The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Having reached an agreement, the three of them continued on their way out.

As they walked, Gu’er felt something was wrong. It seemed they had taken another wrong turn.

After wandering back and forth a few times, the three of them finally managed to find their way out. It was a struggle, but they were lucky. They hadn’t run into any large animals or venomous snakes; otherwise, they would have been in real trouble.

"We’re finally out. It’s already gotten dark."

Liu Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead, his heart still pounding with lingering fear. If he had been alone, without Sun Jiaming and Gu’er, he was certain he would never have made it out.

"You two wait for me. I’m going to get the chives."

Sun Jiaming hadn’t forgotten the wild chives he had cut earlier.

Gu’er and Liu Yuan went with him to pack the chives. Sun Jiaming placed the ginseng, which he had wrapped in birch bark, at the bottom of the basket.

"Brother Jia Ming, once this ginseng is properly prepared, let’s keep it at your house for now. We can discuss when to sell it later. However, if it’s going to be at your place, you need to write a note for each of us. It has to state that we went up the mountain today and dug up a ginseng, and that it’s to be divided into three shares, one for each of us. No matter when we sell it, the three of us will split the money evenly. We’ll write the date, then we’ll all sign our names and add our thumbprints."

Gu’er voiced her thoughts after careful consideration. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Sun Jiaming. If she didn’t, she would never have given him her own money to hold onto, nor would she have entrusted the ginseng to his care.

Both Liu Yuan and Sun Jiaming glanced at Gu’er, but since it was already dark, they couldn’t clearly see the expression on her face.

"Brother Jia Ming, it’s not that I don’t trust you, so please don’t misunderstand. It’s mainly that you’re not the only one living in your house; you also have your older brother and sister-in-law. If the ginseng is at your place and they find out, they might say it’s yours and demand half. You’d have no way to argue. Your word alone that it belongs to the three of us won’t be enough to convince them. I’m just worried it’ll cause a huge mess down the line. A written note will make everything clear. What do you think?"

Gu’er explained what was on her mind, speaking from the heart. She could trust Sun Jiaming, but she couldn’t trust his brother and sister-in-law. She didn’t even trust Sun Jiaming’s parents.

Although Gu’er hadn’t interacted much with Sun Jiaming in her past life, she had heard plenty about the Sun Family. Sun Jiaming’s sister-in-law was a city person who looked down on the rest of the Sun Family and was incredibly greedy. If she discovered a wild ginseng in their house, she would definitely find a way to make off with it.

Sun Jiaming’s father was an honest man, but he was afraid of his wife. And Sun Jiaming’s mother was no pushover, either. Gu’er worried that she would get ideas about the ginseng as well, so it was best to sort this out in advance. Otherwise, if the ginseng disappeared, there would be nothing she could do.

The reason they chose Sun Jiaming to hold onto it was, firstly, that they all trusted him. And secondly, besides Sun Jiaming, neither Gu’er nor Liu Yuan were good candidates.

It would be impossible for Gu’er to keep the wild ginseng safe herself. If she took it home, Zhou Mazi would almost certainly snatch it from her.

"Sister Gu’er is right. That’s what we should do. It’s too late tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll write up the agreement, sign it, and add my thumbprint. Then I’ll find Sister Gu’er to sign and add her thumbprint. After that, I’m heading into the city. Liu Yuan, you can sign and add your thumbprint when I see you there. We’ll each keep one copy of the agreement, and we’ll only sell the ginseng when all three of us agree."

Sun Jiaming nodded. He thought it was a good idea. He knew his own family situation better than anyone; Gu’er was telling the truth. This would save everyone a lot of trouble, himself included. Otherwise, things could get really messy. Far from being unhappy with her suggestion, he actually thought Gu’er was very careful and had thought everything through.

"Okay. Thank you for taking care of it, Brother Jia Ming."

Gu’er could tell Sun Jiaming hadn’t read too much into it or taken offense, and her heart felt light. It just proved he was a broad-minded person.

"So what’s our story when we get back?"

Liu Yuan had no objections; he was happy to go with the flow. But they were covered in dirt and mud and returning so late—their families were bound to ask questions. He didn’t know what to say.

He didn’t have to leave the village today, but how could he explain to his aunt why he was only just now getting back? It was so late, she was probably searching the entire village for him. He needed a plausible excuse.

"Liu Yuan, just say you ran into me. Tell her we went up the mountain together, saw a wild pheasant, and got lost chasing it. Just don’t mention Sister Gu’er."

Sun Jiaming instructed Liu Yuan to leave Gu’er out of it. If word got out, it would be bad for her reputation.

"Okay, I get it."

Liu Yuan nodded. He didn’t want to mention Gu’er either, knowing it would be bad for her reputation.

"Sister Gu’er, you should just tell Uncle Ma and Auntie that you went up the mountain with me. I’m worried they’d be even more upset if they thought you went alone."

Sun Jiaming thought it over and decided it was best for Gu’er to implicate him. With him as the excuse, he figured Uncle Ma probably wouldn’t hit Gu’er.

Sun Jiaming thought this way because he knew exactly what kind of person Zhou Mazi was.

A flicker of emotion crossed Liu Yuan’s eyes. ’Why is it okay for her to say she went up the mountain with Sun Jiaming, but not with me?’

’When will I ever be able to be with Gu’er openly, without people gossiping?’

’Maybe I should find some time, make an excuse, and go visit her family?’

But then he remembered the look on his aunt’s face when she talked about Gu’er’s family, and his heart sank with apprehension.

’A family that even my aunt looks down upon... Mom would be even more against it. I might not care, but if my family doesn’t approve, there’s no future for Gu’er and me.’

A flood of thoughts rushed through Liu Yuan’s mind.

Gu’er had no idea what was going through Liu Yuan’s head. She just wanted to get home as soon as possible, eat something, and get a good night’s sleep. She was utterly exhausted.

"I’m going to head back then. Brother Jia Ming, Sister Gu’er, you two take care."

Liu Yuan said his goodbyes to Gu’er and Sun Jiaming, as they had reached his aunt’s front door.

Sun Jiaming and Gu’er waved to Liu Yuan, and then Sun Jiaming continued to walk Gu’er home.

"Is that Gu’er? Has Gu’er come back?"

Just as they reached the gate to the Zhou family home, a figure emerged from the doorway.

From the sound of the voice, it was Li Hua.

"Mom, it’s me."

Gu’er answered quickly.

"You wretched girl, where did you run off to? Why are you back so late? You couldn’t even send word home? Are you trying to scare me to death?"

Li Hua came forward and grabbed Gu’er, chiding her while simultaneously checking if she was all right.

"Auntie, it’s my fault. Please don’t blame Gu’er," Sun Jiaming said from the side.

"Oh, Jia Ming. Was Gu’er with you? Where did you two go to be back so late? I’m not trying to lecture you, but you have to let your family know where you’re going. Otherwise, if something were to happen, nobody would even know."

Hearing Sun Jiaming’s words, a thought struck Li Hua. ’Did Gu’er go to the Sun Family’s house again?’

’Sun Jiaming is a good man, but Gu’er is still an unmarried young woman. It’s not proper for her to always be visiting his home. She has to get married someday. After that business with Zhang Da’s proposal, her reputation in the village is already shaky. And with my husband being the way he is... if rumors started to spread about her and Sun Jiaming, and then he didn’t marry her, how would she ever survive?’