Old man Xu has a good sense of smell. Xu Qingyan, Xu Lanyin and Xu Lanzhou all inherited this ability from him, but Xu Qingyan and his daughter's sense of smell is better.
Old Mrs. Xu scolded, "You old bastard, why are you getting close to my daughter-in-law? Are you going to follow that shameless Wang and flirt with her?"
Old Man Xu's face flushed with anger as he defended himself, "I didn't get close to her at all. It was her fragrance that forced its way into my nose as she passed by." He added, "I was worried she might have some thoughts after she recovered. After all, she's so beautiful, I'm afraid she'll attract many men. Don't forget, she holds all the money from the second wife. If she uses the money to remarry, those three children will be in trouble."
Old Lady Xu shook her head and said, "Qin is not that kind of person. She has been married into the Xu family for more than ten years, and all her thoughts are on her husband and children. She will not remarry. If she really dares to remarry, I will not agree..."
The next day, Xu Lanzhou and Xu Dashi negotiated for a long time, ultimately buying the shop for three hundred and twenty taels. They watched the shop renovate while Xu Lanyin and Li made dim sum. Because they made so much, not only did they satisfy the cravings of their own family, but Xu Lanzhou also made a delivery to the Hong family, Miss Hemin, and Housekeeper Tang.
It was the end of September, and the weather was getting even colder. On the 22nd, Xu Lanyin, despite Qin's dissuasion, took Huazi to Black Peak Ridge. Just in case, she also brought a small bag of golden fox vine powder.
Qin was so angry that she gritted her teeth. This girl had been stubborn and disobedient since she was a child, and was even more troublesome than her two sons.
Arriving at Black Peak Ridge, Xu Lanyin searched for the terrain she remembered and walked deeper into the valley. The original owner had really worked hard to make more money; she had walked every mountain road in this area.
Most of the weeds in the valley above the mountain had withered and turned yellow, with only a few still showing hints of green. The maple leaves had already turned completely red, with golden, withered leaves drifting in the wind, punctuated by the green of the evergreen trees. The stream still flowed, its water level much lower, with the higher rocks visible above the surface.
On the first day, I was so exhausted that I only picked a few herbs and mushrooms. On the second day, I dug up a beautiful chrysanthemum, and on the third day, I picked more herbs and mushrooms.
Seeing Qin and Xu Lanzhou becoming increasingly unhappy, Xu Lanyin had no choice but to promise that he would go for another day and would not go deeper or up the mountain.
At noon that day, Xu Lanyin sat in a valley beside a clear lake, eating a snack. She gazed at the towering mountains reaching toward the sky, having completely given up. There must still be blackroot grass at this hour, but it was not for her, Xu Lanyin.
Xu Lanyin said to Huazi beside her legs, "Well, let's go back after we finish eating. From now on, we'll just treat herb picking as a hobby, something we do occasionally..."
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly heard a scream from mid-air, which cut through the sky and startled the birds in the forest into flying away.
She abruptly stood up and looked around. Even in the blazing midday sun, the peaks of Black Peak Ridge were still shrouded in mist, the tops invisible. Aside from the chirping of birds and the gurgling of springs, there was complete silence.
Xu Lanyin thought it must have been an illusion. As soon as she sat down, Huazi sniffed and rushed up the mountain.
Xu Lanyin shouted, "Don't run around. What if you can't find your way home?"
Huazi had no choice but to fall back and squat at her feet to eat the rabbit. Today, it caught a wild rabbit with its own strength. Huazi accompanied her hard work every day, and Xu Lanyin did not take the rabbit for herself, letting it eat as much as it wanted.
After finishing the last bite of the cake in his hand, Xu Lanyin clapped his hands and stood up and said, "Hanako, let's go. Take the leftovers back."
Just as she was about to get the rabbit, she heard someone shouting again, a man's voice. Although he only shouted once, she still heard the word "Help" clearly.
Xu Lanyin stood up and looked around. There was no sound again, and no one was in sight. However, a large number of hawk-like birds were circling above an old pine tree that grew diagonally on the cliff to the right. The old pine tree was lush with branches and leaves, and even though she couldn't see anything on it attracting the birds, she still suspected someone had fallen from the mountain and caught on the old pine tree.
Hanako flapped her ears and ran in that direction, and Xu Lanyin followed.
When we came to the foot of the cliff of the elder pine, we really saw a person hanging on the tree. We couldn't see clearly, and we could only see a little bit of his clothes and a few wisps of loose hair through the gaps between the branches and leaves.
Hanako barked wildly, and the circling bird was a little scared and flew a little higher.
The road leading to the old pine tree was very steep. Huazi walked in front and Xu Lanyin followed behind, climbing up by holding onto the protruding rocks and growing tree trunks.
About a quarter of an hour later, Huazi and Xu Lanyin sat on a large rock next to the roots of the old pine tree. Huazi barked wildly upwards, scaring the large birds into flying high into the sky, but they dispersed uncertainly, flying in circles.
Xu Lanyin could see clearly too. It was indeed a man slumped against the branch of a pine tree. The branch above him had been broken, and the branch below him had been bent. She couldn't make out the man's features. His face was covered in blood, and his hair obscured his entire appearance. His torn gown was tangled in the branches.
Xu Lanyin looked up at the almost straight cliff and the mountain top covered by clouds, and felt that this old pine tree alone could not bear the weight of someone falling from the mountain. He must have been lucky to be stopped by the big tree several times to reduce the force.
Xu Lanyin put down the basket on his back, took out a rope from it, tied it around his waist, and inserted the axe into the rope.
The man felt someone approaching and whispered softly, "Save me..."
Xu Lanyin actually felt that the voice was somewhat familiar.
She comforted him, "Don't be afraid, I'm here..."
She slowly crawled forward along the thickest branch. When she was about to reach the man, she saw a bloody broken leg lying on the branch. She was so scared that she almost fell off the tree.
She looked closely at the man in the tree. Both of his legs were still there. So there must have been another person who had fallen, and somehow he was hanging from the tree intact, while the other person had only half a leg left.
She gathered her composure and continued forward. When she was able to pull the man, she tugged at his long shirt, which was tangled in the branches, but couldn't pull it off. She then took out her hatchet and cut the shirt off. She then untied the rope from her waist and tied one end to a sturdy branch. She said, "I'll tie the rope around you. The length will be just above the big rock below."
Xu Lanyin was once again glad for the man in her heart. If it weren't for the old pine tree blocking him, he would have fallen on the rocks and been smashed into a meat patty.
Xu Lanyin tied a rope around the man's waist and then broke the strong and thick branch under him. The man fell down and hung on the branch, screaming in pain again.
Xu Lanyin was so frightened that her heart trembled and she quickly climbed down the tree.
She put the man down, and he had already fainted. She brushed the hair aside and saw his face was a bloody mess, with long scratches from branches and small holes bleeding, either from branches or bird pecks. Even so, it was clear that he was the young man in brocade clothes who had saved her before.
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