TSWPF – Chapter 17 Suspicion

Li Qingling was worried that if they returned to the village just like this, it would surely stir up gossip and suspicion. So she discussed it with Liu Zhimou and decided that they should first go to town to sell the game before heading home.

Liu Zhimou understood what she meant and immediately nodded.

Carrying their game baskets on their backs, the two of them walked to town on foot. They had been quite lucky these past few days, catching plenty of prey. When they arrived at Fumanlou Restaurant to sell their catch, they happened to run into a group of young masters there for a meal.

The restaurant keeper had been fretting about what dishes to serve them, and just then, in came Li Qingling to sell game—perfect timing.

He quickly had a waiter take her around to the back door and hurried to the kitchen to ask if she had any large game.

As it happened, Li Qingling had caught a roe deer, so she took it out to show him.

The keeper nodded in satisfaction and instructed the waiter to buy all her game. Li Qingling had originally thought that if Fumanlou didn’t take all of it, she would try her luck at other restaurants.

She hadn’t expected Fumanlou to be so generous.

Since most of her catch was live, they offered a higher price. After this sale, she and Liu Zhimou earned more than four taels of silver.

Li Qingling accepted the silver from the shopkeeper, thanked him politely, and turned to leave the restaurant.

Once they had walked some distance away, the calm composure she’d maintained earlier disappeared. She hopped a few times with a grin and said to Liu Zhimou, “That was a great harvest!” Though the trip had been exhausting, the money they earned in one go was equivalent to what a farming family might make in an entire year—it was definitely worth it.

Liu Zhimou hadn’t expected they’d earn that much either. He found it almost unbelievable. If they could make this kind of money each time, he could finally send Zhiyan to school.

Even if he himself couldn’t continue studying, at least Zhiyan should have that chance.

“Let’s go buy some meat to bring home.” Most of their game—except for a few small rabbits—had been sold, so they might as well buy some pork to satisfy their cravings.

Whatever she said, Liu Zhimou had no objections.

They bought meat and some pastries before heading home.

Having walked from Song Mountain to town to sell their catch and now back home on foot, they were utterly exhausted. But the thought of their family waiting for them gave them boundless strength.

By the time they arrived home, the sky had turned dark. Fortunately, their houses were located in a secluded area of the village—otherwise, their return might have drawn too much attention.

“Mom…”

Li Qingling knocked on the door, just managing to call out when it suddenly swung open. Seeing both of them safe and sound, Madam Zhao’s face relaxed into a relieved smile.

“You’re back?”

They’d been gone longer than expected, and she’d been worried sick at home, afraid they wouldn’t return. Thankfully, they were safe. She reached out to take the basket from Li Qingling, but the girl quickly sidestepped to stop her.

“Mm, we’re back.” Li Qingling walked inside with the basket still on her back. Liu Zhimou greeted Madam Zhao with a “Auntie,” and followed in behind her.

Madam Zhao lit the oil lamp, and soon they heard the rustle of movement from the inner room. In moments, the three little ones came running out, shouting “Sister! Brother!” at the top of their voices.

Li Qingling stroked Li Qingfeng’s head and asked if he’d behaved at home and helped their mother with chores.

Li Qingfeng nodded vigorously. “I did! I listened to Mom and helped her too. You can ask Zhiyan!” He turned to his playmate for confirmation. “Right, Zhiyan?”

Zhiyan, who had been standing close to Liu Zhimou, nodded. “Yes, I behaved too. I took good care of my little sister.” Though in truth, he had cried quietly at night because he missed his brother so much—something he dared not say aloud.

“Good boy,” Li Qingling praised generously. “And Zhiyan too, very good.”

Children loved praise, and the two boys beamed happily.

Zhiyan looked up at Liu Zhimou expectantly, wanting his approval too. Liu Zhimou smiled, patted his head, and said, “Not bad.”

In Liu Zhimou’s arms, little Li Zhirou chirped in her soft baby voice, “I was good too…”

“Mm, you were very good,” Li Qingling said, and the little girl grinned wide, showing her tiny teeth.

Just then, Madam Zhao brought over some flatbread. “It’s late; there’s not much left to eat. Have some bread and porridge to fill your stomachs.”

Li Qingling quickly took the tray from her and stopped her from fetching the porridge, insisting her mother sit down and rest—she’d handle it.

Her mother never treated herself like a pregnant woman, and that worried her.

Madam Zhao could only nod helplessly. Whenever her daughter was home, she wouldn’t let her lift a finger. It warmed her heart, though she pretended to complain.

After eating the bread and porridge, Li Qingling cleaned up and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. When she came back, she finally unpacked her basket.

“This trip went really well. We sold all the game in town and bought some pork to eat. Mom, you keep it for tomorrow.” She handed the meat to Madam Zhao, then took out the pastries. “And I bought some sweets for you all to try, plus some wild fruits from the mountains.”

The three little ones were thrilled at the sight of treats.

“And there’s something even better!” Li Qingling said mysteriously, taking Liu Zhimou’s basket. “Guess what’s in here?”

“What is it, Sister?” Little Zhirou ran over, her short legs bouncing as she craned her neck to peek inside.

Li Qingling smiled, ruffling her hair. Then she lifted the leaves covering the top. “Ta-da! Look what this is!”

Zhirou’s eyes widened in delight. “Wow… bunnies!” She reached out to touch one, giggling as soon as her fingers brushed the soft fur.

Hearing that, Qingfeng and Zhiyan rushed over and crowded around, equally excited.

The three little heads leaned close together, chattering endlessly about the rabbits.

Li Qingling glanced at Liu Zhimou and smiled. “See? I knew they’d love them.”

“Mm.” He had known from the start that the children wouldn’t be able to resist their charm.

“These rabbits are your responsibility now,” Li Qingling told the kids. “You’ll have to gather grass to feed them every day, all right?”

“Got it!” they chorused without even looking up.

Li Qingling shook her head helplessly, then took out the silver from her pouch and pushed half toward Liu Zhimou.

He tried to refuse—after all, most of the game had been caught by her. He hadn’t done much and didn’t feel right taking so much.

But Li Qingling’s eyes sharpened. “Take it. Without you, I wouldn’t have dared go that far alone. You earned this.”

She was right. Without him, she wouldn’t have had the courage to venture deep into the forest.

Seeing her insistence, Liu Zhimou finally nodded and accepted the money. With this, he could pay off some of his debts.

He glanced at the bunnies. “You’d better keep them here. It’s not convenient at my house.” If his grandmother found out, she’d snatch them away for sure. It was safer for the rabbits to stay here.

Liu Zhimou understood and nodded. Between their two households, it didn’t really matter where the rabbits stayed.

“Zhiyan, Zhirou, let’s go home,” he said. Now that he was back, it wasn’t right for his younger siblings to stay over any longer.

Besides, there were only two beds in the house—one for Madam Zhao and one for Qingling and Qingfeng. If his siblings stayed, there’d be nowhere for her to sleep.

“Okay.” The two younger ones obediently followed their brother home.

Li Qingling saw them to the door before heading back inside.

Madam Zhao had already boiled some hot water and told her to take a warm bath and rest.

“Alright, Mom. You go sleep first. I’ll bathe and rest soon.”

Madam Zhao stretched her sore back and nodded, not insisting further.

After her bath, Li Qingling crawled into bed with a contented sigh. Beside her, little Li Qingfeng was still awake. He wriggled closer and asked curiously, “Sis, is the mountain full of food? Is it fun there?”

Curiosity about the unknown is a natural thing.

Li Qingling smiled and turned to look at him. “There’s a lot to eat there, but it’s not fun.” After all, who would choose to go hunting if they didn’t have to? It was dangerous—one unlucky encounter with a tiger, and your life could be over.

She told him a bit about what had happened in Song Mountain, reminding him that hunting in the deep forest was not something to take lightly.

A single careless moment could cost a life.

Qingfeng listened carefully and nodded earnestly.

“Xiaofeng, do you want to go to school?” she asked.

“School?” His eyes lit up for a moment before dimming again. “No.” He actually did want to, and seeing Li Qingfu go to school made him envious, but their family couldn’t afford it.

Knowing he was only pretending to be indifferent, Li Qingling stroked his hair. “You can start learning from Brother Zhimou first. Build a foundation. I’ll earn money and send you to school.”

“But…”

“You just focus on studying. Don’t worry about anything else—your sister’s got you,” she said firmly, cutting him off. “Do you have confidence that you can do well?” She didn’t care how great his future achievements might be; she just wanted him to see more of the world.

Qingfeng nodded. If he could go to school, he’d definitely study hard.

“I believe you,” she said softly. “Now sleep.”

Not long after, she drifted off.

Qingfeng, however, lay awake for a long time, too excited about the thought of school to fall asleep.

The next morning, after breakfast, Li Qingling took a hoe and went to the fields with Madam Zhao.

When the villagers saw her, they couldn’t help gossiping, asking why she hadn’t been seen for days—where had she gone?

They’d noticed that Liu Zhimou hadn’t been home either, and his younger siblings had been staying at the Li family’s house. Naturally, rumors had started swirling.

Li Qingling just smiled calmly and said, “We ran out of food, so I went up the mountain to see if there was anything edible to bring back.”

That wasn’t a lie—she had gone to the mountains for food. It just wasn’t their village’s mountain.