A Farm Girl: Three Acres of Fertile Land Can Be Exchanged for a Country

After hearing her explanation, Wutong understood what had happened. Looking at the cutting board, which had been corroded and riddled with holes, she thought to herself that the snake was truly venomous, and asked Aunt Zhang, "Is your hand alright?"

Aunt Zhang raised her hand, looked at it over and over several times, and shook her head.

"fine."

"That's good. This isn't a demon, it's a poisonous snake. Do me a favor and go call the mountain."

Aunt Zhang didn't understand why they would call a girl instead of the guards when there was a poisonous snake. But Wutong didn't seem to be joking, and after spending a few days with her, she realized that Wutong was a decisive person. So, following her instructions, she called Shan, who was still fiddling with the medicinal herbs, over.

Shan was completely unaware of this, and even complained to Wutong after entering the room.

"My two little devils are gone. They crawled through the cage and it's such a headache..."

Wutong grunted and pointed to the chopping board.

Shan glanced around casually, then his gaze suddenly fixed on the spot. He took a few steps closer for a better look and shouted, "How did he die?"

The two snakes, which were once full of life, now lay listlessly on the chopping board, their heads smashed flat and their bodies broken in two, a truly pitiful sight.

Wutong said, "Your snake swam into the yard and was killed by the guards. They wanted Aunt Zhang to make snake soup, but when they chopped it up, it started smoking, which startled her."

Snake soup?

The mountain was utterly silent.

"You can't just eat snakes like that, can you? You're lucky you survived. If you had thrown the whole snake in and cooked it, even a god couldn't have saved you now."

Aunt Zhang listened for a long time and barely understood that the snake was from the mountain and that it was not an ordinary venomous snake.

She swallowed hard and asked in alarm, "Girls, why are you keeping this thing as a pet? What if it bites someone?"

Shan was in a bad mood and didn't want to answer her, but she felt sorry for the snake corpse.

Wutong had no choice but to say to Aunt Zhang, "Don't worry about this for now. Call the guards over and have them find a sturdy wooden bucket. Take all the snake meat, along with the chopping board and cleaver, and bury it outside the city. The deeper the better."

Aunt Zhang nodded blankly, and Wutong added, "If you see anything strange in the house in the future, don't act on your own. Tell us first, okay?"

"understood……"

Aunt Zhang nodded and went out to call the guards. She couldn't help but glance back at them, only to see Shan extend a gloved hand and snatch the snake meat directly. A chill ran down her spine; as if she'd seen a demon. She quickened her pace and ran out.

Shan looked at the snake meat and was filled with remorse.

"It's all my fault for not watching them properly, what should I do now..."

Wutong asked, "If it weren't for these two snakes, would you be unable to control your venom?"

The mountain bowed its head.

"I can only last for half a month at most. After half a month, I will have no choice but to lock myself up."

After thinking for a moment, Wutong suddenly pushed her upstairs.

"Go change into some clothes you would wear outside."

Shan, puzzled, grabbed the stair railing and asked, "Why are you changing clothes?"

"The weather's nice today, let's go for a walk and see if there are any snake sellers."

"The snakes sold on the street are all edible, how could there be any poisonous snakes? You definitely won't find any."

"How will you know if you don't try."

After Wutong finished speaking, she pushed Shan into the room and closed the door for her. Through the door, she said, "Hurry up, I'll wait for you outside."

Ever since Shan began practicing the Ten Thousand Poisons Manual, he has disliked going to crowded places, but he couldn't resist her urging, so he obediently changed his clothes.

Wutong went back to her room to put on an extra coat, stuffed some money into her pocket, and went to wait outside the mountain gate.

The door opened, and Shan came out wearing a bright green long padded jacket over a smoky gray skirt. The sleeves of the jacket were a bit long, hanging down to just cover her gloves.

Her light green jacket accentuated her fair face, making her look like a beautiful young woman.

Wutong smiled and said, "Let's go."

Shan followed behind her, muttering, "I paid a lot of money to have people catch these two snakes; you definitely can't buy them on the street."

"If we can't buy it, then we'll just treat it as a game, okay?"

As soon as Wutong stepped out the door, she ran into an old man selling candied hawthorns. She bought a string of candied hawthorns to shut Shan up.

"Pshaw, that's something only kids like. I'm not eating it."

The mountain seemed quite disdainful, but once outside, the sunlight made the sugar on the hawthorns sparkle, and an enticing sweet aroma filled the air.

She recalled the taste of candied hawthorns, and her mouth began to water. Taking advantage of Wutong's inattention, she quickly bit off the top one and chewed it in her mouth.

Wutong caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of her eye, smiled slightly, as if nothing had happened, and asked the vendors on the street.

"Brother, do you know if there are any people around here who sell wild game?"

"Selling wild game? It seems like there are always stalls set up at the market entrance. What would you like to buy?"

"snake."

"It's a good idea to eat snake soup now that it's cold. It helps to dispel wind and dampness, and promote blood circulation."

After thanking him, Wutong led Shan towards the street entrance.

By the time the two arrived, she had already devoured all the candied hawthorns.

Looking at the bustling street in front of him, Wutong smiled and asked, "One more?"

Shan withdrew his tongue, which had been secretly licking the corner of his mouth, and tossed his head back. "I'm not a child."

"Then stand here and don't move, wait for me."

After Wutong finished speaking, she left. Shan waited for a while, completely confused, and then saw her come back carrying a bag.

"what is this?"

"Dried persimmons."

Wutong picked up a piece and ate it, giving the rest to her.

Shan was initially dismissive, but seeing how much she enjoyed eating, he couldn't resist picking up a piece and taking a bite himself.

Mmm...it tastes delicious.

When they ate their second persimmon, they found the man who sold wild game. He was a tall, burly man with a full beard, carrying a bow and arrows on his back, and with pheasants and rabbits scattered in front of him, looking like a hunter.

She asked if they had any snakes, and the other person took out a cage of rat snakes.

The sycamore tree said it didn't want this kind; it needed to be poisonous.

The hunter was in a dilemma.

"You're putting me in a difficult position. Who would dare to catch a poisonous snake? And if they did, who would dare to bring it into the street? If it bites someone, wouldn't I have to pay with my life?"

Wutong asked, "Don't you usually encounter poisonous snakes?"

"Even if you could find it, you wouldn't catch it. You can't eat it or raise it. Who would be so bored as to spend money to buy that kind of thing?"

"Are you just being silly?" Wutong glanced back at Shan, who was still immersed in the sweet aroma of the persimmons and focused entirely on the paper package, not listening to them at all.

Wutong remained silent, then raised his hand and waved it in front of her eyes before she came to her senses.

"They said there are no poisonous snakes. How about we take a long trip next time and look for them somewhere else?"

Shan said, "That's too much trouble, and which way should we go?"

"You should be able to find out by asking around."

Hearing their conversation, the hunter asked curiously, "What are you two young ladies doing looking for poisonous snakes?"

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