Chapter 97 - 97: Accidentally Witnessed Again
So, the three members of the Qiao family split into two groups, with Qiao Changshun driving the Donkey Cart and Qiao Dami weeding the fields, while Qiao Xiaomai took a carrying basket and hiked up the mountain.
Last time when she was collecting firewood on the mountain, she had explored around the whole foot of the mountain. This time, she walked straight up along the trail until there was no more road to follow, and that’s when she stopped.
There were no more paths, she looked around, took out a machete from inside her storage space, and slowly started moving towards the right.
Her purpose of the mountain trip this time was not to set any sort of trap, but to fabricate an origin story for the white chili plant she had.
However, to divert attention, she used a small shovel to dig out a small pit about a meter deep and covered it with tree branches she chopped off with the machete.
This hastily-constructed trap was an utter rudimentary, she pulled out the potted white chili from her spatial storage, dug up the soil it was potted in, wrapped the chili plant in the cloth and carefully placed it in her carrying basket.
After storing the flower pot in her spatial storage and dusting off the soil on her clothes, she headed down the mountain and back to her home.
Once she got home, she planned to tell Qiao Changshun that she found the chili plant on the mountain, and would naturally then take out the seeds of the chili to plant in their vegetable garden at home.
Currently, she only had one plant, but later on, she would surely have more. This process would take a few years, but she was not in a hurry.
She had plenty of ways to make money.
She didn’t yearn for extravagant wealth, just settling for an assuredly peaceful life as a landlady, free from any worries about food and drink, and occasionally having the chance of going out for a stroll to admire the scenery – this was a life she would be satisfied with.
Fantasising about her wonderful future, her steps become lighter. She might occasionally leap to catch a moth or kick a chunk of soil as if it were a sandbag. She radiated an aura of bliss and joy.
Once she had completely walked out of the woods, the person who had been following her silently stopped.
Puzzlement was written on his usually calm face. His thin lips tightly pressed together, hands clenched into fists, his eyes glowed with a scintillating radiance.
This morning, he was already certain that the being before him had changed at her core. He did not expect another astonishing scene to add to his incredulity. A knife, the likes of which he had never seen before, appeared out of thin air; a plant he had never seen before; a pit that seemed to be a trap but was terribly shoddy.
What… What was she planning to do?
Where did she come from?
What surprising or peculiar attributes did she possess?
What did she aim to achieve?
All these questions swirled in his mind without yielding any answers.
Having hidden behind a tree for quite a while, he slowly made his way out and walked down the trail leading home.
Qiao Xiaomai had no idea her actions were observed by someone. After reaching home, she collected the laundry she had washed the previous day, took out her sewing basket, and prepared to continue sewing clothes.
Not long after, the faint sound of horse hooves approached. It was Yuan Ding delivering ceramic pots.
“How did the tofu pudding sell today?” Qiao Xiaomai asked as she transferred the ceramic pots from the cart.
“Just like yesterday, they sold out very quickly.” Yuan Ding replied cheerfully, “Miss Qiao, the Shopkeeper asked me to relay to you that tomorrow, try to fill up all eight pots.”
This morning, there were six pots of tofu pudding, Shopkeeper He ate four bowls of it, he’d been having tofu pudding as his meals these few days.
“I’ll try my best.” Xiaomai smiled.
She had spent eighteen taels on purchasing the field today and had to earn it back as soon as possible!
After Yuan Ding left, Xiaomai resumed her sewing work.. About fifteen minutes later, the sound of galloping horse hooves could be heard outside again, along with a stranger’s voice, “May 1 ask if Miss Qiao is home?”