When the appointed time arrived, the group was already waiting at the village entrance. Sun Miao'er greeted them with a smile, "Brothers, you've been waiting for a long time."
"Little girl, how's it going with the thing you were asking about?"
The burly man from yesterday grumbled angrily, already drenched in sweat. The weather had suddenly turned hot without warning.
Sun Miao'er feigned concern, "Brother, I asked about this person for you yesterday. It's true that there is such a family in our village, but unfortunately, the person in the painting hasn't returned for several years."
"Damn it, what bad luck! Am I going to have to make another wasted trip?" The man behind him kicked a tree stump. In this sweltering heat, he had come out to collect a debt of ten taels of silver, but after two trips, he still hadn't gotten anywhere.
The burly man sized up Sun Miao'er. The girl was sallow and thin, and dressed in shabby clothes. She didn't seem like the type to have the courage to lie. "Do you know where he lives? Can you take us there?"
“Brother, how could I not help you find out? I asked around, and he only has his sixty-year-old mother left at home. I heard that he owes gambling debts, and his mother was so angry that she almost died. As for his wife, she took the child and went back to her parents’ home that very night.”
Sun Miao'er spoke with great conviction, and even took out a small wooden plaque. "Here, elder brother, this is what Old Lady Sun gave me yesterday when I went to ask her for news. I can't read, so I brought it to you. Maybe it can help you."
The wooden sign was engraved with the three characters "Sun Yuanhu," but it was hastily made by Sun Miao'er. The group of people took it and whispered among themselves for a while.
"Can you read?"
"I don't know him."
They looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Let me take a look." The man peeked over. "Oh, here it is. Sun Yuanhu's name is on it."
"I see," the group nodded.
"So you really did go to his house?"
“How could I dare to lie to you, brother?” Sun Miao’er lowered her voice. “I also gathered some information for you.”
"Stop keeping me in suspense!" The burly man flicked two copper coins from his sleeve. "If I catch this Sun Yuanhu, I'll make sure he chases you with a tiger for three days and three nights!"
They were so exhausted they almost broke their legs.
“Grandma Sun is old. When I asked her if she was alright, she started talking on her own. I seem to remember her saying that Sun Yuanhu went to his wife’s parents’ home in that big locust village.”
The skinny guy behind him shouted, "Brother, my family is from Dahuai Village! Fushui Village is at the southernmost part of Pingnan City, and Dahuai Village is at the northernmost part!"
It turns out that after all that effort, it was all for nothing.
"Forget it, let's go back and report to Manager Hu first. We'll discuss this further. We don't care about those hundreds or thousands of taels owed outside. Why come to this poor place for a mere ten taels?"
After seeing off the men, Sun Miao'er received two coins. Business in the village was good yesterday, and the peddler came for the second time today. The main reason was that the weather had been gloomy and rainy for the past few months, and there was nothing in the village to buy household goods. Now that the weather has cleared up, people are eager to buy household items.
"Give me some sesame oil, and I'll take this batch of cloth too. And this, this, and this as well."
Taking advantage of the fact that it's better to arrive early than early, Sun Miao'er grabbed some good goods. Xiao Ning kept forty coins, and after spending fifteen coins, there were still quite a few left, which she would save for a rainy day.
After stocking up on rice and flour for a month, he also made time to help Sun Miao'er think of ways to make money.
"Cough cough cough, cough cough cough!"
A violent coughing fit came from inside the room, as if the lungs were about to burst out. Sun Miao'er quickly put down what she was holding. Old Mrs. Sun was leaning against the headboard, her face flushed red, coughing so hard she couldn't breathe.
"Grandma, is your old problem acting up again?"
Sun Miao'er took out a small bag of candy from the pile of things. "These are loquat candies I bought from the peddler. You can have some to soothe your throat."
Where did you get the money?
"Xiao Ning secretly gave it to me, saying it was a tip from the boss. I didn't want it at first, but he secretly slipped it into my belt before he left."
Grandma Sun, with a mouthful of loquat candy in her mouth, sighed, "This child..."
"Cough cough cough cough!"
Then came a few more coughs, even more severe than before, indicating that this attack was quite serious.
"Grandma, I'll go find a doctor to take a look at you."
Grandma Sun grabbed Sun Miao'er, who was about to go fetch a doctor, and said, "Forget it, we don't have the means to fetch a doctor. Do you remember plantain?"
"Plantago asiatica? I vaguely remember it."
“That’s good. I used to run a medicinal herb farm with your grandfather. Although I’m not very literate, the old man often used plantain to treat my cough, so I knew that this herb had this use. Go outside and get me some, boil it in water and drink it a few times and it will get better.”
Xiaoman came back from somewhere playing outside. "Sister, look, I found two big goose eggs!"
Sun Miao'er looked up and saw, wow, what a huge goose egg! "Never mind the goose egg for now. Grandma asked me to go find some plantain for her. You can come with your sister."
The two walked several miles south of the village and gradually lost sight of farmers. The fields became barren, and wild grass grew rampant along the edges of the fields. Among them, the grass that grew close to the ground with its broad leaves and flowers that looked like long spikes was plantain.
"There are quite a lot."
Sun Miao'er bent down and swung the shovel in her hand. In no time, she had dug up half a basket. However, if she wanted to dry it for use, she would have to dig up more.
Xiaoman ran ahead, rounding a clump of low bushes, from which came a loud commotion.
"I saw this grass first, why did you touch it first?"
"Oh? How can you prove you saw it first? What if I say I saw it first?"
A man's voice came from behind, its deep tone making it particularly clear in the open field. Sun Miao'er's heart tightened, fearing that Xiaoman had encountered bad people, and she quickly followed.
"I saw it first!"
Sun Miao'er walked around the bushes and saw Xiaoman arguing heatedly with a man over a plantain.
Looking up, I saw a tall, thin man not far away, wearing an indigo blue round-necked robe and dark blue boots. The soft headscarf on his head showed signs of fading.
That splash of indigo caught Sun Miao'er's eye, and she suddenly remembered the person who had escorted her home the night she went to grind wheat. Could it be him?
Comparing their figures, they are indeed seven or eight parts similar.
"Xiaoman, come here."
She moved closer and met the man's eyes, and his gaze fell on her. What kind of eyes were those?
Sun Miao'er was surprised to find him incredibly handsome. His deep brown eyes were as calm as a clear pool, radiating a soft light, unaffected by his argument with Xiaoman. Looking closer at his face—smooth contours, cheekbones that were slightly prominent due to his thinness, making his face more three-dimensional, and slightly upturned corners of his mouth that made Sun Miao'er unable to tell whether he was smiling or just naturally born with such features.
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