Yunling lay on the soft recliner, and Dahei suddenly burrowed into her bed. Poor Xiaobai, being so big, could only curl up on the edge of the recliner. Seeing that the ground was cold, Yunling ran back home to get its bed. Only then did the woman, the dog, and the cat finally fall asleep.
Yunling could actually defend herself with her supernatural abilities to stop others from causing trouble, but that would inevitably arouse suspicion, so it would be better to move over and keep an eye on things to avoid gossip.
After daybreak, Old Man Yun came over with a cow tendon and a hammer to exchange with Yun Ling. Yun Ling went home, washed up, grabbed two steamed buns, and carried a basket up the mountain.
The condition of the mountain has visibly improved; the damaged tree bark has gradually grown back, wild vegetables are everywhere, and even small black mushrooms are sprouting from the cracks in the trees.
However, many of the herbs are missing.
Yunling found it strange, as no one in the village knew anything about herbs. Her older sister spent all her time in the private school and rarely came up the mountain. However, her doubts were quickly resolved. She walked a little further in and saw Pei Lin squatting down, picking herbs, and the basket on his back was almost full.
Pei Lin did see Yun Ling, but he only glanced at her before continuing to gather his herbs. He didn't tease her as usual, and was unusually quiet.
Yunling wasn't a warm person. Since others didn't greet her, she simply didn't either. If there was one thing in the world that could make her keep smiling, it was copper coins.
Yunling walked to the other side, but she had only squatted down to pick up a few herbs when Pei Lin followed her, still with a stern face and not saying a word.
Yunling didn't have the time to flatter him. After picking up what she could find on one side, she went to the other. In the end, Pei Lin couldn't resist and approached her, asking:
"You went to Qingcheng again?"
"Yeah, you're pretty smart."
He's not smart at all. If he didn't go to Qingcheng, where would he get so much cotton?
If he hadn't known that the cotton pads were made with a juice made from herbs, would he have bothered coming all this way to collect herbs?
He was angry, but as soon as Yunling spoke to him, his anger vanished like smoke.
"Of course I'm smart, unlike you who's so stupid that you get sold out and still help the seller count the money."
"Who will betray me?"
"Of course."
Lu Yinghuai!!!
The image of the two embracing in the street haunted him like a nightmare.
He couldn't sleep.
I just wanted to see her.
Yunling tilted her head to look at him and asked, "Of course it is, who, who is it?"
"I say, do you get this close to every young man? You're a young lady of marriageable age, and you should be more careful now."
"Yeah, you're pretty smart."
Pei Lin met Yun Ling's smile and immediately understood that her words were not a compliment, and that calling him "smart" was just a sarcastic remark. He immediately grabbed the little bun on her head.
“I’m serious. If you get this close to every young man, he’ll definitely be angry if your blind date sees you like this.”
“That’s unreasonable. If I’m going to get angry over something so trivial, why should I marry him? We only live for a few decades. If I’m restricted in every way, I might as well live on my own.”
"What you're saying is unreasonable. If he were truly in love with you, he would naturally not be able to bear seeing you close to other men. That's only human nature."
Yunling brushed his hand away and argued, "He is in love with me, but am I in love with him? If we are mutually in love and committed to each other, then we should naturally keep quiet. But if it is just his unrequited love, then let him be sullen by himself. What does it have to do with me?"
Pei Lin was speechless this time.
The words "unrequited love" pierced his heart like a sharp arrow.
It was as if it were harshly telling him that he was only in unrequited love.
"So, you have someone you like?"
Whether I have someone I like or not is none of your business. Do you have feelings for me?
“What a joke,” Pei Lin immediately avoided Yun Ling’s gaze and looked at the distance. “How could I possibly be interested in you? You have no manners at all, you sharp-tongued brat.”
A strange emotion flashed through Yunling's mind, a dull, uncomfortable feeling. However, she always knew how to control her emotions, and when she spoke again, she was back to normal.
"That would be best. Otherwise, the thought of spending my life with someone like you would probably make me feel trapped by your rules, like a bird flapping its wings but unable to fly out of its cage, and I would be unhappy in every way."
Pei Lin felt a tightness in his chest. First came unrequited love, then more setbacks, making it hard for him to breathe. He stubbornly retorted, "That would be for the best."
The two parted on bad terms, descended the mountain together, and went their separate ways, each with their own thoughts.
Yunling didn't think too much about it. As soon as she got home, she immersed herself in preparing herbal juices. Time flew by. Old Man Yun supplied cow back tendon thread, and Bingniang mended the remaining briefs. Through their efforts, they managed to complete the order for Fengyue Tower before the Double Ninth Festival and then switched to taking orders from customers.
Meanwhile, all 1,000 jin of cotton had been dried, leaving only the final step of carding. Yunling thought she would first send the briefs to the madam, then go to her father-in-law to get the slingshot string back, so that she could finish making all the cotton pads before the New Year.
Having this idea, they took action the next day, returning to the brothel with Yun Ruoxia. The madam directly invited them to the private VIP room on the third floor.
"I thought Mom was making a lot of money and had forgotten about us."
"Oh dear, you've been gone for so long and you haven't even brought me a souvenir, and now you're making fun of me. You're the only person in all of Pingcheng who's like you."
Yunling placed a piece of osmanthus cake on her plate. To be honest, the pastries from Fengyuelou were really to her liking.
The madam quickly finished counting the items and then urged, "When are our menstrual pads and cotton pads coming? If you give them to someone else, I'll skin you alive."
"Good mother, you have to let me catch my breath. We have so little land and so few people, it's exhausting to work like this. We were thinking of buying a piece of land in the village, but it was bought by the young master of the Lu family business."
The madam fanned herself, "Young Master Lu... do you need my help?"
Yunling perked up, "Does Young Master Lu come here often?"
"No, it's just that he's acquainted with Song Xiaoliulang, and Song Xiaoliulang often comes here to chat with Ying'er about refined matters. If Ying'er brings it up, maybe it will work out."
"Mom, please help me quickly."
"I'm warning you upfront, if it doesn't work out, don't blame me."
Yunling didn't think this was 100% guaranteed to work out, but having an acquaintance to act as a bridge would make it easier for her to communicate with the young master Lu at the Chrysanthemum Festival.
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