novelhk Chapter 118 Don't even think about lying to me again
Chapter 118 Don't even think about lying to me again
Jiang Tao's car arrived first. He smiled at Jiang Laoshan and called him "Dad."
But Jiang Laoshan just gave a faint "hmm," his eyes fixed on Jiang Yuan and Bao Ya.
Jiang Tao felt a little embarrassed. Perhaps his parents were getting old and their eyesight wasn't very good, so he called out again.
"Father, Mother, I'm back."
Jiang Laoshan then looked at him and saw that it was his promising eldest son. He simply responded with a faint reply:
"Oh, you're back. Let's go home."
When Liao Chunhua heard Jiang Tao call her "Mother," she simply snorted, turned around, and pulled Bao Ya home.
Jiang Tao was momentarily lost in thought. Shouldn't his parents be looking at him with teary eyes, asking him all sorts of questions? Why was it different from what he expected?
"Oh, Jiang Tao's back! It's been so many years since I've seen you. I heard you got a promotion..."
Captain Liu quickly came up to greet him, his enthusiasm far exceeding that of Jiang Laoshan. Jiang Tao was even a little confused, wondering which one was his real father.
Jiang Tao introduced his comrade-in-arms Fang Mingda to everyone, and then Captain Liu warmly led the two of them home.
"Aunt Liu, have you missed me? I've missed you so much!"
Bao Ya, who was far ahead, saw Aunt Liu and started shouting at the top of her lungs. She was a generous person and wouldn't hold a grudge against Aunt Liu.
Aunt Liu looked at her as if she'd seen a ghost, turned to run away, and didn't forget to shout back:
"I don't miss you at all!"
The two of them went back and forth, making everyone laugh.
When the group returned home, Bao Ya started preparing lunch herself, wanting to finish eating quickly so they could go up the mountain to take a look.
On the way, she could already feel the little money on the mountain beckoning to her.
Bao Ya kept calling out "Mama" and bustling around cooking. Liao Chunhua felt incredibly comforted watching her. She had finally found a good daughter-in-law.
Thinking this, she would occasionally glare at Jiang Tao.
Jiang Tao was confused, but feeling his mother's chilling gaze, he shivered one after another.
After lunch, the four of them went up the mountain together. When Bao Ya got to the mountain, she realized that the mountain was mainly covered with wild vegetables, some of which could also be used as medicinal herbs, but they were too common to fetch a good price.
She miscalculated, but wild vegetables are still wild vegetables. She called the other three people to follow her and dig for wild vegetables, to get more to exchange for Granny Zhou and the others tomorrow; even a fly's leg is still a piece of meat.
"Brother, look! There's a hole here, it's newly dug."
Jiang Yuan squatted at the entrance of a hole called Jiang Tao. It was a newly dug rabbit hole, and there should be a nest of rabbits inside.
Jiang Tao, Fang Mingda, and Bao Ya all ran over to see the cave he had found.
"It's a rabbit hole. Let's look for the other holes. Today we'll wipe out this rabbit burrow."
Jiang Tao glanced at them and then directed Fang Mingda to find other cave entrances. He also told Bao Ya to find some firewood so they could be smoked out.
Fang Mingda watched from the cave entrance, Jiang Yuan and Jiang Tao searched the surrounding area, and Bao Ya went to collect pine branches.
Before long, they found two more cave entrances not far from the first one. Jiang Tao had Fang Mingda block one entrance with a sack, while he carried pine branches to the other entrance. Bao Ya and Jiang Yuan waited at the last cave entrance.
Jiang Tao lit pine branches at the cave entrance, and soon thick smoke billowed up. He used a burlap sack to fan the smoke into the cave.
Jiang Yuan was preparing to catch a rabbit, while Bao Ya held the opening of the sack, waiting to put the rabbit in.
"They're out!"
Bao Ya exclaimed in surprise, and saw a rabbit run out from inside. Jiang Yuan reacted quickly, grabbing the rabbit by the back, then turned and stuffed it into the sack.
Then came the second one, the third one... and finally, a total of six rabbits were caught.
"There are six rabbits in total. We can have a big meal tonight! Would you like braised rabbit or roasted rabbit? How about we braise two and roast two?"
With free meat to eat again, Bao Ya excitedly asked the others how to cook rabbit. She wanted braised, roasted, or even smoked rabbit, but she didn't know how to make it.
After a few days, Jiang Tao realized that Bao Ya was a lively person, so he simply let her be. He said to her like he was coaxing a child:
"Alright, let's roast two and braise two more."
Having received recognition for her opinion, Bao Ya excitedly went to gather up the wild vegetables she had just thrown on the ground and put them into a burlap sack one by one.
Fang Mingda didn't say anything, but quietly followed behind and helped everyone tidy up.
Seeing Bao Ya's cheerful smile, my mood improved as well. Her tone of voice was lively and cheerful, her steps were light and brisk, and her arms and legs seemed to have inexhaustible energy. Even just standing there, she exuded a vibrant energy.
With their harvest complete, the group packed up and headed down the mountain. They carried two sacks of wild vegetables, a basket on their backs, and another sack containing rabbits.
They ran into Brother Liu again on the way, but he was alone today. After exchanging greetings, they headed down the mountain together.
"Brother Liu, how many prey did you hunt today?"
Bao Ya ran over to ask Brother Liu, and even craned her neck to look into his basket.
"We only caught one pheasant today, but you guys brought back several sacks of them..."
Brother Liu wanted to say that they had gotten several more sacks of wild vegetables, but when he saw that the contents of Jiang Yuan's sack were moving, he immediately changed his mind.
"You guys had a good haul today, share some with me later."
He felt that Jiang Yuan's sack probably contained rabbits, and that these people smelled of burnt pine resin.
"Okay, Aunt Liu will choose later. You're not allowed to say a word."
Bao Ya agreed without hesitation. Jiang Tao and Fang Mingda were both taken aback; was this girl really that generous?
"Okay, no problem."
Brother Liu readily agreed, thinking that he should get some meat from them today; he couldn't keep doing business at a loss.
Jiang Yuan paused, considering whether to sneak home via the path ahead.
As they talked, they reached the intersection leading up the mountain. From a distance, they saw Aunt Liu, Liao Chunhua, and a few others chatting together, clearly waiting for them.
Bao Ya didn't wait for the people behind her. She ran over and blocked Aunt Liu's way, as if she was afraid that Aunt Liu would run away.
"Aunt Liu, would you like to see what we brought back?"
The sudden sound startled Aunt Liu. When she saw that it was Bao Ya standing in front of her, she took off her basket and stuffed it into Bao Ya's hands.
"Oh dear, you scared me! I..."
Aunt Liu turned her head and saw her son with them. Alarm bells rang in her mind. That brat was trying to trick her again. She wouldn't fall for it this time.
"I don't want to watch it, I don't want to watch it. What's so interesting about it? Don't try to trick me."
Seeing his mother's expression, Liu Erge felt a pang of anxiety. He quickly winked at Aunt Liu, signaling her to go and see for herself, seizing the opportunity presented to her.
Unfortunately, Aunt Liu didn't see anything and was focused on getting rid of Bao Ya. Liu Erge was so anxious that his face was almost cramping. He wanted to go over and remind his mother, but Jiang Yuan grabbed him.
Bao Ya was still arguing with Aunt Liu. Bao Ya blocked the way and wouldn't let her pass, insisting that she look at her basket. Aunt Liu closed her eyes and refused to look no matter what.
Finally, driven to desperation, Aunt Liu shoved Bao Ya aside, turned and ran towards Liu Erge, grabbing his arm and pulling him home. She wouldn't be able to trade grass roots for her family's meat anymore.
"Aunt Liu, don't run away! I have pheasants, rabbits, and ginseng here, all prepared for you."
"I won't look. Don't even think about lying to me again."
Aunt Liu grabbed Liu Erge's arm and ran home without looking back, as if she were being chased by a dog.