Goldfield
Chapter 185: The Thief

His voice suddenly came to a halt as he desperately saw his aunt take the spoon worm with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and slowly chew it. Wh why? This insect-like thing looks really disgusting. Shouldn't her aunt think that's disgusting, just like her? How could her aunt, who was of noble status, accept that?

“Mhm! Really fresh and soft. Your godfather praises spoon worms endlessly in his letters. I have long wanted to taste it. Xiaocao cuisine is very good. I really like this dish. ” Lady Fang tried two more bribes before she could take the time to praise him.

Xia Furong was mentally disturbed inside, ‘How could a noble and graceful person like my aunt like to eat insects?’

In fact, this Lady Fang was rather bold. When looking at the soft and plump appearance of sandworms, most people would politely refuse to eat them. Yu Xiaocao, who was initially worried about not being able to get along with a noble lady from the capital, finally felt very comfortable now. This godmother is quite approachable ah!

She naturally had to support and praise the food cooked by her daughter. In addition, Xiaocao had outstanding cooking skills. He could make a lot of delicious food with very simple ingredients, and thus cause Miss Fang, who was usually someone who had a lot of self-control, to be able to do so, suddenly eating excessively accidentally.

The night has come. The shadow of the nearby trees swayed gracefully in the moonlight, while the bright moon hung over the treetops. Occasionally, wild birds that return late pass by and cast beautiful shadows on the silvery moon…

This was the first time Lady Fang had experienced such a beautiful night sky. Simple stone walls, coarse brick houses, and spacious courtyards. This simple and natural environment cleanses one's heart and mind. It made Lady Fang, who had long lived on a large estate, feel relaxed physically and mentally.

Xiaocao, whose duty of washing dishes had been taken over by Zhenzhu and Linglong, looked up to the sky and said goodbye to his godmother, “Godmother, I will return now. You should rest early. See you tomorrow. ”.

“It's already very dark. How can I calmly let a little girl walk alone on a mountain road? I'll send you back! ” Lady Fang picks up a lantern, with paintings of flowers and birds drawn on it, and follows Xiaocao out the door.

Xiaocao quickly said, “ Godmother, I often go catch wild rabbits and pheasants in the mountains with Brother Han. I am very familiar with this mountain road. You don't need to send.. ”.

“Why be so polite with me, your godmother? Godmother has eaten too much tonight, so I'll walk with you and digest her food. ” Miss Fang turns on the lantern, holds Xiaocao's hand, and slowly walks towards the main gate. Zhenzhu saw this and hurriedly handed the work in the kitchen to Linglong. He quickly caught up to his master and took out the lantern in his hand.

The Zhao Family House was quite large and the courtyard was spacious. When Xia Furong, who had just arrived at an unknown place, saw everyone preparing to come out, she also followed them with a slight hesitation.

The mountain road was deserted, and the shadows of bushes on both sides of the road appeared on the road. Xia Furong looked at the pitch-black mountain and heard the crowing of the night bird. Feeling scared, she immediately approached her aunt. A gust of wind blew and the shadow of the trees on the ground suddenly shook. The anxious Xia Furong shouted in shock and shocked everyone.

“Kakak Cousin, people can die from being feared by others. Can you stop making the atmosphere so tense ?! ” Yu Xiaocao rolled his eyes in the darkness.

Xia Furong tightly hugged the other Lady Fang's arm and looked suspiciously at the dark bushes beside the road for fear of an unknown creature suddenly leaping out.

The worst fear of a person will always happen. Suddenly, a dark figure quickly flew past his feet and he even felt it stepping on his toes. Xia Furong shouted even more tragically and hugged Lady Fang. He hid his head in his aunt's arms and did not dare to go out.

Yu Xiaocao was completely speechless. Looking at the physical shape and gait of the dark shadow, it was just a young rabbit. Did he really need to shout like a slaughtered pig?

“Do not be afraid, Old Cousin. It's just a wild rabbit. The beasts from the Western Mountains would only appear deep in the mountains. The animals that appear around here are mostly small animals such as wild rabbits, pheasants, badgers, and so forth. They're not aggressive. ” Yu Xiaocao told His Highness Young Miss Xia.

Xia Furong ignored him and cried in a trembling voice, “Auntie, it's too scary here. Come back!”

Lady Fang patted her niece's shoulder to calm her down and then said with a smile, “Don't be afraid! We have a lot of people, and so does the light. Even if there were ferocious beasts, they would not dare to come. You have just arrived in a new environment and have not adapted. In a few days, you will be able to feel the pleasure of living in the countryside. When your uncle breaks, I'll tell him to take us hunting. The game we caught ourselves would definitely be better. ”

Yu Xiaocao nodded repeatedly and said, “True, that's right! It would be best if we could catch wild deer! I don't even need to mention the taste of roasted venison! There is also badger meat, which is tender and tasty! ”

Lady Fang chuckled and touched Xiaocao's head. In an affectionate voice, he said, “You ah! A culinary lover! ”

The night was silent, and the entire mountain echoed with Xiaocao's babbling voice. Madam Fang listened with interest and occasionally interrupted to ask, which made Xiaocao speak more enthusiastically.

Xia Furong curled up in disbelief. If hunting was so easy, then why would they farm ah! He couldn't help but want to uncover Xiaocao's lies, “Because your father was so good at hunting, why did your family grow vegetables and watermelon? Isn't it tiring for your family to do so much work? ”

Yu Xiaocao replied without hesitation, “Hunting can also be risky. How can it be as safe and stable as farming? Ever since my father was injured by a bear, my mother forbade us to go up the mountain. But don't underestimate our family's income from growing vegetables and watermelons. It was even more profitable than the noble estate! ”

Lady Fang thought about the income from the watermelon shop today and nodded in agreement. The largest annual income of the estate from her dowry was only about a thousand taels of silver. It really wasn't as good as the income the Xiaocao family earned from selling watermelon for a few days.

Xia Furong, who knew nothing about farming, simply did not believe Xiaocao's words. If people could make so much money by farming, then why would those farmers dress in rags and have so little food to eat? That damned bastard must have boasted …

But, what did the boy say? There's a bear in the mountains? She and her aunt, as well as her two servants, were all women and they lived in half the mountains. If a savage beast were to descend the mountain, then there would be unthinkable consequences — Xia Furong kept thinking about it and became even more frightened as his face turned pale and his legs trembled.

As they chatted happily, they had involuntarily arrived at the entrance of the Yu Family residence. The Yu family, who should be very calm at the moment, was busy with noise.

Yu Xiaocao and his godmother looked at each other, and then sped up their steps. As they rushed to the courtyard, they heard Wang Ergou's typical mischievous voice. He shouted furiously, “... You did not sleep this late, and instead hid in the watermelon fields. If you're not a thief, then what are you? Could it be that you will meet your lover in the melon field ?? ”

Then came a loud shout from the eldest paternal aunt, “Wang Ergou, you bastard! You're trying to ruin my innocence. I will risk my life to fight with you .. ”

There was a sense of reproach in the quiet voice of Ergou's wife, “Dashan's wife, Ergou was never a good speaker. I'll apologize for his offensive remarks, so don't be upset. But what are you doing hiding in a watermelon field in the middle of the night? ”

Right now, Yu Xiaocao had already arrived next to the crowd. Under the light emitted by the lanterns in the courtyard, he could see that the entire Yu Family was present, except for Little Shitou, who was studying in the city. There was also Wang Ergou and his wife, as well as his eldest paternal aunt, Madam Li, who was in turmoil.

After being questioned by Ergou's wife, Li Guihua's eyes flickered and she hesitated to answer the question. Today, he went to deliver food to his son, who works at the dock, and saw Wang Ergou selling watermelon in his wagon. News has spread throughout the village that the Yu Hai family did not plant sweet potatoes this spring and are working to grow something called watermelon. Growing watermelon is not very popular. Madam Li held the mentality of seeing the second branch become a laughingstock, and waited to see the watermelon could not be sold and rotted in the fields.

Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the dock, he had several well-dressed merchants gathered around Wang Ergou's handcart and paid for the watermelon. In addition, some customers almost fought over the last two watermelons.

He quietly approached to take a better look and saw that the watermelon actually cost five taels! Five taels was enough for an ordinary family to spend sparingly for an entire year, yet there were actually so many fools scrambling to buy them. Thinking of Yu Hai fields filled with round watermelons, Madam Li felt as if there was a cat scratching her heart — So much money ah! This is a sign that Second Sister-in-law will become rich ah!

After returning from the dock, Lady Li hid in her own room and made plans: At night, she would go to Second Sister-in-law's field in the darkness and take two watermelons. Then he can sell it at the dock tomorrow. With that, wouldn't he be able to get ten taels in his hands? There was no need for him to be afraid even if he met Second Sister-in-law in the night. He could have said that Father and Mother wanted to eat watermelon and told him to pick two more for them. Can he not give her watermelon?

However, Madam Li never expected that the person watching the watermelon tonight was the most difficult person in the entire village, Wang Ergou! Really, what's wrong with Yu Hai? He had actually allowed an unreliable outsider to help guard such a valuable item. Wasn't he afraid that Wang Ergou, who liked to commit petty crimes, would steal watermelons from the fields?

Madam Li cheered and exclaimed, and did not know how to explain herself. Wang Ergou did not let go easily and said, “What else? Of course he was trying to steal something! This Madam Li was envious after seeing me sell watermelon at the dock this morning, and therefore wanted to steal some watermelon at night to sell herself! Brother Dahai, you even said that as fellow villagers, no one would come stealing watermelons. Unexpectedly, you have been protected from outsiders, but not family. This situation fits perfectly with the saying: No matter how many precautions you take, it is still difficult to detect thieves in the family! ”

Lady Li looked hard and shouted, “Ergou’zi, don't talk nonsense! Who stole watermelon? Where's watermelon? You have to find the stolen goods to catch the thief. Where's proof? ”

“That's because I came on time and you didn't have a chance to move! If you don't steal watermelon, then what are you doing in the watermelon fields in the dark? ” Wang Ergou raised his voice without any sign of retreating.

“I... I just passed by, okay?” Mrs Li continued to argue.