Chapter 18: Guest of the Xiao Family
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“To thank you for the loach soup you gave my brother Xiao Lin last time, come home with me later and try a bowl of rabbit meat.” Xiao Sheng used a threatening tone to invite her, and the smile on his face didn’t reach his eyes.
Xiao Sheng thought that instead of killing and framing her, it was better to turn both sides into grasshoppers tied by one string. It was safest when their interests were mutual. As long as Yu Bing ate a piece of this rabbit, he wasn’t afraid that she would dare to say anything.
Yu Bing naturally understood the other party’s worries. In order to reassure Xiao Sheng, she immediately nodded. She thought of her companions at the foot of the mountain and said, “I can go home with you, but I came with my roommates. I have to find an excuse to tell them.” ...
Xiao Sheng agreed after thinking for a moment. He asked Yu Bing for the cloth bag in her hand and placed the rabbit under the apple and purple soda to cover it before handing it back to Yu Bing.
This way, Xiao Sheng wasn’t afraid that Yu Bing would spout nonsense when she saw her roommates later. Otherwise, he would be the unlucky one.
Yu Bing took the cloth bag and muttered softly, “You’re really careful.”
Xiao Sheng chuckled and said, “Better safe than sorry.” With that, he carried two loads of firewood and led the way.
When Xiao Sheng found out that the others were at the apple tree, he quickly calculated the route and circled around his vegetable field. He brought Yu Bing and arrived after about 20 minutes.
When Yu Bing returned to the apple tree, she realized that everyone had just chased the hornets away. Li Zhen was climbing onto the tree to take out the honeycomb. After Li Zhen came down, his roommates, who had been paying attention to the hornet’s nest, realized that Yu Bing had returned and looked at the man beside Yu Bing curiously.
After everyone introduced themselves, they found out that Yu Bing had just gotten lost and was brought down the mountain by Xiao Sheng, who happened to be chopping wood.
After chatting for a while, they found out that Xiao Sheng was the brother of Xiao Lin, who often sent loaches. They immediately felt a sense of intimacy with him.
Then, everyone laughed and talked about how to outsmart the bees all the way down the mountain.
Yu Bing found an excuse to part with everyone at the foot of the mountain. Before Jiang Chun left, he saw that the cloth bag Yu Bing held was a little heavy and reached out to help her bring it back to the dormitory.
When Xiao Sheng saw this, his heart almost jumped out of his throat. He saw Yu Bing calmly stop Jiang Chun’s hand and say with a smile, “It’s fine. It’s just a few apples. I plan to give some to Xiao Lin to thank him later. This little fellow always picks the biggest loaches and eels for us.”
After everyone left, Xiao Sheng led Yu Bing home.
Yu Bing entered the courtyard and saw a listless young lady sitting on the ground of the central room.
When Xiao Li heard footsteps, she turned to look at the door with a sweet smile on her lips. “Brother, you have a guest?”
In her previous life, Yu Bing only knew that there were three siblings in the Xiao family. She had never specifically inquired about the others. She didn’t know that the youngest of the Xiao family was blind, nor did she expect that she would meet all of them in this life.
Yu Bing went forward and squatted in front of Xiao Li. She said gently, “Hello, my name is Yu Bing. I just came to the He Mountain Brigade to support the construction of the village. I came to your house as a guest today.”
Usually, very few people came to her house. When she found out that the girl in front of her had come to visit, Xiao Li was very happy. “Sister Yu, you’re welcome to come to my house to play. Are you the Sister Yu that my second brother often says he gets candy from?”
Yu Bing looked at the cute little girl in front of her and stroked her little head. She praised, “How smart. You guessed correctly.”
Yu Bing looked around and realized that there were more than ten mats in the central room. “You made these mats? Are you planning to go to the county to sell them to the supply company?”
In this era, selling handmade products to the supply company was the only way for families to increase their side income. Moreover, it was legal and compliant, but the price wasn’t high.
If they hunted animals and wanted to take the legal route, they had to get approval from the village they belonged to and sell them to the supply company in the name of the village. Only then would the other party be willing to accept them. The income would naturally belong to everyone. The village chief might even give some money to the people who hunted as encouragement for the construction of the village. Otherwise, all the money would be collected by the group. It was common for the money to be used to buy fertilizer.
Although Xiao Li was talking, her hands didn’t stop moving. She said proudly, “I made this.”
Yu Bing touched the mat and realized that it was very sturdy. “You made it so well. I’ll buy two. I originally planned to go to the county city tomorrow, but this saved me a lot of trouble.”
Xiao Li hurriedly smiled and said, “Sister Yu, I’ll give you two. I don’t want your money.”