Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Black Pig Cliff (Please Subscribe for Monthly Ticket)_1
Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Black Pig Cliff (Please Subscribe for Monthly Ticket)_1
Fourth update
Qian Sangui nodded in agreent and said to Qian Manxia, “Go get so more pastries and wrap them up, they’re nice and soft, just perfect for Duo Duo to eat.”
Initially, Lady Wu divided the pastries and candies into two portions, keeping one for herself and entrusting the other to Qian Yixiu. With Qian Yixiu’s younger siblings having a sweet tooth, amplified by the even greedier Monkey Brother, that stash had long been eaten.
When they asked Lady Wu for more, she wanted to save them for entertaining guests and was reluctant to give any out.
Qian Manxia was also sowhat hesitant, but only took two pieces.
She then went up to Qian Yixiu and said, “Sister Embroidery, you’re planning to freeload a al there, taking only two pieces seems embarrassing.” It could be her lunch, how could two pieces be enough?
Qian Manxia had no choice but to take four more pieces. Seeing Monkey Brother eyeing them eagerly, she also gave it a piece of candy.
Qian Yixiu also went to talk to Cheng Yue, who was sewing in the cottage. Cheng Yue had grown used to her frequent outings. Looking up, she instructed, “Yixiu, co back early, Mama misses you.”
The one thing Qian Yixiu couldn’t resist was her mama’s heartfelt expressions. Hearing this, she had already taken a few steps out before turning back and giving Cheng Yue a kiss.
Seeing this, Monkey Brother instantly leaped onto Qian Yixiu wanting a kiss too. Helpless, Qian Yixiu kissed it once more, delighting Monkey Brother who scratched his head and face frenziedly. It originally wanted to kiss the beautiful Cheng Yue, but Qian Yixiu firmly carried it away, warning it once again not to be presumptuous with the beauty. The fragrance of the young lady wasn’t sothing it could just indulge in.
Qian Yixiu carried a small backpack, which also contained a little hoe, a piece of rope, and a cloth bag. The reason was, “If I don’t feel like playing, Yixiu can go dig up so wild vegetables to blanch and eat.”
She tied one end of the rope around Monkey Brother’s forelimbs and held the other end in her hand. There was no helping it; this Naughty Monkey was too mischievous, she feared it would cause trouble in the village.
Today, Qian Yixiu also had to bring Dashan along. Although she knew that part of the mountain had no large wild animals, it was still better to be safe than sorry. Dashan’s belly had grown a bit, but dog mothers didn’t have the delicateness of human mothers and would still go into the mountains to catch wild ga to satisfy its cravings as usual.
Before leaving, Qian Yixiu again told Qian Manxia, “With Dashan not at ho, Auntie, don’t go out either. Make sure to bolt the door, and don’t open it for strangers knocking.”
Qian Manxia laughed and said, “Got it, little worrywart.”
Qian Yixiu left with Dashan, who was carrying Monkey Brother on its back. She intended to head straight into the mountains, but thinking that Sister Duo Duo had a sore mouth and couldn’t eat much, she decided to deliver two pieces of pastry to her first.
Upon entering the village, people were amazed to see the little monkey riding on Dashan’s back.
“Wow, I’ve never seen a monkey with all red fur before.” This comnt was still okay to hear.
“Eh, this little monkey looks way more handso than the macaques up on Xiding Mountain.” This was a pleasant remark.
“Ugh, what is this abomination? It doesn’t look like a monkey, nor a fox, so ugly…” The woman with a mouth as foul as Lady Tang’s was Mada Yu, Wang Lizheng’s wife. She considered herself the first lady of Huaxi Village and never minces her words.
…
Monkey Brother understood human speech and would gladly accept any complints, but he bared his teeth and shrieked angrily at unpleasant words. Especially after hearing what Mada Yu said, he was extrely displeased. He jumped down from Dashan and Qian Yixiu quickly tightened her grip on the rope to prevent him from escaping.
Unable to run away, Monkey Brother glared at Mada Yu as she entered her courtyard, his big eyes like colored glaze spun around twice, and he scratched the red fur near his ear.
Looking at it, no one knew what mischief it was plotting. The Fierce Red Monkey held grudges; if it took a disliking to soone, it would definitely find a way to get even.
Qian Yixiu chuckled to herself, thinking that Lady Yu’s loose lips would teach her not to offend animals carelessly.
No matter what others said about Monkey Brother, Qian Yixiu would always say, “It was found by a monk from Daci Temple in the mountains. Since the temple doesn’t allow keeping animals, he entrusted to take care of it.”
Monkey Brother was quite endearing. Spreading this story discouraged those with ulterior motives from bothering it. Daci Temple’s exceptional status in both Xishan County and Ji’an Province ant that associating her family with the temple was beneficial.
When she reached Qian’s Main Courtyard, Duo Duo was still sitting in the yard, sobbing. Her lower lip was swollen like a small sausage, her speech was slurred, probably annoyed that Great-grandma and Grandma went to Aunt’s ho to eat at without her.
Qian Manchuan hadn’t gone to drink either, since Lady Xu needed to stay ho with Duo Duo and he had to go up the mountain to pick Xia Grass.
As he was about to leave, seeing Qian Yixiu arrive, he said with a smile, “Embroidery, why didn’t you go to Aunt’s house for the feast?”
Qian Yixiu replied with a smile, “I want to stay at ho with my grandpa and my mom, and I also need to dig up so wild vegetables.” Then, she took out two pastries and gave them to Qian Yiduo, “Sister Duo Duo, don’t cry. These pastries are from Old Lady Zhang in the county town. They’re soft, sweet, and very delicious.”
Qian Yiduo took the pastries and stopped crying. Lady Xu wiped her tears, saying, “See how thoughtful your sister Embroidery is? She even brought these tasty treats especially for you.”
With a mouthful of pastries, Qian Yiduo said indistinctly, “Thank you, Sister Embroidery. I won’t get mad the next ti you co to my house to eat at.”
Lady Xu scolded lightly, “You child, always saying such petty things.” Saying that, she broke the pastries into pieces and fed her.
The delicious pastries made Duo Duo squint her eyes with delight, and it seed her lips hurt less. This was the true deanor of a four-year-old little girl.
Before long, Duo Duo was captivated by Monkey Brother, truly fascinated. But Monkey Brother didn’t take kindly to her and, after being bothered by her petting, climbed directly up into the old locust tree in the yard.
Qian Yixiu played with the little girl for a while, then said she wanted to go to the foot of the mountain to dig wild vegetables, politely declining Lady Xu’s invitation to stay for lunch.
She led Dashan and Monkey Brother to the foot of Jingshan Mountain and headed west, entering the path that split between Jingshan and Xishi Mountain.
This fork was seldom traveled, not just because it was close to Xishi Mountain where the vegetation was sparse, but also because people from the nearby villages tended to bury their dead here. Less than half a mile into the fork, the hillside was covered with mounds of graves. Even under the blazing sun, people passing nearby would feel a chilly breeze.
This place also had a colloquial na: Great Grave Mounds.
Having been a ghost for almost seven years, Qian Yixiu was not afraid of spirits. She knew that ghosts actually had no power over humans; they couldn’t manifest themselves to frighten people, nor could they manipulate anything in the human world. The ghost stories from her previous life were just human imaginings. Moreover, within hundreds of miles around, she had been the only lonely soul wandering.
There weren’t just no ghosts here; there were also very few animals. The sparse vegetation didn’t provide enough food for herbivores, and with fewer herbivores, predators wouldn’t co either.
After passing through the vast sea of graves and climbing up an eastern hill, she reached Black Pig Ridge. Here, it was mostly bare rock and so low shrubs and wild grasses—the larger trees were few and far between. Exhausted, Qian Yixiu sat on a rock to rest for quite so ti. As she sat down, Dashan plunged into the underbrush, probably having spotted so small prey. Monkey Brother wanted to follow too, but Qian Yixiu held him back. Jokingly, if Monkey Brother ran off, was she there just to enjoy the scenery?
Having rested enough, Qian Yixiu continued walking along the mountain path with Monkey Brother for a short distance until they reached a cliff, which was Black Pig Cliff.
At the edge of the cliff, the withered tree still stood solitary and proud. Qian Yixiu patted the dry, speckled trunk, realizing it had been over half a year since she had seen it. Indeed, tis had changed, and now she, Qian Yixiu, had returned to this place as a living person.
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