RYEY -Chapter 325 Summoning Little Red Head

At the break of dawn, Cheng Qiao was already standing at the long-distance bus station, waiting for the bus to depart. The employees at the grocery store had no idea that their boss had already been there—and had even stayed overnight.

As soon as Cheng Qiao got off the bus, she found a quiet spot, took out her bicycle, and headed quickly toward Xiangyang Village. After more than half an hour, Ermao was the first to see her.

“Sister Cheng Qiao, you’re back! Where’s Brother Huan? And Xiao Cheng Li?”

Cheng Qiao smiled and greeted Ermao, saying she had come back to help Mother Li fetch some things. Ermao felt puzzled—didn’t that fire long ago destroy all of the Li family’s belongings? What was there left to fetch?

“Oh, and congratulations on passing the exam and becoming Xiangyang Village’s accountant. Work well, and don’t be blinded by trivial gains. As long as you accumulate enough experience, there will come a time when you soar high.”

Ermao felt a chill in his heart. When Chen Weimin had embezzled the village’s property back then—even though it wasn’t much, just a few coins here and there—those small amounts added up. When it was discovered, he not only had to return everything but also pay fines.

Losing money was one thing—it could possibly be regained in the future—but reputation, once lost, was gone forever. No matter how hard you worked afterward, past mistakes always left a mark.

Aunt Wang was chatting with the villagers and also saw Cheng Qiao. She immediately abandoned the villagers and ran straight toward her: “Qiao, you’re back! Have you eaten? Come, let’s go to my house for a meal!”

“Aunt Wang, you’re still so healthy! Here, I brought something for you.”

“Oh? My goodness! These are donkey-rolled pastries from Beijing—they’re very famous. Thank you, Qiao! I won’t be polite!”

“Aunt Wang, I’m just going home for a visit, so I won’t go to your house. Please help distribute these among the villagers. Consider it a token of thanks for their support of my university admission.”

Aunt Wang saw the basket Cheng Qiao handed over, filled to the brim with treats, and her smile stretched ear to ear. How could a child be so lovable?

Cheng Qiao also gave Ermao a big pack of Beijing snacks to take back for Aunt Cuihua. She then mounted her bicycle and headed toward the back mountain.

Looking at the rebuilt house, Cheng Qiao gently pushed open the door. The old house was now new, but the house she and Li Huan had lived in when they first married seemed unchanged.

Even the curtain hanging over the kang (heated bed) was exactly the same as before, with all the cabinets and chairs in place. Cheng Qiao realized that after the house was rebuilt, Li Huan must have redecorated it.

Cheng Qiao didn’t linger but went up the back mountain. The wintery Xiangyang Mountain was already covered in snow, yet she moved as if walking on solid ground. Halfway up, she found a stone to sit on.

She drank a few sips of water from her space, closed her eyes, emptied her mind, and began to communicate with Little Red Head. Within just a few minutes, she heard a rustling sound by her ear.

She could smell the unique scent of Little Red Head. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw a red snake head in front of her, and its once cold eyes now radiated a gentle light as it looked at her.

“Little Red Head, Xiao Cheng Li is missing—he was stolen by bad people. Can you help me find him?”

The snake, which had been lowering its head, suddenly raised it. At that moment, Cheng Qiao noticed that Little Red Head seemed to have grown a bit bigger and thicker, and its scales had turned an even brighter red.

Just as Cheng Qiao was about to say something, a sharp eagle cry pierced the air. The sea-eastern blue’s white feathers blended with the snow; if it weren’t for its brown eyes and grey beak, Cheng Qiao might have thought a huge chunk of snow had flown down from the sky.

The sea-eastern blue landed steadily in front of Cheng Qiao, stirring the thick snow around it. Snowflakes swirled into the sky and then gradually fell back down.

Bathed in the falling snow, Cheng Qiao’s head and body turned white. She extended her pure hands, catching the snowflakes. The cold snow calmed her restless heart.

Startled, Little Red Head angrily turned its massive head to bite the sea-eastern blue, which deftly dodged with its wings. Cheng Qiao realized the two were sparring.

Normally, Cheng Qiao might have brought out a pot of tea and a plate of snacks to watch them, but now she was preoccupied and impatient.

Perhaps because the sea-eastern blue had spent more time with Little Red Head, the two could communicate smoothly. When it learned that Xiao Cheng Li was missing, it immediately stopped all movement.

The little one that loved to sit on its back, that little one who affectionately hugged its neck calling it “Big Bird,” was gone. This shocked it immensely.

“Do you want to come with me?”

Cheng Qiao stood up and spoke coldly. Both the sea-eastern blue and Little Red Head were ready to enter the space. With a thought from Cheng Qiao, Xiangyang Mountain suddenly became empty, leaving only her.

Descending the mountain, Cheng Qiao rode her bicycle back to the county, staying in her county house, which had been kept clean. Xu Hui would tidy it whenever he had time.

At night, Cheng Qiao entered the space as usual and lay on the large bed in the lounge. Before sleeping, she took out the letter written by Wu Fan and placed it in front of Little Red Head and the sea-eastern blue:

“This is the person who stole Xiao Cheng Li. Find him first.”

Little Red Head’s tongue nearly shredded the paper before it lifted its head smoothly and slid to the roots of its old friend, the ginseng tree.

The ginseng tree had grown taller, producing countless small ginsengs planted around it. The sea-eastern blue circled the space and landed beside Little Red Head.

From afar, the Qilin Resurrection Tree saw them and shook excitedly—but the two didn’t even glance at it, which made it so angry that it sprouted resurrection grass.

With a thought from Cheng Qiao, a person instantly appeared before the Qilin Resurrection Tree and began harvesting it. During this time, the tree had been acting strange, not growing leaves for a long while.

“Don’t be angry. Xiao Cheng Li is missing. They’re unhappy too, so this time they’re helping me find him.”

The Qilin Resurrection Tree had seen Xiao Cheng Li before. No wonder it hadn’t come here for so long—he was gone. This adorable, beautiful child was clearly Cheng Qiao’s precious treasure.

At daybreak, Cheng Qiao appeared again at the long-distance bus station. When she returned to the grocery store in Chuncheng, seeing the constant stream of customers slightly eased her restlessness.

“Boss lady, you’re here!”

Zheng Qing hurried up to greet her. Cheng Qiao smiled and nodded, casually picking up their work records to check. Sure enough, each sold item was clearly recorded in the ledger.

Cheng Qiao glanced at her watch. With a few hours before the train to Beijing departed, she took out a blank sheet of paper and drew grids, filling each with the date, product name, and amount.

“When you have free time, get some inked paper like this. It will make bookkeeping easier in the future.”

A flash of joy crossed Zheng Qing’s eyes. Boss lady was boss lady—her competence showed immediately.