132, Sensitive Thoughts, Trap

Sigh...

Jing Qingxin sighed inwardly. Children who lack affection are the most fragile and sensitive; if they are not guided and comforted with care, it is easy for them to fall into a dead end. Back in college, she had taken psychology as a minor, so she had some understanding of human emotions and psychological reactions.

Although there was only a few months' difference between her and Jiang Min, and only two years between her and Li Xiaomei, in the postmodern era, the three of them might have been considered peers. However, in this day and age, there was a significant gap in terms of disparity and maturity.

Jing Qingxin had received the most advanced and comprehensive scientific and cultural education. Combined with the foundation and background of the Jing family, her horizons and perspective were naturally something that girls her age in this era could not match. She had been more mature than her peers since childhood, and in the current era, her psychological age was at least two or three years ahead of her actual age.

"Xiaomin, let me introduce you. This is Li Xiaomei, who lives next door. She is sixteen this year. When your brother-in-law was injured, her family took care of him, and they have been very kind to me as well," Jing Qingxin said with a smile.

"Hello, my name is Jiang Min. I am Qingxin's sister. I will be eighteen this August." Hearing the introduction, Jiang Min felt her mood brighten instantly. She hurriedly stood up and politely introduced herself to Li Xiaomei.

Li Xiaomei, simple-minded, did not notice the change in Jiang Min's demeanor. Hearing that she was "Sister Jing's sister," she didn't stop to wonder why they had different surnames. She immediately replied joyfully, "Hello, Sister Min!"

Jiang Min pursed her lips into a smile, letting go of her previous melancholy, and sat back down on the small wooden stool to tend the fire in the kitchen stove.

The basket Li Xiaomei had brought contained a large bunch of wild vegetables, which looked freshly picked, along with a large cabbage and five or six sweet potatoes.

Jing Qingxin immediately decided on the menu: she would make a wild vegetable dough-drop soup, a sautéed cabbage with vinegar, and as for the sweet potatoes, she would save them to make a sweet dessert.

Seeing that most of the ingredients were already prepared by Jing Qingxin and Jiang Min, Li Xiaomei noticed with her sharp eyes that there weren't enough bowls and chopsticks in the cupboard, so she immediately ran back to her own home.

She gathered all the bowls, chopsticks, plates, and basins they could spare, placed them in a basket, and accompanied by Aunt Li and two others, returned to the Gao family courtyard.

They say that three women make a show, and that is certainly true! As soon as Aunt Li entered the main room, she joined Jing Suyun and Aunt Liu in their tallying and registration work. Since both Jing Suyun and Aunt Liu lived in the city, they were not very familiar with rural wedding customs and were worried about committing some faux pas or failing to observe proper etiquette, which would be embarrassing.

Fortunately, Aunt Li had arrived! Being a local woman, she was well-versed in these traditions. The three women huddled together, whispering and discussing for a long time, while Jing Suyun busily scribbled notes in her notebook.

Li Yougen, naturally, did not crowd into a room full of women. He sat in the courtyard chatting with Zhang Liangping, who was also curious to learn about rural wedding customs.

Li Dahu stood in the courtyard, feeling a bit dazed. The main room was occupied by three middle-aged women whose conversation he couldn't follow, while the kitchen was filled with three young women—Jing Qingxin was, for the time being, classified as a young woman, though her status would change after the wedding feast.

With the three young women busy preparing dinner, there was nothing for him to help with. In the entire courtyard, there wasn't a single person his age to talk to!

Standing all alone in front of the cauliflower patch, feeling the evening breeze, he couldn't help but feel a bit desolate. Li Dahu shuddered inexplicably.

No, he had to find something to do!

Li Dahu was the type of honest, hardworking farmer who couldn't sit still. Seeing everyone else busy or engaged in conversation, he couldn't just stand stupidly in the courtyard.

He took a walk and noticed the water vat was empty. His eyes lit up—he had something to do! He immediately picked up the shoulder pole and two wooden buckets and headed toward the nearby well.

Just as Li Dahu stepped out of the courtyard, he saw Gao Shen and a young man emerging from the foot of the mountain, both carrying wild game.

Gao Shen held a small roe deer in his left hand and two gray rabbits in his right, while Liu Gang carried three pheasants in his hands, a broad, beaming smile stretching across his face.

He had truly seen it today; he hadn't realized that hunting could be so effortless and yet yield such a bountiful harvest! He had originally intended to show off his own hunting skills in the mountains, but it turned out there was no need for him to do anything at all!

Still, his company commander was becoming more and more impressive!

After they had gone up the mountain, the commander had chosen a spot and told him to dig a deep pit. Then, he watched as his commander poured something into it before leading him to another spot to dig another pit!

All in all, he had dug six pits, and the commander had poured something into each of them. The traps weren't even camouflaged. Although he found it strange, he had absolute faith in his commander, so he didn't ask questions and simply followed orders.