CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 54: SISTER-IN-LAW, LET ME CARRY YOU ACROSS

Song Tingfan didn’t hide it from her, honestly explaining, "Sister-in-law, I’m going to the mountains to find wild fruits. I’ll sell them in town when the time comes to make some money."

This season is when wild fruits are ripe. He knows where they are because his father took him there before; people in the village mostly don’t know.

Wild fruits might not sound valuable, but they actually are. Because of Da’an Dynasty’s geographical reasons, fruits are rare, and scarcity makes them precious; wild fruits are more expensive than meat.

Wild fruits are hard to pick. Most are on tree tips two or three meters high, and the low ones are eaten by animals.

Hearing about making money, Lin Qiao didn’t oppose. They were indeed poor, and Song Rong’s medicine needed to be continuously bought. As she did her hair, she said, "Little Uncle, I’ll go with you."

It was still early; Song Rong and the others weren’t up yet, so the two of them quietly went out one after the other with baskets on their backs.

The wild fruit trees are far, nearly half an hour’s walk, almost reaching the neighboring village. However, it also takes some time for the neighboring villagers to come over because there’s a mountain in between.

This side’s ditch water is deeper than the village’s. The stepping stones are submerged, and there’s no going around it.

Song Tingfan looked at Lin Qiao’s shoes, pressed his lips, slightly anxious, "Sister-in-law, I’ll carry you across."

"It’s okay, I’ll take off my shoes and go across."

Before Lin Qiao could finish her words, the boy hurriedly interrupted, "Sister-in-law shouldn’t take them off."

Women shouldn’t take off their shoes outside. If seen by other men, they’d have to marry them.

"Little Uncle, there’s no one here. I’ll put them on once we’re across." Lin Qiao didn’t know what he was thinking. Even if she knew, she’d probably just chuckle.

If she had to marry every time her feet were seen, who knows how many times she would’ve had to marry.

Ahem, wouldn’t that mean being torn apart?

Song Tingfan’s face turned a bit red, a little embarrassed, "Sister-in-law, I..."

He wanted to say, Sister-in-law, I’m a man, but was too shy to say it. After holding it in for a while, he insisted, "Sister-in-law, I’ll carry you across." After speaking, he took off his shoes, rolled up his pants, and squatted in front of her.

"Little Uncle, really no need."

"I’ll carry Sister-in-law."

Unable to resist his insistence, Lin Qiao hesitated for a moment, then got on his back and asked, "Little Uncle, can you manage? If not, I’ll go across myself."

As soon as she finished speaking, the boy easily lifted her. She was very light.

And fragrant.

The sister-in-law always carried a scent, a soap-nut aroma, and an indescribable light fragrance.

He lowered his head slightly and softly said, "I can manage."

"Sister-in-law is very light."

He walked slowly, ensuring every step was firm on the stones before moving forward.

Lin Qiao’s gaze gradually fell on his profile. The sunlight on his nose made the originally straight bridge appear even straighter. His lips were not thin; instead, they had some fullness, but their shape was distinct, giving his whole mouth a suitable beauty.

Ignoring his age, he really didn’t look like a twelve-year-old from the current times, no wonder people in the village got married by thirteen.

She had to save some matchmaking Silver Coin for the villain.

Ah, it’s not easy to be a good sister-in-law character.

Song Tingfan accidentally noticed her gaze, his heart skipped a beat, and he almost lost his footing. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and steadied himself.

His pants got wet.

Lin Qiao was startled, instinctively tightening her grip around his neck, then asked, "Little Uncle, are you okay? Did you twist your foot?"

"No, I’m fine." Song Tingfan dared not look at her. Once they crossed, he quickly put her down, then put his shoes back on.

"Little..."

Lin Qiao was about to help him wring his wet pants, but he was already heading forward with the basket.

"..."

He didn’t even give her a chance to show what a good sister-in-law she was.

The wild fruit trees had been picked except for a few wobbly ones on the treetops. Song Tingfan was a bit disappointed but still planned not to miss those.

Seeing Song Tingfan intending to climb the tree, Lin Qiao quickly pulled him back, "Little Uncle, it’s too dangerous. Let’s shake them down."

The branches at the top were too thin to support his weight.

"If shaken down, they might get damaged and won’t fetch money."

Song Tingfan grinned at her and said, "Sister-in-law, I’m great at climbing trees, don’t worry."

He climbed up effortlessly in a few moves, and Lin Qiao’s lips twitched: "..."

She reminded, "Be careful, watch your step."

"Okay."

Song Tingfan reached the tree’s tip and took a long time to pick four fruits. Even before coming down, he called out to Lin Qiao below, "Sister-in-law, I picked four."

"Little Uncle is amazing."

Lin Qiao waved at him and signaled him to come down, "Come down, be careful."

After coming down, Song Tingfan carefully placed the fruits, fearing they’d get damaged, and used some mulberry leaves as a cushion beneath. Then, he wiped one fruit with his clothes and offered it to her, "Sister-in-law, you eat."

Having reached for four fruits after such an effort, Lin Qiao didn’t have the heart to eat. Selling them was more important, "I won’t eat, let’s save them to sell."

"Sister-in-law, please eat, it’s very sweet. This tree’s fruits are the sweetest."

Song Tingfan stubbornly insisted she take it, his phoenix eyes staring intently, seemingly implying he’d keep looking if she didn’t eat.

Lin Qiao: "..."

She "surrendered," took it in her hand, and under his gaze, took a bite. It was indeed sweet, though a bit lacking in juice.

"Very sweet, Little Uncle, have a bite."

Looking at the fruit offered to him, Song Tingfan shyly shook his head, "Sister-in-law, I, I won’t eat."

"If you don’t eat, Sister-in-law will get angry."

Lin Qiao brought it to his mouth, and Song Tingfan had no choice but to take a bite away from the place she bit, yet even so, the boy turned redder than ever.

He noticed the sky suddenly turning gloomy and awkwardly changed the subject, "Sister-in-law, it might rain. Let’s quickly go down the mountain, wait for the rain to stop, and I’ll come back to look."

Lin Qiao looked up at the sky as he mentioned it, noticing it indeed got much darker, "Okay."

But they hadn’t walked far when large drops of rain began to fall. This kind of rain comes heavily but doesn’t last long.

They hurriedly found a cave for shelter; it was fortunate that Song Tingfan was familiar with the area, otherwise, they would’ve gotten soaked.

Even so, their clothes got a bit wet.

Lin Qiao wiped the rain off her face, then pulled at her collar, revealing her fair neck, wiping it.

The clothes were coarse, and being wet made them prickly to the skin.

If she considered Song Tingfan as a man, she wouldn’t have done such actions.

The sight of her white collarbone caught the boy’s eyes, and he was stunned, quickly blushing and fumbling to conceal his embarrassment, squatting down to fiddle with his shoes.

The rain stopped after about a quarter of an hour, the clouds dispersed, and the sun hung high, cicadas chirped, restoring summer’s "bustle."

"Little Uncle, shall we go?"

Lin Qiao raised a hand to block the glaring sun. Just as she was about to leave, someone held her hand. She looked at him in confusion and asked, "Little Uncle, what’s wrong?"

"Sister-in-law..." Song Tingfan glanced at her collar, hesitated as if embarrassed.

Lin Qiao hadn’t realized.

Song Tingfan’s face reddened further, stammering, "Sister-in-law, your shirt collar... is not properly fixed."