Chapter 17
"Why did you go and provoke her? Are you bored?" Old Madam Han said with disdain. Going to cause trouble for someone, not having the ability, and only making yourself look bad, is really unbelievable.
Wei Qiuyu argued, "Mom, there's a huge rift between our Han family and her. Do you really want to see her get better?"
Old Madam Han was irritated. While the Wei family lacked fighting prowess, their ability to sow discord was considerable. Yao Chunnuan had previously tormented the Han family to death, so she naturally didn't want her to get any worse. However, the premise was that they had to have the energy to care about such things. Now that they were struggling to even survive, they were still going through the trouble of fighting against them. Wasn't that just mentally ill?
"Jin'an, take your wife aside. I feel a tightness in my chest and don't want to see her for the time being." Old Madam Han waved her hand and asked her son to take the person away quickly.
Han Jinan sat with his eyes closed. Yesterday, his niece sprained her ankle and couldn't walk, so he carried her all the way. He didn't have the energy or desire to get involved with his mother and wife. But now that his mother had called on him, he had no choice but to stand up.
Han Jinan pulled the man aside and whispered, "It's been tough enough on our journey, can we please not bother with that Yao family for now?" That Yao family is really not someone to be trifled with.
Wei Qiuyu felt incredibly aggrieved. She realized Yao Qiunuan was now incredibly ferocious, a hundred times more brutal than she had been in the past. Every time they faced off, she was quickly defeated. She couldn't understand why. Now her husband and mother-in-law were urging her to avoid him, which truly frustrated her.
She was right not to understand. In the future, even unmarried, she was considered a beauty. The company was full of wolves and little meat, so there were a lot of idiots around her. Before, Yao Chunnuan was too busy to pay attention to them. Besides nagging behind her back, no one dared to rush to her. Now that Yao Chunnuan was free, with guns pointed at her, she was powerless.
She should be thankful that the laws of later generations were strict enough to protect people like her who thought they were smart and happy-go-lucky. Otherwise, with her scheming and self-defeating behavior, she would have been killed countless times.
After the team set off, Yao Chunnuan's handcuffs and leg irons were removed, and she was left at the back, picking herbs with a cloth bag in her hand. Of course, she was still guarded by officials.
Along the way, while ensuring that she did not fall behind, she picked all the useful herbs she saw. When she saw that she had almost finished, she slowed down and only bent down when she saw some that were growing very neatly.
Overall, although Yao Chunnuan chose to pick herbs, she would not let herself get tired. Anyway, she made sure that the amount she picked was enough to make a big pot.
This large pot of cold tea was enough to supply Tian Qigang and his subordinates, and of course, they were guaranteed to have their own share. In addition, there was still half left. How to divide it or how much the prisoners got was not her concern.
She did these things to get along with the escort officer, and she didn't care whether the other prisoners were enough or not.
At noon, when the prisoners found a place under the shade of trees to sit down and rest while eating their dry food for lunch, Yao Chunnuan took the herbs she had picked to a nearby stream to wash them.
It was too hot at noon, so Tian Qigang would give them half an hour to rest, eat, rest their feet, and if they were fast, take a nap under a tree. This was the longest rest period before nightfall, and they all cherished it.
Seeing her busy preparing a refreshing tea without shackles, the prisoners realized that she had requested such a job, freeing herself from the pain of wearing shackles. For a moment, the prisoners were filled with envy.
While Yao Chunnuan was washing the herbs, Luo Suyi did not rest, but took the initiative to help, digging the soil and building a stove. Because she was wearing shackles, it was not easy for her to do the work, but she still did it seriously.
Seeing her busy, Wang Lang hesitated whether to step forward to help. But the nature of his help was different. This was exactly where he hesitated. But as he hesitated, another man stepped forward to help!
"Let me help too." Xiao Jieming walked over.
Luo Suyi glanced at him and silently made way.
The stern-faced escort officers from Team Two didn't really care what these two men did during their rest periods, as long as they didn't try to escape. But they didn't want to swap handcuffs and leg irons like Tian Qigang's team did during their nights off. That was probably because Teams Two and Three were escorting quite a few desperate criminals, and they didn't want to take that risk.
With the efforts of the two, a simple stove was built.
When Yao Chunnuan came back and saw them, she was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly at them without saying much.
Tian Qigang only gave her a big pot, no more preferential treatment! Of course, if she had other people willing to help her, he would not care. He probably thought that if he could do it, he would do it. If he couldn't, he would just go back to the way it was and take back the preferential treatment. It was no big deal. But how could she give up the opportunity she had worked so hard to get?
With the help of the two of them, Yao Chunnuan quickly cooked a large pot of cooling herbal tea.
After lighting the fire and putting up some firewood, she sat down with the support of her aching waist and ate some dry food. She then secretly drank a sip of milk from the water bag before she felt alive again.
She was pregnant, eating for two, and she used almost all of her daily supplies from the old house to exchange for food. Either a red sugar cube or a handful of white sugar, both high-energy foods that were easy to hide.
While Yao Chunnuan was munching on her rations, many other prisoners had already finished and were resting, leaving her to watch the fire. She lamented how difficult it was to gain even a little freedom. But she had long known that to gain something, you had to pay something, and sometimes you had to pay much more than you received.
"Flatterer! Just trying to attract attention!" Han Yao said hatefully as she looked at Yao Chunnuan's free hands and feet.
"She's always like this." Wei Qiuyu bit her lip and looked at the busy Yao Chunnuan, saying unwillingly.
The Han family's resting place was not far from Yao Chunnuan's. Han Yao's voice was loud, and everyone around heard it. They also agreed with this statement in their hearts.
Wang Lang was a little stunned.
Xiao Jieming also looked at Yao Chunnuan with interest.
Yao Chunnuan naturally heard it, but she didn't intend to pay attention to it. She had experienced a lot of such criticism in her later life when she first joined the company.
She had finally gotten the job at their company after a lot of hard work. From the moment she got in, she was incredibly motivated and proactive. This behavior displeased her colleagues, who were usually lazy and slacking off. Someone told her to stay out of the spotlight, so her colleagues would like her.
At first, she was lost for a while, trying to keep pace with her colleagues, but she soon gave up. She probably couldn't live a life like a salted fish. She didn't have the money to be a salted fish. She needed to buy a house, support her elderly parents, and survive. She didn't have parents to support her, and her family didn't have six pockets. Without hard work and struggle, she would have a hard time even surviving, let alone living.
Later, she began to work hard, striving to seize every opportunity to climb the ladder, creating opportunities when none existed, and actively helping her superiors solve their problems and concerns. Gradually, she began to gain recognition from her superiors, received promotions, and received salary increases, which gradually distanced her from her colleagues.
When she first separated from them, they had been very rude, but eventually, as she had put enough distance between them, they quieted down, at least in her presence.
Later, she thought, what can their recognition and love bring her? Can it bring her a chance for promotion, a bigger platform, or more money?
Not really.
So, how can I give up showing myself just because you are unhappy? How can I give up those opportunities to move forward just because you are unhappy?
Everyone's eyes flickered towards her, wanting to see how she would react after hearing that.
Being evaluated like this, especially as a woman, most people would probably blush or even have tears in their eyes.
But Yao Chunnuan was very sorry to disappoint them.
Did she need their approval? Did a dragon need the approval of earthworms?
She will not keep aloof from others because of other people's gazes, nor will she choose to blend in with the crowd because of other people's gossip.
She needed to improve her situation! She wanted a better life, and as she worked hard to climb up, she would naturally attract like-minded companions who were also unwilling to accept the status quo! These earthworms were not her companions! Therefore, their words and their thoughts were not important!
After the herbal tea was ready, Yao Chunnuan called Xiao Jieming to help, lifted it up and placed it in the stream beside to dry.
Xiao Jieming was also a bad guy. "When they say this to you, aren't you going to say something?" As he said this, he deliberately glanced towards Wei Qiuyu and Han Yao.
Yao Chunnuan looked at him, speechless. How could anyone rush to identify with someone in such a situation? "What's there to say? Look at her, then look at me. She's saying such sour words, but in her heart, I'm afraid she can't wait to take my place."
"You——" Han Yao's face flushed red after being confronted by her.
Wei Qiuyu bit her lip as she watched Yao Chunnuan minding her own business, oblivious to what others were saying. How similar was this scene to when she first joined the company in her later life? She paid no attention to her colleagues' taunts or gossip, solely focused on her own tasks. Thinking of her rapid advancement, Wei Qiuyu felt a strange stab of fear well up in her heart.
After the cooling drink cooled down, Yao Chunnuan filled a water bag on the spot, and then called Xiao Jieming and Luo Suyi over and filled the two bamboo tubes they each brought with them.
Tian Qigang and others did not object to this.
The three of them were smart people and knew what Tian Qigang and the others were worried about. So, they just stood there, drinking herbal tea as if nothing had happened.
Yao Chunnuan prepared the herbal tea herself, taking her own physical condition as a pregnant woman into consideration, so it was safe for her to drink.
Seeing that the three people were fine after drinking it, Tian Qigang led his people up and took over the pot of cooling herbal tea.
Yao Chunnuan's cooling herbal tea was incredibly effective, completely cooling the heat. After drinking it, the heat melted away. Aside from the officers in Tian Qigang's team, the officers from the other two teams also enjoyed it and filled their water bags. This meant their group of prisoners received a bit less, but who cared?
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