The Kindhearted Girl Gets a Wife 35p1

Chapter 35 p1

She slept until the sun was high in the sky. Pei Yunle opened her eyes, facing the bright light outside.

Pei Yunle still wanted to sleep. Her eyelids were too heavy to open, but her mind had already started to become active. All sorts of messy thoughts were gradually waking up.

She closed her eyes and reached out to touch the person next to her. Empty.

Pei Yunle opened one eye and mechanically turned her neck. The room was indeed empty except for herself.

When had Chen Qingtang left? She didn’t know, not a single impression. She had slept too late and too soundly last night.

After washing up, she went downstairs and into the courtyard. She greeted Grandma as usual and started to gnaw on half a cob of corn.

It had rained yesterday, and today was still a misty, damp day. The air was cool.

Pei Yunle shivered and took out her phone to check the weather forecast. The highest temperature today was 25 degrees, which was very low compared to the usual high temperatures of over 30 degrees.

She pulled down the notification bar. A notification popped up that xx people had liked her video again.

She opened the short video app. Only then did Pei Yunle remember that Chen Qingtang had asked her to delete her account yesterday.

Although she had done it, she hadn’t done it completely.

Because what she had deleted in front of her was a small account that truly recorded her messy life, with all sorts of vlogs and some ugly photos. Because she was too unrestrained, she didn’t have many fans, and Pei Yunle didn’t plan to use this account for advertisements. She hadn’t even written down her contact information for cooperation.

But it was also because she was fast that Chen Qingtang hadn’t been able to see clearly. She had only seen that the works were still Pei Yunle’s own photos, so she had thought there was only one account.

She had had some rice wine yesterday, but she wasn’t so drunk that she was delirious. If she deleted her account, it would be difficult to start a new one.

Pei Yunle chewed off a row of corn kernels. If Chen Qingtang asked today, she would explain then. Her original intention was to explain the matter and its operation after she had received the money from the client. But she didn’t mind explaining it today.

There were still two weeks until the client paid. Other than a small deposit, Pei Yunle had no other money on hand.

The sweet corn began to lose its taste. Pei Yunle swallowed the last bit of corn kernels with some cold water.

The main gate was open, and all sorts of voices from outside the courtyard always came in, mostly the cries of vendors selling tofu pudding and wrapped rolls.

Pei Yunle looked at the to-do list she had made before. Some things were checked off, and some were not, such as finding a job.

She thought about it. It would be nice to do something she had never done before, like making milk tea or being a cashier. Other than saving up for medical expenses, she also had to truly integrate into Pingshun, into the world of ordinary life.

As for the bustling Anyang, if she insisted on being stubborn with Lin Zilan, she couldn’t do anything to her. Her legs were her own.

Her thoughts flew out the door.

Pei Yunle moved her wooden stool to the main gate and saw a few aunties wearing floral hats, holding long bamboo tongs and containers, their arms hidden in long sleeves, and their long pants tucked into water bucket shoes.

This outfit looked very familiar, similar to what she had seen on the back mountain that day, but she hadn’t seen it clearly then.

They didn’t know if they were waiting for someone or what. They just stood outside, chatting.

Watching them whisper, Pei Yunle couldn’t hear anything. She found it novel and stood up from her stool and walked over to them.

“Aunties, where are you going dressed like this?”

The one with the mask, surnamed Xiang, stopped chatting first. She looked at Pei Yunle, her bare face still with a hint of softness from just waking up. It was not aggressive and easily made people like her.

“Catching snakes.” She waved the bamboo tongs in her hand.

Pei Yunle bared her teeth. “What for?”

“To sell. It’s almost autumn, the last wave. After today, we won’t go again. We have to catch the tail.”

Hearing “selling snakes,” which meant making money.

Pei Yunle understood. She remembered the second day she had spent the night at the Liu family’s house. Grandma Liu had told her to go to the back mountain less, and that the people who went there were all catching snakes.

At that time, she hadn’t taken it to heart. She had thought, who was so unafraid of death? She hadn’t expected that there would really be people who would go and catch them, and it was a few aunties.

“Where do you sell them after you catch them? Is it dangerous? Is it easy to catch them?”

Auntie Xiang smiled, and a few wrinkles inevitably appeared on her face. “There aren’t many poisonous snakes, and you don’t usually encounter them. As long as you don’t deliberately provoke them, it’s fine. After you catch them, you can sell them at the market. There are a lot of people then. But the town doesn’t lack snakes, so sometimes we also go to the city to sell them.”

“The city? Can you bring them in?” Pei Yunle frowned.

“At that time, we don’t bring live snakes. To make more money, we’ll skin them and dry them. Some people will buy them to soak in wine or use as medicine. As for in the town, we can sell them live or dead. Some people will also buy them to eat.”

Pei Yunle didn’t think it sounded dangerous and was a little tempted.

“So… do you make a lot of money?”

“It’s hard to say. No one can say for sure what kind of snake you’ll catch. Maybe the snake you sell this year is expensive, and next year no one will want it. Anyway, it depends on luck. She sold a few thousand last time. The more you catch, the more you make. And if you process it into something else, you can make even more.”

With that, Auntie Xiang pointed to a slightly plumper aunty next to her. She was the one who had made a lot of money.

Pei Yunle scratched her thigh with her fingers. She hadn’t heard anything except for the “few thousand yuan.” “Are you short of people? Can you take me with you?”

Suddenly encountering someone who was recommending themselves, and a stranger at that, who looked so young and probably had no experience, those aunties were not stupid. Why would they bring someone to share the cake for no reason?

“No, no. You won’t know how to catch them later. If something happens, we’ll have to help you and teach you. It’s not worth it.”

The bamboo tongs began to wave in the air again. Pei Yunle took two steps back, afraid of being hit.

Not worth it. Then let them have something.

Pei Yunle put on a harmless smile. “No, I’ll just follow you to gain some experience. It doesn’t matter if I make money or not. If I really catch something, I’ll give you a share of the hard-earned money as a teaching fee.”

“Okay? I’ll get you some corn and sweet potatoes as snacks. Take me with you.”

Auntie Xiang looked her up and down. “That’s not possible either. You don’t have any equipment. Although we have extra bamboo tongs and baskets, we don’t have any clothes for you to wear.”

“Are there any requirements? I’ll go back and change.” Pei Yunle had been a little sleepy, but now she was as excited as if she had been injected with chicken blood.

Her excitement threshold was high. She liked to play some extreme sports for the thrill, and this could also make money. It was a win-win situation.

“Nothing much. Mainly wear long pants and long sleeves. It’s best to have water bucket shoes. It’s also best to wear a big hat, in case any insects fall from the trees. Wear a mask too, to protect your face.”

“Okay, I’ll go back and change. When are you leaving?”

“No hurry, there’s still an aunty who hasn’t come. But you’d better be quick.”

Pei Yunle pointed at the house behind her. “I live here. I can be ready in five minutes!”

Auntie Xiang waved her hand, signaling her to go back.

Pei Yunle almost jogged back to the house. Grandma Liu was tending to the flower petals that had been knocked off by the rain.

“Grandma, do you know anything about catching snakes?” She was still a little worried.

“Ah? I’ve caught them before when I was young, but I don’t remember much.”

“Is the danger factor high?” Pei Yunle ran to the railing on the second floor and continued to ask down.

Grandma could only shout back, “It’s okay. The main thing is that there are a lot of mosquitoes. You’ll get bitten all over.”

Pei Yunle went back to her room. She didn’t have that kind of big hat to cover her neck. The only ones she had were a baseball cap and a newsboy cap. She didn’t have water bucket shoes either, so she had to make do with Martin boots. But they weren’t that long and didn’t reach her knees at all.

She found a few masks from the interlayer of her suitcase. Although they hadn’t been used, the wrinkled appearance made Pei Yunle laugh.

It was better to block as much as she could.

When she just went out, she still remembered to report to Chen Qingtang that she was going to catch snakes and sent a picture of her ugly outfit.

Pei: (Picture)

Chen: What style is this?

Pei: Crazy.

Chen: ? What are you going to do?

Pei: Hehe, catch snakes. Give me some blessings.

Chen Qingtang was a little silent at this message. Almost half of the people had gone to catch snakes, some to support their families, and some just for fun.

But this was not a rare thing. Chen Qingtang just thought she wanted to play. She was about to send something like “have a safe trip” when someone came to buy something. By the time she had finished collecting the money and was ready to send the message, ten minutes had already passed.

In the forest, the gnarled branches of the ancient cypresses formed a dome, and the phosphorescence of mayflies floated on the mottled bark. A chill seeped out from the cracks in the rock walls. Because it had rained, some of the soil had been washed away, revealing the jagged, hard rocks buried underneath.

Pei Yunle walked at the very back, stepping on the muddy, narrow path. Occasionally, she had to use her hands to climb over large rocks to prevent her body from sliding down the steep path.

She began to regret it a little. In the past, when she had to go up the mountain to pay respects to the graves during the Qingming Festival, she had never seen such a rugged mountain road. And the people and the mountain forest around her were extremely unfamiliar. Tension and panic began to crawl up her back.

Who the hell thought this was a common thing? Pei Yunle gritted her teeth and climbed onto another huge rock.

The people in front of her would occasionally stop and start, and she could even hear cheers. The aunty in front of her would occasionally turn back and tell her how to catch a snake with bamboo tongs. After catching a snake, she would also tell Pei Yunle what kind it was.

But Pei Yunle couldn’t listen. All she could think about now was not to fall. To her right was a steep cliff, and the tall green forest blocked the empty space, creating the illusion of solid ground.

“Aunty, when can we go back?”

“Ah? It’s still early. We’ve only been walking for about ten minutes. We haven’t caught anything yet. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely be back before sunset.”

Pei Yunle’s face was full of sorrow. Seeing a steep muddy slope in front of her, she didn’t want to walk there. So she stepped on the rock on the right. She used her left half of her body to exert force, but her foot was empty.

This feeling of losing control made her adrenaline rush. That rock was actually unstable. Pei Yunle immediately cried out, her arm subconsciously grabbing the tree on the left. Fortunately, her core was strong, and she used all her strength to fall to the left.

This time, she didn’t fall into the high cliff on the right, but instead fell into the low fern forest on the left, and a shower of water droplets was thrown into the air.

Although there was soil underneath her, there were also many rocks.

Pei Yunle felt pain everywhere, and her leg hurt even more.

Her fall scared the people in front of her who were still catching snakes. But the path was narrow and couldn’t accommodate too many people gathered on the side. So they had to stretch their necks to look at her.

“Dearie, are you okay!”

Pei Yunle gasped in pain. The pain was like a tide, one wave after another. She was about to drown in this water.

“I’m… I’m okay.”

Afraid of becoming a burden, she struggled to stand up. When she turned over, she saw a snake’s tongue flicking out from the dense leaves.

It was the first time Pei Yunle hated her good eyesight. In her shock, she forgot to cry out, and the pain in her whole body seemed to be blocked for a moment.

She immediately stood up, holding on to the tree trunk next to her, and pointed at the place where she had just seen the snake. “I think I saw a snake.”

Auntie Xiang heard “snake” and looked over from the side. “Where?” She poked in the direction with her bamboo fork and indeed speared a brightly colored snake with an inverted V-shaped red spot on its head.

Generally, brightly colored creatures were poisonous. Pei Yunle touched her calf. She wasn’t sure if she had been bitten just now. After all, such a big commotion would easily alert a creature.

“This snake, is it poisonous?” Pei Yunle’s voice was trembling.

“This is a red-banded snake, right? Although it looks like a poisonous snake, it’s not poisonous. Don’t worry, dearie.”

Pei Yunle’s reason was almost gone. “Is there any snake medicine you can give me to sprinkle on it? I’m still scared.”

“It’s okay. We only have that kind of mosquito repellent spray. We don’t have any snake medicine. After all, if you’re bitten by a poisonous snake, you have to go to the hospital for serum. If it’s not a poisonous snake, then you don’t need it. Anyway, life and death are destined. Don’t be anxious. We also get bitten, and we’re all fine.”

Pei Yunle’s lips turned pale. A doctor cannot heal himself. When she was in a panic, her mind began to play tricks on her.

“Aiya, why don’t I take her to the town hospital to have a look?”

Seeing that Pei Yunle didn’t want to leave, Auntie Xiang said to the few people next to her, “You guys go ahead and catch them.”

“I told you young people can’t play with this kind of thing. You get scared and can’t adjust. Really, I’ll take you down the mountain first. How much will I lose?”

Auntie Xiang grumbled about her dissatisfaction in front, but Pei Yunle didn’t hear a word. She could only follow behind her and apologize.

She hadn’t expected this back mountain to be so dangerous. And after the rain, it was even more so.

After all this, it was already time for dinner when they got down the mountain.