Pastoral Splendor

The room was very lively.

Wuhua, being very sensible, had already gathered up the dishes and was washing them. The sound of the splashing water and the clanging of the dishes blended together, like beautiful music.

Sihua fawned over Yanying, moving a chair behind her and saying, "Third sister, you've worked so hard. Sit down and take a break!"

Yan Ying smiled and patted her head: "Sihua, Third Sister can still hold on."

Liu Hua chuckled and said, "Third Sister, you're amazing now, just as amazing as Second Sister!" She squatted down next to Aunt Xiao and reached out to touch her belly, "Mother, I caught my little brother's little foot."

Aunt Xiao is now over seven months pregnant, and the baby inside her belly is moving around quite a bit. Aunt Xiao often says happily that none of her previous six pregnancies had been this active, so this baby is definitely a boy.

Old Master Xiao had been longing for a son for so long that his eyes were red with tears. Hearing what Aunt Xiao said, he was overjoyed. He worked hard every day, tending his own fields and doing odd jobs for other people. This was how Aunt Xiao could barely afford to eat an egg every other day. A few days ago, he even bought a small piece of fatty meat to use as lard when wiping the bottom of the pot while cooking.

Hearing Liuya call for her little brother, Aunt Xiao smiled happily. Liuhua pressed against her belly and kept talking to the moving fetus: "Little brother, don't make so much noise, you're making our mother uncomfortable."

Aunt Xiao reached out and stroked Liu Hua's head: "Your brother has woken up, so he'll naturally move around. Don't wake him."

She's already so protective of the baby before it's even born; if it were a boy, who knows how much she'd cherish him? Yan Ying sighed inwardly. This is how the preference for sons over daughters comes about. Look at Liu Hua; she's just hoping that Aunt Xiao is having a little brother, afraid that Aunt Xiao will give birth to a girl again—even girls don't respect themselves, so how can they expect to receive their parents' love?

Sihua also went over and, together with Liuhua, spoke to the baby through the belly: "Don't move around when you wake up, don't kick your mother, it will hurt her."

Aunt Xiao, holding her belly, smiled gently: "Let him kick if he wants. He's not strong, and it won't hurt me. Besides, even if it hurts, it's okay for him to kick me a couple of times!"

Yan Ying felt uncomfortable after hearing Aunt Xiao's words. This should have been a happy family scene, but she just felt a bit upset. It was probably because she was not used to the patriarchal atmosphere here, and she didn't want to see Aunt Xiao and the girls belittling themselves and only praising the boys so highly.

She stood up and walked out of the house, leaving Aunt Xiao and her younger sisters inside, pondering how to deal with the remaining mutton.

This sheep weighs about 20 or 30 pounds. She just butchered one leg and cooked it, so there's still more than half left. It's springtime now, and although the weather isn't too hot, it'll definitely start to smell bad if left for a few days. She needs to find a way to properly deal with it.

Yan Ying initially thought of salting the mutton to preserve it for later consumption, but cured meat isn't good for your health, and besides, it was uncertain whether Old Master Xiao had that much salt. It seemed she would have no choice but to carry the sheep to the market to sell it. In her previous life, mutton was quite valuable; she wondered how much silver a sheep could fetch in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Regardless, being able to exchange money for silver is a good thing. Yan Ying rolled her eyes. To get rich, you need capital. Right now, her family is so poor they're almost starving, their house is bare. It's unlikely anyone in Xiao Family Village would be willing to lend money to Xiao Laoda, so she can only find a way to save money herself.

Thinking of this, Yan Ying stood up, shook the sheepskin, and carefully rolled it up. She planned to take it to the market to see if anyone wanted to buy a pelt. Although sheep were everywhere, a whole pelt should fetch a few copper coins. If no one wanted it, she would have it tanned and used to make hats for Wu Hua and Liu Hua, so their ears wouldn't get cold in winter.

The door creaked open, and Erhua came in carrying a basket. She saw Yanying standing there with her hands covered in blood, and a basket at her feet containing the dismembered sheep.

Yan Ying had already chopped the sheep into several pieces, but now she put them back together, making the sheep look very complete, except for the missing leg, which gave people a strange feeling.

"Sanhua, what are you going to do?" Erhua put down the food basket and ran over, a hint of nervousness in her eyes: "Are you going to take the mutton to give away?"

"Give it away?" Yan Ying laughed when she saw Er Hua's nervous look. "Second sister, you're overthinking it. I'm just taking the mutton to the market to sell! We can't eat mutton every day and keep telling Mother that we found a wildcat, can we?"

Erhua nodded in agreement: "You're right."

"Second sister, do you know how to get to Yuzhou City?" Yan Ying picked up the basket and weighed it in her hand: "This mutton is quite heavy!"

“Our Xiao Family Village is not far from Yuzhou, about twenty miles away.” Erhua frowned. “I’ve gone out with our father a few times. We turn left from the main road in the village, and then there’s a straight road that leads to the official road. Just keep going straight and we’ll get there.”

More than 20 li? Yan Ying silently calculated in her mind that it would only take an hour to get there? She originally thought that she had traveled to a deep mountain, where communication was basically done by shouting and transportation was mainly on foot. She thought that it would take a day and a night to get out of the ravine. She never expected it to be so convenient.

Yan Ying winked at Er Hua: "Second sister, I'm leaving now. You stay home and pack your things, and wait for me to come back."

A road leads straight out of Xiaojia Village. The warm spring sunshine shines on the path, and dappled sunlight filters through the green trees beside the road, dancing and crisscrossing on the ground. Colorful fallen petals drift and flutter in the gentle mountain breeze on both sides of the road.

With a basket slung over her arm, Yan Ying hurried along the path, her steps light as a breeze. Old Lady Si Jin certainly wouldn't let it go so easily; she'd probably send her grandson to keep watch at the village entrance, making sure those pieces of wood were avoided.

Yan Ying walked quickly with her head down, afraid of being discovered by the family of the old lady Si Jin. But the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. Just as she was walking hurriedly, she heard someone shout from behind: "Xiao Sanhua, you stop right there!"

Looking back, Yan Ying saw a big guy chasing after her. It was the eldest grandson of the old lady Si Jin, nicknamed Da Mu, whose real name was Xiao Da Shun. He was a real troublemaker. He was tall and strong, and very powerful. There were few people in Xiao Family Village who could beat him.

Yan Ying took off running forward. The road stretched out ahead, seemingly without end, but Yan Ying seemed to have an inexplicable strength, running incredibly fast. Da Mu chased after her, and although he was about to catch up with her, he still couldn't reach her.

They ran from the small path to the main road. Yan Ying put down the basket, turned around, and looked at the tall and strong Da Mu with a smile, saying, "Da Mu, you stand there."

Da Mu didn't expect Yan Ying to suddenly stop and wait for him. He heard Yan Ying telling him to stop, and his feet were already out of control. He saw Yan Ying turn to the side, and he crashed hard into a big tree.

While Da Mu was still dizzy from the impact and hadn't figured out what had happened, Yan Ying quickly picked up the basket on the ground and ran forward as fast as she could, her eyes constantly glancing at the main road. If only she could hitch a ride on a carriage, she could get rid of Da Mu and save some of the journey to the city.

"Stop right there, Xiao Sanhua!" A panting voice came from behind. Yan Ying shook her head. This Da Mu was really persistent. No wonder, in the countryside, a sheep is considered a valuable asset. She was angry at the time and wanted to improve her meals, so she slaughtered one of their sheep without hesitation. Now that she thought about it, Old Lady Sijin would definitely not let it go. She still needed to think carefully about how to handle this matter.

"Da Mu!" Yan Ying suddenly turned around, put her hands on her hips, glared at her and started yelling, "You're so young and you've already gone astray. What are you doing chasing after me?"

Upon hearing Yan Ying's accusation, several passersby on the official road stopped and pointed at Da Mu, saying, "He's only sixteen or seventeen years old, and he doesn't even know how to avoid suspicion, chasing after that young girl!"

“Farm children have never been to school and don’t know the rules. I’m afraid they’ll just get used to hanging out in the village!” Someone shook his head and shouted at Da Mu, “Don’t go astray! Hurry up and go back. It’s not right for you to follow that little girl!”

Da Mu's face turned bright red with anger. He pointed at Yan Ying and stammered, "Xiao Sanhua, how dare you accuse me first!" He angrily pounced on Yan Ying, saying, "Today I'm going to catch you and give you a good beating!"

Yan Ying wouldn't let him hurt her. She swept out with a whirlwind kick. Da Mu was about to grab Yan Ying when he suddenly saw a straight leg kicking towards his face. He was so frightened that he took a step back: "Xiao Sanhua, you dare to kick me? You've got some nerve!"

"Why wouldn't I dare kick you?" Yan Ying landed gracefully on the ground, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and sneered at Da Mu: "You've been chasing me all over the place, and now you want to hit me, and I can't kick you? Do you think I'll just obediently wait to get beaten up?"

"Xiao Sanhua!" Da Mu's face seemed to drip blood: "You clearly started it first..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yan Ying delivered a series of kicks: "You have ill intentions, chasing me around everywhere, and now you want to pin the blame on me? Don't even think about it!"

Seeing Yan Ying's fierce approach, Da Mu quickly dodged to the side. He barely managed to avoid Yan Ying's kicks, but then he felt himself being suddenly pulled up by a rope, and his body was suddenly lifted into the air.

"Put me down!" Da Mu stared at the gray ground, his face turning pale with fright. He flailed his arms and legs like a turtle struggling to swim.

...