go to the mountains to bring food to Weiwu; she'd find an excuse then.

It was past eleven o'clock when all the ingredients were washed.

After taking a shower, Su Yan gathered everyone in the courtyard to sit down. Then she took out the property certificate from her pocket and placed it on the table. She slowly said, "Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, I bought a house in town today. It cost five thousand yuan in total, including the land. The house is three and a half stories high and it's decorated very nicely."

Li Juan snatched the property certificate and examined it. It was indeed genuine. She immediately felt a pang of heartache and said, "How could you buy such an expensive house without even discussing it with us? A 200-square-meter plot of land plus a three-and-a-half-story house shouldn't cost that much! Yan, you've been ripped off!"

Grandpa Li was illiterate, so the second person he visited was Grandma Li.

Upon seeing the exact address of the house, Grandma Li's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Is this the house behind Baicaotang?"

“Yes.” Su Yan explained, “The person who introduced me to this place was the manager of Baicaotang. He didn’t rip me off. He said that the houses in the back used to be where leaders or rich people lived, so they are very large. They are also in the center of town, so it’s very convenient to get around. They were not safe during the sensitive period, but now anyone with money can buy these houses. Otherwise, no one would dare to sell them. The previous owner asked for 6,000, but I got a 1,000 discount because of the manager. The house is decorated in the most popular style from abroad. I estimate that it cost no less than 1,000 yuan.”

Li Juan clicked her tongue in amazement.

A thousand yuan is enough to build a luxurious house in the countryside.