Chapter 146 - 146: Going Back Together
“Xiao Gu, go see if your sister is awake,” came Zhou Lan’s voice before Jiang Xia could even exit the tent.
A moment later, Jiang Gu crawled in, sweetly calling out to Jiang Xia, “Sister, get up. Mom made a delicious wild vegetable porridge.”
At these words, Jiang Xia’s nose twitched as she caught the aroma.
When it was just the four of them, things were straightforward. There was no need to worry about anything; they could use whatever they had.
After breakfast, Jiang Xia took out the pen and notebook given by Ping Wang and taught Jiang Gu how to write.
After breakfast, Jiang Xia used the pencil and notebook Wang Ping had given them to teach Jiang Gu how to write. The notebook was a bit worn but still usable, which was more than enough for her. The pencil was only half its original length, but at least Jiang Gu wouldn’t have to write with twigs anymore.
Jiang Xia thought that the next time they were in the village, she would definitely buy some paper and pencils for Jiang Gu at the shopping mall. She would eventually have to go to school, so it wouldn’t hurt to stock up.
Rest time always flew by quickly. Thus, they spent the day enjoying each other’s company, eating, drinking, and sharing laughter.
Early the next day, Jiang Xia entered her interspace to fetch the roe deer and picked up a lot of wild vegetables. She initially wanted to sell some strawberries, but finding them in the mountains within a day seemed unrealistic. So, she put the strawberries back, only taking a few for her family to enjoy.
To avoid drawing attention, they decided to walk to the county town.
This time, they didn’t wander around but headed straight to Jia Guang’s house.
“Auntie Jia, are you home?”
“Who is it?” came a voice from inside the house. As the door opened, the speaker exclaimed, “Oh, it’s you, young girl! Come in!”
Unlike the last time, Jia Ju immediately welcomed Jiang Xia’s family into the courtyard, even wanting to usher Jiang Xia into the house.
“No need, we’ll stay outside,” Jiang Xia quickly declined.
“What’s this? You’re treating Auntie like a stranger?”
“No, it’s not that, Auntie. We brought a roe deer this time, and we don’t want it messing up your house,” Jiang Xia explained as she set down the basket she was carrying.
These words attracted Jia Guang, who had just come out of the house.
“Roe deer? You even hunted a roe deer?”
“We got lucky, really lucky. The deer just ran into a tree,” Jiang Chuan timely added.
“And what’s that you’re carrying on your back?” Jia Guang asked, looking at the baskets on Zhou Lan and Jiang Gu’s backs.
Upon inspection, both Jia Ju and Jia Guang saw that the baskets were filled with wild vegetables.
“Did you pick these too?” Jia Guang asked in disbelief.
“Not all. These were picked by villagers. Seeing us making money, they wanted us to sell these for them,” Jiang Chuan explained, maintaining his usual simple and honest tone.
“Good for you, sharing your earnings with the villagers. Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll take the roe deer and the vegetables for thirty yuan, six cloth tickets, and ten kilograms of grain tickets. How does that sound?” Jia Ju generously offered.
“That’s… That’s a lot,” Jiang Xia stammered, touched by the wealthy, kind woman’s gesture.
“Wait. 1 can give you all that, but you must agree to one condition,” Jia Guang interrupted their transaction.
“What condition?” Considering the tempting offer, Jiang Chuan figured he could agree to anything reasonable.
“Given that you can gather so many wild vegetables in just a day, I want to come with you to your village. If there are plenty, I’ll buy as much as you can gather. Plus, any wild animals you catch, feel free to bring to me,” Jia Guang proposed, even adding ten yuan to the price of the roe deer.
This wasn’t a small sum, and for Jiang Xia’s family, this was a good deal. They could invite villagers to gather vegetables for Jia Guang, eliminating the need for them to act as middlemen.
Otherwise, if they were the only ones making money, who knew how many people would plot against them.
Considering this, Jiang Xia gave Jiang Chuan a knowing look, effectively agreeing to the proposal.
“Deal. No problem,” they agreed.
After the two families happily exchanged things, Jiang Xia’s family left.
After a cheerful exchange of goods, Jiang Xia’s family headed out. Jia Ju hastily packed some belongings for Jia Guang, who then set off with Jiang’s family.
As they passed the shopping mall, Jiang Xia spent ten yuan to buy a stack of blank paper, two new notebooks, and two pencils for Jiang Gu, ensuring she had enough supplies for a while..