"You! You this!"
Ye Guoqiang was so angry his face turned red, but he couldn't squeeze out a word for half a day. In the end, he could only slam his hand on the table and turn his head away, refusing to look at her.
Seeing the tension between Ye Guoqiang and Ye Manman, Ye Xiaotong naturally wanted to add fuel to the fire, so she got up, looking aggrieved.
"Don't be angry, Dad, I'll go cook."
The teary voice was soft, as if she had suffered a great injustice. Listening to it, Ye Guoqiang's frown deepened, and he clenched his fists a few times.
Yang Xiumei also understood Ye Xiaotong's intention, so she sighed, "Oh, forget it. Just let Xiaotong do it. Who made her hold the handle of our family?"
Ye Manman knew their intent, but she didn't stop them, and she didn't care about Ye Guoqiang's opinion.
When reading the novel, she already disliked him because such a man never had his own ideas and would run at the slightest breeze. Now, as his daughter, she felt even more disgusted to be in his shoes.
The meal ended in a disheartening manner. Ye Manman didn't have to go to work, so she was pondering how to treat herself to something nice, assuming those two would cause no trouble while at work.
Eating coarse rice and grains all day, along with tasteless potato and sweet potato leaves, both her body and mind were fiercely protesting.
Thinking carefully, she remembered that in the novel there was a mountain next to Qingshui Village, which likely had some wild fruits.
As for what exactly was there, as someone who wasn't a local, she was naturally clueless and couldn't possibly find it herself. So, she thought of the kids who were always running and playing around the village.
So, Ye Manman took two one-cent coins out of the original owner's private stash and went out.
"Hey, kids over there, who wants to eat a popsicle? Come over and get a popsicle from sister!"
With one cent, you could buy a sugar water popsicle. In such a blazing summer, kids loved them the most, but in this era, even filling their bellies was an issue, so naturally, few parents would buy them for their kids.
Ye Manman seized this opportunity. Her shout attracted a group of kids who were playing together.
"Sister, how do we get the popsicle?"
Perhaps because they weren't familiar with her, the kids were a bit shy, gathered around without causing any commotion.
Ye Manman was quite satisfied. She took out a one-cent coin immediately.
"Who's the best at climbing mountains and trees among you? Take sister to pick fruits on the mountain, and whoever helps sister get fruits will get this cent."
She looked around; most of the kids were quite young, with only one or two older ones, one of whom was a girl.
Ye Manman focused her gaze on another older boy, but unexpectedly the girl walked out proudly.
"Sister, I'm the most familiar with this mountain. I can climb trees and catch birds. They're all under my watch. I'll take you. There's a peach tree on the mountain. I'll take you to pick peaches."
"Wow, a big sister boss! So impressive. Little sister, what's your name?"
"My name is Hongying, hero as in hero."
Hongying held her head high with an air of a gang leader. That one cent was definitely hers, yet none of the little followers seemed to resent it.
Ye Manman was a bit shocked, but at the same time, very pleased. Little Hongying's capabilities must be strong too.
She could finally eat something different.
Ye Manman never thought she would be moved to tears by eating a wild peach.
"So sweet!"
Though the peaches were small and ugly, Ye Manman devoured three in no time, then picked two and kept them nearby, satisfied, before finding a spot under the peach tree to sit down.
If it weren't for almost all the fruits on this tree having been picked, and these few just ripening in the past couple of days, she would have wanted to come daily.
After the kids received their money and ran off, Ye Manman closed her eyes to feel the slightly cool mountain breeze, relishing the rare comfort.
She didn't know how long it had been when she heard a rustling sound.
Something was approaching!
She opened her eyes suddenly, seeing a pair of wild eyes staring at her from the chaotic underbrush not far ahead, and there was a faint smell of stench in the air.
In an instant, Ye Manman saw its true form.
It was actually a wild boar!
Ye Manman was so terrified she nearly fainted. While her mind was racing on how to escape, the wild boar shot out.
She only had time to step aside a couple of times but didn't expect the wild boar to crash directly into the peach tree she leaned against.
With a loud bang, the wild boar's head tilted, and it fell to the ground, screaming.
Ye Manman quickly scrambled up, ready to run down the mountain when she saw a tall figure rushing anxiously toward her.
Her sharp eyes recognized him as He Chen. Without thinking much about why he would suddenly come to the mountain, she hurriedly shouted at him.
"Quick, quick, there's a wild boar over there! It's not dead yet! It's not dead yet!"
Her face was as pale as a sheet, and her hand pointing at the wild boar was still trembling slightly.
He Chen had relaxed upon seeing her unharmed but his face changed instantly upon hearing her words. He quickly drew the machete from his waist and rushed over to put the wild boar out of its misery without a word.
Finally, silence.
Seeing He Chen effortlessly kill the wild boar, its blood splattering all over him, Ye Manman didn't feel scared. Instead, she felt inexplicably reassured.
She patted her chest, letting out a long breath.
"It's good you came. This wild pig suddenly rammed into the tree but didn't die, kept screaming and scaring me to death!"
As Ye Manman spoke, she suddenly paused. She wasn't afraid of the wild boar anymore but rather walked over to it.
Seeing those two remaining ripe peaches had indeed been dirtied by the boar's blood, her face immediately fell.
"...My peaches..."
The peaches, almost soaked in pig's blood, naturally couldn't be eaten anymore.
"Are you... okay?"
He Chen suddenly spoke. Ye Manman turned to look at him, and he started to stammer.
"The... peaches... I know a place with some. If you want, I can pick them for you tomorrow."
He seemed a bit nervous and embarrassed, realizing that he was covered in blood and holding a dripping machete when she looked at him. He quickly dropped the machete and started wiping the blood off his face.
Originally expecting Ye Manman to walk away in disdain, he was surprised when she was very delighted upon hearing his words. Her big eyes were sparkling, her fair face blossomed with a smile.
"Sure, sure! Then you can bring them to my house, okay? Do you know where my house is? My name is Ye Manman, we live in—"
"I, I know."
Seeing her agree, He Chen quickly spoke up, not realizing he interrupted her.
Ye Manman raised an eyebrow.
How did he know where she lived? Logically speaking, in both the original novel and now, they hadn't met, right?
Could it be because noticing him last time, he has taken an interest and specifically inquired?
Not likely, right?
Ye Manman was a bit puzzled, but she didn't dwell on it. She pointed to the wild boar.
"So what about this pig? Should we call someone to help move it?"
Just as she asked that, a crowd of people came bustling up from the foot of the mountain.
"Quick, quick, Manman is still on the mountain. Don't know where that rascal ran off to, just make sure she isn't bullied!"
Leading them was the stepmother, Yang Xiumei, looking as anxious as if Ye Manman had already been bullied.
Following her were several women and burly men holding tools, all chattering, but they were all struck silent when they saw He Chen covered in blood.
However, it was quiet for only a few seconds before they noticed the dead wild boar next to him.
"Oh my, He Chen! Did you kill this wild boar?"