Noticing Ning Shu’s dejected expression, Chen Li asked Father Chen, “Why don’t I take her?”


  “No. I said you’re not allowed to go, so you’re not,” Old Chen said impatiently. Being constantly worried about this year’s harvest and his family’s livelihood agitated him.

  Chen Li could only look at Ning Shu helplessly. She smiled but remained silent.

  Ning Shu left the house and picked up a bamboo basket like she was going to cut the weeds. However, Ning Shu was actually planning to go to the mountains to look for any herbs.

  She couldn’t buy the herbs, so she could only find some in the mountains.

  “Ermei, let me come with you,” Chen Li said to Ning Shu, grabbing the pack basket from her.

  “Big Brother, aren’t you going to go to the fields?” Ning Shu asked.

  “I finished everything that was supposed to be done,” Chen Li answered.

  Ning Shu nodded and let Chen Li carry the bamboo pack basket while holding a sickle herself.

  Due to the drought, the grass along the path through the fields was very dry. Even the water in the stream was turbid, looking almost like mud. The drought was very serious.

  As Ning Shu was passing by Fang Yong’s house, she heard voices in the courtyard that sounded like Bai Yiqiao and Fang Yong’s mother.

  It sounded like they were having a quarrel.

  Ning Shu stopped walking and listened to the voices inside.

  “Don’t call those women to our home again. Do you know what people are saying about me now? They’re saying that our house is a brothel!” This voice belonged to Fang Yong’s mother.

  Fang Yong’s mother was widowed at a young age. She made a living by washing and repairing clothes while raising Fang Yong by herself. She also suffered from an affliction in her eyes. As long as there was even a small amount of sunlight, her eyes would tear up uncontrollably.

  Bai Yiqiao said, “Mother-in-law, Chen Ermei spread those lies to slander our family. She was the one that did shameful things and now she wants to bring our family down.”


  “I don’t care who’s right and who’s wrong. How did Li Gouzi come into our house? Wasn’t there an entire group of people at our home?”


  “Who knows how Li Gouzi got into the house,” Bai Yiqiao said.

  “I was widowed at a young age and I’ve always lived a clean life. Although our family is poor, our good reputation is unquestionable. It hasn’t been long since you married into our family and you’ve already created so much trouble. A good reputation is not easy to gain, but it’s easy to ruin.”


  Bai Yiqiao curled her lips and glanced at Fang Yong’s mother, whose eyes were tearing up. She scowled impatiently, then obediently said, “I know, Mother-in-law.”


  Listening to these words from the outside, Ning Shu felt that only a person like Fang Yong’s mother, who had a strong moral backbone, could raise someone with Fang Yong’s bearing.

  He was both smooth and principled in his actions. He needed only a single opportunity to shine and stand out from his peers.

  Ning Shu picked up her sickle then left and Chen Li followed after her. After they had walked far enough, Chen Li said, “Why does Fang Yong’s wife talk about you this way? I’m going to find her and tell her off.”


  “What’s the point of arguing with her? It doesn’t benefit anyone to talk any more about this matter.” Ning Shu turned to Chen Li and said, “Let’s go to the mountains and see if there’s anything edible. We can find some wild fruits to eat.”


  Most people who liked to gossip about such misunderstandings were frivolous and impatient. It was easy to seize their weak points. If Ning Shu wanted to take revenge, she had to put herself in a safe position. Thus, the matter was cast aside like this.

  Chen Li didn’t have any objections. As they walked, he wiped at his sweat nonstop. The weather was too hot. Seeing Ning Shu walk effortlessly, he couldn’t help but ask, “Sister, aren’t you tired?”


  “Of course I am.”


  Ning Shu grabbed a tree branch and poked through a brush, wanting to see if she could find any herbs. She ran all over the mountain based on the growth habits of the herbs.

  Chen Li followed Ning Shu, breathing heavily, and asked, “Ermei, what kind of herbs are you looking for?”


  “Just some ordinary medicinal herbs.”


  “You actually know about medicinal herbs? Don’t play around, let’s go back. Father is going to scold us if we come back late. You shouldn’t make him angry these days. What happened with Li Gouzi and the drought still has him in a bad mood,” Chen Li said.