Chapter Thirty-Seven: I Once Wanted to Marry Him

Gu Xiaoyao was a little puzzled upon hearing her words; she hadn't expected Chu Chengjin would arrange for someone from the village to watch over her.

“Thank you. May I ask which mountains nearby are good for hunting large game?”

There were some rats caught in the basket, but they weren’t enough to fill her stomach. Gu Xiaoyao still hoped to hunt something bigger in the mountains, like wild boar.

“You want to hunt big game? Actually, the mountains around Lotus Village don’t have much wildlife. If you want to hunt, you have to go deep into the mountains.”

“And it’s not something you can do alone. Usually, people from the village go together; we never enter the mountains on our own. We just gather edible wild greens on the outskirts.”

Dahua was carrying a basket, planning to pick some wild greens for a meal. It was no wonder their village was so poor. Just entering the deep mountains was dangerous; without real skills, it was hard to come out alive. So Lotus Village was in a precarious location: outsiders couldn’t easily find their way in, and villagers couldn’t leave without ability.

“I see. I’d like to go in and have a look.”

“There’s no more food left in the house. If I don’t go, I’ll starve.”

Gu Xiaoyao felt she should try and see if she could make it inside.

“You don’t need to be so anxious. Soon we’ll go down the mountain and open up new fields. There will be plenty of land to sow this spring, and at least there’ll be gruel every day.”

When Dahua spoke of this, excitement flashed across her face; it had taken the village chief considerable effort to secure this opportunity. As soon as their village gained more land, they wouldn’t have to worry about food anymore.

“I don’t want gruel every day. I want rice and meat.”

Gu Xiaoyao was determined not to live a life of hunger anymore. Dahua was so shocked by her words that her eyes flew wide open.

She truly hadn’t expected Brother Chengjin’s wife to be so bold.

“Honestly, I want rice and meat, too. But things are terrible here. If we lived at the foot of the mountain, it would be better, but unfortunately, we’re up here.”

Sometimes, after picking wild greens, Dahua would take them down the mountain to the marketplace, but even a full basket didn’t fetch much money.

“If you truly want to see for yourself, I can take you. But we’ll go together.”

Dahua was a fearless sort, quite different from the frail girls down the mountain. She was broad-shouldered and much taller than Gu Xiaoyao. What surprised Gu Xiaoyao most was that Dahua seemed to possess some real strength.

“Alright, let’s go together.”

Gu Xiaoyao knew that if she was going to live here, she had to fit in with the villagers. Although she preferred to act alone, having someone familiar lead the way would save her a lot of time.

Dahua led her to the edge of the deep mountain. The two stood at the boundary, and Dahua suddenly smiled and said,

“Actually, a few years ago, I really wanted to marry Brother Chengjin…”

Gu Xiaoyao turned to look at her, and Dahua, seeing her emotionless gaze, hurriedly explained.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, that was years ago. I don’t think that way anymore.”

“I want to find a strong, sturdy man. If I get angry and we fight, at least he can run away! Brother Chengjin is such a thin scholar, if I hit him once, he might die.”

Giving up on marrying Chu Chengjin had taken Dahua a long time, but in the end, she couldn’t bear the thought of letting him suffer at her hands.

“…Aren’t you overthinking this a bit…”

Gu Xiaoyao didn’t think Chu Chengjin would be killed by Dahua; on the contrary, she suspected Dahua might end up at his mercy. Dahua didn’t catch the meaning behind her words, and after speaking, she scratched her head and smiled sheepishly.