TSWPF -Chapter 56 Emergency Assistance

That day, Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou went to the fields to dig up potatoes. She was worried that if they didn’t harvest them soon, snow might fall, and the potatoes would freeze and spoil.

These potatoes had been so hard for her to recover—if they froze and couldn’t be used as seeds next year, she’d have nowhere to cry.

Just as the two finished digging, Li Qingfeng came running over, panting heavily. “Sister… Sister… do you know the shopkeeper from Fumanlou?”

“I do. Why?”

“There’s a man outside who says he’s the shopkeeper of Fumanlou. He said he has something urgent to discuss with you.” Li Qingfeng looked like he wanted to cry. “But… but… Zhiyan and I were afraid he might be a scammer, so we didn’t let him into the house.”

He was doomed now! What if offending the Fumanlou’s shopkeeper caused trouble for his sister?

Seeing Li Qingfeng’s about-to-cry expression, Li Qingling laughed and comforted him, saying it was fine.

She and Liu Zhimou packed the potatoes into baskets, each carrying one back. As soon as they reached the Liu family’s doorstep, they saw the Fumanlou shopkeeper indeed standing there.

Li Qingling smiled and walked forward. “Shopkeeper Uncle, what a rare guest!” She patted Li Qingfeng’s head. “Sorry, my brothers didn’t recognize you, so they didn’t let you in. Please forgive them!”

The shopkeeper smiled kindly, his expression almost Buddha-like. He glanced at Li Qingling and chuckled, “Your little brothers are quite clever. They even knew to sneak off to find you. I didn’t see you leave from the front door, so I suppose you slipped out the back.”

Looking at the smart, alert children, he couldn’t help but admire them.

The shopkeeper respected Li Qingling even more now. For a girl without parents to have taught her brothers so well—it wasn’t easy.

Li Qingfeng blushed and mumbled an apology before darting into the house. If he had known his sister really knew the shopkeeper, he never would have left him standing outside.

Li Qingling smiled. “You flatter us, Shopkeeper Uncle. Come in and sit down!” She waited until he entered before following him in.

The shopkeeper looked around the house, then at Liu Zhimou. “Do you live together?” He had already gathered some information about these two households, but not in detail.

He’d had to ask for directions several times just to find Niutou Village.

Li Qingling shook her head and pointed next door. “That’s my home. This is Brother Zhimou’s.” Then, suddenly remembering what she had said the first time they met, her face reddened. “Shopkeeper Uncle, Brother Zhimou and I are engaged. Both our parents have passed away. The first time I sold you game meat, I was afraid someone might target us, so I said we weren’t connected. Sorry about that!”

She hadn’t expected him to come looking for her. If she had known, she would’ve been honest from the start rather than risk being found out.

Though he already knew the truth, seeing her so straightforward made the shopkeeper even happier.

“Haha, perfectly understandable!” he said cheerfully. “With no adults at home, being cautious is a good thing.”

Seeing that he truly didn’t mind, Li Qingling breathed a sigh of relief. She asked Liu Zhimou to seat the shopkeeper while she went to boil water and make tea.

Once the shopkeeper sat down, little Liu Zhirou came toddling out of the room, short legs wobbling, followed closely by Ah Huang.

That sight nearly scared the shopkeeper out of his wits. He leapt to his feet, trembling as he pointed. “Th–that… is that a… tiger?”

Heavens! He’d thought Li Qingling was joking before, but it was true—she actually had a tiger in her home!

He swallowed hard. These kids were unbelievably brave—who dared to raise a tiger?!

“Rourou, take Ah Huang back. Don’t scare our guest,” Liu Zhimou said helplessly, rubbing her small head.

Zhirou tilted her head, looking at the shopkeeper innocently. “Ah Huang doesn’t bite people. You don’t have to be scared!”

Then she turned to the tiger. “Right, Ah Huang?”

Ah Huang gave a soft grunt in response.

Zhirou beamed at the shopkeeper. “See? Ah Huang said he doesn’t bite people! You don’t need to be afraid.” She patted the tiger’s big head proudly.

Ah Huang was so gentle—how could he bite anyone? This uncle was such a big man; how could he be so timid?

Sweat was dripping down the shopkeeper’s forehead. Seeing that Ah Huang had curled up quietly in a corner, not even glancing his way, he finally dared to sit down again—albeit trembling slightly.

Now he truly admired these children. They were incredible! The tiger actually listened to them.

“Ah Huang, go back to your room and sleep,” Liu Zhimou said, fearing the shopkeeper would remain frightened.

Ah Huang cracked an eyelid, looked at him lazily, then deliberately turned his back, presenting his rump. He wasn’t going anywhere—he had to protect them!

Liu Zhimou: “…”

The shopkeeper, however, stared wide-eyed in astonishment. “It really understands you, doesn’t it?” He clicked his tongue in amazement. “Practically a spirit beast!”

Liu Zhimou chuckled. “When Ah Huang was a month old, his mother was killed by a black bear. Xiaoling pitied him and brought him home to raise. We tried to send him back to the mountains once, but he sneaked back on his own. What could we do but keep him?”

“Now he hunts on his own in Song Mountain, even brings back prey for us sometimes,” he added with a gentle glance at Ah Huang.

Hearing this, the shopkeeper couldn’t help but admire them. No wonder the tiger followed them so loyally—it had been raised from a cub! Li Qingling truly had a kind heart. If it were him, he’d never have dared take in a tiger cub. After all, wild beasts could be dangerous.

“You still need to be careful,” he warned. “Even if it’s tame, people are naturally afraid of tigers. They won’t tolerate one around.”

“Thank you for your concern, Shopkeeper Uncle,” Liu Zhimou nodded. “We’ve already told the children not to let anyone from the village know. Otherwise, Ah Huang could be in danger. Luckily, our home is near the foot of the mountain, a bit far from the village—otherwise, we couldn’t have kept him.”

The shopkeeper nodded in agreement, then changed the subject.

When Li Qingling came in with tea, she saw the two chatting happily.

“What are you two talking about so cheerfully?” She placed a cup before the shopkeeper. “Here, Shopkeeper Uncle, try my tea. We don’t have other kinds, only homemade chrysanthemum tea—I hope you don’t mind.”

She’d dried some chrysanthemums herself to make cooling tea for the children, to prevent heatiness.

The shopkeeper took a sip—and instantly, his mouth was filled with light sweetness and floral fragrance. It was delicious.

He smiled and praised, “Miss Xiaoling, your tea has a special touch. It’s even better than the Longjing tea I’ve had before.” He wasn’t exaggerating; it truly was that good.

“How could chrysanthemum tea compare to Longjing? You’re just teasing me!” Li Qingling laughed. She’d only added a bit of spiritual spring water; that’s why it tasted so pure. “If you like it, take some with you when you go back.”

“Then I won’t refuse,” he said with a grin, finishing one cup and asking for another.

After two cups, he finally set the cup down, looking at her seriously. “Miss Xiaoling, I came today to ask for your help.”

Ah—so she’d guessed right.

“The customers who ate the rabbit dishes made from the ones you sold me—they said they were unlike any other. Now they’re all complaining that the current ones don’t taste as good, even asking if we changed chefs. I’m really in trouble here!”

Li Qingling smiled apologetically. “Shopkeeper Uncle, I’m really sorry. All the rabbits I had, I already sold to you. The rest are either pregnant does or breeding males—I can’t sell those.” If she could, she would have already sold them; she hadn’t expected him to personally come all this way.

“Shopkeeper Uncle, you can come see for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

To prove her words, she took him to the backyard. When the shopkeeper saw the rabbits himself, he sighed in resignation.

“When will these mothers give birth?” he asked eagerly. “Can’t they hurry up?”

Li Qingling laughed. “Probably in half a month. Then another month to raise them. So please wait about a month and a half, Shopkeeper Uncle. These grow faster than normal already—if any faster, they’d become spirits.”

“I’ll slowly expand the number of rabbits, so in the future, we won’t have shortages again.”

The shopkeeper nodded, chatting with her for a while longer before finally leaving Niutou Village—still disappointed, but also hopeful for the next batch.