Chapter Fifty: The Gathering of the Vultures

  On the other side, three furtive figures sat in an inconspicuous corner above the corridor, occasionally turning their heads to steal glances at today's protagonist Liu Yu, who was sitting upright and properly dressed in his brand new sky blue robe.

  The three of them bowed their heads and whispered in each other's ears for a while, giggling secretly.

  The waiter brought over the order and greeted this rare combination in the tea house.

  People who come to this teahouse are mostly here for business discussions and the majority of them are adult males. The three kids in front obviously didn't come here to drink tea.

  Xiao Er followed their line of sight and looked over, originally they were looking at that young man, then turned his head back to greet them.

  "A few young masters, what kind of tea and snacks would you like to have?" Estimating in her mind how much money these people had on them, and what price range of tea and snacks they could afford.

  The three of them suddenly found a small servant appearing beside them, startling them so much that they jumped up, and quickly returned to their original seats from the crowded state they were in just before.

  "Just a pot of tea will be fine." Erni tidied up her clothes and sat up straight, speaking in a low voice to Xiao'er.

  "Good, what else would you like?" Just a pot of tea wouldn't be enough, the shopkeeper downstairs must think he wasn't being hospitable.

  "Bring another dish of dim sum." Zhai knew he was just trying to block her view, she couldn't see anything with him standing in front of her, so she turned her head and shifted her body to look around him.

  "What's good? Anything else?" The shopkeeper enthusiastically recommended ordering more dishes, blocking the view of the three people.

  He was furious, originally he could still hear some words and phrases being whispered, but this person kept talking loudly, not even looking at him, let alone listening to the conversation on that side. Looking over at Liu Yu's table, perhaps it was because the voices here were too loud, Liu Yu's eyes were wide with shock as she stared at them. What to do now? They had been discovered, and the only option was to leave.

  She knew the footsteps were approaching, but she didn't forget to shout at those two who were equally shocked and hadn't reacted yet. She could only take care of herself first, hastily rushing downstairs with her head bowed.

  On the other side, Liu Jian gave Qiao Zheng a big live rabbit, and it was hard to get rid of the favor.

  Liu Jian stood in front of the stall, wanting to quickly sell off the remaining few rabbits and take his family back home as soon as possible, so as not to encounter any more trouble.

  But from time to time, someone would come up and gather around, one or two people, and the crowd grew bigger and bigger, but none of them were there to buy anything.

  They were all stall owners from the nearby stalls, and they didn't even have the heart to do business, but instead came up to his stall and started discussing among themselves.

  "This brother of yours, you really have two brushes, even our most greedy Wang Yi is not afraid, and can kick him flying with one foot." Liu Jian could only smile politely, as a response.

  "Right! We were all worried about you just now." Liu Jian politely thanked him.

  "Brother, did you recognize the person on that carriage just now?" Because of this remark, these people shifted their topic from Liu Jian to the man in all black again, eagerly discussing and speculating.

  "I've never heard of such a person in this city?"

  "You didn't see the axle of that carriage, it's all muddy, obviously just came from afar. And look at the mark on the carriage, I reckon the people in this carriage are not ordinary."

  "Yes, that Wang Yi's father was also a master, and he actually kicked his hand with one kick, how much strength it took, must have practiced for several years."

  The cacophony of sounds is incessant.

  After knowing that Erni had sold the embroidery, she bought a string of iced sugar gourd for everyone on the side of the road. While eating, they returned to their own stall, and there were still a few people discussing with enthusiasm.

  Lan Niang and Liu Jian could only stand by helplessly, waiting for these people to disperse.

  Zhi Xiao jumped to sit beside Lan Niang, handing over a string of red sugar gourds with two missing, "Niang, have a sugar gourd, sour and sweet, very appetizing."

  Lan Niang gently patted her daughter's head, opened her mouth and bit down on one, "Hmm, it's not bad."

  Zhī xiǎo yòu còu shàng qián qù, shén shén mì mì dào: "nǐ kě cāi bù zháo, wǒ gāng cái kàn dào liú yǔ bèi tā diē niáng lǐng zhe zài nà chá lóu hé méi pó tán shì lái zhāo."

  Translation:

  Zhixiao went forward and whispered, "You can't guess what I just saw. Liu Yu was led by his parents to that teahouse to discuss something with a matchmaker."

  Lan Niang bit the fruit in her mouth and said, "He became a village celebrity as soon as he passed the imperial examination to become a Xiucai. I heard that several families wanted to form an alliance with him, but were rejected by his mother Qin Lan. No wonder, now this young man's worth is different, and his mother has high standards, it's not surprising that she looks down on people from our village. Do you know which family?"

  "This is going to be tough for us, we almost got caught just now." So he told Lan Niang about the person who had been following Liu Yu into the teahouse and was discovered earlier.

  "You little scamp, I thought you met on the road, but it turns out you secretly followed and got caught." Raised hand to punish her, Zhi Xiao giggled and escaped to Liu Jian's side to hide.

  Lan Niang looked at her lively and active daughter with a heart full of worries.

  Liu Yu is becoming more and more radiant, but looking at her own daughter, she has a worse reputation in other people's eyes. She feels anxious, lowering her head to hold back the sourness in her heart.

  "Old lady, you're very understanding and knowledgeable, don't think too much about it." Erni advised, and found some happy words to say: "Our sweet potatoes sold well today, we should bring more tomorrow, shouldn't we? You'd better think carefully about it, old lady."

  "That's right, who would have thought that such a commotion would actually make us famous? You don't know, after you left just now, there were several more waves of people asking to buy, and I told them all to come back tomorrow. One of them was even the boss of a well-known pastry shop in the city, he wanted to buy our pumpkin seedlings, but I didn't agree."

  Lan Niang, who was provoked by Erni to start this conversation, couldn't help but want to have a good talk with others about her exciting emotions today, and swept away the depression that arose from knowing something earlier, and had already forgotten that the officer almost demolished her family's stall earlier.

  "You say sell the pumpkin seedlings to them, then what will we make in the future, hehe..." Lan Niang said this and laughed with great pleasure, "I estimate that this year we can at least earn this much." As she spoke, she stretched out a hand and counted on her palm.

  "Alas, after we're done with this busy period, let's also sell the rabbits on our mountain and those three small wild boars. I'll make sure to give you all a good New Year's celebration. You've been living in the mountains for almost a year now. Last time during New Year's, our family's circumstances were limited, but now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief and our finances are more relaxed. If you want to eat something or buy something, just say so - after all, you're also my children."

  "Big sister......" Erni choked back a sob, stepped forward and hugged Lan's waist tightly, refusing to let go.

  It's been a long time, when she first knew that living in the mountains was safe, so she insisted on staying, finding a shelter for herself and her brother. But unknowingly, she had already received this motherly care and love, which moved her deeply, beyond what she had expected, and she believed her brother felt the same way.

  Mu Tian sat quietly beside him, biting on a sugar gourd, his head lowered, and tears already welling up in his eyes.

  "Don't cry, silly. You all understand that since the matter has passed, it's nothing. From now on, let's live a good life as a family and don't bother with those idle gossip. What's the point of knowing the truth? It'll just get you angry and eventually kill yourself. Haha... This girl, since she lost her memory, I've found that she actually understands things quite well. You guys say it too, right? Recently, the rumors in the village have been so intense, I reckon she's known about them all along. If it were like before, there wouldn't be such quietness. To talk about before, she often fought and quarreled like a boy, but now although she still has some temper, she listens to advice quite well. Let her embroider flowers, even if they look like grass, at least she's learning humbly."

  "Hehe." Erni was comforted by Lanniang and smiled, "I understand"

  "She's still young now, just occasionally being a bit naughty, nothing much."

  "Hmm, I don't think she's doing badly now either, it's pretty good. As long as she's healthy and happy, that's all that matters to me. I didn't have too high of expectations for her anyway. It's best for a girl to be like this. If she can just change her temperament a bit, and if in the future she finds someone suitable to come back to, then that would be even better."

  Lingnu's eyes were deep and far-reaching, already looking forward to the future.

  "Is that going to be brought back?" Erni raised her head to look at Lanniang in confusion, this is not easy.

  "That's a must."