Chapter 29, Chapter Twenty...
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Yao Anhui tightened her grip on the bamboo basket. The basket itself wasn't heavy, but she had soaked it in water to keep the fish alive. The fish she caught weighed about three or four pounds, and now the basket was almost too heavy for her to hold.
As the woman drew closer, Yao Anhui subconsciously screamed in her heart: If this woman is a bad person, someone connected to spies, may she trip over her own feet and break a front tooth.
Yao Anhui had barely finished cursing in her mind when she saw the woman who had been smiling so brightly just moments before trip over her own feet and fall.
No way? (Looks horrified)
Then, Yao Anhui, dumbfounded, watched as she got up from the ground and spat out a front tooth with two "pui pui" sounds.
Is this woman really a spy? Was she the one Hua Fangling said was spying on them over there? I wonder if she has any evidence to prove it, otherwise how would she arrest such a dangerous individual?
Otherwise, even if the spy is eventually caught, she will still be worried that this person might do something behind her back.
Besides, Yao Anhui still despised this traitor who betrayed his country. Even when she was sold into slavery, she never thought of betraying her country.
While Yao Anhui was thinking, Hua Fangling had already put down the bamboo basket in her hand, helped the person up, and asked with concern about the other person's condition: "Are you alright, comrade? Do you need to be taken to the clinic?"
Looking at Hua Fangling's sincere expression, Yao Anhui thought to herself, "Hua Fangling is the author of this book. She definitely knows this person has problems. Yet she's approaching him so calmly. I'm definitely not as composed as Hua Fangling. I should really study harder."
Yao Anhui quickly stepped forward and joined in, expressing her concern verbally, but her eyes kept scrutinizing the other woman, trying to find something on her that could prove she was a spy.
Perhaps it was because the author, Hua Fangling, had the advantage of being the female lead, or perhaps it was because Yao Anhui's age played a role; Yao Anhui, with her sharp eyes, spotted something on the ground.
Yao Anhui didn't even see what it was, but she inexplicably felt that it was very important, so she immediately picked up the thing that was only two fingers wide and smaller than a matchbox.
Yao Anhui's heart pounded: Please, please, don't let her find out that I picked up her things. Let her find out about the loss later, and please don't let her associate it with me.
"It's nothing, I just tripped and fell. I need to go home and cook; the kids are still at home." The woman got up nimbly, looking nothing like she was injured, though her speech was slightly slurred.
"This person... is strong!" Hua Fangling gave the woman a thumbs up as she watched her limp away.
Yao Anhui didn't understand what Hua Fangling meant, but she took out the thing she had just picked up and showed it to Hua Fangling: "Do you know what this thing is?"
The appearance of a small metal part, less than two fingers wide and smaller than a matchbox, made Hua Fangling's eyes widen instantly.
"This is... a camera?" Hua Fangling was from a later era and had never actually seen such an antique before, but he had watched anti-Japanese war TV dramas and movies, and the spies in those dramas used something like this.
Hua Fangling covered her mouth and whispered, "You mean this spy camera was dropped by that woman just now?"
After a pause of several seconds, Hua Fangling finally exclaimed, "Holy crap, is that woman a spy?"
"Don't you know? I thought she was the one you said was watching us by the river earlier." Yao Anhui looked at Hua Fangling. Could it be that there are so many spies here?
"No, but we have to get back quickly, especially since we need to hand over this camera as soon as possible." Hua Fangling certainly knew what was important.
Originally, the plot she wrote involved the theft of important data from the Ordnance Research Institute. In order to make a deep impression on the male protagonist and make the achievement even greater, she wrote a particularly important document that was also the only one of its kind. However, since she wrote the book herself, she knew who the mole and the spy were, so the matter was not so urgent.
But the camera in Yao Anhui's hand is different; it's the unknown, and the unknown represents uncertainty. Who knows what important things have been captured in this camera?
At that moment, none of them doubted that the woman from before was a spy, because this camera was definitely not something an ordinary person could possess. Even if she wasn't the owner of the camera, she was someone close to its owner.
Right now, they couldn't show any panic, because they were afraid that there might be accomplices of spies nearby. What if the enemy noticed something was wrong and killed them on the spot? They weren't ready to face death yet.
However, Hua Fangling, being a novelist and possessing a cheat-like advantage, immediately came up with a solution.
Hua Fangling moved closer to Yao Anhui, carrying a bamboo basket as she walked forward, and said to Yao Anhui, "I have some wild fruits I just picked. In a little while, you crush them and pretend to faint, then I'll carry you back."
Yao Anhui's eyes widened: "Are you that strong?" You should know that although they are not far from the family compound, it is still nearly two kilometers away. Carrying her back, and on foot, is not an option for Hua Fangling, who has thin arms and legs.
"Don't underestimate me. Our most important thing now is to get back as soon as possible. We have to hurry. What if that woman goes back and finds the camera missing and does something desperate? Don't think I'm exaggerating. Those spies are ruthless. There was a spy who was discovered before and not caught immediately. He killed several families in retaliation, and he didn't even spare a three-month-old baby."
Hua Fangling successfully persuaded Yao Anhui, but Yao Anhui felt there was another way. There were many young boys fishing by the river, and they could be asked to help deliver the message. Those teenagers could run much faster than them.
The young man Yao Anhui had her eye on was Xu Jianjun. He was only twelve years old this year, but he was already over 1.7 meters tall and as strong as his father, Xu Aiguo. The reason Yao Anhui chose him was because Xu Jianjun would do morning exercises with Xu Aiguo every morning at five or six o'clock. His running speed was so fast that Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling combined couldn't outrun him.
Xu Jianjun was also out fishing and was carrying his catch home when he saw Yao Anhui, who was walking in front of him, suddenly vomit blood and collapse to the ground. He was so frightened that he almost dropped the wooden bucket he was holding.
Hua Fangling shouted loudly, "An Hui, are you alright? Don't scare me!"
"Auntie, what happened?" Xu Jianjun, who ran over, was shocked to see Yao Anhui vomiting a lot of blood.
"Jianjun, you've come at the right time. Could you please go to the family compound and ask Uncle Lu and Uncle Shen to come over?" Hua Fangling said, then ignored him and, feigning nonchalance, carried Yao Anhui on her back and ran towards the family compound, abandoning their bamboo baskets and fish.
Xu Jianjun hesitated for a moment, then took off running, quickly overtaking Hua Fangling and Yao Anhui, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.
Actually, Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang were both at home at the moment. However, Lu Yuanqing's entire regiment had gone out for field training a while ago and only returned yesterday. This is why Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling came out to fish during their midday break today. Firstly, they wanted to provide them with a quiet environment to rest, and secondly, they wanted to fish so they could have a nice meal for their husbands.
Xu Jianjun is indeed fast. Although he is not as good as active-duty soldiers, he only took about ten minutes to run two kilometers.
Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang had already gotten up. They had to go to work in the afternoon, so the house was unusually quiet. But soon Xu Jianjun shouted "Uncle Lu, Uncle Shen" as he ran towards the family compound.
"Jianjun, what are you doing?" a military wife couldn't help but ask when she saw Xu Jianjun acting like this.
Xu Jianjun was really exhausted from running so far, so he stopped to catch his breath and said to the people around him, "The aunt of Commander Lu's family has fainted from vomiting blood. Aunt Hua asked me to call Uncle Lu and Uncle Shen to come and help."
"What? He vomited blood and fainted?" The crowd erupted in uproar.
"Jianjun, you rest first, I'll go get someone for you." Someone in the crowd said and quickly ran towards Lu Yuanqing's house.
Lu Yuanqing quickly learned that Yao Anhui had vomited blood and fainted. The two of them immediately sprinted a hundred meters towards the back mountain and successfully met up with Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling not far from the family compound.
Seeing Yao Anhui being carried by Hua Fangling towards them from afar, Lu Yuanqing's heart skipped a beat: "Huihui." He quickly took Yao Anhui into his arms.
Seeing that Lu Yuanqing's face had turned pale, Hua Fangling quickly said, "Don't worry, An Hui is just pretending to be unconscious. Let's go back quickly, we have something important to do."
Hearing Hua Fangling's words, Lu Yuanqing's expression didn't improve; instead, it became even more unpleasant. Not only Lu Yuanqing, but Shen Wenkang's expression also turned sour. Neither of them were stupid; upon hearing Hua Fangling's words, they knew that something serious had happened, and that this matter couldn't be discussed in public, which showed just how serious it was.
Lu Yuanqing carried Yao Anhui and ran quickly towards the health center. With their experience, they naturally knew that the red mark on Yao Anhui's body was not blood. However, since they were going to make the act more convincing, they naturally had to go to the health center in this situation.
Hua Fangling was also quite exhausted at this moment, after all, she had really carried Yao Anhui for more than a kilometer, and her face was pale.
Shen Wenkang felt sorry for his wife and forgot all about everything else. He picked Hua Fangling up in his arms and chased after Lu Yuanqing.
Then the people in the family compound saw Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang carrying their wives to the health center, and rumors spread that Hua Fangling and Yao Anhui were seriously injured.
However, at this moment, Yao Anhui and the others were people, and no one cared about the rumors.
The doctors and nurses at the health center were also startled. Before Lu Yuanqing and his group arrived, some enthusiastic military families had already run over to inform them, so when Lu Yuanqing and his group arrived, the doctors and nurses were already pushing stretchers to greet them.
Yao Anhui was placed on a stretcher and pushed into the operating room. However, Lu Yuanqing, Hua Fangling, and Shen Wenkang all followed her in. Before the doctor could object, Yao Anhui, who had been unconscious just moments before, had already sat up.
"What happened?" Army doctor Zhong Kairen was dumbfounded.
"Since the situation is urgent, let's talk here," Lu Yuanqing said.
However, Yao Anhui looked at Hua Fangling. Of course, she had to ask Hua Fangling's opinion at this time. She was the author, and only she knew who in the book had problems. She didn't want to reveal that he had found a spy in front of everyone. Wouldn't that be handing the spy his head?
Hua Fangling nodded: "Then let me tell you. When we went fishing by the river just now, we found a stone that looks like a piece of pork belly. There was a key under the stone, and I have a feeling that someone is watching what's going on over there."
At the opportune moment, Yao Anhui took out the key and said, "I swapped the house key with that one."
The medical staff present were stunned, thinking to themselves: Is this all for a key? He pretended to be unconscious and vomited blood, fooling everyone.
Immediately afterwards, Yao Anhui took out the camera, which was smaller than a matchbox.
Everyone present was also unable to sit still. Everyone recognized this thing, but no one asked any questions. Instead, they waited quietly for Yao Anhui to explain.
"I felt something was off about that key and the person who was looking in our direction, so we decided to come back. On the way back, we met a woman who was very beautiful. She accidentally tripped and fell, and I noticed something strange that fell out of her body, so I secretly picked it up."
"Fangling said this thing looks like a spy camera from a movie. We all felt this was very important, so we pretended to cough up blood."
“You did the right thing. Whether it’s true or not, it was the right thing to do,” Lu Yuanqing reassured him.
They told her everything they knew, gave Lu Yuanqing the key and camera, and then Yao Anhui was no longer needed.
"Huihui, you and Sister-in-law Hua stay at the clinic for now and don't go home. Don't tell anyone about this. If anyone comes and asks, just say you were poisoned by wild fruit. I'll arrange for someone to protect you," Lu Yuanqing told Yao Anhui with concern.
"Isn't it a bit much to arrange for someone to protect us?" It's not that Yao Anhui is fearless, but for safety's sake, they are currently in a military infirmary with soldiers standing guard at the entrance, so their safety shouldn't be a problem.
"It's safer to have someone guard it, just in case that person discovers the key is fake and gets desperate and tries to harm you."
Yao Anhui, who was afraid of death, was easily persuaded by Hua Fangling. If she hadn't been afraid of death, why would she have been so cautious? If she hadn't caught a big fish this time, people would have said she was making a fuss over nothing.
Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang exchanged a few words in a hurry and left; they had a lot to do right now.
After that, Yao Anhui lay obediently on the hospital bed in the health center, waiting until there were no more safety concerns before going home.
Hua Fangling didn't go back either; she stayed at the health center with Yao Anhui. They were both people who had finally been given a second chance at life, and they wouldn't risk their lives. What if the spy was like what was described in the story? They hadn't lived enough yet.
That's right, pretending to be sick isn't so easy.
She thought that since she was staying in the temporary clinic for military spouses, no one would be so inconsiderate as to visit her, but she forgot about ordinary neighbors and friends; it was Xiang Jinghe who came.
Xiang Jinghe couldn't treat her the same way she treated her own daughter, but she was definitely not like an ordinary relative or friend. She truly treated her as family, almost as close as if she were her own child.
Yao Anhui is the kind of person who can become close friends with anyone if she wants. Decades of life in the harem have made her adept at reading people. In just three or four months, Yao Anhui has already raised Xiang Jinghe's favorability to the maximum.
Therefore, after learning that Yao Anhui had been poisoned by eating wild fruits, he nagged Yao Anhui for more than an hour, making her feel utterly hopeless.
Yao Anhui looked at Hua Fangling, who shrugged and gave her a helpless look.
Yao Anhui turned her head back and continued to listen attentively, reassuring Xiang Jinghe: "Auntie, I swear, I will never eat wild fruits again, really."
My head hurts. I've been nagging about this for over an hour today. I can only imagine how furious Xiang Jinghe will be when she finds out that she didn't actually get poisoned from eating wild fruit, but was just pretending to catch a spy.
Yao Anhui's head throbbed just thinking about the scene, but what could she do now but grit her teeth and listen?
While Yao Anhui was feigning illness, Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang reported the matter to Guan Kangde. The matter was immediately taken seriously because the identity of the spy was unknown, and they were afraid of being discovered. The matter was handed over to Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang for a secret investigation.
The camera and keys were handed over to professionals.
The fake key in the river, which Hua Fangling suspected was part of a group of spies, was immediately monitored by people, and the military began a secret internal investigation.
And the woman who dropped her camera.
Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling's worries were not unfounded. The woman's name was Ge Xiumin, an educated youth from Haicheng. It was said that she had lost all her relatives in the city and came to Gaojia Brigade, which was not too far from the military region, to work as an educated youth. After a few months, she married the youngest son of the village party secretary.
In reality, this person was a Japanese soldier. Because he looked similar to the real Ge Xiumin, in order to replace the real Ge Xiumin, he not only killed Ge Xiumin, but also did not spare the rest of the Ge family.
The fake Ge Xiumin was very clever and managed to fool the village secretary's son. She lived a good life in the village, and her husband felt sorry for her and didn't let her work in the fields, giving her more time to travel and make connections.
When Ge Xiumin returned home, she discovered that her camera was missing. She went back the way she had come home to look for it, but she couldn't find it. Because of Yao Anhui's spiritual influence, she didn't suspect Yao Anhui, but she did suspect Hua Fangling. So, after returning home, Ge Xiumin packed her things and planned to run away.
As Jia Ge Xiumin was packing her things, her husband Gao Chengwen happened to discover her. She was ruthless not only to others, but also to herself. If her children or husband blocked her way, she would not hesitate to take action against them.
If it weren't for the people Lu Yuanqing sent to spy on the fake Ge Xiumin noticing something was wrong and rushing to her rescue, Gao Chengwen would have already fainted, bleeding profusely, and it would be unclear whether she was dead or alive. A child under two years old was being choked by her, and it looked like he was about to die as well.
All I can say is that he is indeed a capable spy; his heart is ruthless.
While Ge Xiumin was prevented from escaping, someone was also secretly watching the key in the river. At first, nothing was discovered, but after get off work in the evening, a junior staff member from the logistics department was seen heading in that direction. He wasn't sneaking around; he was carrying a bamboo basket and said he was going to the mountains to pick some honeysuckle to make tea because he was feeling hot.
Shi Zi'ang carried the bamboo basket with light steps. He was finally about to end his dark and hopeless life as an undercover agent. Tonight, as long as he got the key and there were supplies and weapons along the way, he could return to China smoothly. After that, countless riches and honors awaited him.
Shi Zi'ang was full of expectations for the future when he was suddenly pushed into the icy river.
"Hey who is this? Why are you hitting me for no reason? Let me go! I'm going to report this to your superiors!" Shi Zi'ang only panicked for a moment. Thinking of his good reputation in the logistics department and his background that no one doubted, Shi Zi'ang quickly calmed down and even shouted that he would go to the leaders to complain.
However, the people who were arranged to come here at this time were all Lu Yuanqing's closest confidants. Before they came, they were told that they were here to catch spies. No matter who it was, as long as they came here to find the key, even if it was the highest commander of the XX Military Region, they would all be taken down.
Of course, fearing the enemy might escape, the team Lu Yuanqing sent this time was one of his most elite squads, so powerful that even Lu Yuanqing, a king of soldiers, couldn't defeat them single-handedly.
Lu Yuanqing overestimated Shi Ziang. The elite squad of ten only needed three men to take him down, when Shi Ziang had just pulled the key out of the sand.
"Trying to curry favor with our leader, huh? We're waiting." After tying the man's hands behind his back, the squad leader grinned, clearly pleased with himself. He thought his commander was really kind; he was going to get praised again.
Looking at the piece of pork belly stone that the other party had taken out of the river, and at his fearless attitude, Shi Zi'ang finally felt a sense of urgency.
"What are you doing? I just thought this rock looked really good and wanted to pick it up and take a look. I saw a key underneath it, so I thought it was normal to pick it up and ask whose it was. Is that wrong?" Shi Zi'ang became more and more guilty as he spoke, and the more guilty he became, the louder his voice became, attracting the attention of the people nearby.
"Hey, what did this guy do wrong?"
"He must be a bad element. If he were a good People's Liberation Army soldier, why would they arrest him?"
"They're all tied up; it seems they've committed a serious offense."
"Oh, I know this person. He said he's an officer from the logistics department and he even visited our village before."
Previously, for fear of alerting the enemy, the villagers here were not dispersed. As the saying goes, people live off the mountains and rivers. People often come to this river to fish, and they often go into the mountains to collect wild vegetables. Moreover, because this place is closer to the military base and is safer, even more people come here.
The military and the people share a close bond, and the troops often organize soldiers to help with the harvest in nearby communes during busy farming seasons. As a result, the people in the communes are not afraid of the soldiers; on the contrary, they regard the soldiers as their own children.
Seeing the soldiers arresting people, they weren't afraid at all; they gathered together to watch the spectacle and even discussed Shi Zi'ang.
"Oh no! He ate at my house when he came to our village before. Will this affect our family?" the person suddenly said in a panic.
"I don't think so, right? Wasn't it arranged by the commune leaders? Besides, they gave us grain coupons, it was a settled matter, we can't hold them all accountable, can we?"
"That's not necessarily true. The revolutionary association on my wife's side is really wicked. They can frame you for crimes even if you're not related to them at all, just for a family recipe passed down from their ancestors."
"These people are going to be finished sooner or later. When the authorities find out about this, they'll definitely get shot."
"Yes, once □□ is free, we'll deal with them one by one."
This was the time when people were most enthusiastic about [the government/organization], and everyone trusted [the government/organization] wholeheartedly and respected it from the bottom of their hearts.
At this time, the peasants and common people do not respect or love those who are corrupt. They will not despise you, but will only think that you are probably corrupt. They will secretly observe you and wait for the right time to crush you.
Ge Chengye from Hongxing Brigade always felt that Ge Datou from the same village had a lot of problems. Ge Datou had an elderly mother in poor health, and the brigade took good care of his family by letting Ge Datou's mother raise pigs. The work was easy and she would get seven work points. Ge Datou was not only ungrateful, but also spread bad things about his family.
Putting aside other things, Ge Chengye saw Ge Datou say disrespectful things about the portrait of the □□ on several occasions. More importantly, he also saw this idle person eating at state-run restaurants several times.
Ge Chengye had long suspected Ge Datou, but since he had no evidence, he could only keep an eye on him secretly. It just so happened that Ge Chengye recognized the person who was arrested by the People's Liberation Army. He had seen this person talking to Ge Datou several times before, and he would separate from him and pretend not to know him whenever he saw him.
Now that Shi Zi'ang has been arrested, Ge Chengye knows that his chance to make a contribution has arrived.
Ge Chengye immediately moved quietly to Ge Datou's side. If he was in cahoots with the arrested man, there was a high chance he would take action.
Then, upon seeing a gun-shaped object in Ge Datou's pocket, Ge Chengye immediately rushed forward to snatch it, shouting loudly, "There's a spy accomplice here! Everyone, come help!"
Ge Chengye didn't know if the person who was arrested was a spy, but in order to catch Ge Datou faster and prevent him from escaping, it would definitely be very useful to label him as a spy.
"What? A spy accomplice?"
Sure enough, the crowd erupted at the mention of "spy," and everyone rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Ge Chengye, who was the first to pin down Ge Datou, was so afraid of being beaten that he had to take the stolen spear to the People's Liberation Army comrades to explain the situation.
The entire elite squad was numb.
At first, they thought it was Shi Zi'ang's accomplices creating chaos to take the opportunity to rescue Shi Zi'ang or to kill him to silence him. They were already prepared for battle.
The elite squad split into two. Six of them took Shi Zi'ang back first, while the remaining four stayed behind. No matter what, Shi Zi'ang had to be brought back today.
As it turned out, Shi Zi'ang did have accomplices, but they were discovered by the sharp eyes of the crowd, and there was no need for a fight; the crowd had already subdued them.
"Thank you for your help, fellow villagers." The soldiers saluted the villagers.
The community members felt valued and returned a somewhat imperfect military salute, with one saying, "No need to thank me, no need to thank me. I'm glad I could help."
The man said, "I've been involved in a big event today; I'll have plenty to brag about when I get back."
"Indeed, we can brag about this for a lifetime. We've even caught spies, after all."
Ge Chengye went back with him to explain the situation. Ge Datou, who had been beaten black and blue, and Shi Ziang were taken back for interrogation.
At first, I thought Ge Datou, Ge Xiumin, and Shi Ziang were accomplices. But when I asked, I found out that Ge Datou and Shi Ziang knew each other, but one was a Japanese soldier and the other was a traitor. Ge Xiumin was a spy from the island.
Goodness, we've caught a big fish! Following this trail, we've caught so many big fish, small fish, and shrimp.
Of course, Yao Anhui and the other woman were unaware of these things. They stayed at the health center instead of going home, mainly because they were afraid of being killed off by the plot, and also because it was convenient to arrange for someone to protect them while they were at the health center. They dared not let them go home until the spies were caught.
Fortunately, the power of the state apparatus is strong. Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling only stayed in the health center for a day and a night, and were released to go home the following afternoon.
"I'm going home, I'm going home. I was so scared and anxious at the clinic. I couldn't eat or sleep properly, and I had nightmares all night. I need to eat something good to heal my wounded heart when I get back," Hua Fangling said exaggeratedly.
“Then I’m going to come to your house for a free meal.” Yao Anhui said without thinking, “I’m more hurt than you, okay?”
Recalling Yao Anhui's utterly hopeless expression when Xiang Jinghe nagged her, Hua Fangling generously said, "Alright, since you're so pitiful, I'll allow you to eat two more bowls later."
Yao Anhui was adept at taking advantage of others: "Then I'd like to order some dishes. Last time you made spicy stir-fried pork intestines and chopped chili fish head, I can provide the chopped chili."
"That's going too far! I let you freeload, and you're even ordering food!" Hua Fangling looked incredulous. "Who corrupted you? Give me back the gentle, dignified, and reserved Yao Anhui."
"Who else could have corrupted me? You, of course! They say you become like those you associate with, and I've been corrupted by you. I'm not ladylike at all anymore," Yao Anhui retorted with a laugh.
"It seems my Huashi Little Classroom has been a great success! To celebrate this historic moment, let's have some stir-fried carrots today." Yao Anhui doesn't really like carrots.
"You look like a carrot to me..."
"Ancestor, do you take me for a god? Where am I supposed to get pork intestines and fish heads at this hour...?"
"Oh, aren't you? Aren't you the Goddess Chef who cooks so deliciously?"
"You're really something, willing to sacrifice everything for a meager meal..."
The two chatted and joked as they walked towards the family compound.
"Xiao Hui is back. Is she alright?" Everyone greeted Yao Anhui and Hua Fangling.
"I'm much better now, thank you for your concern, sister-in-law." Yao Anhui smiled on the surface, but inwardly she was screaming: her lifelong reputation was ruined. From now on, Yao Anhui would be a legend in the family compound, and wherever there were wild fruits, there would be a negative example of her being poisoned and vomiting blood.
"Xiao Hui, don't eat wild fruits next time. Luckily we found out in time this time, but next time it might be different... uh... anyway, don't eat wild fruits."
"That makes sense. It really startled us at the time, including Xiao Lu, whose face turned pale with fright."
"Yes, yes, I really won't eat wild fruits anymore. After this lesson, I will never set a bad example for the children again," Yao Anhui said. She spoke so sincerely, it was almost like she was swearing an oath.
"How does it feel to be the center of attention?" Hua Fangling laughed out loud beside her. Yao Anhui was more vibrant than ever at this moment.
"Isn't this all your doing? What was I thinking when I agreed to your outrageous idea?" Yao Anhui's face grew even more bitter, and her pitiful appearance was incredibly endearing.
"Look at this poor little thing, alright, I'll make your favorite spicy pork ribs tonight."
"You just said you had no ingredients, but now you have ribs?" Yao Anhui asked curiously.
"I already had someone buy it for me. It includes not only spare ribs, but also your favorite fish head and pork intestines. We'll eat our fill tonight."
"Really? Thank you for the gift from the God of Cookery." Yao Anhui was overjoyed, and her smile brightened even more.
Honestly, Hua Fangling always marvels at Yao Anhui's beauty. Just when she thinks she's gotten used to her looks, Yao Anhui always manages to amaze everyone again.
That's why people say Hua Fangling is obsessed with looks. No wonder she always wants to cook delicious food for Yao Anhui; beauty really does lead people astray and empty their wallets.
"Honestly, I always get tempted by you," Hua Fangling muttered.
"Huh? What did you say?" Yao Anhui didn't hear clearly.
"I mean, you're so beautiful you're a feast for the eyes. I'm going to eat two bowls of rice tonight." Whenever Hua Fangling said this, Yao Anhui would blush, and Hua Fangling would always admire the beauty's shy expression.
However, things are different now. Yao Anhui gradually calmed down amidst Hua Fangling's countless praises, and this time she even replied, "Really? Then I'll sit opposite you later and try to get you to eat three more bowls."
"Oh my god, you've changed. How did you become so shameless?" Hua Fangling said in a strange tone.
"Alright, stop fooling around." Yao Anhui was amused by her. She actually really enjoyed playing with Hua Fangling, and always felt that she had become younger.
Upon arriving at her doorstep, Yao Anhui suddenly asked, "Did you come back during the day?"
"No, we were together all day. Don't you know whether I came back or not?" Hua Fangling wondered why Yao Anhui would ask such a question.
"Do you know if my Lu Yuanqing has ever come back?" Yao Anhui asked again.
"No, they're so busy with this that they don't even have time to eat, let alone go home."
"Has anyone been inside my house?" Yao Anhui asked gravely.
"No way, you're kidding me, you're going to scare me to death." Especially at this time, this joke is not funny at all.
“I’m not kidding, strangers really did get into my house.” Yao Anhui frowned.
"No, how did you know?"
"I could smell it. There was a fragrance. I've never been able to stand the scent of osmanthus since I was a child. If I smell it for too long, I'll feel dizzy and vomit. I can smell even the slightest bit of fragrance. So, someone with the scent of osmanthus came into my house."
"Ugh... I'm getting goosebumps, what should I do now?"
"What else can I do? I'm too scared to go in."
"Are you kidding? I don't dare go in either. Let's hurry and find Lao Shen and Lao Lu. I don't want the people inside to give me a beating; that would really mean I'd have to go to the hospital." Hua Fangling pulled Yao Anhui and ran out, looking more terrified than if she were being chased by a dog.
"Huihui, sister-in-law, where are you going?"
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