TSWPF – Chapter 54 Moved

Li Qingling held her bow and arrow, tiptoeing out of the house. The heavy rain poured down on her, soaking her through, but she didn’t care.

She stopped by the door and called out loudly, “Who’s out there?”

No one answered—only the faint sound of scratching came from the door.

Her heart tightened. She quickly reached out and yanked the door open—something pounced at her, knocking her to the ground, its head burrowing insistently into her arms.

“Ah Huang?” Li Qingling squinted at the large creature pressing against her, and was answered by a flurry of excited licks.

Li Qingling was stunned. She hadn’t expected Ah Huang to find its way home by itself.

“Ah Huang…” Li Qingfeng, worried about his sister, ran out after her. When he saw Ah Huang, his face lit up with joy and he called out in surprise. Just as he was about to rush forward, Li Qingling shouted,

“The rain’s too heavy—don’t come out!”

But before she even finished, Ah Huang had already dashed toward Li Qingfeng excitedly. Li Qingfeng crouched down, hugged Ah Huang tightly, and giggled in delight.

Well, that warning went to waste.

Seeing the raindrops glistening on her brother’s clothes, Li Qingling could only shake her head helplessly. She stood up and closed the courtyard gate.

“Alright, stop rubbing around. Go get a towel and help wipe Ah Huang dry before he tracks water everywhere.”

“Okay…”

By the time Li Qingling finished changing her clothes and came back out, Li Qingfeng and Ah Huang were already snuggled together again. She urged her brother to change clothes quickly before he caught a cold.

Before heading off, Li Qingfeng hugged Ah Huang one more time. He looked up at Li Qingling, eyes filled with worry. “Sister, are you still going to send Ah Huang away?”

Li Qingling fell silent for a moment, seeing the anxiety in his eyes. After a brief pause, she shook her head and said softly, “We’ll let Ah Huang decide. If he doesn’t want to leave, then he can stay.”

As soon as he heard that, Li Qingfeng cheered. He hugged Ah Huang tightly, then ran off happily to change his clothes.

As soon as he was gone, Ah Huang trotted toward Li Qingling, tail wagging. Startled, Li Qingling held out her hand to stop him. “Stay there! Don’t move.”

When the obedient dog stayed still, she turned around, fetched a towel, and came back to dry his wet fur carefully.

“I really don’t know how you managed to find your way home.” She checked him over, relieved to see he wasn’t hurt. “But… I’m really happy you came back.”

Ah Huang was family—sending him away had hurt her heart more than anyone knew.

Sensing her feelings, Ah Huang stretched out his tongue and licked her cheek, making her laugh out loud.

Once she finished drying him, she patted his head gently. “You must be tired after running all that way. Go get some sleep!”

Ah Huang shook himself, padded into the house, put his front paws on the bed, gave little Ning a lick on her small hand, then hopped down and returned to his nest to sleep.

Because Ah Huang had come back, Li Qingling and her siblings all slept peacefully that night.

—

The next morning, Li Qingling took her younger brother, sister, and Ah Huang to the Liu residence. As soon as Liu Zhimou opened the door, Ah Huang bolted straight inside.

Liu Zhimou blinked in surprise. “Ah Huang? It’s really him?”

“Mm, he came back last night.” Li Qingling shrugged. From inside came happy exclamations, and she smiled. “Since that’s the case, we’ll just let him be. The kids were so down when we sent him away last time—if I did it again, they’d probably never forgive me.”

Liu Zhimou chuckled and nodded, stepping aside to let the three siblings in.

“Ningning must be hungry, right? The goat milk’s ready—you can give it to her.” He closed the door and went to the kitchen, bringing out two bowls of goat milk. One he handed to Li Qingfeng, and the other he placed on the table for Li Qingling to feed little Ning.

Li Qingling sat down with her sister on her lap, thanked him, and asked, “Have you all eaten?”

“We have,” Liu Zhimou replied. “There’s still some left in the pot—you can have it later.”

“Alright.” Li Qingling smiled, scooping small spoonfuls to feed her baby sister.

The child was growing so fast it was almost visible.

She had been a premature baby—wrinkled, red, and shriveled like a tiny old man when she was born. But now, after drinking goat milk infused with spiritual water every day, her skin had turned fair and smooth, soft as jade.

When people saw her, they’d always say she looked like a little New Year’s doll—adorable and lucky.

Li Qingling couldn’t help but feel proud of how well she had raised her.

After feeding Ningning, Liu Zhimou took the baby and told Li Qingling to drink her own share.

She smiled at him, carried her bowl into the kitchen, and drank it down. Just as she finished, Ah Huang trotted over, staring at her with eager eyes.

Li Qingling laughed, poured him a bowl too. He gulped it down in a few bites and even licked the bowl clean.

Ah Huang had definitely developed a goat milk addiction.

“There’s no more. Only one bowl,” Li Qingling told him firmly when he looked up at her hopefully again, tapping his head.

Ah Huang licked his mouth, then decisively turned and ran off.

“…”

Wasn’t that a bit ungrateful?

Li Qingling sighed, washed the bowl, and went back inside—only for Liu Zhimou to grab her hand and lead her straight to the backyard.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, puzzled as she followed him.

Liu Zhimou pointed to the rabbits. “These rabbits… can we sell them now?” They’d only been eating grass and vegetable leaves, but they’d grown shockingly fast.

Li Qingling rubbed her nose guiltily. It was probably the spiritual water—they were growing unnaturally well.

“They can be sold. How about we take them to Fumanlou today? I’m sure they’ll buy them.” Rabbits raised on spiritual water had far better meat than ordinary ones.

“Alright, let’s do that,” Liu Zhimou agreed. He told her to bring a couple of baskets while he went to catch the rabbits.

Li Qingling fetched two baskets and placed them on the ground, then joined him inside the pen. Working together, they caught eighteen male rabbits, tied them up, and put them in the baskets.

There were still eight females and four males left—most of the females were pregnant, ready to give birth next month.

The rabbits’ astonishing breeding speed made Li Qingling genuinely happy. At this rate, they could probably sell a batch every two months.

After reminding the younger kids to stay home, the two of them each carried a basket and headed for town.

When the shopkeeper of Fumanlou saw them, he came out grinning from ear to ear. “Ah, what good things have you brought me this time?”

Li Qingling’s egg pancakes had been a huge hit there. Business was booming—not just in that branch, but other Fumanlou branches had started copying the idea, and sales were excellent everywhere.

So now, whenever the shopkeeper saw Li Qingling, it was like seeing a walking god of wealth.

Smiling, Li Qingling greeted him and set the baskets down, revealing the plump rabbits inside.

“Shopkeeper Uncle, we’ve really brought you something good today—our home-raised rabbits. Plump and healthy.”

The shopkeeper glanced at the rabbits. Though he was a little disappointed, he didn’t show it on his face.

“Not bad, not bad. Nice and fat. Alright, Fumanlou will take them all.”

After all, they always needed fresh game. And buying from Li Qingling would keep her goodwill—whenever she had something new, she’d bring it here first.

“Shopkeeper Uncle, these rabbits aren’t like the others. The meat’s much tastier,” Li Qingling said confidently, smiling. “Let me make a stir-fried rabbit dish for you to try—you’ll see.”

Her cooking skills, plus the spiritual water-raised meat—she was certain she could win him over.

The shopkeeper, seeing her confidence, chuckled and nodded. “Since Miss Xiaoling insists, I’d be rude not to try.” He gestured for a waiter to take her to the kitchen.

Li Qingling thanked him and followed the waiter.

The kitchen staff no longer looked down on her like before—everyone smiled and greeted her warmly.

Her egg pancakes were famous throughout the restaurant now.

Two chefs who had learned the recipe from her came over beaming, greeting her eagerly.

Thanks to her, their status in the kitchen had risen significantly.

“Don’t mind me,” Li Qingling told them. “Just leave a stove free for me.”

“Master, my station’s open! Use mine!” Chef Fan called out enthusiastically.

Li Qingling froze for a second at the word Master, then said, “Just call me Xiaolin.” She’d only taught them one recipe—she wasn’t really anyone’s master.

Chef Fan just smiled and didn’t argue, though he continued to address her that way.

Li Qingling could only let him be.

Chef Fan and Chef Wang worked swiftly, cleaning and chopping the rabbits before handing them over.

She thanked them, blanched the meat, rinsed it again, then heated the wok. Oil went in first, then seasonings—stir-fried until fragrant before adding the rabbit meat.

Once it was nearly done, she added soy sauce and other condiments, stir-frying again until the aroma filled the kitchen. Finally, she sprinkled in her homemade thirteen spice blend, added some water, covered the pot, and let it simmer on low heat.

Soon, the rich fragrance of braised rabbit filled the air. The chefs all sniffed hungrily, swallowing hard.

It smelled amazing—far better than any rabbit dish they’d ever cooked.

Their eyes gleamed green with envy. If only she’d teach them this recipe, they’d strike gold.

Li Qingling felt their gazes but pretended not to notice, focusing on controlling the heat.

Realizing she wouldn’t share, the chefs sighed inwardly. Of course—such skill couldn’t just be handed out freely.

When the timing was right, Li Qingling turned up the heat, uncovered the pot, and stir-fried the meat again to thicken the sauce before plating it.

“This plate is for you all to try,” she said with a smile, pointing to one of the dishes. As the chefs eagerly thanked her, she picked up the other plate and headed out of the kitchen.