Chapter 1 (Catching Bugs)
It was summer, and the sky in Qingyang Village was already bright at five or six in the morning.
But people at that time had no concept of time. Watches could only be seen in department stores in the county, and the villagers relied on their own biological clocks.
Yu Yao got up very early and went into the mountains in the morning when there was not much work to do at home.
The mountains are quiet, with only the chirping of insects and birds and the rustling of leaves in the wind.
The women in the village would occasionally go into the mountains to pick wild vegetables and mushrooms, but none of them would go as deep as Yu Yao.
Not to mention women, even two years ago when people were still able to go into the mountains to hunt at will, those hunters rarely came to this dense forest. Not to mention that there were terrifying beasts such as wild boars and wolves in the mountains, even if they encountered some poisonous snakes, insects, rats or ants, their lives would be gone in an instant.
But Yu Yao didn't worry about these at all. She picked up a lot of wild mushrooms as she walked and put them in the basket on her back.
No one came to the deep mountains, so her harvest was greater.
Qingyang Village is located in the southwest. Every summer is a rainy season. When it rains, the mushrooms in the mountains grow wildly, and Yu Yao walks as if he is carrying the wind.
When she arrived at her secret base, Yu Yao brought a pig-killing knife this time. She hid the knife in the hole she dug. There were also hoes, dry firewood, pottery jars and other items in the hole. When the weather cools down and the items are easy to store, she can take action.
After packing up her things and making sure her base would not be easily discovered, she put on her backpack and walked briskly back home.
This place is deep, and it took more than an hour to get home.
Her home is at the foot of the mountain, next to the Xiaojing River. Standing in the yard, she can see the beautiful mountain scenery on the other side of the river. Although the conditions are a bit poor, Yu Yao does not feel that life is difficult. On the contrary, she likes this place very much, even though she is a soul from the afterlife.
Yes, her original name was Yu Yao, and she lived in a big city in the south. An accident brought her to this period novel and she became a country girl.
She felt hesitant and helpless at first, but Yu Yao was never the type to give up. After only staying here for a few months, she became thoroughly familiar with this place and insisted that she could live the life she wanted here.
She was thinking about whether to stir-fry or stew the mushrooms in the evening when a figure suddenly appeared in front of her and pulled her from the road to the back of her house.
"Tsk..." Xu Ying was the daughter of the family next door. The two families lived next door to each other, so they were close to each other on a daily basis, and naturally they had a good relationship.
However, compared to the relatively harmonious environment in her family, the Xu family was a mess. The Xu family was very patriarchal. They loved brother Xu Ying very much, but looked down on her, the little daughter. If it weren't for her elder brother's protection, this girl would have been married off in exchange for the bride price.
"What's wrong?" Yu Yao asked in a low voice.
Xu Ying pointed to the main hall of her house and mouthed to her, "Listen."
Yu Yao frowned, she didn't like eavesdropping, but she also knew that Xu Ying was a man of propriety, so she quietly listened. It didn't matter that she heard her own name.
"Ah Yao is good-looking and well-educated. In my opinion, she should marry a city cadre like this. If my Fu Bao wasn't a lady of honor, I definitely wouldn't be here to act as a matchmaker today!"
Yu Yao's mouth twitched when he heard this. Fu Bao was only fourteen years old. What could he do even if she was a concubine?
The person who was speaking was Yu Yao's second aunt. If there was anything wrong with the Yu family, most of it was due to those few restless relatives.
Now Yu Yao no longer felt guilty about eavesdropping. She even took out some candy from her pocket and sat under the plum tree behind the house with Xu Ying to listen openly.
"I'll go ask around tomorrow. If it's a good one, I'll let Ah Yao go and see it."
"It is said that seeing is believing. It is useless to hear from others. It is better to directly arrange for the man to meet. It is not that I am in a hurry. If I miss this opportunity, I will never see it again. Big sister, when do you think it is appropriate?"
Cao Guifang smiled happily. She noticed that her elder sister was in a bad mood, but the other party gave her too much. The other party promised a quota for the family to work in the factory, and then let her husband go to the factory as a worker, and buy her a temporary job. Then their family would all have city household registration, and Fubao could also go to the city to study.
However, Yu Yao's mother Jiang Limei glanced at her calmly and said, "We are not in a hurry, why are you in a hurry?"
Jiang Limei has lived to this age. She watched her younger sister-in-law enter the Jiang family. Even if she doesn't say what the other party is thinking, she can guess it almost 70% of the time. Given her personality of not doing anything without benefits, she would never believe that the other party didn't give her any benefits.
Cao Guifang's eyes flashed and she said nonchalantly: "I'm not in a hurry, I'm not in a hurry." After saying that, she sighed, "Sister, if you don't think about A-Yao, you should also think about A-Sheng. A-Yao married well." Can you help your second brother?"
When Yu Sheng is mentioned, even Jiang Limei, who is always strong, is speechless.
This brother and sister is here to poke people's lungs.
Yu Sheng was the pain of the eldest wife of the Yu family. The couple was still young at that time. They knew very well that the old couple of the Yu family would not care about their children, but in order to collect more firewood for money, they left the two children at home. When they came back, the second son was half frozen to death. Since then, he has suffered from chronic illness, resulting in that now he is 20 years old and still cannot find a wife.
But what does this incident have to do with A-Yao? Did they sell their daughter for their son?
Just thinking of this possibility, Jiang Limei's face suddenly turned ugly, "I said I would ask around, but you won't let me ask around. Could it be that besides being lame, he has some other hidden illness?"
"What kind of person is your aunt? Not only did she introduce you to a person with a lame leg, but she also has a hidden illness!" Xu Ying was so excited that she almost spit out the candy in her mouth.
Yu Yao looked at her helplessly and said nothing.
"Don't be confused. No matter how important your second brother is, he is not as important as you. If he knew that you sold yourself for him, he would not want to get married." Xu Ying pulled Yu Yao's sleeve and stared at her with a warning.
"I know." In this family, her second brother treats her the best. Of course she knows how to consider his thoughts. Just as Xu Ying said, being truly good to others is not about giving blindly, but about knowing what the other person needs.
Others may not know, but Yu Yao knows that her second brother definitely would not want his sister to sell her out to buy his happiness.
No good brother would be like this. If you have a brother like this, then forget it.
My aunt's voice in the room faded away, as if she couldn't make sense and was about to leave.
Yu Yao then handed the mushrooms he had divided from the basket on his back to Xu Ying.
"So many!" Xu Ying's eyes sparkled as he looked at the fresh mushrooms. "You better be careful when you go into the mountains."
"Okay. Be careful not to get discovered when you take it back. I'll be going back first." She had been out for a long time today. If she didn't go back, her family would be worried.
The sky gradually darkened, smoke began to rise from every household, and Xu Ying had to go home to cook.
"Don't worry, these can be exchanged for several dollars."
The two looked at each other and went back to their homes from both sides of the house.
When Yu Yao reached the gate, she could still hear Cao Guifang's voice, "Anyway, I have brought the news. There are so many villages in our town, and there are many girls waiting to get married. I am really worried that Ah Yao will miss this good family. If she doesn't want to marry, there are many who do. You guys should hurry up."
Cao Guifang said this sincerely. In her opinion, there was nothing to inquire about. Even if she did, she would definitely be willing to marry. How could a country girl look down on city people?
Seeing that she couldn't persuade Jiang Limei, Cao Guifang turned around angrily, but when she turned around, she saw Yu Yao, and then a smile suddenly broke out on her ugly face and she came towards him.
"A Yao is back. You've been back to the mountains again, right? You're really capable, but it's a little hard. You're a good high school student. If it were normal, you would be able to..." She stopped talking halfway. What could she do if everyone knew about it.
Nowadays, high school students are not that valuable, especially those from the countryside. Technical secondary schools can guarantee jobs, and it's also okay if they can get into university. But this is a high school student with a rural household registration, and she looks so seductive. If she is recruited into the factory, we would be afraid that she is a restless person.
It would be best if it were done by a man.
"Okay, you can't say such nonsense?" Jiang Limei shouted, "It's getting dark, why don't you go back to cook for your husband and son? Why do you want to stay and eat?"
No matter whether in the Jiang family or the Yu family, few people dare to confront Jiang Limei, the eldest sister, because of her hot temper. When she gets angry, Cao Guifang has to smile apologetically.
"I'll leave now. Isn't this because you care about A'yao? A'yao, come home and play when you are free. Fubao likes you as his sister the most." After saying that, he winked at Yu Yao. The meaning was obvious enough that he wanted to talk to Yu Yao alone.
Yu Yao understood what he meant, but said, "Okay, I'll go help Fu Bao with his summer homework when I have time."
Only after hearing this did Cao Guifang feel satisfied. What a good child, it was a pity that he was born in the Yu family.
Neither Yu Yao nor Jiang Limei took her reaction to heart.
"How far have you run?" Jiang Limei reproached, but her tone was softer than before.
Yu Yao didn't mention what he had just heard. He walked up to Jiang Limei, put down the backpack, uncovered the wild vegetables on top, and the mushrooms underneath made Jiang Limei's eyes light up.
"You are so brave! If you run into some beasts, you will cry."
"Mom, don't worry, I know my limits. Besides, it didn't go in that deep. I'm just lucky." Yu Yao went into the kitchen and poured a bowl of cool rice soup, which she gulped down, feeling refreshed.
Jiang Limei glared at him and said, "You keep saying that. If you continue to talk nonsense outside, I'll tear your mouth apart."
Only her family knew that Yu Yao was lucky. As long as she went into the mountains alone, she would always encounter pheasants, wild rabbits and wild mushrooms. Otherwise, Jiang Limei would never let her go into the mountains alone no matter what. But even so, she still reminded her of this every day, for fear that the girl would not be able to come out after going in.
Knowing that Jiang Limei was worried about her, she just chuckled and put it aside. She carried the basket into the kitchen and carefully picked out the mushrooms from the wild vegetables. There were various varieties, enough to fill a large basin. Tonight's dinner would be rich again.
The mother and daughter worked in tacit understanding, one lighting the fire and the other washing rice and cooking. Jiang Limei saw that her daughter was acting more like a woman, and frowned and asked, "How much did you hear from your aunt just now?"
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