Qiu Yan thought for a moment, "My pheasant is plump and strong. It would normally be worth twenty coins in Anyang County."
Hearing Qiu Yan's words, the old woman quickly replied, "Perfect! I'll trade you two pounds of wood ear mushrooms for a pheasant. Is that alright?"
"Yes, of course." Qiu Yan agreed without hesitation; she was certain she'd make a profit on this deal. "Grandma, would you like some baby pheasants?"
"I'd like to raise it, but if it flies away when it grows up, it'll be a huge loss," the old woman said hesitantly.
Pheasants aren't domestic chickens, so of course they can fly when they grow up. Qiu Yan had thought about this before. "Grandma, if you clip their wings, they won't be able to fly. Pheasants can grow up by eating grass and insects. We can prepare some hay now to eat in the winter. It's a bit of a hassle, but there's not much cost. With these little pheasants, we can also breed them."
Qiu Yan watched her grandmother raise chickens when she was a child, and her language is based on her childhood experience.
After hearing Qiu Yan's story, the old lady actually traded two jin of wood ear fungus and ten jin of fresh mushrooms for eight small wild chickens.
One pheasant chick costs five coins, so eight would cost forty coins.
After exchanging mountain goods, the old woman reminded her, "Young lady, wood ear mushrooms will get moldy and infested with insects if left for too long, and these fresh mushrooms shouldn't be kept for long either. If you're worried about the mushrooms spoiling, you should exchange them for some dried goods."
Qiu Yan wasn't worried about these issues. "I plan to take these to the city to sell."
The purpose of doing business is simply to make a profit from the price difference.
It turned out the item was intended to be resold. Upon hearing Qiu Yan's words, the old woman had an idea.
“Young lady, we have plenty of mountain products in our village. If you sell them well, could you come to our village to buy them?”
Qiu Yan did not agree immediately, but just as she had hoped.
She told the old woman that if the products sold well in the city, she would go and buy them.
The old woman was a little agitated. She had considered going to Baiyang City to sell her goods, but her old bones were too heavy for the task.
Before parting, she repeatedly told Qiu Yan, "Little girl, go around this forest and over the hill ahead, and you'll reach our village. Our village is at the foot of the mountain and is called Wudaopo."
Qiu Yan nodded in agreement and then said goodbye to the old lady.
Unexpectedly, despite not digging up many medicinal herbs today, we still had other gains.
And so, Qiu Yan began her journey home, carrying four pounds of wood ear mushrooms and ten pounds of other mushrooms.
When Qiu Yan got home, Gu Xiaoran was still sleeping.
Qiu Yan couldn't help but worry; she feared the child would be bothering her again that night.
Seeing that Gu Xiaoran's brows were furrowed, tears were hanging in the corners of her eyes, and she was humming and mumbling, she was sleeping very restlessly.
Qiu Yan stepped forward and gently stroked Gu Xiaoran's brow.
Just then, Gu Xiaoran, who had been fast asleep, suddenly sat up. He looked at Qiu Yan with teary eyes and then choked up and cried.
"Xiao Ran, are you hungry?" Qiu Yan asked.
Gu Xiaoran stopped crying. "I'm hungry."
Qiu Ling'er was tending the fire in front of the stove when she heard the crying and went to Gu Xiaoran.
Qiu Yan asked Qiu Ling'er to stay with Gu Xiaoran first, and then went to the stove to stew two bowls of steamed egg custard.
When she returned to the east room, she gave Qiu Ling'er a bowl and then placed another bowl in front of Gu Xiaoran.
"Eat."
Gu Xiaoran picked up the spoon and quickly finished eating everything. Qiu Yan then brought him some water to drink.
Even after eating and drinking her fill, Gu Xiaoran still had tears welling up in her eyes, and her little nose was twitching.
Qiu Yan hugged Gu Xiaoran and wiped away his tears. "Xiaoran, do you miss your father?"
Gu Xiaoran gave a soft "hmm" and nodded.
Because of what happened yesterday when Ye took him away, Gu Xiaoran felt that Qiu Yan didn't like him.
“You said yesterday that I am your child.”
This child… Qiu Yan couldn’t explain it to him either. “Xiao Ran, your father will come to pick you up soon.”
"It just so happens that you don't have children, I don't have a mother, and my father doesn't have a wife either. Can you be my mother?"
Her sweet, childlike voice completely bewildered Qiu Ling'er.
This is getting more and more outrageous!
"Gu Xiaoran!" Qiu Yan's expression hardened as she placed Gu Xiaoran back on the bed. "Don't talk nonsense, I'm not your mother."
Qiu Yan then realized that Gu Xiaoran did not have a mother, and couldn't help but feel a little more pity for her.
Gu Xiaoran was frightened by Qiu Yan's sternness. He stopped talking, and the child who had been sobbing suddenly became quiet. The little boy curled up into a ball, wrapped himself in the quilt, and continued to sleep.
In the evening, Qiu Xu returned home from school. Qiu Yan had prepared dinner and was about to call Gu Xiaoran to eat, but unexpectedly...
The child... has disappeared.
He was just sleeping.
"Ling'er, A-Xu, have you seen Xiao Ran?"
Qiu Ling'er shook her head, "Wasn't he sleeping? How come he's gone?"
Qiu Xu also shook his head: "I didn't see it."
Qiu Yan thought to herself, she hadn't said anything harsh, how could the child run away in the time it takes to eat a meal?
Perhaps, he went to look for Aunt Ye.
She told the two children to eat first, and then went to the Li family's house.
However, Gu Xiaoran was not at the Li family's house, and Ye Shi became anxious upon hearing this.
After this incident, Qiu Yan lost her appetite and immediately led her younger siblings to search the entire village for Gu Xiaoran. Ye Shi and Li Zheng were no exception.
Fearing he might fall into the stream, the group searched around it for a long time, but to no avail.
This troublesome child made Ye both angry and annoyed. While worrying about Gu Xiaoran, she couldn't help but mutter a few words about Gu Qian.
Qiu Yan and her two companions, along with the Li couple, searched from dusk till night, asking everyone they met if they had seen a three-year-old child running around in the village.
Mrs. Ye hadn't slept well last night and was completely exhausted by now. "That brat, where do you think he can go?"
Qiu Yan was both angry and anxious. Why was this child so troublesome? If she found him, she would definitely give him a good spanking.
Seeing Old Man Zhao returning from the direction of the mountains, Qiu Yan stepped forward and asked, "Great-Grandpa, did you see a child pass by here?"
Old Zhao stopped and thought carefully for a moment. "There was a child, it seems, who went into the mountains. Yes, I remember now, I told him not to run around, but when he saw me, he ran even faster."
After saying that, Old Zhao went home, leaving behind a group of uneasy people.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan felt a wave of fear wash over her. "This child... could he have gone to find his father?"
The Ye family and others shared the same sentiment.
“It’s possible. Xiao Ran made a fuss last night, saying she wanted to find her father, and that he was in the mountains.” After saying this, Madam Ye felt a sinking feeling in her heart and squatted down.
Qiu Ling'er nodded in agreement, "Xiao Ran said that he and his father were roasting wild rabbits in the mountains that day."
Li Zheng helped Ye Shi up with both hands. "Don't worry, perhaps Doctor Zhao made a mistake." Although he said this, his face darkened a bit.
They searched all the nearby mountains, but to no avail. They were extremely anxious, but Gu Xiaoran was nowhere to be found.
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