Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 140: Hated by All

Plain vegetable noodle dish, the only meatiness is the mushroom sauce.

Fresh it is, and spicy it sure is too.

Qin Jiu wanted just a little, while Yi Chichi scooped a full spoon into her own bowl.

The originally pale noodles, smelling of grains, instantly turned red.

Da Li, who was eagerly sniffing, licked its mouth when Yi Chichi mixed the mushroom sauce.

After giving the aunt-niece duo a glance, possibly disapproving of their meal quality, it leaped down silently and ran to the woodpile behind the left courtyard wall.

A few seconds later, Yi Chichi saw it dragging a large field mouse towards them.

"Meow!"

Arriving in front of them, Da Li placed the big field mouse at her feet and meowed.

The aunt and niece looked down at the plump field mouse and fell silent together.

After a while, Qin Jiu looked at Yi Chichi, sounding hesitant, "Aunt, is Da Li suggesting we eat the mouse?"

"Yes!"

Yi Chichi nodded, "Also, this isn’t a mouse, it’s a field mouse."

"Aren’t they all rodents?"

The child looked puzzled, and Yi Chichi explained, "Different species. Field mice are part of the hamster family, feeding on crops and hoarding food voluntarily."

"Mice belong to the rat family, carry more germs, and are less likable than field mice, being universally detested."

Field mice live in the wild, hoarding food through their labor to support their families.

Mice stay indoors, living off others, stealing food to support themselves and their families.

They even pick the good grains, disdaining the poor quality ones.

In famine years, digging a field mouse hole can yield substantial food for survival.

Mouse nests contain nothing but damaged shells.

Overall, field mice are clean and smart creatures.

Country folk prefer field mice to mice.

Da Li especially likes field mice.

Catching them as pests.

It catches mice too but not as frequently as field mice.

Uncle Yaozi said he ate a few field mice Da Li hunted, but never the mice, so Da Li began bringing field mice home.

And now, sharing of field mice has extended to Yi Chichi and Qin Jiu.

"Meow..."

Seeing her staring at the field mouse, Da Li placed its paw on her foot, looking up and meowing as if asking why she wasn’t eating.

"Jiu, do you want to eat field mouse?"

Qin Jiu’s eyes widened in shock, quickly waving hands, "No, I’ll eat noodles."

His expression was full of resistance.

Coincidentally, Yi Chichi also wasn’t fond of eating field mice.

The delicacy shared by the furry one wasn’t to her taste.

So—

"Li, can you eat it yourself?"

She gently negotiated with Da Li, who of course, didn’t understand, nor what calculations its little head was doing. It shoved the field mouse closer with its paw, continuously meowing.

Yi Chichi had no choice but to accept the field mouse.

Da Li, satisfied, stopped meowing and leaped onto the courtyard wall to leave.

Two days and nights passed without seeing a trace of the cat.

When it returned, Yi Chichi was sitting on a small stool grinding herbs when she heard a rustling behind her. She paid no mind, thinking it was a sparrow.

There were many sparrows in the back yard, causing noise now and then, something to get used to.

Minutes later, Da Li appeared silently beside her, nudging and meowing excitedly.

It sounded quite agitated.

"Where did you go?"

Looking down to find it was Da Li, she immediately set aside her work to pick it up and inspect it. Fortunate, it wasn’t injured.

"Meow, meow..."

Da Li struggled, its cries intense.

She placed it on the ground, it took a few steps toward the back door, then looked back and meowed at her, clearly signaling her to follow.

"Here I come."

She got up and followed, reaching the back door, and was stunned.

A line of field mice, neatly arranged from smallest to largest, especially soothing for anyone with OCD.

Counting them, oh, boy, thirteen field mice.

"You’ve got an impressive record."

She praised, it’s like it cleaned out an entire field mouse family. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

But—

"Li, you’ve emptied the field mouse family, won’t their stored food go to waste? Can you take me to get their food too?"

Da Li couldn’t understand. It kicked at the field mice with its paw, meowing for her to eat.

Yi Chichi’s mouth twitched as she was about to speak when Wang Nan arrived.

"Chichi, Xiao Cao is getting married."

"I know."

Yi Chichi replied, and Wang Nan, not seeing anyone, followed the sound of her voice, "Should we bring a gift for her wedding..."

Seeing a line of field mice on the ground, she was shocked, "Where did so many field mice come from?"

"You recognize field mice?"

Yi Chichi was even more surprised, Wang Nan rolled her eyes, "Don’t make me look dumb, we’ve all dug up field mouse holes before, how could we not know."

As she spoke, she bent down, extending a hand to grab a field mouse.

"Slap!"

Da Li swiftly, accurately, and sharply slapped its paw down, angrily hissing at her.

Wang Nan, "... Okay, okay, I won’t look."

But these field mice were truly plump.

They looked delicious.

Recalling the taste of field mice she had eaten before, her mouth watered, "What does it mean that Da Li doesn’t hide them away but leaves them at the door? Showing off?"

Yi Chichi made a bitter face, "Maybe it worries I’d starve or judged my poor hunting skills so it brought prey home to feed me."

"It treats you well then."

Who wouldn’t love such a cat?

At this moment, Wang Nan finally understood why Uncle Yaozi doted on Da Li as if it were a treasure.

"Would you eat it?"

She teased.

Yi Chichi sighed, "I’m not worthy of such delicacies."

Unable to handle field mice or having a craving for rodent cuisines.

Thus, under Da Li’s watchful eyes, she expertly collected the field mice and gave the biggest one to it.

"Eat them, they’re all yours. I don’t want any."

Whether it understood or not, Da Li snatched up the big field mouse and scurried to the side to eat.

Yi Chichi placed the tiny rattan basket holding the field mice behind the woodpile, "Take from here next time you want to eat."

Da Li was too busy eating to pay her any mind.

Yi Chichi called Wang Nan to the front to talk about Liu Xiaocao.

"What did you all plan?"

"We didn’t get a chance to plan. I only found out Xiao Cao’s getting married while working in the field and hearing Aunt Lanhua and the others talk."

"Let me know when you’ve decided, I’ll go with the flow."

"Alright."

She nodded, "Is there any water? I’m dying of thirst."

Yi Chichi poured her a cup of cool mint water.

She downed most of it, took a long breath, and said, "Refreshing, this water’s good."

"What did you put in it?"

"Mint."

She didn’t recognize it.

"Is there more?"

"Yes."

Yi Chichi led her to the herb plot, pointing at the row of mint by the edge, "Those are mint. Pluck it yourself if you want some."

"How much mint is needed to brew a pot of water?"

"Depends if you want it strong or mild."