CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 54: THE SIREN AND THE ACTOR NAMED MOON

"Xiao Ran, Xiao Meng, can you still walk?"

Xiao Ran: "Sister, isn’t it you who can’t walk?"

Xiao Meng: "Sister, I can carry you. I’m very strong."

"Pfft!" There were a few people snickering.

Jiang Mingyue: "..." I’m really losing face here; I’ll have to regain it in the second half.

"I’m not tired. Let’s go."

"Eh! Did you see that? That tree seems to be moving." Jiang Mingyue tried using her spiritual power to probe over, and sure enough, there was prey there. Afraid it would run away, she simply used her spiritual power to attack the roe deer.

So, when Qiao Mingtang was the first to run over, the roe deer stood there dumbfounded. Qiao Mingtang didn’t even need to use force; he just tied it up with a rope and led it out.

"Yan, deer are indeed dumb, standing there like fools waiting to be slaughtered without running away when people approach."

Yan Jinzhi glanced meaningfully at a certain ’Moon’ and nodded against his better judgment, "Mm, indeed dumb!"

Jiang Ming’an couldn’t bear to watch. No one knows his sister’s abilities better than him, and yet someone is pretending not to know anything like this, even an actor wouldn’t dare to perform this way.

Moreover, he wanted to tell his sister: be careful, don’t assume no one here knows your secrets.

The following time was Jiang Mingyue’s performance of hunting. One played the role, and another watched; one broke down, while the others enjoyed it.

Jiang Mingyue swept half the mountain with her spiritual power, driving the prey over. Shortly after, they caught a flock of wild chickens, then a warren of wild rabbits, two more wild chickens, and two wild boars. Jiang Zhenmei, on the other hand, led a few children to pick wild mushrooms. Having collected them since she was a child, she knew which were edible and which were poisonous, and taught the kids how to distinguish them. By the time they reached halfway down the mountain, they were lucky enough to find a lot of bamboo shoots. Except for Yan Jinzhi, who was empty-handed, everyone else’s baskets were full to the brim and even overflowing.

The group first assembled at Ming Yue’s house to tally up their spoils.

Big Brother, Second Brother, and Jiao Can were the main workforce for processing the meat, while the others boiled water and handled miscellaneous chores.

Once the meat was cut up, they first divided some to Jiao Can and his sister, as both siblings looked pale and thin. Jiang Jianjun gave them an extra portion: an entire deer leg, a chicken, a rabbit, a whole pork hind leg, and over twenty pounds of premium pork belly.

Over on Third Sister’s side, she also had some people clean the mushrooms, and they shared the mushrooms and bamboo shoots with the siblings to take home.

Jiao Can felt a bit embarrassed; it was evident that they were being taken care of. With little choice in the matter, he accepted the kindness, knowing that his family indeed lacked these things, and he would remember this favor.

Xiao Hui also received a portion to take back to her Fourth Aunt, but the young girl, though wanting to say something, ultimately didn’t.

"Hurry back home. Come back tomorrow if you have time to learn more."

Nothing else needed dividing, as everything was left for Jiang Mingyue to handle.

For dinner, they cooked wild mushrooms with chicken, meat slices with bamboo shoots, braised venison, and a few vegetarian dishes. A large group of people gathered noisily for a meal. At the end, Yan Jinzhi even brought a portion to their cousin. After tidying up the kitchen, Jiang Mingyue quickly stored the remaining bamboo shoots and mushrooms in the storage room of her space. Heaven knows, these two are her favorites, and she plans to preserve them well for future meals.

When Jiang Mingyue returned to her room, Third Sister was working on unfinished clothes.

Every stitch and thread was quite taxing on the eyes, Jiang Mingyue felt pained just watching.

"Third Sister, shall I buy you a sewing machine?"

Jiang Zhenmei found her sister’s whimsical suggestion amusing yet heartwarming.

"I sew pretty quickly by hand; it’s fine."

Jiang Mingyue thought that Third Sister didn’t even dare to dream of such a thing, thus making her more determined to buy a sewing machine for her.

"Oh, Little Yue, have you tried on the clothes Fourth Aunt made for you?"

Jiang Mingyue was taken aback: she almost forgot about that.

"I don’t think so. Let me find them."

Without a wardrobe, their clothes were neatly folded by Jiang Zhenmei on a straw stool. There weren’t many clothes, so they were easily found.

"Are these the ones? They suit my taste quite well."

Although Jiang Zhenmei hadn’t heard such a phrase before, she still understood the meaning her sister tried to convey.

With a white Terylene shirt — to avoid mixing it up with others — her Fourth Aunt embroidered a row of little bellflowers on the cuffs. It added a perfect finishing touch, and Jiang Mingyue immediately loved it. Paired with fitting, long black pants, it was the perfect outfit in Jiang Mingyue’s mind; not too conspicuous in this era but brings her little joy. Very nice.

Jiang Zhenmei felt quite dejected seeing her little sister so pleased; the two sets of clothes she had previously made didn’t elicit such a reaction.

That night, Jiang Zhenmei was lost in self-reflection, repeatedly contemplating her little sister’s preferences. True enough, she did come up with a design in her mind, but they’d have to wait due to the lack of fabric.

Jiang Mingyue, however, was contemplating her trip to town tomorrow. She had already discussed it with Mrs. Jiang, planning to sell some meat for grain. Mrs. Jiang assumed that, like last time, her ’Moon’ would exchange meat for grain with the uncles, aunts, grandpas, and grandmas from the old compound, so she didn’t oppose it, only worried about her being unable to carry it, suggesting either Big Brother or Second Brother accompany her. But Jiang Mingyue refused.

"Yueyue, thank you for working so hard!" Before bedtime, Jiang Zhenmei suddenly spoke up, and Jiang Mingyue turned to hug her, "Sis, I’m not working hard at all. It’s you and Mom who have it tough. I haven’t even gone to work yet."

"Going to work only earns some food. Over the years, our village’s grain harvests have been good, but most are requisitioned, leaving households with insufficient food. With four of us working, there’s no need for you to go.

Didn’t we agree? When you’re at home, we come back to meals. If you also went, I wouldn’t have something to look forward to while working."

Jiang Mingyue: "..."

"Third Sister, will Big Brother marry Hehua?"

"Given our family’s situation, it’s lucky enough for anyone to marry in, although I don’t like Jiang Zhenzhu’s friend."

"Big Brother seems to like her."

"Mm. Probably because she’s pretty."

Is liking someone based on their looks? Do men have such uniform taste?

Jiang Mingyue suddenly wondered if that alluring man also judged people by their appearance.

She observed during dinner today. That enigmatic man’s hands were indeed beautiful, like a pair of jade chopsticks; they could advertise chopsticks — definitely a hot product. If only it were the modern age.

Oh! What nonsense she was devising in her mind.

"Third Sister..." Jiang Mingyue wanted to ask if her sister had someone she liked but found she had already fallen into deep sleep.

Around four in the morning, Jiang Mingyue naturally woke up.

She groped her way to get dressed. Fortunately, the moonlight, though not the bright and clear kind of full moon night, was helpful.

She went to the courtyard to unlock her cousin’s bicycle, put on her basket, and rode off.

The temperature was truly low at this point, rather cold. Jiang Mingyue stopped the bike, casually took out a man’s jacket from her space and wore it, finally feeling warm.

Pedaling leisurely on the bicycle under the moonlight, humming a little tune, Jiang Mingyue enjoyed the peaceful tranquility of the countryside at this early hour.