Wang Fengqin quickly stepped forward to take the basket, her tone tinged with reproach, "Why are you back so late? The mountains are dangerous, and there are trees and weeds everywhere. What if you encountered snakes or insects? You should come back earlier next time."
As darkness fell and there was still no sign of them, she became extremely worried. However, she couldn't abandon her two children, so she lit a small fire outside the shack to light their way.
Jiang Yimian just smiled and scratched her head, saying nothing, but she felt exceptionally warm inside.
She used to live alone, and when she first transmigrated, she wasn't used to Wang Fengqin's close relationship with the two children and always felt uncomfortable. But after spending time with them, she felt that having family by her side made her especially happy.
Even though I'm busy and tired every day, I'm still happy and joyful.
Besides cold shepherd's purse salad, Wang Fengqin also made a plate of stir-fried eggs with lamb's quarters for dinner. She also mixed the Guanyin tofu from lunch with oil and salt, and it tasted delicious.
They ate their fill of porridge.
After dinner, Wang Fengqin put the two children to sleep. While tidying up the things in the shack, she said to Jiang Yimian, "When I went to collect firewood nearby, I seemed to see smoke rising from the village. It seemed like there were still people in the village."
Whether she was seeing things or not, she saw a wisp of smoke rising from the village and then quickly disappearing.
Jiang Yimian paused, her brows furrowing.
If the smoke from the chimneys belonged to ordinary refugees, it would be fine, but if it belonged to vicious people, they would be in some danger on the mountain.
Thinking it over, she quickly said, "Mother, we need to be careful when we light fires and cook these days, so that we are not discovered by the people down the mountain. It would be best to cook when there is fog in the forest, and try not to light fires at night."
Although their place is behind the village, people down the mountain can still see the firelight if it appears at night.
Wang Fengqin nodded. She had been very careful these past few days, deliberately avoiding daytime when starting a fire to cook, or fanning away the smoke in time, so there was no obvious smoke.
Even when lighting a fire at night, they would deliberately make it a small pile, just in case it was discovered.
Seeing that it was getting late, the two didn't say anything more, extinguished the fire, and went to sleep.
Jiang Yimian was a light sleeper, and she had been keeping a close eye on the outside world, so when someone reached out to lift the shed lid, she kicked the person out.
The man lay on the ground and groaned. He was somewhat surprised to be discovered. He didn't bother to pick up the bag that had fallen to the ground and scrambled into the woods.
Jiang Yimian glanced at the small cloth bag on the ground, picked it up casually, and found that it contained some broken rice, which she guessed the person had stolen.
Stealing things while everyone is asleep—this shameless act is something few people in the village would do.
If she hadn't been alert, the things in her own shack would have certainly been destroyed.
She looked up at the shack not far away, which was quiet and peaceful, clearly indicating that the inhabitants were unaware of what had happened.
Jiang Yimian hesitated for a moment, then heard Wang Fengqin say sleepily, "Yimian, what's wrong? Are you going to get up in the middle of the night? I'll go with you."
Jiang Yimian put away the cloth bag in her hand and said, "It's alright, Mother, go to sleep."
With that, he lay back down on the bed.
The next day, she was awakened by the shouts and curses outside.
Even through a large grove of trees, Jiang Yimian could hear the people cursing; they were clearly furious.
"Which bastard came to my shack to steal grain in the middle of the night? Damn it, he spilled it all over the ground."
“My family is running low on food. That shameless bastard came to steal things in the middle of the night. If I catch him, I’ll skin him alive.”
"Exactly, they're shameless. My family has lost money too."
Wang Ergou occasionally chimed in, but the others paid little attention. After cursing a few times, they hid their food, afraid that the thieves would target it again.
Jiang Yimian stretched and came out of the shack when she saw Liu Xiaoyun frowning and talking to Wang Fengqin.
"Sister Fengqin, how are things? Are there any missing items in your shack? We've lost some grain. That thief is shameless; he even stole from here. Luckily, not too much was stolen. We need to be more careful in the future."
Although not much was lost, it still worried her. The family didn't have much food to begin with, and now they'd been robbed. She didn't know how long they could last on the mountain.
Wang Fengqin scratched her head in confusion, glanced at the things in the shack, and said, "I don't think there's anything in my shack. It looks clean and tidy, like no one has been here. So, do you know who stole it?"
Liu Xiaoyun shook her head, then nodded, and said irritably, "There aren't many people on this mountain. There can only be one person who would steal things in the dark of night. Everyone else has a sense of shame. Who else but Wang Ergou would do such a thing?"
Although there was no evidence, everyone knew who did it. If it weren't for the fact that not much grain was lost, and because they were from the same village and wanted to save face for the other party, they would have definitely come knocking on their door.
Wang Fengqin was also a little angry and scolded Wang Ergou a few times. Just as she was about to comfort him, she heard Jiang Yimian say, "Auntie, this should be your rice, right?"
She took out the small bag of rice she had picked up last night and handed it to him.
Liu Xiaoyun was startled and quickly stepped forward to take the small cloth bag. After opening it, she nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, this is rice from my family. Yi Mian, where did you find it?"
The Chen family's rice harvest was poor last year. Not only did they not harvest much, but even after finally getting the rice husks removed, they were all broken. Because it was difficult to sell the rice for money, many people in the village knew about it.
Upon seeing the broken rice of varying lengths in the cloth bag, she was filled with delight.
The small bag of rice in his hand weighs about ten pounds. If they eat it sparingly, it will be enough for his family to eat for quite a few days.
Jiang Yimian simply recounted what happened last night, which infuriated Liu Xiaoyun, who launched into another tirade of abuse: "You shameless wretch! Luckily, Yimian, you were quick-witted, otherwise both of our shacks would have been destroyed, and I would never have been able to find the rice. Thank you so much."
Jiang Yimian just waved her hand, not really paying attention, but Liu Xiaoyun insisted on giving her two eggs as a thank you.
After everyone left, Wang Fengqin quickly looked Jiang Yimian up and down and asked worriedly, "Was it when I thought you came when you got up in the middle of the night?"
"It's all my fault! Why didn't I think about it properly? You rarely get up at night, why did you suddenly get up? Are you hurt? That damned bastard even stole from our house, cough cough cough."
These days, when she went up the mountain, she was only thinking about what to eat every day. She didn't have to do any work. Every day, Yi Mian and the two children dug wild vegetables and gathered firewood. She was much more relaxed and became negligent. Even though she knew something was wrong, she could still fall asleep with a clear conscience, which frightened Yi Mian and left her to face the thief alone.
Seeing the worry in her eyes and the self-blame on her face, Jiang Yimian smiled helplessly and said, "Mom, I'm fine. I kicked that person out as soon as he came. I'm very capable, so you don't need to worry about me."
"But you, your complexion has finally improved these past few days, you absolutely mustn't worry too much and worsen your condition."
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