Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
âYouâre welcome. I can only help you this much. Youâll have to rely on yourself in the future.
âOnly when you can stand on your own will your lives be better.â
âI understand. Thank you.â Zhang Qingqing nodded.
âHow many do you have left?â she asked.
âThis is what was left from before; thereâs no more.â Zhou Ying paused for a moment, and her eyes turned cold.
âOh.â Zhang Qingqing didnât notice the change in her tone and only responded disappointedly.
Only then did Zhou Yingâs expression improve.
The two of them weighed it and found that the tofu dregs weighed about 80 pounds.
After Zhou Ying helped her carry it back, she received the money for the tofu dregs and medicine before returning home.
On the surface, the village was peaceful again, but more people came to steal things at night.
Fortunately, due to the appearance of the wolves, the patrol team didnât withdraw, and they also added an additional unit to patrol the village. Because of the traps, the thieves returned empty-handed.
In the blink of an eye, it was the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. Zhou Ying steamed the longevity peach buns and cake for Gu Ziyi early in the morning and also a tray of milk-flavored black buns.
When Gu Ziyi arrived, Zhou Ying gave her the birthday cake, peach buns, and 50 tiny steamed buns. âThese small steamed buns are a little token of my appreciation. Please pass them on to Uncle. I wish him a long and healthy life.â
Gu Ziyi was stunned for a moment. She didnât expect Zhou Ying to prepare a birthday gift for her father, and she couldnât reject it. Accepting it for free was also inappropriate, so she could only say, âYou guys should come over and have some fun.â
âNo, itâs alright, as itâs been tough on everyone these days. As long as eldest uncle doesnât mind my gift, itâs fine.â
âHow can that be? Not many people are willing to steam black buns nowadays.â
âItâs good that you donât mind. You should hurry back.â
Gu Ziyi saw her firm attitude and didnât say anything more. She left after exchanging a few polite words.
However, at noon, Mrs. Wang personally delivered a longevity peach bun and a bowl of chicken mushroom stew to her.
The next day, Gu Chengrui continued to visit his clinic while Zhou Ying brought Er Zhuang up the mountains once again.
When they reached the mountain, they were shocked by what greeted them. Not to mention the wild vegetables; even the tree bark and leaves were almost all gone. They couldnât even find a single piece of firewood.
As they walked further up, they saw groups of people busy on the mountain. People were living in the Mother God Temple, and many of them were there.
Seeing this, Zhou Ying didnât dare go up the mountains any further. After coming down from the mountains, she found the patriarch and asked, âUncle, do you know who those people on that mountain are?â
âMost of them are refugees from the northern part of our county. I heard there are not even grass-made noodles for sale there now, so they went up the mountains to look for food.â The patriarch sighed
âBut if they continue to do this, if it rains heavily, there might be landslides and mudslides. Our village will be in danger then.â
The patriarch was stunned for a moment and answered with a bitter smile, âWhat can we do? We donât have any food to give them. Even Constable Tian canât do anything about it.â
âAs long as they donât peel off the bark of the tree trunks and leave the crown intact, it will be fine. Itâs the same as giving the tree a makeover, such as trimming the leaves.â
The patriarchâs eyes lit up. Thatâs right, as long as the tree stayed safe, it was okay if those refugees took the small branches. As for the leaves, there was no need to care.
At the thought of this, he immediately stood up. âI know what to do. The mountain is not peaceful now. You must not go up the mountain again.â
After he finished speaking, he ran out in a hurry.
Seeing this, Zhou Ying returned home..n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om