RYEY – Chapter 169 The Poisonous Woman Enters the Backyard

After the autumn harvest, there had already been a snowfall, but the temperature hadn’t dropped to freezing. The snow didn’t accumulate; it melted into water and seeped into the mountain soil.

The mountains were muddy and walking through them was exhausting. Every so often, people had to scrape the mud off their shoes with the small knives they carried; otherwise, they either couldn’t lift their feet or would slip.

Li Huan was wearing the rubber shoes that Cheng Qiao had specially given him. Compared to those wearing cotton shoes, he was much better off. At least his shoes were waterproof, so after a while, he only broke out in a light sweat.

The villagers from poorer families fared worse. Their shoes were already worn, soles ground thin. Cold, muddy water seeped through their ragged cotton shoes, freezing their feet nearly numb.

Chen Weidang shook his head. The hunting team was struggling so much just climbing the mountain; if they encountered any large wild animals, these people wouldn’t even have the strength to run.

He quickened his pace and walked over to discuss with Li Huan. Li Huan glanced back and nodded in agreement. He looked down and noticed a few plants around eighty centimeters tall with thick main roots.

His eyes lit up. Cheng Qiao had been learning medicine from Uncle Ye and occasionally had to go up the mountain to collect herbs. Why not let these villagers learn to gather herbs too? They could sell them to Uncle Ye and Cheng Qiao, helping supplement their families’ income.

“Villagers, this is astragalus. Its roots can be used medicinally. It tastes sweet, is warm in nature, and has the effects of nourishing the kidneys and spleen, stopping sweat, promoting urination, reducing swelling, and discharging pus.”

Chen Weidang tugged Li Huan’s sleeve. He had come to persuade people to return, yet this guy was talking about herbs—did he also study medicine with his wife, like Cheng Qiao?

“Anyone whose shoes are soaked or whose feet are numb, go back quickly and change shoes. Those who can still manage can pick these herbs and bring them to me. I can exchange them for cornmeal or sorghum flour.”

Those whose shoes were already soaked had mentally given up but dared not speak up, fearing they’d miss out if the village received any benefits in the future.

Now, hearing Li Huan say this, the reluctant ones surged forward, examining the astragalus in his hands carefully before starting to search. If they could trade it for food, there was no way they’d come for nothing.

Watching the lively scene of villagers scrambling for astragalus, Li Huan once again instructed those willing to accompany him up the mountain to get ready—they were heading into the mountains.

Finally, Li Huan led over thirty people up the mountain. Others either went downhill, searched for astragalus, or, if nothing was found, chopped some firewood to bring back.

Xu Laidi first collected some firewood and returned to the youth settlement, then took a rope and carrying pole, pretending to go chop wood, and headed toward the back of Cheng Qiao’s house.

The other young women at the settlement, as well as village women, were all busy with their own tasks. No one noticed Xu Laidi had already arrived at Cheng Qiao’s yard.

She stealthily climbed the wall, hoping to see where Cheng Qiao’s son was. All she could hear was the sound of chopping wood. Glancing sideways, she saw Mother Li sitting in Cheng Qiao’s new yard, chopping firewood.

Xu Laidi’s heart leapt. If Mother Li were at the old house, sneaking into the Li family would be impossible without being seen. But with her in the new house, Xu Laidi could enter the old backyard undetected.

However, after looking around the backyard, Xu Laidi saw no trace of little Cheng Li. Could he be inside sleeping? Impossible—at his age, he certainly wouldn’t be sleeping at this time.

She couldn’t hear him either and suddenly thought of Li Le. Could it be that Li Le had taken Cheng Qiao’s son to school? But how could one take a child to school?

Xu Laidi was baffled. She could only sneak out of the Li yard, unsure whether to go to the county to check if the child had gone with Li Le or wait for another opportunity.

Little did she know, Cheng Qiao had already placed little Cheng Li in a special space. Li Huan had built a wooden bed with surrounding barriers, padded with soft quilts and mats—a cozy little bed.

He had also assigned the red-headed pit viper to accompany little Cheng Li. At feeding times, Cheng Qiao would discreetly sneak in past Ye Jun to feed him.

Ye Jun had noticed Cheng Qiao had been at the northwest corner just moments ago. By the time he arrived, she was nowhere to be seen. He sighed. What kind of prodigy disciple was this? No wonder she was learning medicine so quickly.

Looking around, he returned to his original spot. Cheng Qiao, busy feeding little Cheng Li, hadn’t noticed Ye Jun’s brief approach.

If she had, she surely would have confessed earlier. Cheng Qiao felt that Ye Jun treated her like his own daughter, teaching her medicine classics with complete trust.

After feeding little Cheng Li, Cheng Qiao changed his diaper and played with him for a while. Seeing him rubbing his eyes, she knew he was ready to sleep and quickly soothed him to sleep.

She then took the red-headed pit viper out of the space. Whenever Cheng Qiao went up the mountain, she would release the viper to roam freely in the wild.

“Cheng Qiao, be careful…”

Ye Jun saw her appear and was about to approach when he noticed a red-headed pit viper appear, nearly stopping his heart.

By the time Cheng Qiao turned around, the viper had arrogantly slithered away. Ye Jun swore he saw it glance at him as if mocking him.

“Cheng Qiao, are you alright?”

“Master, I’m fine. I’m not afraid of snakes.”

Ye Jun stared at her. A girl who isn’t afraid of snakes? No—she may look like a young girl, but she was already a mother.

Seeing Ye Jun’s gaze, Cheng Qiao felt a bit uneasy but couldn’t reveal that she had been reborn and possessed a miraculous space. She feared he would see her as a monster and destroy her with a single powder.

“Master, there are some things I can’t tell you yet. When I grow up, can protect myself, and can protect you, I will tell you everything.”

Ye Jun nodded. The herbs Cheng Qiao gave him, though seemingly collected from the mountains, were purer and more effective than ordinary wild herbs.

He had wanted to ask about their origin many times but stopped himself, worried that if he did, she might never give him herbs again.

“This winter, I’ll stay with you. You must study acupuncture and bone-setting with me. Study that ancient medical text thoroughly—it’s a treasure of our Ye family.”

Cheng Qiao was thrilled. Though she already had all the prescriptions memorized, preparing them was a meticulous process. A tiny error could lead to complete failure.