Chapter 106 – Can’t Live in the Grass Temple Anymore
Was this dilapidated grass temple built with the Yan family’s funds?
Yan Xiaosi narrowed his eyes.
She had originally planned to collect enough money to demolish the grass temple and build a brick house on the same spot. Now it seemed that this was not possible.
If they wanted to build a brick house, they would have to buy another piece of land.
“Qin’er, stop crying, be careful not to wake up Shuxue, Shuyun, and Xiaosi.”
“Mother, you should also stop crying. There will be a road when the cart reaches the mountain, and the boat will go straight when it reaches the bridge. Worrying and fearing now is useless. Let’s turn off the light and go to sleep. Only when we’re rested can we deal with tomorrow’s troubles.”
The voices of Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuqin came from the next room again.
Yan Xiaosi’s brows furrowed as he listened.
The Yan family wanted to bully her mother and sisters? No way. She had been practicing her spiritual power recently and had made some progress. If anyone from the Yan family dared to cause trouble, she would use them to test the power of her mental attacks.
After the oil lamp in the next room was extinguished, Yan Xiaosi composed herself and climbed onto the broken wooden bed to rest.
She had just finished her cultivation and was a bit tired. She fell asleep shortly after lying on the bed.
Thump thump thump…
“Xiaosi, are you awake? Mother has made breakfast, hurry up and wash your face.”
Yan Xiaosi had slept straight through till dawn, and it was only when Yan Shuqin came to knock on the door and called her for breakfast that she woke up.
“Big sister, I’m getting up now.”
After replying to Yan Shuqin, Yan Xiaosi swiftly got up from bed.
Although her figure was still as thin as before, after cultivating her spiritual power for this period, her complexion looked much better than before. At least, her face was no longer pale and sallow.
For breakfast, Ms. Zhong cooked a pot of porridge with rice and corn, fried a full bowl of cabbage, and made a plate of meat with fried eggs.
It smelled good and looked appetizing.
Yan Xiaosi drank the porridge with chunks of egg skin and meat, relishing the taste. Ms. Zhong was sipping her portion slowly, then she suddenly said, “The grains we bought last time at the market have been eaten for several meals, but they don’t seem to decrease. I remember when we came back, we put the white rice into the rice jar, about half a jar, but it’s still half a jar of white rice now.”
Yan Xiaosi, who was savoring his porridge, turned red after hearing Ms. Zhong’s words, choking on the porridge.
“Cough, cough, cough…” The reason why their white rice and corn didn’t decrease was because she had secretly taken some from the space when Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuqin, Yan Shuxue, and Yan Shuyun weren’t around and added it in. She thought adding a little bit wouldn’t alert Ms. Zhong, but she didn’t expect that her mom would be so observant.
Seeing Yan Xiaosi coughing until her face turned red, Ms. Zhong frowned and said, “You child, eat slower, no one’s competing with you.”
Yan Xiaosi wiped some porridge from the corner of her mouth, and said, “Mom, you shouldn’t be thinking about the grain in the jar all the time. If we eat like this every day, the grain in the jar will inevitably decrease. Don’t tell me you think there’s some magic that keeps the amount of grain in our house unchanging.”
After being poor for so many years, their house suddenly had food. Ms. Zhong’s heart was indeed always concerned about the jar.
Upon hearing Yan Xiaosi’s words, Ms. Zhong shook her head and laughed, “That’s true, it’s possible I remembered incorrectly.”
Seeing that Ms. Zhong no longer discussed this topic and continued to sip her porridge, Yan Xiaosi sighed in relief.
Fortunately, their mother and three sisters were easy to fool.
After the family of five finished breakfast, Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuqin tidied up the kitchen, and the family prepared to go to Four Sisters Mountain, with Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuyun, and Yan Shuqin heading up to chop wood.
Noticing that the weather was getting colder, they had to hoard more firewood, keeping most of it for heating in winter, and selling the excess in Daxing Town for some money.
As for Yan Xiaosi and Yan Shuyun, they were planning to go to the Big Sister Peak of the Four Sisters Mountain to gather herbs. Having gone to the Big Sister Peak once with Tian Dazhuang, Yan Xiaosi confirmed that there weren’t any dangerous wild animals there, and was familiar with the path. She decided to go alone. Ms. Zhong, worried, had Yan Shuqin accompany her for mutual support in case of trouble.
Just as the family of five was preparing to leave, they heard a commotion outside the door.
“Yan Xiaosi, are you home? If you are, come out now!”
It was the voice of Liu Qianqian, the village beauty, and by the sound of it, trouble was coming.
Yan Xiaosi went to the door and saw Liu Qianqian standing with her hands on her hips, a smirk on her face.
Her gaze swept over and landed on Liu Qianhe.
The trouble wasn’t just from Liu Qianhe and his daughter Liu Qianqian, but also the Chen family brothers and Yan Bozhang and Ms. Li. In addition to those looking for trouble, some villagers came to watch the spectacle.
Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuqin, Yan Shuxue, and Yan Shuyun quickly followed Yan Xiaosi out.
Upon seeing Yan Bozhang and Ms. Li, Ms. Zhong’s heart skipped a beat. She anxiously asked, “Big brother, sister-in-law, have you had breakfast? There’s still some in the house…”
She was interrupted by Ms. Li before she could finish.
Remembering the unpleasantness of the night before, Ms. Li looked at Ms. Zhong’s anxious face with satisfaction, feeling a rush of triumph.
Now you know to be afraid, but it’s too late.
“Third Brother’s family, we’ve already eaten. You keep your bit of grain.”
After Ms. Li finished speaking, Yan Bozhang glanced at Village Chief Liu Qianhe and said, “Village Chief, some things are better said by you.” Neither Yan Bozhang nor Liu Qianhe wanted to utter the unpleasant words, but the Yan patriarch had once been the county elder of Xize county, and Yan Bozhang was now a steward in the county government. Liu Qianhe, a mere Village Chief, didn’t dare to offend them. So, suppressing his dissatisfaction, he said to Ms. Zhong, “Mother of Shuqin, you may not be able to live in that broken straw temple at the edge of the village anymore.”
Upon hearing these words, Yan Shuxue and Yan Shuyun were immediately anxious.
Yan Shuxue’s eyes reddened with urgency, she anxiously asked Liu Qianhe, “Village Chief Liu, hasn’t the broken grass temple been abandoned? Why can’t we live there?”
“Village Chief Liu, I beg you, please don’t drive us away.”
Not knowing where else they could take shelter if they were to leave the broken grass temple, Yan Shuyun rushed forward in her anxiety, grabbing Liu Qianhe’s sleeve and pleading.
“Village Chief Liu, we really don’t know where to go if we leave here, please don’t drive us away.”
Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuqin had expected this outcome last night. At this moment, both of them remained silent, their hearts churning with grief.
Hearing Yan Shuyun humbly begging Liu Qianhe, Ms. Li’s lips curled up in an almost imperceptible smirk. Liu Qianqian and the Chen brothers were blatantly delighted.
They had all been at a disadvantage because of Yan Xiaosi before, and today, they finally got their revenge on Yan Xiaosi.
Liu Qianhe waved his arm, pushing Yan Shuyun away. “What’s the use of begging me? This broken straw temple was funded and built by the Yan family years ago, but the land it’s on belongs to the whole Shaoyao village. Now, we don’t have enough space to dry our grains, so we have to tear this place down and use it as a drying ground.”
