Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Exceeding the Task Target_1
Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Exceeding the Task Target_1
Monkey Brother quietly approached the bedside, searching carefully. Suddenly, the old man grunted twice and patted his belly slightly as he turned over, causing the little monkey to scurry and cling to the floor in fright.
The little master had specifically instructed not to wake the Xu family mbers. The three generations of this family were not only brutal but also skilled hunters with considerable prowess.
Only when the thunderous “roar” resounded again did Monkey Brother dare to straighten up. It saw a corner of peach-colored fabric peeking from under the bad old man’s fat waist. Moving closer to sniff it, the familiar scent matched that of little aunt’s, surely the very item the little master had sent it to find.
It was overjoyed and began to gently tug on the item, but as the old man was so heavy, it couldn’t pull it out without exerting too much force, leaving it scratching its head in anxiety.
Its eyes darted around before it lightly scratched the bad old man’s belly with its paw. The old man grunted twice and reached out with a black hand to scratch his belly before turning over.
Most of the undergarnt was exposed, and Monkey Brother gently tugged it free, slinging it over its neck.
Having reached the window, it felt discontent, thinking how nasty this family was, causing the master’s family to cry for half a day. So, it turned around, scoped the room, hopped onto the table, and lifted the teapot to dribble a couple of drops of urine into it.
It had intended to urinate more, but before coming, the little master had repeatedly admonished it by pulling its ear, warning it not to ddle or cause trouble. Otherwise, it would have to forget about egg custard, new clothes, and even rock sugar.
Reluctantly placing the teapot down, it leaped down from the table and flipped out the window.
As the Crescent Moon erged faintly like a thin Mount Ei on the eastern horizon, a small red shadow with a peach-colored undergarnt scampered out from Darong Village. It raced down to the foot of the mountain, then westward, slipping through the gate that opened just for it.
Upon entering the room, Qian Yixiu stuffed a piece of candy into Monkey Brother’s mouth and pinched the nape of its neck, “Well done.”
Qian Manxia, her face flushed, took the undergarnt from its neck, confird it was indeed her item, and burst into tears of joy. She turned and threw the undergarnt into the kitchen stove to burn it to ashes.
The next morning, Huaxi Village was as beautiful as an imaginary land of joy and plenty. A faint mist still floated above the ground, with houses, trees, and flowers enveloped in the soft morning light, and the fresh scent of plants wafted everywhere.
Old Grandma Fan, who lived at the eastern end of the village, let out a loud “howl” that shattered the serene beauty of the little village. She had been about to pick so cucumbers from her vegetable patch at the edge of the village to eat with her al when she stepped out and saw an apricot-colored undergarnt discarded on the winding path.
Old Grandma Fan had a loud voice and was a nosy chatterbox. Finding the undergarnt was sensational. Forgetting about the cucumbers, she carried the garnt around the village.
“What a disgrace, shaless! Which young mistress has done this? To think this item was left on the road…”
Old Grandma Fan’s voice, as loud as the great bell at the north entrance of the village, drew many villagers to open their gates. Seeing the gathered crowd, she grew even more proud and raised her voice again, “Such an incident has never occurred in Huaxi Village! Which young mistress has carelessly left this at the side of the village path? This isn’t sothing blown over by the wind, but surely left there by so shaless hussy…”
“Oh, who could have lost it?”
“Must have been soone doing shaless deeds outside the village.”
“Tsk, utterly shaless.”
…
Old Uncle Zhang, a seasoned servant of Mr. Zhang’s House, heard this and rushed to report to Mr. Zhang.
Old Uncle Zhang had also found an undergarnt in the bushes on his way to fetch water from Butterfly Spring. At first, he didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just so ill-behaved woman’s lost item. But, after hearing Old Grandma Fan’s words, he realized the matter was not so simple. How could there be two such items lying at the eastern end of the village at the sa ti?
Mr. Zhang, having heard the story, also felt there was sothing fishy and asked his wife to pick up the undergarnt and take it to Wang Lizheng’s house to see if there were any others like it along the way.
At this very mont, Wang Lizheng and his wife, Mada Yu, were anxiously looking for their daughter Wang Cuicui’s undergarnt, which had suddenly disappeared from her bedroom where it had been hung to dry.
“Did you already put it away, or could your sister-in-law have taken it by mistake?” Mada Yu asked in distress.
“I didn’t put it away, and I’ve asked my sister-in-law; she didn’t take it either,” Wang Cuicui said, close to tears. That undergarnt was her favorite, a delicate erald fabric with twisting lotus flowers embroidered on it, and it had only been washed once. Moreover, its disappearance was too mysterious.
“Think again, could you have put it sowhere after you picked it up?” Mada Yu pressed.
“I’m sure I didn’t pick it up. I saw it just last night before I went to bed, hanging on that little bamboo pole,” said Wang Cuicui.
Lady Tang, the eldest daughter-in-law, said, “Even if it wasn’t put away, what kind of daring rogue would have the gall to steal sothing like that from our courtyard? Besides, our dog didn’t bark at all last night.”
“What are you trying to say, sister-in-law? Are you implying that I…” Wang Cuicui couldn’t finish her sentence before she burst into tears.
Lady Tang quickly clarified, “Sister-in-law didn’t an anything by it; don’t overthink it, little sister.”
As they were speaking, they heard Old Grandma Fan shouting outside that she had found an undergarnt.
Lady Tang hurriedly ran out to open the courtyard door, took a quick look, closed the door, and ca back into Wang Cuicui’s room on the left to say, “Old Grandma Fan has found an apricot-yellow undergarnt.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t erald green.
When Mrs. Xu, the wife of the scholar, brought out the undergarnt that she had just found in the bushes, Mada Yu’s eyes widened in recognition; it was the very one that Cuicui had lost.
Mada Yu, red-faced with anger, loudly cursed, “What shaless beast…”
Seeing Mrs. Xu staring at her, she quickly covered up her inner irritation and panic, saying, “Such things have never happened in our village before. How can such garnts just go missing one after another? It’s truly strange.”
Old Grandma Fan’s loud voice was still occasionally heard from outside.
The scholar’s wife frowned and said, “We can’t let Old Grandma Fan go on like this. If word gets out, it will tarnish the reputation of the entire Huaxi Village, and it may even affect future marriage prospects for the young won here.”
Wang Lizheng spoke earnestly, “Mrs. Zhang speaks the truth.” He then addressed Lady Tang, “Go, bring in that Old Grandma Fan. That woman has a loose tongue and is a nuisance.”
He then courteously said to Mrs. Zhang, “The item in Mrs. Zhang’s hand—that is, let my wife take care of it for now. Take also what Old Grandma Fan has. And let’s get a few won together to look around the village and outside, to see if there’s anything else like this.”
When Mada Yu took the erald undergarnt into her hands, Wang Lizheng and his family finally felt relieved.
As Lady Tang went out to call Old Grandma Fan, they heard Madam Hua saying loudly, “Old Grandma Fan, the little undergarnt you’re holding looks like it belongs to your eldest daughter-in-law. I saw her with that kind of silk in town a few days ago, saying she was going to make an undergarnt out of it. We even comnted on how generous she was, wearing such fine silk underneath, out of sight, and still spending so much.”
A middle-aged man nearby joked, “She’s wearing it, not for others to look at. What does it matter whether others can see it or not?”
His remark set off a burst of laughter among the onlookers.
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