TSWPF – Chapter 27 Rumors

Li Qingling’s younger brother, Liu Zhiyan, was pacing back and forth in the house holding Li Qingning. The moment he saw Li Qingling return, he let out a sigh of relief. “I wonder if Ningning was hungry. She woke up crying, and no matter what I did, she wouldn’t stop.”

Li Qingling gently picked up her tear-streaked little sister and held her close, feeling a pang of heartache. “She must be hungry. I’ll take her to Sister Zhang to get some milk.” In the past couple of days, Sister Zhang had been feeding the baby so she wouldn’t go hungry.

“The… the kitty’s hungry too,” said Liu Zhourou, standing nearby and cradling the little tiger, her voice soft and childlike.

Li Qingling glanced at the little tiger, whining from hunger as well. There was no way she could take it along for milk—what would that even look like?

“Just give it some rice water to drink. Let it be a little hungry,” she said.

With that, she bundled Li Qingning up warmly, grabbed the dozen or so wild eggs from home, and briskly headed to Sister Zhang’s house.

As if sensing that food was coming, Li Qingning stopped crying, staring at Li Qingling with her barely opened, still blurry eyes.

Seeing her so obedient and cute, Li Qingling’s heart softened completely. This was her sister, born at the cost of their mother’s life. No matter how hard it was, she was determined to raise her.

When she arrived at Sister Zhang’s door, just as she was about to call out, she heard Sister Zhang’s husband, Huang Dashan, speak up.

“Look at you! I told you not to feed that Li girl. If she drinks, my son won’t get enough.”

Sister Zhang, being a mother, couldn’t help softening her heart seeing the poor child. “She didn’t drink much. It’s just that our son’s appetite is bigger now. Go steam some eggs for him, that’ll be enough.”

Huang Dashan still wasn’t satisfied. “No, this is my son’s food. No one else can drink it. Besides, she’s a strong child; if she brings harm to our son, what then?”

“…Well,” Sister Zhang hesitated hearing her husband, “alright, I won’t feed her next time.” Her son came first.

Hearing this, Li Qingling wanted to turn around and leave, but seeing her obedient little sister, she couldn’t bring herself to move her legs.

Biting her lip, she called out anyway.

Sister Zhang glanced at her husband and told him to open the door. Under repeated urging, Huang Dashan begrudgingly went to open it.

Li Qingling ignored his sour expression, smiled warmly, and greeted him, handing over the wild eggs to steam for his son.

“Xiaoling, you’re here?” Sister Zhang said, smiling awkwardly. “Bring Ningning over. She must be starving.” She handed her son to Huang Dashan, instructing him to steam the eggs for him.

Huang Dashan huffed and went into the kitchen holding their pouting, almost-crying son.

Li Qingling thanked Sister Zhang and handed over her sister.

Sister Zhang’s own son was nearly a year old, and her milk wasn’t very nutritious anymore, but there was no other option—only she still breastfed a child in the village, so Li Qingning had to rely on her.

After this, Li Qingling decided her sister couldn’t keep coming here—she didn’t want anyone to complain. She needed to find a way to buy a nanny goat.

With that thought, Li Qingling asked Sister Zhang about proper baby care.

This was her first time raising a child; she was completely inexperienced.

Sister Zhang looked at Li Qingling, feeling some pity. Such a young age, yet already taking responsibility for a household—it wasn’t easy.

She held the now full Li Qingning upright, gently patting her back to burp her. She explained all the essential and little details of baby care to Li Qingling.

Li Qingling listened carefully. Once Sister Zhang finished, she carried her sister back home.

First, she returned to the Liu household and immediately had Liu Zhimou inquire where they could buy a mother goat that had recently given birth.

“What’s the matter?” Liu Zhimou asked, noticing her troubled expression.

Li Qingling placed her now-sleeping sister on the bed. “It’s not sustainable to rely on others for milk. It’s better to buy a mother goat so Ningning can drink goat’s milk.” Her sister was a premature baby, a tiny bundle—she had to be nurtured carefully.

He understood her decision and didn’t press her for an explanation.

“Alright, I’ll inquire about it,” Liu Zhimou said, patting her shoulder before leaving.

Li Qingling tucked her sister in and sighed lightly. She instructed Li Qingfeng and the others to watch over her sister while she returned home to tidy up before picking them up.

Without their mother, Li Qingfeng seemed to grow up overnight. He was responsible enough to let Li Qingling leave, knowing he could care for their sister.

“Me… me…” Liu Zhourou, seeing the tiny infant, both curious and excited, leaned on the bed calling out.

Li Qingling held her, kissed her, and said, “Yes, this is your little sister. From now on, you can play with her, okay?”

“Okay…”

“So good…” Li Qingling kissed her again, placed her in Liu Zhiyan’s arms, and reminded him once more before heading home.

She just finished tidying up when Liu Zhimou returned. “There’s no one in the village raising goats. We’ll have to check the town.” People in the village weren’t wealthy; feeding and clothing their family was already enough—they wouldn’t buy goats.

“Okay, I’ll go to town then.” Li Qingling stored Madam Zhao’s old belongings properly and locked the room before following Liu Zhimou to get money from his house.

With people around at home, she felt it wasn’t safe to keep money there.

“Wait at home. I’ll borrow an ox cart from the village head. It’ll be faster than walking. Walking would take until nightfall.”

“Alright…”

Liu Zhimou borrowed the ox cart and reminded Liu Zhiyan to eat if they weren’t back yet.

Seeing Liu Zhiyan acknowledge, he felt reassured and headed to town with Li Qingling.

By luck, they found a man selling a mother goat with a young kid.

Li Qingling asked the price. The man demanded payment for both the mother and the kid—one tael five hundred coins.

She bargained, finally buying them for one tael two hundred coins.

On the way back, villagers who had finished lunch gathered and stared in surprise at the two goats. They asked if she had bought them.

Li Qingling, knowing it couldn’t be hidden, nodded generously. “My sister had no milk to drink. I had no choice but to borrow money to buy a goat.” She openly admitted she borrowed money.

A nosy person asked, “Xiaoling, that mother goat isn’t cheap, right? Who lent you the money? Liu Zhimou?”

Li Qingling smiled wryly. “It wasn’t cheap. But what could I do? I couldn’t let my sister go hungry.” Pausing, she added, “Uncles, aunties, I have to go. My sister is waiting for milk.”

Once Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou were gone, the villagers started gossiping. Someone remembered the day Madam Zhao had an accident, Li Qingling and Liu Zhiyan had returned with a basket from outside the village, which even had a wild chicken. Where did they get it?

From there, rumors spread.

Li Qingling, rushing home to feed her sister, didn’t notice the gossip. Soon, the whole village knew about her selling game to earn money.

“Wow, we have goats now!” Li Qingling returned to the Liu household with the goats. The three little ones ran around the goats excitedly.

Liu Zhiyan cleaned up the backyard and asked Li Qingling to tie the goats inside.

“Have you eaten?” Li Qingling washed her hands and asked the three little ones, who were still excited.

Li Qingfeng, seeing Liu Zhiyan and Liu Zhourou staring at the goats without moving, replied, “We’ve eaten. We saved some for you and Brother Zhimou in the pot. Go eat!”

Shaking her head helplessly, Li Qingling warned, “Don’t get too close to the mother goat, it might kick you, okay?”

“Got it,” they replied in unison.

Li Qingling brought out brown rice porridge and pickled vegetables. Liu Zhimou had just returned from returning the ox cart.

She waved the bowls. “Time to eat.”

He nodded, washed his hands, and sat across from her to eat.

Finishing the coarse porridge, Li Qingling said, “Next time, let’s buy some polished rice in town. The kids are still growing—they can’t survive on this porridge. It’s not nutritious enough.” Their hunting earnings of dozens of taels of silver would allow them to live a bit better.

Liu Zhimou nodded, then sighed after a moment. “Xiaoling, I’m afraid we can’t hide our hunting activities anymore. Now the villagers are spreading rumors about you earning money from selling game and buying goats.”

Li Qingling wasn’t surprised. She had anticipated the impact on the village when she decided to buy the goats.

Even if she said the money was borrowed, no one would believe her.

“If they’re already speculating, let’s just tell them directly and maybe gain a good reputation.” She decided to go straight to the village head. His high standing made him the best person to spread the word.

“Alright, let’s go now. The sooner, the better. Otherwise, the rumors will get worse.”

Li Qingling agreed, tidied the dishes, and went with Liu Zhimou to the village head’s house.

The village head had heard the rumors but didn’t believe them. After all, Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou were too young to be hunting.

Seeing them arrive, he said, “Don’t pay attention to the village gossip. Just hear it and move on.”