What are you doing in my house! Where's my mother?

Good heavens! His questioning was full of suspicion from the very first word.

Liu Yingying frowned slightly. Was this boy perhaps a wild child?

They have absolutely no manners!

"Is that Aya back?"

Inside the house, Jiang Suyu was very excited to hear her son's voice. She stood up and limped towards the door.

"Mother, what's wrong with you?"

Noticing her mother's bandaged ankle, Xue Ye's eyes were filled with worry, and she quickly went inside to help her sit down.

"Mother is fine. She just tripped and fell. Luckily, she ran into Lady Lihe and brought me back."

Jiang Suyu addressed Liu Yingying in this way because the two had no prior interaction, and now that Liu Yingying was a village lady bestowed by the imperial court, her status was different from that of commoners like them.

She felt she was not qualified to call Liu Yingying by her first name.

After learning the whole story, Xue Ye looked at Liu Yingying again. Although his expression remained indifferent, he sincerely said, "Thank you!"

"No need to thank me, we're all from the same village, helping each other out is only natural..."

"Well, Sister Jiang, now that your son is back, I'll head back now. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to me..."

Liu Yingying smiled somewhat awkwardly, because the young man's aura was simply too cold.

"Wait a minute!" Just then, Xue Ye called out to her from behind.

Liu Yingying frowned again, turned around and looked at him; "Is there anything else?"

"Wait for me!" the boy said succinctly as he strode out of the house.

Liu Yingying then noticed that a dead wild boar was lying on the ground not far from the door, and it looked to be at least two or three hundred pounds!

The boy lowered his eyes, his expression remaining indifferent.

He drew a short knife from his waist and skillfully dissected the wild boar on the spot. Then he cut off the meatiest hind leg, skewered it with palm and coconut, and handed it to her.

"Thank you for saving my mother today. Here, please take this!"

He and his mother had always lived in great poverty. He had almost risked his life to hunt this wild boar today. If they sold it whole in town, it would be enough to support them for several months.

But without the slightest hesitation, he cut off such a large hind leg and gave it to Liu Yingying.

It's clear that this young man isn't as bad as the rumors suggest; he's also someone who knows how to repay kindness...

"In that case, I'll accept it!" Liu Yingying smiled slightly and took the hind leg from his hand.

Although it was their first meeting, it was clear that the young man had a very strong sense of pride. If she didn't accept his gift today, he would definitely overthink things...

As she was leaving, Liu Yingying's gaze swept over the mangled body of the wild boar on the ground once more.

What a pity! Such a big wild boar! If it were whole, it would definitely fetch a higher price!

For dinner, Liu Yingying cut a large piece of meat from the pig's leg to make braised pork, and the rest was salted to make smoked ham later.

I stir-fried two more vegetables and added a dish of candied sweet potatoes.

The sweet potatoes, coated in syrup and sprinkled with sesame seeds, are incredibly fragrant, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a sweet and tempting taste...

This candied sweet potato dish is made in a very large portion.

Now, no matter what she does every day, Liu Yingying always sets aside a portion for Zhao Di to deliver to Grandma Zhang and her granddaughter.

However, today she kept an extra portion, filling a small bamboo bowl she had woven herself and putting it into a bamboo basket.

After thinking for a moment, she took out six more eggs and put them in, then called over Zhu Jiafu and Zhu Jiawang.

"Liu Niang, is there anything you need?"

"Yes, there is. You can give this to Aunt Jiang and Brother Xue Ye!" Liu Yingying reached out to hand the basket to Zhu Jiawang.

But the two brothers looked as if they had lost their parents, and took a step back in fear.

"Oh my god! Did I hear that right?"

"Liu Niang, why did you have such a stupid idea to go and deliver food to that little bastard?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Jiawang received a sharp rap on the head.

Liu Yingying glared; "This is the first and last time. If I ever hear you insulting others like this again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Zhu Jiawang pouted in grievance. Although he didn't want to deliver food to the mother and son at all, he had no choice but to compromise under Liu Niang's tyranny.

Jiang Suyu and her son had a simple dinner: a dish of pickled vegetables and two bowls of thin porridge.

The difference was that Jiang Suyu's porridge contained finely shredded lean meat.

She knew that this was all out of her son's filial piety.

Just thinking about how her son had been wandering with her since birth, never having a single day of peace, made Jiang Suyu's eyes well up with tears. She used her chopsticks to put the shredded meat into Xue Ye's bowl.

Xue Ye quickly finished the porridge in the bowl in one gulp; "Mother, I've finished eating, you eat it yourself!"

He quickly got up and went outside, just in time to see the Zhu brothers walking towards him.

Xue Ye was tall and had an extremely indifferent demeanor, which put immense psychological pressure on the Zhu brothers!

"My mother asked me to deliver this...you...you should accept it!"

Before Zhu Jiawang could finish his sentence, he placed the basket on the ground in front of Xue Ye, grabbed Zhu Jiafu, and ran back as fast as he could, disappearing from sight in no time.

There are many rumors about Xue Ye in the village, but none of them are good.

For example, Zhu Jiawang had heard Erdan's grandfather say that he saw Xue Ye dig up a dead baby in the mountains and swallow it alive...

If someone eats even this, are they even human?

Watching the two brothers run away as if their lives depended on it, Xue Ye remained indifferent. The unruly children in the surrounding villages were all afraid of him.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!