Chapter 58: Seeing Through the Lies. She went down the mountain.
Qiu Xuan suddenly woke up, her forehead covered with sweat.
Although she hadn't slept well in the past few days, she had never felt as anxious and uneasy as tonight. Just now in her dream, she saw Zong Xiao covered in blood, with his hand hanging by his side.
She called out but there was no response from him.
Qiu Xuan was no longer sleepy, and she didn't know whether this dream was a bad omen.
"Aunt." In the darkness, a childish voice came from the side.
Huaixue reached out and groped her way into Qiuyu's arms. She said drowsily, "Auntie, are you having a nightmare? I just heard you keep calling Second Uncle's name."
Qiu Xuan didn't expect that she was actually talking in her sleep, and she must have scared the child.
She lifted a corner of the quilt and hugged him in her arms, coaxing him softly, "Go to sleep, go to sleep, Auntie is fine, Auntie just misses your second uncle."
It was the first time that Qiu Xuan told others so frankly about her longing for Zong Xiao. In this world, it seemed that Zong Xiao was the only one she had now.
"I miss my second uncle too," Huaixue murmured. "When my second uncle comes back, I'm going to share my candies with him."
"You love your second uncle so much. Okay, then wait for your second uncle to come back." Qiu Xuan patted him gently, and soon Huaixue fell asleep in her arms.
Qiu Xuan's thoughts were in a mess, and the scenes in her dream kept appearing in her mind. She couldn't sleep and didn't dare to sleep, so she just kept her eyes open until dawn.
I don’t know when it started snowing last night, but it never stopped. When Qiu Xuan opened the door, the yard was already full of white.
Qiu Xuan rubbed her hands and looked at the snowflakes still falling in the sky, and she started to worry about Zong Xiao again.
This kind of weather is really bad.
He shouldn't have been allowed into the mountains.
But it's too late, and there's no point saying anything now.
Qiu Xuan put on a thick coat and went into the kitchen with a hot water bottle.
She boiled some water and fed some hay to the rabbit in the backpack.
The three rabbits are still alive and have even gained a lot of weight. They no longer sleep together.
Qiu Xuan picked up the rabbits one by one and examined them. Now that the rabbits had grown a little bigger, she could tell the genders. She planned to separate their nests in two days.
After she finished her work here, she moved on to another. By the time she had fed all the livestock at home, the water in the pot had just boiled.
She scooped two spoonfuls into the hot water bottle and then went back to the house.
On the kang, Huaixue only had her head sticking out from under the quilt.
Qiu Xuan's room was not warmer than her grandmother's. She was afraid that Huai Xue would catch a cold, so she filled two hot water bottles with water last night. Now that she felt cold this morning, she quickly changed the water.
Qiu Xuan stuffed the hot water bottle back into the quilt. She even wrapped it with a layer of fine cloth to prevent it from scalding Huaixue.
She moved quietly, but unexpectedly woke up the person on the kang.
Huaixue reached out from under the quilt and rubbed her eyes. She had just woken up and hadn't realized that she had already changed her place.
She said dazedly, "Grandma."
"Awake?" Qiu Xuan sat down next to her and pulled her clothes out from under the quilt. The clothes were next to the kang and felt warm to the touch.
"Aunt?" Huaixue opened her eyes and saw Qiuyu next to her. She smiled and said, "Aunt, you got up so early."
Qiu Xuan waited until she was fully awake, then pulled her out of the quilt and helped her put on her clothes. The clothes were so thick in winter that she couldn't lift them by herself.
Huaixue leaned in her arms, her little hands touching her hair dishonestly, "Aunt, is the meat jerky we made yesterday ready?"
Yesterday afternoon, Qiu Xuan said she wanted to make meat jerky. They bought some meat and started marinating and chopping it. The three of them were busy until dark.
The jerky needs to be dried, and it is still drying on the stove.
At that time, Qiu Xuan took a look and thought it should be ready. The color looked good, but she didn't know how it would taste.
Qiu Xuan braided her hair and said, "Go take a look later. If you like it, we'll bring some back to Grandma."
Huaixue said sweetly, "Auntie's cooking must be delicious."
After packing up the person, Qiu Xuan took her out of the house.
Huaixue saw the yard full of snow and ran over happily. She was not afraid of the cold and put her little hands directly into the snow.
"Don't you want to eat your jerky?" Qiu Yu stood in front of the kitchen and waved at her, "Come here quickly, it's warm inside."
Huaixue, holding a snowball, followed Qiu Yun into the kitchen.
The meat jerky was roasting on the iron plate. Qiu Xuan cut out a piece with a knife and handed it to Huai Xue, "Try it slowly."
She made two flavors of this meat jerky yesterday. The one she gave to Huaixue was sweet, and the other one was spicy.
"It's as delicious as the one my third aunt brought home." Huaixue finished the jerky in her hand in two bites. She stood on tiptoe to look at the table, looking like a greedy little cat.
Qiu Xuan also took a bite. The meat jerky tasted moderate, no worse than what Yue Yang brought. However, it did lack sesame seeds. If a layer of sesame seeds were sprinkled on it, it would only taste more delicious when chewed.
She took all the slices of jerky to the chopping board and cut them into small strips with a knife.
Don’t be fooled by the thinness of each sheet. After cutting them, they can fill four boxes. You can see how high the profit will be if you sell them one by one!
"Let's go to grandma's place."
Qiu Xuan has been eating at the clan mother's house these days. They eat early, so she should have woken up by now.
A big one and a small one came out of the yard carrying two boxes of jerky. As soon as they left, Zong Jiabao arrived at the gate of the yard.
They hurried down the mountain last night. Zong Xiao and Duan Saner were both injured. They lost too much blood and fainted halfway.
Zong Jiabao originally wanted to tell Zong Xiao's family, but on the way down the mountain, Zong Xiao pulled his sleeve and shook his head, saying that they should go to the town first and not tell their family, and then he fainted.
It was the dead of night and there was no light in the village. Zong Jiabao made up his mind and thought that it would be better to forget it. If he told the Zong family now, it would definitely cause chaos.
Thinking this, they headed straight to the town without stopping.
They tossed and turned for a long time that night. Fortunately, the doctor in the town was very skilled and used herbal medicine, decoctions and needles to stop the bleeding for the two of them.
Seeing that they survived, Zong Jiabao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This morning, when everyone woke up, he followed Zong Xiao's advice and used the excuse of going home to get some clothes to tell the Zong family that he would be staying in town for a few more days. As for the injury, he promised Zong Xiao not to tell them for the time being.
He stood outside the door and knocked twice.
No one answered.
"Mrs. Zong, are you home?"
Still no one answered in the yard, so he took two steps back and looked at the gate carefully again.
This place is indeed Zong Xiao’s home.
Just as he was hesitating whether to push the door and go in directly, the door to the next yard opened.
Qiu Xuan walked out quickly, she looked flustered and uneasy.
When she saw the stranger, an ominous thought came to her mind. Could something have happened to Zong Xiao and the others in the mountains?
Zong Jiabao had rarely seen her, so he stepped forward and asked, "But is it Zong Ersao?"
Qiu Yu nodded, "Who are you?"
When Zong Jiabao saw that it was her, he was about to ask her to get some clothes when he saw his mother coming out of the yard.
Before going up the mountain, Zong Xiao repeatedly warned him to keep his injury a secret from his family. He said that he came to get him some clothes and would come back after selling the wolf skin.
Zong Jiabao shouted, "Aunt, it's been a long time since we last met."
The clan mother recognized him and knew that he was the person who went into the mountains with Zong Xiao. But now when she saw him appear in front of her house without seeing Zong Xiao, her body went limp and she almost fell.
"Auntie, what's wrong with you?" Zong Jiabao hurried forward to help her up.
"Erlang he..."
"My second brother is in town. We hunted some wolves, and he's taking them to look for a buyer. He won't be back for a few days. He asked me to let you know I'm safe and to pick up some clothes."
The clan mother breathed a sigh of relief. She patted her chest and said thankfully, "I scared you so much. I thought something had happened to Erlang in the mountains."
Zong Jiabao tried hard to lie, "Don't worry, Auntie. Brother Zong is fine. It's just that his clothes are all dirty from tossing around in the mountains these past few days. Everything in town is expensive, and Brother Zong couldn't bear to buy new ones, so he asked me to come back and get a few sets."
"Okay, okay, Erlang's clothes are next door, you can go get them." The mother had no doubts. After all, in her mind, Zong Xiao's hunting skills were among the best in the village. As long as no one else was injured, he would definitely be safe. Besides, there was no need for Zong Jiabao to lie to her.
Qiu Xuan always felt that there was something wrong with these words. If the person was really safe, why would he need others to bring a message?
Obviously they would pass by the village on the way down the mountain, so they should have enough time to rush home and say a few words.
But he didn't...
Qiu Xuan was suspicious. When they entered the next courtyard and were alone, she immediately asked, "Brother Jiabao, tell me honestly, is Zong Xiao injured?"
"No, no." Zong Jiabao was stunned. He lowered his head and looked here and there, but he didn't dare to look into Qiu Yun's bright eyes.
This was clearly a look of guilt, and Qiu Xuan's heart sank to the bottom.
She was afraid that her voice would be too loud and attract the attention of the grandmother from the next courtyard, so she whispered, "Let's go inside and talk."
Qiu Xuan opened the door and brought the person in.
"Is he seriously injured? How is he? Is anyone else injured?" Qiu Xuan asked three questions in a row. She didn't stop her hands and quickly packed out a few clothes, including her own.
She was worried about Zong Xiao, and she didn't believe what others said. She had to see it with her own eyes.
Zong Jiabao didn't expect that his lie would be seen through. He scratched his head and whispered, "Second Brother Zong was bitten by a wolf and is now in the town clinic. He didn't let me tell you."
Qiu Xuan's hands trembled and her clothes almost fell to the ground.
She asked anxiously, "When did it happen? Is he okay?"
Zong Jiabao pursed his lips and stopped lying. "Duan Saner was also injured in what happened last night. We didn't return to the village and went straight down the mountain."
Qiu Xuan comforted herself that at least she was still alive, and as long as she was alive, everything would be fine.
She pretended to be calm, packed all her clothes, and took the purse. There should be ten taels of silver in it. Qiu Yu thought that this should be enough.
"I'll be going out later. I said I'd go down the mountain with you and buy some New Year's goods along the way. Do you understand?" Qiu Yu knew why Zong Xiao was reluctant to say it.
He must be worried that his family members would not be able to bear it, especially Zong's mother. After all, it was she who agreed to let Zong Xiao go into the mountains that day. If she knew that Zong Xiao was in trouble now, she would definitely beat him.
Zong Jiabao nodded, "I understand, sister-in-law."
Qiu Xuan put on her bag and locked the gate. She stood in front of the yard to calm herself down. After everything was ready, she entered her grandmother's yard.
"Mom, I was thinking of going down the mountain with Jiabao and his brother, and buying some New Year's goods with Erlang." Qiu Xuan shouted towards the house as soon as she came in.
The clan mother came out of the house and advised, "It just snowed, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel on. Don't go, Xiaoyu."
Qiu Xuan had a smile on her face, not a trace of the panic she had just shown. She shoved the key into the clan mother's hand and said, "Chinese New Year is just a few days away, and we're still short of a lot of things besides rice and flour. Since we're going down the mountain anyway, I thought I'd take a walk."
Qiu Yu's words were flawless. Before leaving, she said, "Mom, don't forget the rabbits and chickens in my yard."
"Okay, go ahead then. Walk slowly and come back early. Mother won't forget the things in your yard."
Qiu Xuan happily said goodbye to her family, but her expression changed immediately after she left the hospital.
Last night's dream had come true, and her legs were now weak.
If it weren't for Zong Jiabao's mule cart, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to walk down the mountain.
"Mrs. Zong, don't worry, my second brother has woken up." Zong Jiabao was driving a mule cart on the road. The ground was covered with snow. He didn't dare to drive too fast and could only drive slowly.
The two arrived at the clinic before noon, and Qiu Yun jumped off without waiting for the mule cart to stop.
She had been here before and knew which room the seriously ill person was in.
The closer she got, the more panicked she became. She was scared, very scared.
If Zong Xiao was seriously injured...she...
Her mind was in a mess, a tangled mess, and just as she was about to lift the curtain and walk in.
A soft cry came from behind.
"Ah's."
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