The two seemed to have caught a red eye, especially Yang, who fell seriously ill the day she returned home, but that's another story.
"Qiu Yan!" Gu Qian hurriedly dismounted and looked around the courtyard. "Have you seen Xiao Ran?"
Qiu Yan's heart skipped a beat. "No, didn't you take Xiao Ran away?" How could this man be such a father, losing his child like that?
Gu Qian felt a chill in his heart; his last glimmer of hope had been extinguished.
He didn't even have time to say goodbye before he rode away.
Gu Qian came and went in a hurry. After he left, Qiu Yan went to the neighbor's house, but unexpectedly, she couldn't find out where Gu Xiaoran was. After hearing this, Ye Shi also became anxious.
Qiu Yan was feeling a bit irritable. The next morning, she went to the mountains to collect herbs. While doing so, she kept thinking about how Gu Xiaoran had reached out to her in the deep forest that day, and she kept searching for his whereabouts.
Of course, she also felt that Gu Xiaoran could not possibly be in this mountain forest.
While digging for medicinal herbs in the mountains, Qiu Yan kept a close eye on her surroundings. She wanted to hunt wild boars to earn money, but she was also afraid that wild boars might appear in the area and hurt her younger siblings.
Qiu Xu and Qiu Ling'er are both very intelligent. Through their older sister's generous teaching, they have also learned a lot about herbs.
Gathering medicinal herbs is no easy task. The three sisters leave early and return late every day. If they are lucky, they can dig up half a basketful in a day. If they are unlucky, they can only dig up a little bit.
Herbs are limited, so once they've dug up this hillside, they move on to another.
Qiu Yan knew that gathering medicinal herbs was not a long-term solution, but it could temporarily alleviate their poverty.
Before returning home, the three of them made a special trip to their two acres of land.
In rural areas, people rely entirely on the weather for their livelihood.
Thanks to the good rainfall this year, the wheat seedlings are growing lush and green.
The wheat in the field before them was all planted by the original owner of the house, along with her younger siblings. It could be said that most of the Qiu family's fields were cultivated by Qiu Yan and her two siblings.
Qiu Hui, on the other hand, was the pampered daughter of her family, and she was rarely seen on the family's farmland.
According to Qian, if Qiu Hui's skin gets tanned and her hands become rough, it will affect her marriage prospects.
If their daughter marries well, their family will also benefit.
Qiu Xiaobao goes without saying; he's the apple of Qian's eye. She'd be heartbroken if he got hurt or bumped, and she'd never let him do any work.
Although Qiu Yan had never done farm work in her previous life, let alone harvested wheat, the original owner of this body did.
With just that little bit of memory, Qiu Yan was able to harvest the wheat and bring it home.
Just as she was filled with images of a bountiful harvest, the sky suddenly turned cold and gloomy, and before the three of them could get home, a light drizzle began to fall.
The rain came in bursts, incessantly, and grew heavier and heavier.
Gradually, the mountain winds raged and howled, and the simple thatched roof swayed precariously.
It was raining heavily outside, and drizzling inside, making the room very damp.
Scattered bowls and basins covered the floor, yet water still flowed all over the room.
In the east room, Qiu Xu and Qiu Ling'er were filling wooden basins with water while praying that the rain would stop soon.
Due to the heavy rain, the makeshift kitchen outside was no longer suitable for cooking, so Qiu Yan moved all the kitchen items to the west room.
Looking up, Qiu Yan saw a young man wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat standing quietly in front of the door, his eyes meeting Qiu Yan's.
The man stood there for a long time before finally leaving.
Qiu Yan shook her head and continued what she was doing.
In the evening, Madam Ye pushed open the door and said, "Qiu Yan, I know you can't cook. Come on, let's go to Auntie's house for dinner."
Qiu Yan was a little embarrassed. "Auntie, thank you for your kindness, but we can just have some dry food."
"Just come when I tell you to. Don't be so polite with your aunt. I haven't even started cooking yet, and I'm waiting for you to come over so I can help."
Upon hearing what Ye said next, Qiu Yan stopped making excuses.
She took pork ribs and potatoes to the Li family's house.
The Li family has three rooms: one is the bedroom of the elderly couple, and the other is a kitchen filled with firewood.
The third room was the original room of Li Wenshu, the daughter of the Li family.
Upon seeing the three, Li Zheng merely nodded slightly, then coughed twice without uttering a single word.
Seeing her husband like this, Madam Ye felt a little embarrassed.
“Brother Li, don’t always have such a long face. It’s rare for the house to be a little lively. Talk to the kids.”
"Auntie, we're all neighbors, we can do whatever we want." Qiu Yan didn't mind; she knew that was just Uncle Li's personality.
Little Ling'er was a little afraid of Li Zheng, so she always kept her distance from him, let alone spoke to him.
Not only Qiu Ling'er, but most of the children in the village were afraid of Li Zheng and would stay far away from him when they saw him.
Both children were very self-disciplined when cooking.
Qiu Xu helped start the fire, and Qiu Ling'er helped wash the vegetables. Looking at the two children's sensible manners, and then glancing at the ribs in Qiu Yan's hand, Ye Shi quietly filled her eyes with tears.
"I wonder how Shu'er is doing now. She hasn't come back even once in three years." She felt that her daughter must be blaming her.
I wonder what Shu'er's child looks like.
Qiu Yan comforted her, "Sister Wen Shu is probably cooking, just like us."
"Shu'er loves my pan-fried pork ribs the most. Qiu Yan, you are just like my daughter."
Qiu Xu paused in his fire-starting motion, as if to say, "It doesn't seem like it."
Now, my sister's heart has become clear and transparent, and she is much calmer. She is very gentle with her siblings.
Sister Wen Shu looks both aloof and serious, much like Uncle Li.
Besides pan-fried pork ribs, Ms. Ye also cooked a pot of millet porridge. After the porridge was cooked, she also sliced cured meat, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, and shredded potatoes.
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, showing no signs of stopping. Qiu Yan looked at the torrential rain and felt worried.
If the rain doesn't stop, their thatched hut will be uninhabitable.
At the dinner table, Li Zheng glanced at the pan-fried pork ribs, a fleeting gloom in his eyes.
Afraid of upsetting his wife, he has never bought pork ribs in the past three years.
Before even touching her own chopsticks, Ye put a large piece of pork rib on Qiu Yan's plate, saying, "Qiu Yan, eat more."
Qiu Yan smiled faintly, "Auntie, I can do it myself."
However, Ye ignored her and kept putting ribs into Qiu Yan's bowl.
If Li Zheng hadn't stopped her with his chopsticks, Qiu Yan probably would have eaten too much tonight.
After dinner, Qiu Yan, feeling that she had disturbed her for too long, decided to say goodbye and leave.
Before she could even speak, Madam Ye said, "Qiu Yan, your thatched hut is uninhabitable. Wen Shu's room is empty. I clean her room every day and air out the bedding regularly. Why don't the three of you stay at my house for the night?"
After considering the dire situation at home, Qiu Yan ultimately decided to stay with the Li family.
If she had known that it would rain so heavily today, she should have repaired the roof earlier.
Since her time travel, Qiu Yan has been able to fight off her vicious stepmother and beat up thugs, but she is powerless against the natural weather.
Before she even made any money, she already had a hundred plans.
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