"Mother, I'm going to check on the back mountain," Ke Enshu said softly as she entered the house, changed into a patched old dress, slung a bamboo basket over her shoulder, and held a sickle with half its head broken off.
“Late autumn is the time when there are many wild duck eggs in the riverbed and reeds. I found some to nourish your body.”
Aunt Ke, who had initially been sullen and unhappy that she was skipping her business, immediately changed her expression. "Alright, come back soon."
Ke Enshu smiled and walked out of the courtyard with hurried and cheerful steps. When she caught sight of Ke Meiyu, who was eating pork lard noodles in a bowl at the door of the fourth house, her smile became more meaningful.
As soon as she left, she saw several little kids from the first and third branches of the family rushing out like little cannonballs, each carrying a small bamboo basket.
Ke Meiyu stretched out her leg and blocked their way.
The little ones were confused for a moment, blinked their eyes, and then muttered anxiously in low voices, "Aunt Yu, don't block the way! We want to follow Aunt Ba to collect wild duck eggs."
"Yes, Aunt Yu has eggs to eat, so we'll find wild duck eggs and roast them ourselves..."
They slurped their saliva; the roasted wild duck eggs smelled wonderful in the autumn!
"She's willing to take you there?" Ke Meiyu raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Of course! My eighth aunt is so kind. She never eats alone. She's taken us out to look for wild duck eggs so many times. I've eaten three by myself!" Children are simple-minded and answer whatever they are asked.
Ke Meiyu narrowed her eyes. The fourth branch of the family and the two elderly people were so miserable in the article, yet they did not receive care from the other two branches. There must be a reason for this.
After all, the relationship between the different families is still relatively harmonious. At least they can stand together against external forces when things happen, unlike the cold or indifferent relationship described in the article, where they do not communicate with each other!
Unfortunately, Ke Meiyu reads a lot of books quickly, and even with a good memory, she misses a lot of plot points because she doesn't pay attention to memorizing them. She's lucky if she can remember the female lead and the supporting female character.
However, Ko Mei-yu is not one to dwell on things.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, "Wait, Aunt Yu will go with you!"
"No, no, Aunt Yu only knows how to eat and dress herself. She doesn't know as much as Eighth Aunt."
"Aunt Yu, move aside quickly, we'll bring you roasted duck eggs when we come back!" The mischievous children were actually ungrateful, trying to treat her like a doll and get rid of her!
"Oh ho, you won't let me go? I'll take you with me anyway! We'll feed you until you're all full, even if it means feeding the wolves!" Ke Meiyu's stubborn temper flared up, and she angrily turned and shouted into the house, "Mom, find me a basket, I'm taking the kids to collect duck eggs!"
Mrs. Ke poked her head out, both amused and exasperated, "Why are you arguing with the children?"
When your brothers come back, have them take you to collect duck eggs. The water in the reed marshes is unpredictable; it's very dangerous. Every year, several children drown after their feet get tangled in the weeds.
“Mother, I know, I won’t take them into the water,” Ke Meiyu nodded in agreement, and took her straw hat and basket. “Let’s go, today I’m going to show you how terrifying Aunt Yu can be when she’s in power!”
We've got our hands on all the wild duck eggs in the entire reed marshland.
Knowing they couldn't keep up with Ko Eun-sook, the children could only nod listlessly with their heads down and drag their heavy steps to catch up.
Ke Meiyu wore black straight-leg pants and a white shirt with blue floral print. She had a slender figure, a fair and delicate face, and slightly upturned eyes with a blush. Combined with her own lazy and charming demeanor, she swayed like a peach fairy coming down from the mountain, which was too eye-catching!
"Seventh Sister Ke, you couldn't even get out of bed yesterday, but now you can run around like a baby?"
"Aren't Eighth Sister's nutritional supplements incredibly effective?"
"It's almost a thousand yuan! If it were me, I could run like the wind!"
Ke Meiyu is the embodiment of good luck, but everything in the world strives for balance. Therefore, the side effect of her lucky fate is that she becomes a magnet for negativity, and she can be attacked for no reason...
Moreover, the original owner was already a troublemaker, and with the female lead, Hei Bailian, adding fuel to the fire, coupled with everyone's resentment towards the rich, there was no shortage of envious, jealous, and hateful words along the way. It's only because Ke Meiyu has a thick skin that she could stand up for herself; if it were someone with a thin skin, they would have been so angry that they jumped into the river to prove their point!
The little radishes were like angry little lions, speaking up for her everywhere:
"My Aunt Yu just can't do heavy work. How is walking in your way?"
"The doctor said my Aunt Yu has a concussion and needs to rest more and avoid strenuous activity. She might also suffer from long-term effects. How come you all seem to know more than the doctor?"
"Aunt Yu is a patient. Going out for a walk and breathing fresh air is good for her recovery. Didn't you see that we're following Aunt Yu just in case?"
If you don't even understand common sense, then shut up and save yourself from exposing your ignorance!
Although the little radishes can't compare to Ke Meiyu in terms of food, they can all go to school, which they are proud of, and they like to show off their literary status from time to time.
Their retorts left everyone feeling embarrassed and angry, which actually had a good effect.
“My dear nephew,” Ke Meiyu smiled, turned around, and patted the child behind her on the head, “Let’s raid the wild ducks’ home!”
The children all rolled their eyes at the sky as she turned around.
Wild ducks are very clever; they usually set up their nests in sparsely populated areas, and the reed beds are so large that searching them is extremely difficult!
She's a pampered girl who's never even held a hoe, only knows how to be vain and doesn't like to study; she'd be lucky to even find a duck feather.
Sensing the children's disdain, Ke Meiyu quickened her pace with a smirk.
Leaving the village, a 20-minute walk downstream along the river leads to a vast expanse of reeds stretching as far as the eye can see.
This area is rich in resources, but beneath its calm and peaceful surface lie many dangers, such as various poisonous snakes and insects, and deep, muddy pits.
More importantly, this place is connected to the continuous mountain range behind it, where small wild animals often roam!
Children are not allowed to enter without an adult present.
"Aunt Yu, why don't we wait until Uncle Liu and the others finish work before going in?" The older children couldn't help but say as they saw the reeds.
"You underestimate me, don't you?" Ke Meiyu said with a light laugh, "We'll go in and come back with a full load. You can take the wild duck eggs home and let your mothers make salted duck eggs for you. They'll last you a long time."
It's safer than you guys having to sneak in every now and then!
After saying that, she solemnly took out a rope from her basket, strung the six radish heads together, and held the end of the rope herself: "Stay close to me and don't make a sound."
Ke Meiyu squinted and quietly released her divine sense, walking along a path trodden out by people.
Halfway there, she led the children across the reed marshes, skipping and hopping across the three-inch-wide, discontinuous solid ground.
About twenty minutes later, their view suddenly opened up, revealing a small lake where flocks of wild ducks were playing and foraging. Duck nests lined the surrounding reeds, countless wild duck eggs seemingly beckoning to them!
The children swallowed hard in disbelief. Was this a dream?
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