The Tempting Educated Youth Married to a Rough Man-Chapter 228 - 224: The Little Mushroom-Picking Girl

Chapter 228: Chapter 224: The Little Mushroom-Picking Girl

Wen Ran made a trip, giving Mrs. Xiao a boost of energy.

As a result, after she left, Mrs. Xiao had a satisfying showdown with the sharp-tongued woman with triangle eyes.

Of course, she won.

That triangle-eyed woman had a sharp mouth but was physically frail, no match at all.

She was so skinny that one slap from Mrs. Xiao’s fan-like hand could send her reeling.

On the way back, Xiao Chenxing was plucking grass leaves off Mrs. Xiao and complained, "Ma, as people get older, they usually become more composed.

How come, with you, it’s the opposite?"

"Ha!"

Mrs. Xiao dusted off herself and retorted, "How is it opposite? I just become more straightforward with age.

If it were my younger years, I wouldn’t have dared to do this, too concerned about face, couldn’t afford to."

"Alright, alright," Mr. Xiao removed a grass leaf from Mrs. Xiao’s hair, unable to hide his smile, "We know you’re formidable now."

"Hmph!"

Mrs. Xiao cast a sidelong glance at Mr. Xiao, "Do I need you to say that? Everyone can see it!"

In her younger days, although she’s fierce, she really cared about face and often got bullied.

Mr. Xiao did protect her, but to no avail; it only gave people another target to scold.

Working by day, crying under the covers by night.

Latterly, she couldn’t bear the bullying anymore, got fed up and struck back.

From then on, things have brightened up, and life became more enjoyable.

Thinking back, Mrs. Xiao couldn’t help but sigh.

Life is something you shouldn’t look back on; even thinking about it brings tears.

At Wen Ran’s place, the food was still steaming hot.

After a good meal, everyone pitched in to clean up before heading home for a restful sleep.

When people are utterly exhausted, they fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

The night was silent.

Fine, dense rain fell, nourishing the vast land.

Then the clouds cleared, and the rain stopped just as the sun started to rise.

Looks like this year is going to be a year with good weather and good harvests ~

...

On the third day of spring plowing, Wen Ran still hadn’t made any progress with driving the cattle.

Just as she was pondering whether to continue hanging around in the mountains, she heard Hongguo shout, "Sis, it’s raining outside."

Wen Ran scratched her head, "Still raining during the day?"

"Yeah."

Wen Ran rolled off the kang and peered outside through the door crack.

It was drizzling heavily and densely.

But such rain didn’t stop everyone else from going to work in the fields, as Hongguo checked the rain, muttering while putting on her raincoat, getting ready to head out.

Even then, she didn’t forget to remind Wen Ran, "Sis, it’s fine to work in the fields when it rains but going to the mountains is way too dangerous.

There were instances when I was up in the mountains, continuous rain could trigger landslides, mixing soil, rocks, weeds, and trees sliding down together...

It’s dangerous, even for people, not to mention large wild boars or bears; they couldn’t escape."

Just imagining that scene sends chills down the spine.

Wen Ran nodded and lay back comfortably on the kang, "Don’t worry, your sister is lazy, won’t move if she doesn’t have to.

Such God-given opportunities to slack off, I won’t miss! Don’t worry!"

Hongguo chuckled, waved goodbye to Wen Ran, and headed out wearing her raincoat.

Meanwhile, the Xiao family wasn’t doing so well.

Primarily, Mrs. Xiao wasn’t in the best spirits.

Staring out at the endless curtain of rain, she was lost in thought.

At the dining table, Xiao Chenxing uttered softly, "Dad, what should we do? Maybe I shouldn’t go to work today either."

"It’s alright, trust your mom," Mr. Xiao’s expression was also heavy, "So many years have passed, your mom, will eventually come around."

Speaking of this, Xiao Chenxing felt a pang too.

She murmured softly, "Dad, I also miss Fourth Brother, he said before that when he earns big money, he’ll buy me candies."

Seeing his little daughter so downcast, the joys and laughter of the past surfaced.

Mr. Xiao felt a tightness in his heart, barely holding back tears, "It’s alright, everything will pass."

Time will slowly wash away everything and heal the wounds.

...

By noon, the rain had stopped, and lying alone on the kang bored Wen Ran, so she took a basket and went up the mountain.

Whether it’s gathering pigweed or hunting something, it’s about finding something to do and not getting bored.

But on the way, she noticed the rain had its perks.

Various mushrooms sprang up like bamboo shoots after the rain.

Wen Ran’s eyes lit up.

Quickly cutting a few baskets of pigweed to complete her duties, Wen Ran started gathering mushrooms like crazy.

The poisonous ones went into her space for future tricks; the non-poisonous ones partially went into her basket, partially into her space, ready to be eaten back home.

What couldn’t be finished would be dried, and come winter, soaking them in warm water would make an exceptionally fragrant dish.

Fresh mushrooms had their way of being eaten, and dried mushrooms certainly had theirs too.

But no matter the kind, the deliciousness of mushrooms always made one drool.

Wen Ran decided she’d catch a couple of wild chickens to take back and have fresh chicken stew with mushrooms in the evening.

She was in such a cheery mood, humming a tune, "The little girl picking mushrooms, wearing a floral outfit~~~"

A shadow suddenly appeared, giving Wen Ran a fright, causing her to stumble and fall to her knees.

Her knees touched earth, moist earth.

Wen Ran slowly lifted her head, seeing the face of a wolf.

Wen Ran: "..."

Ugh.

Her teeth itched with hatred.

Then there was no need to hesitate.

She raised her hand and gave the wolf a hefty smack.

Wen Ran felt better, but the wolf was bewildered.

It couldn’t figure out why it received a hefty blow for doing nothing.

The sound of its howling was quite pitiful, and as it thrashed about, it crushed the nearby fresh mushrooms into a mess.

Enraged, Wen Ran pulled vines from the tree, twisted three to five bunches into one thicker strand.

Picking up the makeshift whip, she started lashing at the wolf’s bottom.

The wolf yelped and, with its tail between its legs, scampered away indignantly.

Wen Ran scoffed coldly, pocketed the vine, and moved to another spot to continue mushroom picking.

Before long, a shadow crept silently over. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Wen Ran, without looking up, swung her hand casually, "Get lost, cause any more trouble, and I’ll beat your butt raw."

She hit something alright, only...

The feel was off.

Her hand didn’t touch rough, thick fur, but rather, pant leg fabric.

In front of her stood a person.

Before Wen Ran could look up, something dark and heavy pressed against her forehead.

It was heavy and cold.

Wen Ran dared not move in an instant.

Her heart tightened, her eyelashes quivering.

"Little girl, quite bold aren’t you? Watched you for a while, even daring to beat wolves."

Wen Ran stayed still, giving a nervous laugh, "Is there, a misunderstanding by any chance?"

She didn’t blink, "That was my domesticated dog."