The next day, the weather was exceptionally good, with bright sunshine and a clear blue sky.
Early in the morning, Fu Hong and Xiao Qinshi went out together.
Before leaving, Grandma Fu slipped some money into Fu Hong's hand: "Give it to Xiao Lan. After all, she's staying at someone else's house, so she can't be too stingy."
Seeing Grandma Fu's worried expression, Fu Hong hesitated for a moment before asking, "Grandma, why don't you come with me to see Xiaolan?"
Grandma Fu was tempted for a moment, but remembering the disappointed look in Fu Lan's eyes when she left, she quickly shook her head and refused: "Forget it, let's wait until she wants to come back." She didn't dare to see her, and she was too ashamed to see her.
"You'd better hurry up and go, don't delay." Grandma Fu waved to them and quickly turned around and went home.
When Fu Hong and Xiao Qinshi arrived at Xiaogaozhuang, the sun was already high in the sky. As soon as they reached the village entrance, they saw several elderly women sitting there, basking in the sun and chatting.
Seeing that Fu Hong and Xiao Qin were unfamiliar faces, the elderly women asked curiously, "Where are you from? What are you doing in our village?"
"I'm from our town, here to see my sister," Fu Hong said with a smile.
"Your sister is..." the old lady asked, sizing up Fu Hong.
“My sister’s name is Fu Lan, and she’s currently staying with Xing Zhaozhao,” Fu Hong said.
"Your sister is Fu Lan?" The elderly women were startled and exchanged horrified glances.
Fu Hong noticed the strange expressions on the faces of the elderly women and asked curiously, "Yes, what's wrong? Is something the problem?"
The elderly women shook their heads in unison: "No, no, no, that's not right."
Fu Hong felt inexplicably uneasy and said, "Just tell me what's wrong."
The elderly women shook their heads: "Let's not. We dare not say anything. We can't afford to offend that ancestor, nor can we afford to pay that money."
Fu Hong and Xiao Qinshi, who was standing next to her, exchanged a puzzled look.
"Let's just go directly to Sister Xing's place," Xiao Qin said to Fu Hong. It wasn't far anyway, and everything would be clear by then.
Fu Hong nodded and continued walking into the village with Xiao Qinshi.
As soon as Fu Hong and Xiao Qin walked away, the old ladies immediately huddled together and started whispering.
Fu Hong sensed something was wrong and turned around to look.
The old ladies immediately sat up straight, their eyes darting around, giving me the impression that they hadn't said anything.
"..." Fu Hong was a little confused. What was going on in this village? There was something strange about it inside and out.
At this time, most of the villagers were busy in the fields. Fu Hong and Xiao Qinshi walked through the village and did not encounter many adults. When they did meet one or two, they immediately fell silent upon hearing that Fu Hong was Fu Lan's older sister, not daring to say another word for fear of saying something wrong.
Fu Hong felt increasingly uneasy.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, they encountered many children, carrying small baskets on their arms, walking in twos and threes, heading up the mountain.
Fu Hong curiously grabbed a little girl and asked, "Where are you going?"
The little girl happened to be Pandi from Gao Laosan's family, with her two younger sisters by her side.
Seeing Fu Hong's gaze, Pan Di immediately shielded her younger sister behind her, asking warily, "Who are you? What do you want?"
Fu Hong was taken aback by the girl's alertness, but quickly smiled and explained, "My name is Fu Hong. I'm here to see my sister, Fu Lan. She's currently staying at Xing Zhaozhao's house. Do you know Xing Zhaozhao?"
"So you're here to see your second aunt." Pandi breathed a sigh of relief, and while stopping her younger sister to continue walking up the mountain, she said, "Your second aunt lives halfway up the mountain. Just keep walking with us, and we'll be there soon."
Fu Hong pulled Xiao Qinshi along and asked, "Are you going into the mountains?"
Pandi nodded: "Spring is here, it's time to go into the mountains to pick wild vegetables. The first batch is so tender, we can't miss it."
As Fu Hong talked to Pan Di, she walked up the mountain and soon saw the stone house located halfway up the mountain in the distance.
The door of the stone house opened, and someone walked in.
Even though they were still quite a distance apart, Fu Hong recognized the familiar figure at a glance and immediately waved and called out, "Xiao Lan..."
Since the weather was nice today, Xing Zhaozhao took her child and Fu Lan and prepared to go into the mountains to pick wild vegetables. She wanted to pick as many as possible so that she could bring some fresh vegetables to the old men she hadn't seen in a long time when they went to the gate tomorrow. This time, she didn't even forget Xiao Hongling. She tied her to her front with a cloth strip and prepared to take her with her when she went into the mountains.
As soon as I stepped outside, I heard someone calling "Xiao Lan" from afar.
Fu Lan was the first to react. She turned her head and looked down the mountain, and immediately saw Fu Hong coming up the mountain with a group of children.
"Sister!" Fu Lan exclaimed with delight, immediately running to greet her.
Fu Hong was startled: "Hurry up, your foot is still injured."
Fu Lan casually wiggled her ankle in front of her: "It's nothing now, look."
Upon closer inspection, Fu Hong realized that everything seemed fine. Looking at Fu Lan again, she noticed that not only had her complexion improved significantly in just a few days, but she also seemed to have gained a little weight.
"Sister, what brings you here?" Fu Lan asked.
Fu Hong told Fu Lan about the rumors circulating in town: "I was worried about you, so I asked Xiao Shi to bring me here to see you."
Fu Lan patted Qin Shi's head, looked at Fu Hong without any concern, and said, "I'm fine, don't worry."
Fu Hong mentioned the strange reactions of the old ladies she had encountered before to Fu Lan, and said with some unease, "They seemed a bit odd, making me uneasy."
"Oh, that?" Fu Lan chuckled and told Fu Hong about the trouble that Gao Zhuzi's family had caused that day. "Sister Xing has already resolved it for me. Now no one dares to come here and gossip. Life is very peaceful."
Fu Hong was finally relieved.
Fu Lan took Fu Hong to find Xing Zhaozhao.
Xing Zhaozhao was talking to Pandi who was passing by: "Are you also going into the mountains to pick wild vegetables?"
“Mm.” Pandi nodded.
"Don't go too far in, understand? It's too dangerous," Xing Zhaozhao instructed.
"I know," Pandi nodded obediently.
Xing Zhaozhao gave each of them a White Rabbit candy before letting them leave.
Just then, Fu Lan arrived with Fu Hong.
"Brother Xiaoshi." Hongyu saw Xiao Qinshi arrive and immediately ran over, pulling him over to play together.
"Did you come to see Xiaolan?" Xing Zhaozhao asked Fu Hong with a smile.
Fu Hong nodded, looking at Xing Zhaozhao gratefully, and said, "Thank you for taking such good care of Xiaolan for me."
"Xiao Lan has helped me a lot here too," Xing Zhaozhao said politely, and then asked, "We're about to go into the mountains to pick wild vegetables. Would you like to come along? We can pick some to take back and try."
Xiao Qin had never been to the mountains before, and immediately agreed: "Okay."
Fu Hong hesitated for a moment, then thought, "Since I'm already here, I might as well go."
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